The House at Tyneford by Natasha Solomons

Next on the list from my friend was another World War 2 book, and just a heads up, the book I'm reading now is also WW2 era. So many good stories inspired by such a colossally horrific chapter in history.

Our heroine is Elise, a bourgeois Jewish girl from Austria, whose mother is a famous Opera singer and father is an author. Her sister inherited her mother's beauty and talent, leaving Elise with little beauty other than her father's jet black hair. Times are changing for Jews in Vienna and the family makes preparations to go to America. Since no visa could be procured for Elise, she is sent to be a housemaid in an English country home where she would be safe and she must learn to adapt from her life of comfort to becoming a member of the working class. Upon her arrival at Tyneford, the house in which she will be working, she meets Kit, the 20-year old son of the master of the house. They strike up a friendship, one that helps her bear the weight of the trials and tragedies that come her way during the upcoming years.

I found this to be a very beautiful and well-written story. I grew to respect Elise and the grace with which she learns to handle her lot, especially compared to the immature tantrum-throwing child of 19 years she was when she left Vienna. This was not a happy, feel-good kind of novel, which I think is actually much more appropriate considering the setting, but I loved it completely. I'm a happy ending kind of girl, and while this one did end well, it wasn't the "happily ever after" I usually hope for when reading a book.

On the cover is printed something to the effect of "Fans of Downton Abbey will love The House at Tyneford!" I had never seen Downton Abbey but kept hearing friends rave about it, so when my husband and I got a week trial of Hulu Plus (to try and catch up on a different show that turns out wasn't actually available, but that's a whole other story) we decided to give it a try. We finished the 2 seasons during our trial and it was kind of fun to be reading this book at the same time. They definitely have their similarities: centered around a world war, give a good view of the upstairs vs downstairs life, in England, etc. So if you are a fan of Downton Abbey, you probably would enjoy this book. However, I wouldn't limit my recommendation to only those people; I think many would enjoy it.

4 out of 5 stars