In Search of Heaven (Barrington Family Saga, Volume 1)

The story has lots of detail and vividly written, with a "Cinderella Twist". The characters are easy to visualize, and suited to the time frame. The struggles of the English aristocratic way of life are shown from both the Lords' point of view and the servants. The characters internal changes bring surprising developments as the story progresses. It is a great series starter. The next book is a must read. Anita Stansfield is one of my favorite authors, but I would have appreciated more dialogue.

The main character is Eleanor, who has worked her way from cleaning chimneys and other jobs throughout the Barrington household to scrubbing pots in the kitchen. She loves to read, and goes to town every Wednesday to borrow a book from the local book store. On her way in to town one day she a book that had been left behind in the mud. Knowing that the owner could be long gone, she was advised to keep it as her own. She read the book thoroughly over and over and knew it to be true, to be scripture and vowed that she would some day afford the passage to America where the book had been printed. Mrs. Barrington died while giving birth to her third child.Mr. Barrington now needed to find a Governess for his two children, to teach them and provide them with compassion and comfort after their mother's death. He asked Mrs. Bixby to bring all eligible women who worked in the household and were literate to come for an interview. She went reluctantly, though knowing that the new position would bring greater wages and indeed a better means to be able to save for passage to America. Mr. Barrington eventually asked her to marry him, with no promise of love. Telling her that they would all be going to America, it would be a great adventure and he would be a great husband, very loyal and fulfill everything, give her anything. America turns out to be a grand adventure, I love how at times it gets in to Mr. Barrington's head and he tells us what he is thinking at different points in the book, even though Eleanor is the main character and we are in her head most of the time. Well worth reading... I can't wait to get to the next book, after I have had some more sleep of course.

Good reading. Loved the story. Loved the time period. I look forward to reading the next book in the series :-)