Below stairs the classic kitchen maid's memoir that inspired "Upstairs, downstairs" and "Downton Abbey"
"A kitchen-maid's through-the-key hole memoir of life in the great houses of England--now a bestseller in the UK. At fifteen, she arrived at the servants' entrance to begin her life as a kitchen maid in 1920s England. The lowest of the low, her world was one of stoves to be blacked, v...
| Main Author: | Powell, Margaret, 1907-1984. |
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| Format: | Books Print Book |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
New York :
St. Martin's Press,
2012.
|
| Edition: | 1st U.S. ed. |
| Subjects: |
| Summary: |
"A kitchen-maid's through-the-key hole memoir of life in the great houses of England--now a bestseller in the UK. At fifteen, she arrived at the servants' entrance to begin her life as a kitchen maid in 1920s England. The lowest of the low, her world was one of stoves to be blacked, vegetables to be scrubbed, mistresses to be appeased, and even bootlaces to be ironed. Work started at 5:30am and went on until after dark. In this captivating memoir, Margaret tells her tales of service with wit, warmth, and a sharp eye. From the gentleman with a penchant for stroking housemaids' curlers, to raucous tea dances with errand boys, to the heartbreaking story of Agnes the pregnant under-parlourmaid, fired for being seduced by her mistress's nephew, Below Stairs brilliantly evokes the longvanished world of masters and servants portrayed in Downton Abbey and Upstairs, Downstairs. Rocketing back on to the UK bestseller lists almost fifty years after its initial publication, this is the remarkable true story of an indomitable woman, who, though her position was lowly, never stopped aiming high"-- |
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| Item Description: |
Orignally published: London : Davies, 1968. |
| Physical Description: |
212 p. ; 22 cm. |
| ISBN: |
9781250005441 (hardback) 1250005442 (hardback) 9781429952446 (e-book) 142995244X (e-book) |
| Author Notes: |
MARGARET POWELL was born in 1907 in Hove, and left school at the age of 13 to start working. At 14, she got a job in a hotel laundry room, and a year later went into service as a kitchen maid, eventually progressing to the position of cook, before marrying a milkman called Albert. In 1968 the first volume of her memoirs, Below Stairs , was published to instant success and turned her into a celebrity. She died in 1984. |