I have read about a lot of fictional couples in books a lot more than I can remember this has to have the most odd love (if you can even call it that) of them all.
Set in the 1860s America, Clara is a young Irish immigrant who just came to America and assumed the identity of a lady who has the same name as her but passed on the ship she was on. With experience way less experience than the lady whose identity she assumed, she became a maid to Mrs. Carnegie. She captured the attention of one of Mrs. Carnegie's sons, Andrew whom she calls "the elder Mr. Carnegie" at the most part.
An odd love story
When I read that this book was about a young maid who charmed her master, I thought that this would just like a lot of stories that have a similar plotline but I was wrong.
Clara, even though she didn't have the educational and work background than the original Clara Kelly, she was still very much smart in her own ways. She was the daughter of a farmer who did not fail to encourage them to read and learn things. Her wit and her curiousity was what really drew Andrew Carniege to her. They started spending a lot of time together discussing about business, poetry, literature and whatever they found amusing.
When I say this is an odd love story, I meant it in a good way. Their kind of "love" is not full of raging passion, but theirs is something that's built on shared interests and learning from each other. Andrew did helped Clara put her ideas into action and eventually giving her back financially from that.
Clara thought of Andrew as more than just a master and a friend and Andrew expressed his interests of actually having a future with Clara. It was actually heartbreaking how when Clara got caught by Mrs. Carnegie, she just immediately left without saying her goodbyes and even if she did stay in Philadelphia, she never came back to Andrew even he did as much as he can to find her.
Their "love" story is the kind that's in between friendship and strong romantic love - you definitely know it was there, but it was never strong enough to make them fight for it.
Clara
The reason why Clara was sent to America was to help her family. They were farmers in Ireland but their land was already under compromise because of her father's political beliefs. She constantly worries about them and her position in the Carnegie household.
I believe this is why whatever love or affection she felt for Andrew Carnegie never really strengthen or took off because she wanted to keep her job and provide for her family for as long as she can. She wanted to be with him, but she also knew why she was even there in the first place.
Clara is a 1860s representation of a lot of immigrants who journeyed to other countries for their families. It may not be always love, but it can also be hobbies, desires, experiences or even material things that the immigrant worker has to sacrifice just to make sure the family he or she leaves behind survives.
In conclusion...
Even though this book did not have much intensity, but I still very much loved how it went. It's a little slow paced which others might find boring. There really isn't much going on in this book and I found myself just flowing with Clara's relatively long journey.
This is a very easy read that does not compromise sensibility or quality and I never found myself tangled in Marie Benedict's writing style.
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