Below Stairs

The first up-to-date study of servant portraiture in Britain including many previously unpublished paintings and photographs - Continues coverage of a fashionable topic which recently culminated in films such as Remains of the Day and Gosford Park - Uncovers long-forgotten lives of known servants that worked for Queen Victoria and Admiral Nelson amongst others Traditionally, portraiture in Britain has concentrated on recording the upper classes and the celebrated. Instead, Below Stairs explores the representation of the servant, be it in a grand or modest household, in the country or in the town, at the royal courts or at colleges and clubs. This groundbreaking selection of paintings and photographs tells a fascinating story about power, class and human relationships spanning over 400 years of social and economic history. Richly illustrated with works by Hogarth, Gainsborough and Stubbs, as well as unknown photographs from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, Below Stairs uncovers a fascinating hidden history of domestic life.
Featuring portraits of all ranks of servant the book illustrates the shifting organisation of households through the centuries, and the highly complex relationships between employers and employees.