A Countess Below Stairs by Eva Ibbotsen

When one thinks of post-WWI England, that mental image does not generally include Russian countesses.

Yet that's just what makes A Countess Below Stairs so very charming: Anna Grazinsky, a Russian countess who fled during the Russian Revolution, has come to England as a refugee and must work to support her widowed mother while her younger brother attends boarding school.

If I say much more about the plot, I'll probably spoil it, so let me recount the highs and lows of the novel.

The best part of A Countess Below Stairs is probably Ibbotsen's depiction of the English and Russian nobility. She explains what Anna's life is like before the revolution: charmed, full of seemingly limitless riches and friends. In Russia, Anna lives like a princess in the home of Count Grazinsky and his wife.

Ibbotsen also masterfully depicts the life in the home of an English noble after World War I. Mersham, the manor in which Anna finds employment, is the home of a young earl who recently inherited after his father and brother both died. The servants, however, are the most convincing, particularly the uptight Mr. Proom.

Though it is marketed as a romance, A Countess Below Stairs focuses much more on the relationship between the charming Anna and the rest of the staff at Mersham. Anna's sweetness and her eternal optimism wins over nearly everyone - including the earl, the neighbor girl, and the crotchety old lady living near the stables.

This charming YA novel is not for everyone - in fact, many more cynical readers may find it too sugary-sweet for their tastes. But for those looking for a fairy tale, an escape, or something akin to Ella Enchanted, Ibbotsen's A Countess Below Stairs may be the right book for you.