A Countess Below Stairs (1981)

A Countess Below Stairs is a 1981 British historical romance novel by Eva Ibbotson. It follows the story of Anna Grazinsky, a Russian countess, after World War I. It has also been published under the title The Secret Countess as a young adult novel.

Synopsis

Anna is a charming child who sees the good in everything and everyone: her cousin Sergei, her younger brother Petya, and all of her multiple governesses. She has lived her whole life being pampered and adored by her father, fussed over by the servants, and cosseted by her mother. However, she is forced to flee Russia after the Bolsheviks seize power and her father dies in The First World War. Forced to depend on the charity of her governess, Pinny, Anna takes a position as a housemaid at Mersham, home of Rupert Frayne, Earl of Westerholme. She keeps this a secret from her brother and cousin, telling her ailing mother she has been invited to stay at the country manor.

The staff resent her employment, as they immediately realise she is nobly born. Despite their concerns, Anna proves herself hard-working and intelligent. As her fellow employees grow to love Anna, the Earl sends a message that he returning from service in the war. Having made a promise to his late older brother, Rupert is bringing home a rich fiancée to help fulfill Mersham's many debts. Upon meeting Anna, her grace and high spirits are obvious to him, and the two get along very well.

When Muriel Hardwicke, Rupert's fiancée, arrives, everyone is first compelled to love her. Soon afterward, Mersham's inhabitants and neighbours see Muriel is a selfish, rude, vain, and nasty young woman, despite her flawless appearance. She is unfriendly to the staff, the dowager, the dog, and even to good family friends the Minna, and Viscount Byrne, bluntly insulting their daughter, the Honorable Olive, and her disability. Out of love and respect for Rupert, those Muriel offends suffer in silence, not wanting to ill-wish the Earl's bride. Learning of Muriel's deeds later, Rupert is angry and realises he did not ever truly love her, just as he falls in love with Anna. Nonetheless, he is a man of his word and will not jilt Muriel.

Anna finds it harder to conceal her identity as a countess as she grows closer to Rupert. When he learns of her identity, he initially plans to dismiss her but relents when she becomes miserable. At a fancy-dress ball held in Muriel and Rupert's honour by the Byrnes, Anna is asked to serve drinks because of her Russian nationality, which would be helpful for Russian guests. A school friend of the youngest Byrne boy, Henry, turns out to be Anna's younger brother, Peter. Unknowing of Anna's employment as an under-housemaid, he introduces her to all present as Countess Grazinsky. For Peter's sake, her friends act as if she were always a guest. When Anna and Rupert share a dance, it becomes obvious that he is engaged to the wrong woman.

Alone, they confess their affections but accept they have no future together. As Anna considers her feelings, she and her cousin, Prince Sergei Chirkovsky, confide in their problems and embrace. Rupert sees them, assumes they are eloping, and continues plans for the wedding. Upset, Cyril Proom, the butler, acquires a large sum of money and uses it to convince Melvyn and Myrtle Herring, first cousins of Rupert, to carry out a favour. The distasteful Herrings and their estranged teenaged sons show themselves to be insane genetic mutations to Dr. Lightbody, a good friend of Muriel who studies Eugenics. Upset, he stops the wedding, and the appalled Muriel elopes with Dr. Lightbody.

In London, Anna receives word and her depression lifts. Days later, a letter arrives from Mersham claiming that she still owes five days of work to the house. It also assures her that the Earl is out of the country. Before leaving, the woman carrying her family's fortune arrives at long last and her family begins to catch up on their old life. Anna's first job involves serving at the table for a small dinner party. Walking into the room, she is surprised when Rupert is present, and raises his voice in her direction. She lets out a defiant, long-winded reply and bursts into tears. Rupert stands up to comfort her, much to the surprise of his guests. The couple is married the following summer.

Characters

Anna Grazinsky

Eighteen-year-old Anna is a charming, graceful young woman who grows up in Russia but is forced to flee her country during World War I. She is a very high born countess, but humble and not spoiled despite her doting parents and their riches. Her compassion is clear in her personality, as is her love for conversation and her natural determination. When her family arrives in England, penniless, she seeks work at Mersham behind her family's backs, trusting in her nanny and friend, Pinny. She quickly befriends and later falls in love with the young earl of Mersham, but conceals this as he is engaged to another woman. She gets along very well with the servants and occupants at Mersham, save for Muriel, the bride-to-be. She is described as having a slight figure and small bones, dark eyes with long and dark and attractive hair. Anna also has a habit of rolling the letter "r" very badly when she is upset, giving her away when she tries to conceal her emotions.