Below Stairs
The Bestselling Memoirs of a 1920s Kitchen Maid
Published on 4. March 2011
288 pages
978-1-4472-0040-6 (ISBN)
Description
Arriving at the great houses of 1920s 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 5.30am 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.
Brilliantly evoking the long-vanished world of masters and servants, Below Stairs is the remarkable true story of an indomitable woman, who, though her position was lowly, never stopped aiming high.
'Enormous gusto, salty humour, wisdom' Evening Standard
'Shrewd, unabashed, wickedly funny, a unique front-line report of her life's experiences' Jack De Manio, BBC
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 5.30am 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.
Brilliantly evoking the long-vanished world of masters and servants, Below Stairs is the remarkable true story of an indomitable woman, who, though her position was lowly, never stopped aiming high.
'Enormous gusto, salty humour, wisdom' Evening Standard
'Shrewd, unabashed, wickedly funny, a unique front-line report of her life's experiences' Jack De Manio, BBC
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Pan Macmillan
Target group
Interest Age: From 18 years
File size
0,41 MB
ISBN-13
978-1-4472-0040-6 (9781447200406)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Book
03/2011
Pan Books
€11.50
Article not available at the moment
Person
Margaret Powell was born in 1907 in Hove. Aged fifteen, she went into service as a kitchen maid, eventually progressing to the position of cook. In 1968 the first volume of her memoirs, Below Stairs, was published to instant success. She died in 1984.
