Eva Ibbotson

 Anna Grazinsky is a Russian countess who is forced to leave her life of luxury after her father is killed and her family lose their wealth. She flees to England and becomes a servant at a large house called Mersham, where an aristocratic duke, Rupert Westerhome, has come to live after becoming engaged to the beautiful,but spiteful, Muriel Hardwicke. However, disaster strikes when Anna falls in love with Rupert and her true identity (a rich countess) is revealed. Can Rupert and Muriel's wedding be stopped? Can Rupert and Anna ever share a future together?

 I normally don't read books set in the past, but this was excellent. Eva Ibbotson (the author) has an amazing talent for making you like or hate a character, even if there's no reason to. I would recommend this book to 10 year olds and above, because the plot is quite complex and younger readers might not understand it.

Saskia
Age: 11
Latchmere