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Miss Million's Maid
Miss Million’s Maid (1913) is a romance novel by Berta Ruck. After a decade of publishing stories in literary magazines, Ruck began releasing romance novels to popular acclaim. Miss Million’s Maid is a satirical tale of love, work, and modern life that continues to entertain over a century after it was written. Beatrice Lovelace longs for a social life. Although she was born into a family of London elites, her family’s fortunes turned to leave Beatrice with next to nothing. Living with her frugal Aunt Anastasia, she hears secondhand of events around town she has no opportunity to see for herself. Her only friend, if she could be called such, is her loyal maid Nellie Million, whose name takes on a brand-new meaning when a distant uncle unexpectedly leaves her a massive fortune. Sensing an opportunity, Beatrice volunteers to work as her maid, making something of herself for the first time in her life. Despite their cordiality and good rapport, the two women soon succumb to the pressures of life in a class they had never experienced. Juggling work and wealth, navigating the ways of men, Nellie and Beatrice learn that money and happiness often refuse to mix. Miss Million’s Maid is a comedy of social life, a story of romance and friendship from one of the twentieth century’s most prolific authors. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Berta Ruck’s Miss Million’s Maid is a classic of British romance literature reimagined for modern readers.
260 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1915
About the author
Berta Ruck
141 books16 followersAmy Roberta Ruck was born on 2 August 1878 in Murree, Punjab, India, one of eight children by Eleanor D'Arcy and Colonel Arthur Ashley Ruck, a British army officer. Her family moved to Wales, where she went to school in Bangor. On 1909, she married novelist (George) Oliver Onions (1873-1961), and they had two sons: Arthur (b. 1912) and William (b. 1913). Berta died only nine days after her 100th birthday.
From 1905, she began to contribute short stories and serials to magazines, and on 1914, her first novel "His Official Fiancée" was published. She wrote over eighty romance novels. She also wrote an autobiography and two memoir-style works.
From 1905, she began to contribute short stories and serials to magazines, and on 1914, her first novel "His Official Fiancée" was published. She wrote over eighty romance novels. She also wrote an autobiography and two memoir-style works.
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
March 27, 2019
2019 Review ~ 4 Stars
For about the first half of this book, I mournfully assumed that, while I still loved Berta Ruck, Miss Million's Maid would only hold a place in my heart as the first book I read by her. Initially, especially, it shows little of the promise of her other books. The distracted, journalist style writing, the rather racist references to German Jews, and the effusive gush about fashion just didn't do for me.
But as I continued reading, I began to see traces of the author I have come to know and love. The upper-class heroine brought low, the whispers of war, the open affection for Wales.
The thing is - unlike The Boy with Wings or In Another Girl's Shoes, it does not try to bring romance to war. War jumps in every now and then, but it matters less. At the same time, the book also lacks the feminist undertones without a mention of war of His Official Fiancée. It is more fundamentally, and foundationally, a romance.
And I think I like it just as well as her other books. Just in a different way. Take The Boy with Wings. I liked the book a great deal. Couldn't stand the main couple. But it isn't the sort of book you read for the main couple. You read it to appreciate the author's handling of social values and women's rights and war. Well, Miss Million's Maid might lack the developed themes, but I sure liked the main couple a great deal more.
In fact, I read my 18-year-old outrage (the 2011 review) with some amusement. I think I positively wanted her to end up with the dull and respectable banker! What a lack of romance I had! The very scapegrace nature of the hero is what makes him so charming.
Perhaps I am wrong to say this book lacks themes. I think it actually carries through with one strong, foundational theme: Live life.
It is the vulgar but caring characters who touch Beatrice's life. Those who stay on their high horses or try and make a class distinction miss it. By refusing to court respectability, Beatrice discovers love and adventure. It is 'follow your heart' and yet not at the same time.
An excellent re-read for the second half. I do wish it were shorter. But still! Berta Ruck does not disappoint!
2011 Review
High end of 3 stars.
Miss Beatrice Lovelace has a problem. At 23, her life is utterly dull. Aunt Anastasia absolutely refuses to let her have any fun! Beatrice is constantly being reminded that she is genteel, albeit an impoverished aristocrat. And impoverished aristocrats are not , according to her aunt anyway, allowed to speak with non-blue bloods, even if they happen to be the only people in the neighborhood.
Beatrice’s only friend rests in their maid-of-all-works, Nellie Million. When Million discovers one day that her uncle has left her a million dollars, Beatrice cooks up a plan to get herself out of her aunt’s house and into a “position”….she becomes her ex-maid’s maid! But her problems are only just beginning, as fortune hunters, flamboyant comediennes, and ruby thieves find themselves irresistibly attracted to the new, wealthy, Miss Million and her genteel lady’s maid…
Miss Million’s Maid is a charming book that took me pleasantly by surprise. While the plots seemed decent, I was unprepared for the loveable characters, humorous scenes, and charming romance.
Charming may not be the word I’m looking for here.
What won the book for me was definitely the characters. Every time I thought I had the “romance” figured out, a new player enters the scene. Good-guys became boring, and bad guys became….enchanting! The book is very comic, unlikely, and enjoyable. Every girl loves a bad boy, and this plot unashamedly plays off that love!
The writing, though, was an enigma. Written from Beatrice’s first person POV, it reads like a journal entry (“then this happened” “I must go back” “such a thing happened in the past half hour!”) yet without the standard “journal” format. It got distracting. The writing itself is good, but the way the book is structured confusingly.
A few other things that annoyed me…
I love the romance in this story, particularly Beatrice’s but…more details! Just being informed that he “passionately kisses her” in the end is not enough. No, no, no. We don’t get enough about said young man. She barely realizes she is in love with him before it’s “that’s right, I’m married.”
HULLO, WHAT??
NOTICE: Reader wants details!!!
So, so much potential there. Something big and bold and romantic. The proposal scene I can swallow, but it just seems to fall off so suddenly! And then BAM! But no more details, I don’t want to give anything more away ;)
OVERALL, good, sweet, adorable book. It reminds me of Daddy Long Legs. I really want to find more by Berta Ruck. Her book surprised me in the way Georgette Heyer did, though I definitely prefer the Queen of Regency drama. Still, read it! I recommend this book.
And the best part is….IT IS FREE. ONLINE! http://www.manybooks.net/titles/ruckb...
You now have no reason not to read it.
So there. Give her a try, I personally don’t think she disappoints.
EDIT:
Okay, I have a confession. I’m in a thinking mood tonight. I have my bag of Chex Mix, plenty of homework to avoid…and something on my mind. WARNING: what follows will contain major plot-spoilers.
Because here is what I’ve been thinking. The reader loves it that Beatrice ends up with her unstable, semi-ungrateful, thoroughly charming rouge. And we’re delighted that she dumps the predictable, steady, good-natured utterly boring bank-manager. We’re pleased that she “followed her heart” and fell for the loveable “bad boy”…
Meanwhile, we approve noddingly as bank manager goes off to likely fall in love with some other girl (isn’t said, but generally implied.)
I’ll admit. I’m a sucker for the bad boy. I fell for him along side Beatrice and Nellie, but, and this is a big BUT, if we’re looking at the big scope of life…why does our culture say Beatrice should pick Bad Boy over Banker? Because that is what our culture tells us. It says that she should give up a providing, reliable, loving husband in a warm, comfortable, steady home for an unprincipled, debt-ridden, smooth rouge and a completely uncertain financial future. Of course with the second she has “true love.” Yup indeed, his blue eyes sends her heart spinning, though she denies it.
And the reason she gives for giving up Banker is because she doesn’t like the way his “hair grows.”
My, my.
I don’t want to come across as priggish, because as I’ve said, I’ll be the first to admit I really do like Bad Boy. In fact, I’m charmed by him (except perhaps at the very end). I would have been horridly disappointed if she married Banker. But on what grounds? A pair of pleasant blue eyes and she throws away the chance at a happy, provided-for home. Isn’t that just like a woman?
Maybe the “problem” (if you call it that) isn’t with our society as much as our gender! Loving where love ought least to be. Scorning where it is most provided for. It is what makes up the best love-stories…from Aladdin to Charles Dickens. It is the idea of loving the unlovable. Of redeeming what has been lost. Of someone superior coming down to meet the inferior…through love.
At least, that is one way to say it. Sounds good. But it’s also puzzling and doesn’t really answer my question. Why do we scorn the well-meaning Banker, just because he doesn’t have blue eyes? Why is the rouge rewarded? Why is the “bad guy” the “good guy”….and the “good guy” just boring?
For about the first half of this book, I mournfully assumed that, while I still loved Berta Ruck, Miss Million's Maid would only hold a place in my heart as the first book I read by her. Initially, especially, it shows little of the promise of her other books. The distracted, journalist style writing, the rather racist references to German Jews, and the effusive gush about fashion just didn't do for me.
But as I continued reading, I began to see traces of the author I have come to know and love. The upper-class heroine brought low, the whispers of war, the open affection for Wales.
The thing is - unlike The Boy with Wings or In Another Girl's Shoes, it does not try to bring romance to war. War jumps in every now and then, but it matters less. At the same time, the book also lacks the feminist undertones without a mention of war of His Official Fiancée. It is more fundamentally, and foundationally, a romance.
And I think I like it just as well as her other books. Just in a different way. Take The Boy with Wings. I liked the book a great deal. Couldn't stand the main couple. But it isn't the sort of book you read for the main couple. You read it to appreciate the author's handling of social values and women's rights and war. Well, Miss Million's Maid might lack the developed themes, but I sure liked the main couple a great deal more.
In fact, I read my 18-year-old outrage (the 2011 review) with some amusement. I think I positively wanted her to end up with the dull and respectable banker! What a lack of romance I had! The very scapegrace nature of the hero is what makes him so charming.
Perhaps I am wrong to say this book lacks themes. I think it actually carries through with one strong, foundational theme: Live life.
It is the vulgar but caring characters who touch Beatrice's life. Those who stay on their high horses or try and make a class distinction miss it. By refusing to court respectability, Beatrice discovers love and adventure. It is 'follow your heart' and yet not at the same time.
An excellent re-read for the second half. I do wish it were shorter. But still! Berta Ruck does not disappoint!
2011 Review
High end of 3 stars.
Miss Beatrice Lovelace has a problem. At 23, her life is utterly dull. Aunt Anastasia absolutely refuses to let her have any fun! Beatrice is constantly being reminded that she is genteel, albeit an impoverished aristocrat. And impoverished aristocrats are not , according to her aunt anyway, allowed to speak with non-blue bloods, even if they happen to be the only people in the neighborhood.
Beatrice’s only friend rests in their maid-of-all-works, Nellie Million. When Million discovers one day that her uncle has left her a million dollars, Beatrice cooks up a plan to get herself out of her aunt’s house and into a “position”….she becomes her ex-maid’s maid! But her problems are only just beginning, as fortune hunters, flamboyant comediennes, and ruby thieves find themselves irresistibly attracted to the new, wealthy, Miss Million and her genteel lady’s maid…
Miss Million’s Maid is a charming book that took me pleasantly by surprise. While the plots seemed decent, I was unprepared for the loveable characters, humorous scenes, and charming romance.
Charming may not be the word I’m looking for here.
What won the book for me was definitely the characters. Every time I thought I had the “romance” figured out, a new player enters the scene. Good-guys became boring, and bad guys became….enchanting! The book is very comic, unlikely, and enjoyable. Every girl loves a bad boy, and this plot unashamedly plays off that love!
The writing, though, was an enigma. Written from Beatrice’s first person POV, it reads like a journal entry (“then this happened” “I must go back” “such a thing happened in the past half hour!”) yet without the standard “journal” format. It got distracting. The writing itself is good, but the way the book is structured confusingly.
A few other things that annoyed me…
I love the romance in this story, particularly Beatrice’s but…more details! Just being informed that he “passionately kisses her” in the end is not enough. No, no, no. We don’t get enough about said young man. She barely realizes she is in love with him before it’s “that’s right, I’m married.”
HULLO, WHAT??
NOTICE: Reader wants details!!!
So, so much potential there. Something big and bold and romantic. The proposal scene I can swallow, but it just seems to fall off so suddenly! And then BAM! But no more details, I don’t want to give anything more away ;)
OVERALL, good, sweet, adorable book. It reminds me of Daddy Long Legs. I really want to find more by Berta Ruck. Her book surprised me in the way Georgette Heyer did, though I definitely prefer the Queen of Regency drama. Still, read it! I recommend this book.
And the best part is….IT IS FREE. ONLINE! http://www.manybooks.net/titles/ruckb...
You now have no reason not to read it.
So there. Give her a try, I personally don’t think she disappoints.
EDIT:
Okay, I have a confession. I’m in a thinking mood tonight. I have my bag of Chex Mix, plenty of homework to avoid…and something on my mind. WARNING: what follows will contain major plot-spoilers.
Because here is what I’ve been thinking. The reader loves it that Beatrice ends up with her unstable, semi-ungrateful, thoroughly charming rouge. And we’re delighted that she dumps the predictable, steady, good-natured utterly boring bank-manager. We’re pleased that she “followed her heart” and fell for the loveable “bad boy”…
Meanwhile, we approve noddingly as bank manager goes off to likely fall in love with some other girl (isn’t said, but generally implied.)
I’ll admit. I’m a sucker for the bad boy. I fell for him along side Beatrice and Nellie, but, and this is a big BUT, if we’re looking at the big scope of life…why does our culture say Beatrice should pick Bad Boy over Banker? Because that is what our culture tells us. It says that she should give up a providing, reliable, loving husband in a warm, comfortable, steady home for an unprincipled, debt-ridden, smooth rouge and a completely uncertain financial future. Of course with the second she has “true love.” Yup indeed, his blue eyes sends her heart spinning, though she denies it.
And the reason she gives for giving up Banker is because she doesn’t like the way his “hair grows.”
My, my.
I don’t want to come across as priggish, because as I’ve said, I’ll be the first to admit I really do like Bad Boy. In fact, I’m charmed by him (except perhaps at the very end). I would have been horridly disappointed if she married Banker. But on what grounds? A pair of pleasant blue eyes and she throws away the chance at a happy, provided-for home. Isn’t that just like a woman?
Maybe the “problem” (if you call it that) isn’t with our society as much as our gender! Loving where love ought least to be. Scorning where it is most provided for. It is what makes up the best love-stories…from Aladdin to Charles Dickens. It is the idea of loving the unlovable. Of redeeming what has been lost. Of someone superior coming down to meet the inferior…through love.
At least, that is one way to say it. Sounds good. But it’s also puzzling and doesn’t really answer my question. Why do we scorn the well-meaning Banker, just because he doesn’t have blue eyes? Why is the rouge rewarded? Why is the “bad guy” the “good guy”….and the “good guy” just boring?
January 7, 2018
Written in 1915, at that time this was a contemporary romance (romantic comedy) about life in 1914 England, just before WWI. Now historical romance readers can enjoy it as an HR completely free of anachronisms in language and behavior and will be surprised to find how much 1914 and 2013 women actually have in common.
I first discovered Berta Ruck when I happened on His Official Fiancee, which was written in 1913 or 1914, I believe. That was a delight and from there I went on to try a few more Ruck novels but did not enjoy them as much. This one, however, which Ruck wrote under the name "Mrs. Oliver Onions" (and, yes, her husband was Oliver Onions, unbelievable as the surname may seem) is as enjoyable as FIANCEE.
At the beginning of the story, Nellie Millions (yes, her surname is "Millions", as unbelievable as "Onions") is the maid of Beatrice Lovelace and her Aunt Anastasia, impoverished upper-class women just barely getting by financially. Beatrice is living a lonely life since she can't afford to run with the rich crowd and her aunt refuses to allow her to have anything to do with middle-class young people.
Well, Nellie Millions, the maid, inherits millions of dollars from her late rich uncle, successful sausage maker in the U.S. Nellie has been Beatrice's only real friend and Beatrice jumps at the chance to get out from under her aunt's control by going off with Nellie. But now, of course, the tables are turned and Beatrice works as Nellie's maid.
It all makes for a fun read. So many interesting characters run crazily through the story, among them an actress with a heart of gold, a handsome Irish rake/fortune hunter, Nellie's U.S. cousin, a bank manager who lives next door to Aunt Anastasia, and so many more.
It's a great look at life in England just before WWI, when, apparently, many were living in denial about anything untoward going on internationally, and living in their rather insular world of rich vs poor, upper class vs not upper. This is funny and at the same time it's great social commentary. I was surprised at how modern the women protagonists were at times in their behavior. This was written almost 100 years ago and didn't feel very dated to me. (But then I'm two thirds of a century old myself.)
I first discovered Berta Ruck when I happened on His Official Fiancee, which was written in 1913 or 1914, I believe. That was a delight and from there I went on to try a few more Ruck novels but did not enjoy them as much. This one, however, which Ruck wrote under the name "Mrs. Oliver Onions" (and, yes, her husband was Oliver Onions, unbelievable as the surname may seem) is as enjoyable as FIANCEE.
At the beginning of the story, Nellie Millions (yes, her surname is "Millions", as unbelievable as "Onions") is the maid of Beatrice Lovelace and her Aunt Anastasia, impoverished upper-class women just barely getting by financially. Beatrice is living a lonely life since she can't afford to run with the rich crowd and her aunt refuses to allow her to have anything to do with middle-class young people.
Well, Nellie Millions, the maid, inherits millions of dollars from her late rich uncle, successful sausage maker in the U.S. Nellie has been Beatrice's only real friend and Beatrice jumps at the chance to get out from under her aunt's control by going off with Nellie. But now, of course, the tables are turned and Beatrice works as Nellie's maid.
It all makes for a fun read. So many interesting characters run crazily through the story, among them an actress with a heart of gold, a handsome Irish rake/fortune hunter, Nellie's U.S. cousin, a bank manager who lives next door to Aunt Anastasia, and so many more.
It's a great look at life in England just before WWI, when, apparently, many were living in denial about anything untoward going on internationally, and living in their rather insular world of rich vs poor, upper class vs not upper. This is funny and at the same time it's great social commentary. I was surprised at how modern the women protagonists were at times in their behavior. This was written almost 100 years ago and didn't feel very dated to me. (But then I'm two thirds of a century old myself.)
June 24, 2018
What a fun read! A cross between a P.G. Wodehouse and Winifred Watson’s Miss Pettigrew I thought. Some of the thinking did seem a bit dated but I didn’t mind that because it reflected the feelings of the time at which the book was written.
The only thing that spoilt it a little for me was the format of the book. It was free on Kobo but didn’t seem to have gone through any checks; most of the words were gobbledygook so the momentum of reading it was broken by having to work out what the word should be! Such a shame because the book was lovely! I would rather pay for a better checked version.
The only thing that spoilt it a little for me was the format of the book. It was free on Kobo but didn’t seem to have gone through any checks; most of the words were gobbledygook so the momentum of reading it was broken by having to work out what the word should be! Such a shame because the book was lovely! I would rather pay for a better checked version.
August 4, 2025
The book was of to a great start, but with a 100 pages still to go, it dragged, then the ending was rushed.
A pity…
A pity…
September 2, 2014
SUMMARY: Beatrice is one of what she calls the nouveau-pauvre class. Descended from an old, titled English family: her great-grandmother was Lady Lovelace, whose Wateau portrait adorns in the shabby flat that Beatrice lives in with her class conscious Aunt Anastasia, who will not let Beatrice associate with any of the neighbors because they are 'better' than their circumstance. Beatrice's only friend to speak of is their maid-of-all-work, Nellie Million. When Nellie inherits a fortune from an Uncle in America, becoming a millionairess overnight, Beatrice installs herself as Nellie's maid to help her befuddled, Cockney-accented former maid navigate the unfamiliar waters of the moneyed classes. It's a fish out of water story on both sides: With her accent, her red, chapped hands and the garish dresses (like a certain 'cerise one') Nellie chooses when Beatrice can't prevent her, Nellie doesn't seem like anyone's idea of an Heiress. And despite the neat and trim black and white maid's uniform she enthusiastically done,Beatrice is no one's idea of a maid with her cultured accent and poise. No sooner have the girls installed themselves with several expensive (and empty) suitcases into a suite at a fancy hotel, than Beatrice has her work cut out for her trying keep Nellie from falling for the Honorable James Burke,a dashing fortune hunter with a penniless castle in Ireland and a devastatingly charming smile. Add to that the mild-mannered bank manager who asks Beatrice to marry her, and Nellie's American cousin Hiram P. Jessup who's come to contest Nellie's claim to the money (or possibly share it through marriage), a lost Diamond and a whole house full of thespians and comedienne's including the flamboyant Vi Vassity, and things are bound to get interesting!
REVIEW:
I really, really enjoyed this. I loved the chatty first person narrative, the tongue in cheek humor, the relationship between Nellie and Beatrice, and all the love interests. The end took a serious turn a bit quickly, but it also resolved it just as quickly, so I didn't mind very much.
REVIEW:
I really, really enjoyed this. I loved the chatty first person narrative, the tongue in cheek humor, the relationship between Nellie and Beatrice, and all the love interests. The end took a serious turn a bit quickly, but it also resolved it just as quickly, so I didn't mind very much.
November 28, 2016
I really enjoyed this book!
It took me a few chapters to get used to the narrative style but once I "settled" down to it, I loved the book. I wish someone would make it into a movie. I might just start the screenplay!
My only objection was the lack of focus on the mystery of the stolen gem. I would have liked a little more classic mystery novel type of stuff around that, more chance to guess whodunnit.
But, this was a romance, straight forward, and I was absolutely swept away in it and thrilled with the ending.
It took me a few chapters to get used to the narrative style but once I "settled" down to it, I loved the book. I wish someone would make it into a movie. I might just start the screenplay!
My only objection was the lack of focus on the mystery of the stolen gem. I would have liked a little more classic mystery novel type of stuff around that, more chance to guess whodunnit.
But, this was a romance, straight forward, and I was absolutely swept away in it and thrilled with the ending.
August 29, 2012
4.5 stars
I loved this book. It surprised me with its wit and humor and charm. I would have given it 5 stars except the ending was slightly more abrupt than I would have liked.
Although it was rather predictable, I enjoyed the authors writing and found myself excited each day to get back to reading it.
I definitely will be checking out more of Ruck's books.
I loved this book. It surprised me with its wit and humor and charm. I would have given it 5 stars except the ending was slightly more abrupt than I would have liked.
Although it was rather predictable, I enjoyed the authors writing and found myself excited each day to get back to reading it.
I definitely will be checking out more of Ruck's books.
January 2, 2016
This is a fun idea, with the mistress becoming the maid and vice versa, but the execution falls a bit flat. I found the action dragged a little, and the jingoism towards the end really began to grate for me.
February 14, 2011
Another oldie but goodie :) I love this kind of book.
March 19, 2015
This was mostly fine but the virulent antisemitism ruined it for me. I just can't get with a book part of whose happy ending is to put the two German Jewish characters in a camp.
January 2, 2018
Great, fun book to read.
March 10, 2024
Well. It's been a while since I've enjoyed such an incompatible ending relationship.
Beatrice Lovelace, essentially an Anne Eliot, takes a job as a maid working for her former maid who has just inherited a million dollars.
Her intent is something like My Fair Lady. Unfortunately, she has some blind spots of her own and those are promptly taken advantage of by persons who don't travel in the best of circles and some who do. I'm sold on Ruck as an author worth exploring.
The result is a cleaner version of Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day with hints of DE Stevenson and Margery Sharp. Unfortunately, like Sharp, there is some blatant antisemitism which dropped it to a 3.5. It would slip out of the plot and then pop back up in 30-40 pages. Basically like Heyer's Grand Sophy.
Beatrice Lovelace, essentially an Anne Eliot, takes a job as a maid working for her former maid who has just inherited a million dollars.
Her intent is something like My Fair Lady. Unfortunately, she has some blind spots of her own and those are promptly taken advantage of by persons who don't travel in the best of circles and some who do. I'm sold on Ruck as an author worth exploring.
The result is a cleaner version of Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day with hints of DE Stevenson and Margery Sharp. Unfortunately, like Sharp, there is some blatant antisemitism which dropped it to a 3.5. It would slip out of the plot and then pop back up in 30-40 pages. Basically like Heyer's Grand Sophy.
December 24, 2018
Cute story that drags on a little too long. Or maybe it was just the rather clumsy premise that made the story pall. Why not make Beatrice Miss Million's companion? It's both more plausible and would have worked better for the novel since it's likely a companion would attend social events rather than always staying behind. But I suppose an author who gives an heiress the name Miss Million, a wealthy nobleman the name Lord Fourcastles, and a lively actress the name Vi Vassity is not too concerned with plausibility. Bottom line, it was entertaining enough but could have been better.
October 8, 2023
Lo que me ha costado terminarlo...
January 1, 2025
I liked the romantic tangles and early 20th century details. Content: anti-Semitism.
Read free of charge via the Gutenberg Project.
Read free of charge via the Gutenberg Project.
September 8, 2016
This is my second Berta book, read just after 'The Disturbing Charm' and I really quite like her direct, smart writing style!
Miss Million's maid is a story of Beatrice Lovelace and her ex-maid, now mistress Nellie Million. Beatrice's family has very illustrious, aristocratic roots but the family is now impoverished, herself orphaned and so she lives with her haughty aunt with Nellie as their maid. Nellie comes into money when an unknown uncle passes away and bequeaths his fortune to her and in an instant the maid is now an millionaire heiress. Beatrice later escapes her oppressive life with her aunt and goes to work for Nellie as her lady's maid.
This book is fast-paced and full of larger than life characters. It is written in first person which I normally don't like but oddly this is the first book where I wasn't constantly irritated with the tone. Other small writer ticks are the constant reference to certain traits eg. 'those blue eyes and black lashes' or 'London's premier comedienne' but again for some reason in other books they make me tear my hair out but I glossed over them with nothing more than an eye-roll at the 50th mention. Likeable writing I've noticed, permits more sins to be forgiven haha!
Beatrice herself is a shrewd, slightly snobby commentator and Berta's writing is infused with rather amusing life anecdotes like:
"I really think it is wonderful the way Americans will burst at once into a flood of friendliness that it will take the average young Englishmen at least three or four years of intimate acquaintance to achieve."
However for a romance novelist, Berta Ruck's greatest failing is lack of time spent with the OTP/H&h. Her heroes are always flitting in and out of the book, absent for chunks and reappearing for a scene to dart off again on some secret man business. There is never enough interaction between Beatrice and her bad boy, plus it's all very shallow too. The punchiness of her climaxes are always hurt because of it as with very little to go off we're meant to buy into his undying professions of love and wish them happy ever after?
The book does explore interesting outlooks on love between our two heroines Beatrice and Nellie, who both have different views moulded by their life experiences. One would love a man and stick by him even if he turned out to be a thief, a murderer, a liar etc. that "if one cared for a man, the 'caring' would go on, whatever one found him out in." While the other would have a foundation built on truth and trust. She would stand by him through thick and thin so long as she trusted him. The book also offers insights into the prominent man-view of the time that women were treasures to be idolised and made queen of (his) home. Oh dear.
The early 20th century is such an interesting time to read about as it was such a time of change. The book is set in 1914, just before the Great War broke out. A word of warning to readers is that the book does contain the British middle-class/upper class racial viewpoints of the day including less than flattering characterisations of German Jews and passing references to other races. Americans apparently were totally en vogue with their quaint accents and cheerful dispositions.
Overall, I thoroughly wish I will one day find a Berta Ruck book with ample interaction between the hero and heroine but as for the ride, this book is a jolly good one.
Rating: 4 queer cobra-women
Rereadability: One day, as the book is full of wonderful characters. However, her books on the whole are too shallow to warrant multiple readings.
Miss Million's maid is a story of Beatrice Lovelace and her ex-maid, now mistress Nellie Million. Beatrice's family has very illustrious, aristocratic roots but the family is now impoverished, herself orphaned and so she lives with her haughty aunt with Nellie as their maid. Nellie comes into money when an unknown uncle passes away and bequeaths his fortune to her and in an instant the maid is now an millionaire heiress. Beatrice later escapes her oppressive life with her aunt and goes to work for Nellie as her lady's maid.
This book is fast-paced and full of larger than life characters. It is written in first person which I normally don't like but oddly this is the first book where I wasn't constantly irritated with the tone. Other small writer ticks are the constant reference to certain traits eg. 'those blue eyes and black lashes' or 'London's premier comedienne' but again for some reason in other books they make me tear my hair out but I glossed over them with nothing more than an eye-roll at the 50th mention. Likeable writing I've noticed, permits more sins to be forgiven haha!
Beatrice herself is a shrewd, slightly snobby commentator and Berta's writing is infused with rather amusing life anecdotes like:
"I really think it is wonderful the way Americans will burst at once into a flood of friendliness that it will take the average young Englishmen at least three or four years of intimate acquaintance to achieve."
However for a romance novelist, Berta Ruck's greatest failing is lack of time spent with the OTP/H&h. Her heroes are always flitting in and out of the book, absent for chunks and reappearing for a scene to dart off again on some secret man business. There is never enough interaction between Beatrice and her bad boy, plus it's all very shallow too. The punchiness of her climaxes are always hurt because of it as with very little to go off we're meant to buy into his undying professions of love and wish them happy ever after?
The book does explore interesting outlooks on love between our two heroines Beatrice and Nellie, who both have different views moulded by their life experiences. One would love a man and stick by him even if he turned out to be a thief, a murderer, a liar etc. that "if one cared for a man, the 'caring' would go on, whatever one found him out in." While the other would have a foundation built on truth and trust. She would stand by him through thick and thin so long as she trusted him. The book also offers insights into the prominent man-view of the time that women were treasures to be idolised and made queen of (his) home. Oh dear.
The early 20th century is such an interesting time to read about as it was such a time of change. The book is set in 1914, just before the Great War broke out. A word of warning to readers is that the book does contain the British middle-class/upper class racial viewpoints of the day including less than flattering characterisations of German Jews and passing references to other races. Americans apparently were totally en vogue with their quaint accents and cheerful dispositions.
Overall, I thoroughly wish I will one day find a Berta Ruck book with ample interaction between the hero and heroine but as for the ride, this book is a jolly good one.
Rating: 4 queer cobra-women
Rereadability: One day, as the book is full of wonderful characters. However, her books on the whole are too shallow to warrant multiple readings.
March 9, 2022
This is my favorite novel by Berta Ruck! I think it's because it's really fun, and surprising. The characters don't take themselves too seriously and are spontaneous. Also I had come to expect a certain type of love story from Berta Ruck, but in this one she turns her patterns on their head and instead of matching up the steady, quiet young man with the demure girl, she has a more lively pairing. I appreciated that. I also liked that the characters in this book had to take more initiative!
One note, this is an older book and you will find that there are several sexist and racist references. Those didn't sit well with me, but unfortunately, it is an accurate representation of the timeframe it was written in. Just a heads up about that though if you do decide to read it.
One note, this is an older book and you will find that there are several sexist and racist references. Those didn't sit well with me, but unfortunately, it is an accurate representation of the timeframe it was written in. Just a heads up about that though if you do decide to read it.
May 26, 2011
definitely a girl-centric book. I would best describe it as a Victorian Clueless (yes, I know Clueless is actually based on Emma) in that its a light read full of shopping, parties, and talking about boys. But its a lot of fun.
December 23, 2012
Loved it
November 14, 2016
The first Berta Ruck I have read, and the last. The end just about squeezed it into a second star. But chick lit is not my thing, even if it's old enough to be on PG.
May 27, 2010
Berta Ruck's books are just fun to read. Hopefully, Suzanne Allaine will edit more soon!
July 24, 2011
I enjoyed this book- and the hilarious adventure that Miss Million's Maid was swept up in.
October 31, 2012
This story was simple and sweet and good clean fun and that was all I ever wanted from it.
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