Book: The Secret Countess
Author: Eva Ibbotson
Blurb: (from the 2015 Macmillan children’s books print) When
revolution tears Russia apart, Anna abandons her identity and homeland for a
safe haven in England. She finds shelter there, working as a servant in an
aristocratic household, her luxurious past now just a distant memory – until
she falls in love with the young Earl of Westerholme, and risks revealing her
secret.
Set against the backdrop of a war-torn and shell-shocked Europe,
The Secret Countess is ultimately a
tale of survival and love, even after the destruction and horror of the First
World War. Like many of the Russian aristocracy, the Countess Anna Granzinsky
fled St Petersburg in 1917 with her family, and eventually made her way to
London. Determined not to trespass on the hospitality of her old governess,
Anna takes the position of a housemaid at the stately Mersham Manor despite her
total lack of experience, all the while hiding her true title. Once there, she
meets a host of charming and eccentric characters – such as the orderly Butler, Cyril Proom; the Dowager Countess, who communes with the spirits of those long
deceased; and of course, the Earl himself.
The plot itself is rather predictable for an older reader,
and fits the ‘Boy meets Girl’ trope to a T. It is, of course, a children’s
book, and a certain amount of leeway is allowed here – not that Ibbotson needs
it in the slightest. Any predictability is completely overshadowed by the witty
and engaging prose style that Ibbotson implements so successfully in all of her
literature. Her characters leap off the page in all their idiosyncratic glory,
and it is impossible not to fall in love with Anna as she muddles her way
gracefully through the stiff rules of the English country estate – something very
familiar from countless episodes of Downton
Abby. Even the villain of the piece is completely alive and as hateable as Dolores Umbridge herself, and the romance
is entirely magical.
For a children’s book, The
Secret Countess touches on a surprising amount of the issues that cropped
up after the First World War. PTSD, the isolation of refugees and the loss of
their national identity, the value of duty, and even the insidious tendrils of
white supremacy and ableism that would eventually fuel the ideological foundation
of Hitler’s Third Reich are all included – but in a way a child can understand,
without compromising innocence or becoming a subliminal political agenda.
Instead, the themes of the book focus on kindness, love, and finding a home
somewhere you might not expect. Not surprising, considering Ibbotson’s own
hurried escape to England after the Nazis came to power in Austria.
Full of joy and humanity, I would highly recommend this book
to anyone who needs to smile more, not just the children it is aimed at. The
dramatic climax alone will have you humming the Valse des Fleurs for days on end.
No comments:
Post a Comment