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If you are a fan of the
TV series Downton Abbey or have wondered what a servant’s
life would have been like a hundred years ago, you can find
out in here. This book lifts the lid on most aspects of below
stairs life and gives a good picture of domestic service,
warts and all. The author looks at it not from a modern perspective,
but from that of the people who lived then, so there are plenty
of references to the alternatives to service and their pros
and cons. There are quotes from contemporary sources, from
books written by ex-servants and by their employers, among
others giving the topic a good all-round coverage.
Chapters divide the book into themed sections so you can read
all about the members of staff that made up a household and
what they did, what happened during special occasions, pay
and daily duties, time off and getting hired and fired, typical
backgrounds servants came from and ultimately what put an
end to the whole system. There are illustrations from old
books and papers, menus and recipes, as well as boxes containing
quotes from both upstairs and downstairs. Although this is
quite a short book (under two hundred pages), it is concisely
written and gives a good picture of what it would have been
like to be in service back then. If you are already fairly
well informed about all this then this is not the book for
you, as it is aimed more at the newcomer to this period. So
if you are somebody who has perhaps watched Downton Abbey
or read a few novels and want to know more, it is a good introduction
to the topic, complete with a list of more in-depth books
for further reading.
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