Below stairs the classic kitchen maid's memoir that inspired Upstairs, Downstairs and Downton Abbey
Arriving at the great houses of 1920's London, fifteen-year-old Margaret's life in service was about to begin. As a kitchen maid, the lowest of the low, she entered an entirely new world; one of stoves to be blacked, vegetables to be scrubbed, mistresses to be appeased, and even bootlaces...
| Main Author: | Powell, Margaret, 1907-1984 (Author) |
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| Format: | Books Print Book |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
New York, N.Y. :
St. Martin's Griffin,
2012.
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| Subjects: |
| Summary: |
Arriving at the great houses of 1920's London, fifteen-year-old Margaret's life in service was about to begin. As a kitchen maid, the lowest of the low, she entered an entirely new world; one of stoves to be blacked, vegetables to be scrubbed, mistresses to be appeased, and even bootlaces to be ironed. Work started at 5.30 a.m. and went on until after dark. It was a far cry from her childhood on the beaches of Hove, where money and food were scarce, but warmth and laughter never were. Yet from the gentleman with a penchant for stroking the 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, Margaret's tales of her time in service are told with wit, warmth, and a sharp eye for the prejudices of her situation. |
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| Item Description: |
Originally published in Great Britain in 1968 by Peter Davies Ltd. |
| Physical Description: |
212 pages ; 21 cm |
| ISBN: |
1250023211 9781250023216 |
| 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. |