September 1, 2011
"When I close my eyes I see Tyneford House." That's a Rebecca-like opening, but this intent and detailed work by the author of the delightful Mr. Rosenblum Dreams in English goes beyond romantic suspense. In spring 1938, Elise Landau gets out of an increasingly dangerous Vienna by applying to be a servant in a grand English home--never mind that she's wealthy and privileged, with an opera star mother and novelist father. Once she's at Tyneford, she must deal not only with the upstairs-downstairs mentality of the British but with inevitable prejudice because she is Jewish. Charming yet serious; book clubs should relish.
Copyright 2011 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
June 1, 2013
Elise must leave her glittering life in 1938 Vienna to become a parlor maid in an English manor house. Falling in love with the master's son throws Elise into a life heretofore unimagined as the world around her is in similar upheaval. VERDICT An old-fashioned novel with a modern tone set in the World War II era, with all the tragedy and survival spirit of the time. (LJ 12/11)
Copyright 2013 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
December 1, 2011
In 1938 Vienna, where it's no longer safe to be Jewish, 19-year-old Elise Landau is forced to leave her family and her upper-class lifestyle. As her parents await a visa to travel to New York and her sister prepares for a new life in California with her husband, Elise ventures off to the English countryside to serve as a maid in Christopher Rivers's ancestral home. Finding it difficult to adapt to her new station, the naive Elise yearns at first to rejoin her family. But with no end to the war in sight, Elise soon grows to love the house and everyone in it, including Christopher's reckless, impulsive son, Kit. Her newfound happiness is spoiled only when she learns that her parents are still in Vienna and that the war might claim the lives of those she loves the most. VERDICT Although certain parts are overwritten and drag, Solomons's (Mr. Rosenblum's List) poignant tale provides richly textured details that hold the reader's interest. Fans of Ann Patchett will find Solomons's style similar and will appreciate how the subdued tone and the quiet of the countryside contrast with the roar of war.--Natasha Grant, New York
Copyright 2011 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.