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mbenzz's review
5.0
This set of books popped up on my 'Recommended For You' list. I wasn't planning on reading them so quickly, but once I saw how short they were, I figured I'd give them a go. I loved this first book, 'Polly's Story.' We meet Polly in 1890 as a young girl of 14 who's just come to work as a housemaid in the beautiful country estate of Lord and Lady Vye, Swallowcliffe. She's still awkward and very green when it comes to her new job, but over the course of her first year working at the house, she does a lot of growing up.
Working behind the scenes in the house of an aristocratic family has opened Polly's eyes. She learns the hard way through a very dear friend how the upper class can (and will) abuse their servants with no worries about the consequences. She learns quickly that it is her job to remain in the background and not speak up or be seen. She also learns that, while there are a few bad apples among the rich and privileged, there are still some kind and caring people out there.
If you're at all interested in this time period, then I definitely recommend picking these books up. They're right around 150 pages, so you'll breeze through them in no time. I've already started 'Grace's Story,' which takes place 24 years later in 1914 and follows Grace, Polly's daughter. Not even half-way through it, and I'm already loving it.
Working behind the scenes in the house of an aristocratic family has opened Polly's eyes. She learns the hard way through a very dear friend how the upper class can (and will) abuse their servants with no worries about the consequences. She learns quickly that it is her job to remain in the background and not speak up or be seen. She also learns that, while there are a few bad apples among the rich and privileged, there are still some kind and caring people out there.
If you're at all interested in this time period, then I definitely recommend picking these books up. They're right around 150 pages, so you'll breeze through them in no time. I've already started 'Grace's Story,' which takes place 24 years later in 1914 and follows Grace, Polly's daughter. Not even half-way through it, and I'm already loving it.
shadyglade's review
4.0
I did enjoy this one, especially as I'm working my way through Downton Abbey right now. There were a lot of things that reminded me of that series. :) My only complaint was that the book didn't really seem to have much of a plot. It was more like a series of vignettes of things that happened to Polly over her first year (or so) at Swallowcliffe Hall. I didn't really feel like there was an overarching plot that drove the whole story. Still, I did enjoy the book and will certainly be picking up the next in the series.
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