Clara Kelly is not Clara Kelly. Or rather, this Clara Kelly - sent by her family to America to hedge against the possibility of losing their farm in Ireland is not the Anglo-Irish Clara Kelly traveling from Dublin to serve as a ladies maid in one of the leading houses in Pittsburgh. But when that Clara Kelly succombs to conditions on the voyage to America, this Clara Kelly takes her place, accepting first the carriage ride over the Allegheny Mountains and then the position as maid to Mrs. Carnegie, mother of Andrew and Tom. Clara Kelly was not, after all, an uncommon name for an Irish girl.
I liked the set up of the story, the swapping of identities, and our protagonist's quick study of what it would take to be successful in her role. Author Marie Benedict imbues Clara with pluck and spunk and her writing feels true to the times. Unfortunately, I found Clara a bit too obsessed with her family, her family, her family...which, yes, I understand is the reason she's there, but Clara's concern with being found out appears to border on paranoia, especially after the point at which, presumably, she could parlay her position with the Carnegies into a different position where she wouldn't need to live in constant fear of being found out.
However, Benedict is virtually forced to create this aspect of Clara's character by virtue of the fact that Clara is a fictional character in the midst of actual men and women and events. Had this obsession not driven her every moment, Clara would not be able to make her final choice, which Benedict must make Clara make in order to retain historical accuracy for the events that followed. Still, I found this aspect of the book distracting, and it detracted from my overall enjoyment.
Three stars.
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