A Countess Below Stairs, Eva Ibbotson.
I just finished this delicious book. It started out rather droll (who knows if it was funny ... it kept using words I didn't really understand, like droll and there weren't enough context clues that I could grasp to really "get it"). The author knows way more than I do about music, art, jewels, history, you name it. I was also having a difficult time remembering the names and keeping people straight. However, I stuck with it and was greatly rewarded. What a fun story! The book is about Anna, a countess in Russia. Her family looses everything during the Bolshevick revolution and she becomes a maid. She is someone I would like to be more like, humble, hard working, kind, fun and full of light. Oh, and the best part of all... Love, love, love conquers all.