Servants: A Downstairs View of Twentieth-century Britain

Forty years later, Winston Churchill's valet was unimpressed to find that the former prime minister was incapable of dressing himself without assistance. The great men who shaped 20th-century Britain were able to do so because ordinary life was taken care of by servants.

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And, as Lucy Lethbridge reveals in her fascinating history of domestic service, this was true even for socialist radicals. In the s the novelist and socialist campaigner Ethel Mannin had a maid who called her "madam" whose assistance enabled her employer to busy herself with abolishing class distinctions. Indeed, it becomes clear in Lethbridge's account that the history of 20th-century Britain can be told as a history of the changing status of servants. They proliferated in the Edwardian home, which was buttressed by a "bustling subterranean township" staffed by skivvies, slaveys, grafters, tweenies between maids , useful maids just below lady's maids , odd men and even the occasional gong man.

The Duke of Devonshire found that servants were required to look after the needs of a house party of 50 people. At this stage it was common for the employers to be whimsical and often obsessive in the demands made on their staff. Egg yolks throughout England were diligently centred to grace the breakfast tables of the rich. And it was crucial that these servants remained invisible as well as ubiquitous.

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• Servants: A Downstairs View of Twentieth-century Britain, by Lucy Lethbridge – review!

They were provided with non-creaking shoes for this purpose, and houses were designed with hidden doorways on landings so that housemaids disturbed at work could make a hasty escape. Servants became somewhat scarcer during the first world war, when women were delighted to be offered jobs that took them outside the home and granted them free time.

And they reappeared between the wars when women went back into service to free up jobs for the unemployed men queuing for the dole. The history of domestic service in this period reveals the limitations of the liberation of women brought about by the war. At this stage, master-servant relationships became rather more embarrassing.

Bohemians such as Mannin still relied on servants but oscillated between expecting the traditional invisibility and treating servants as fellow human beings who rather awkwardly shared their home. This could result in antagonism on both sides.

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A Downstairs View of Twentieth century Britain: Novelist Thomas Hardy was obsessed with cobwebs. Each night, like a sadistic housewife, he gloomily inspected the galleries of his house, looking for webs his parlourmaid might have missed. They were silent, obsequious and omnipresent. Most servants in a typical British household in colonial India were men ayah s were exceptions. The cook ran the kitchen. The derzi , or tailor, stitched clothes on the verandah. I learned quite a bit from this book, both about how common it used to be to have servants in the home, and about how the role of servant evolved over time, until servants finally began to disappear and how the burden of running a household fell on the woman of the house.

It is crazy to think about how lifestyle gurus such as Martha Stewart exhort individuals women, usually to aspire to the fussy perfection and elegance of an Edwardian-era noble considering that this kind of domestic perfection required sometimes dozens of hired help. It is interesting to think about how western society has gone from in-home servants to an externalized service industry. This book gave me a lot to think about, and while it was fairly exhaustive, it actually made me think of many more questions about servants and service I would like answers for.

Quite frankly, I couldn't finish this book. I suspect many other readers will be attracted to this title for the same reason I was, interest in knowing more based on enjoyment of the show Downton Abbey. Unfortunately, poor organization and repetitive information drag a book that had the research and promise to be a truly interesting read into something that became unreadable for me. My primary issue was a lack of organization. Each chapter seemed to rehash similar information, cover broad periods Quite frankly, I couldn't finish this book.

Each chapter seemed to rehash similar information, cover broad periods of time, and revisit similar themes. The lack of narrative direction made this book feel like a poorly organized undergraduate thesis rather than the fascinating body of research it could and should have been. There are moments of organized thought and direction, which kept me hanging on as long as I did, but I frankly can't recommend this to anyone who doesn't have the patience to plod through such an immense amount of information with so little direction.

Apr 02, Shari Larsen rated it really liked it Shelves: This book explores the culture of domestic service workers in Britain, from around the s through the s, and the families that employed them, and how the two world wars affected those occupations. The author details the work of cooks, parlor maids, footmen, scullery maids, butlers, etc, through interviews with former domestic workers, and through letters and diaries. This was a very interesting read, and I really enjoyed it, though there were 2 or 3 chapters that to me, seemed a little too This book explores the culture of domestic service workers in Britain, from around the s through the s, and the families that employed them, and how the two world wars affected those occupations.

This was a very interesting read, and I really enjoyed it, though there were 2 or 3 chapters that to me, seemed a little too bogged down with repetitious details, but overall, this is a great book both for history lovers, and those that enjoy historical fiction and just want to learn more about the lives of servants. I really enjoyed the many interesting stories that the workers themselves had to tell about their employers. A really interesting read, relying heavily on interviews and recordings with servants of the time.

It does a great job describing the changing patterns of domestic service across the 20th century, especially on how the two wars changed things so much. The book is as much about the master as it is the servant, and some of the stories here are eye-opening - some people used to get their loose change washed by their servants - every night! There's a very small bit of info about the Raj, would have li A really interesting read, relying heavily on interviews and recordings with servants of the time.

There's a very small bit of info about the Raj, would have liked more of that. It also doesn't really cover modern service much, though that's not really the focus of the book. Jan 07, TheRealMelbelle rated it really liked it. This is a very interesting book.

Servants: A Downstairs View of Twentieth-Century Britain by Lucy Lethbridge – review

It was well written and did a good job dealing with the subject of domestic servants in light of the changing culture and needs of Britain primarily from Edwardian times until the s. There was such societal change and the role and employment of servants during that time was complex. Lucy Lethbridge organized a lot of material in a very readable account of this fascinating I became interested in this book after hearing an intriguing Fresh Air interview on NPR. Lucy Lethbridge organized a lot of material in a very readable account of this fascinating segment of history.

I will never romanticize the servant's life again! Jan 13, Alison rated it really liked it. I enjoyed this a lot. When you watch Downton Abbey, think of the servants in the kitchen, washing dishes without gloves or even a dishcloth because fingers could get into the small places better. Or stirring a pot of boiling eggs so the yolks would be centered. There's nothing new here but it's presented well, including interviews with men and women I enjoyed this a lot.

There's nothing new here but it's presented well, including interviews with men and women who had been in service. May 06, Mary Simses rated it really liked it. Even when the plots were weak, I watched because it was such eye candy. Anyway, I bought the book and enjoyed it.

Book Review | Servants: A Downstairs View of Twentieth-century Britain

It's well written and well researched, with many anecdotes supplied by people who had been in service a number of whom the author herself interviewed. Downton Abbey would have been the exception, not the rule. Life was incredibly hard for most people who worked as servants in the grand British homes of yesteryear - or even in the smaller homes, because only the poorest of the poor had no servants at all. Yes, of course there were employers who were kind and treated their staff well.

But not that many.

Book Review | Servants: A Downstairs View of Twentieth-century Britain - Livemint

The book is well worth a read if you're interested in this kind of thing, as I am. Aug 16, Inder rated it it was amazing Shelves: This is an excellent piece of history writing - I found it utterly engaging and fascinating from start to finish! Sep 09, Jennifer rated it it was amazing. I recently became a "Downton Abbey" addict and thus wanted to explore in greater depth what being a servant really meant in 19th century Britain and beyond.

This non fiction is a broad sketch of servitude well organized into sections which show the shifting of perceptions of it throughout time. Having a servant or servants went from being a symbol of status for a family to something that marked them as being wasteful and unwilling to embrace new technologies.

Throughout each section you'll hear I recently became a "Downton Abbey" addict and thus wanted to explore in greater depth what being a servant really meant in 19th century Britain and beyond. Throughout each section you'll hear actual servant opinions as well as family ones.

You'll read about a Lord so befuddled at how to open his room window that he smashes it with his cane in anger during the absence of an attendant's help. You'll read about those families who saw a financial help in sending their daughters and sons into service at a young age even if the children had other interests. You'll read about servants so good at being servants that they were often confused as being Master of the House, though of course not at the fault of the servant.

You'll hear servants opinions of their bosses, each other and of their own lives. As time elapsed and there were other financial opportunities to be tried, you'll hear from families displeased at their ability to secure good employees. You'll see the pressures the family's faced in terms of being perceived as "old fashioned" if they maintained staff in their homes and refused the technological advances that would make those servants obsolete.

You'll hear servants speak on wanting technological help to perform their duties. Basically you'll hear from all angles how service actually was without polishing and how nowadays the majority of the servants for there are still some are imported from elsewhere and how during WWII, many German servants were put into internment camps on the Isle of Wight for fear they were Nazi spies.

Dec 15, peggy murphy mercado rated it really liked it. I just finished, 'Servants: As I stated previously, this was a book that I had won through Goodreads Giveaways. I am glad that I read this book; which was quite a detailed history about home in general and the way in which the English redefined how their homes looked and ran. I learned some things; that I hadn't known. For instance, I had no idea how ingrained the whole concept of service seemed to be I just finished, 'Servants: For instance, I had no idea how ingrained the whole concept of service seemed to be for much of British Society.

I had always assumed that the people who served, worked exclusively for the extremely wealthy.

Lethbridge writes a good deal about middle class families employing servants. Lethbridge also covers wwll, a transitional time with regard to service in the home. I did not know that people who fled from Nazi occupation of various European countries, came to England, working in service. It was interesting to see parallels between those who serve and the struggle for the English Homemaker to both learn domestic skills and to define herself.

On another note, I don't know if Downton Abbey used this book as a reference. As a result of having read the first couple of chapters as I was watching the 1st episode of season 4, I understood some of the behaviors of the characters both upstairs and downstairs on the show in a different way. If you enjoy social history, women's studies, different cultures certainly the idea of barely making ends meet and yet employing household staff comes from if not a different culture, then a different mindset. I think that you will enjoy this book.

Jan 02, Lesley rated it really liked it Shelves: Remains of the Day.

A Downstairs View of Twentieth-century Britain

These fictional depictions of early 20th century British households have nurtured an obsessive fascination with butlers and ladies maids, 14 piece silver dinner sets, and the illusions of a simpler, more gracious time. Lucy Lethbridge slices through the sentimentality with the deadliness of a finely honed carving knife, revealing a history of domestic service that is far less rosy than what one sees onscreen. Along the way, sh Upstairs Downstairs. Along the way, she provides illuminating insights into the inherent snobbery of ostentatious foodie-ism, serving home grown freshly prepared produce at every meal was a sign of having a large staff , the origins of British resistance to technology and central heating, who needs labor saving devices when you have an army of skivvies?

Upper and middle class feminism comes in for criticism as well; a woman's ability to cultivate "the inner life" was dependent on another, poorer woman's availability to run the household and care for the children. Oct 05, Lois rated it it was amazing Shelves: Um wow this book has everything, detailed accounts of servants and those they served.

Fascinating details on servants daily life, career track, as well as life both inside of service and outside of service. This equally covers the class system and distinctions both within society at large as well as society below stairs and behind green baize doors. Service barely stabilizes, a very much smaller and less presumptuous affair than in Edwardia Um wow this book has everything, detailed accounts of servants and those they served. Service barely stabilizes, a very much smaller and less presumptuous affair than in Edwardian heyday. WW2 just kills whatever is left of that style of living, very much to the benefit of the rest of the country.

The vast poverty that existed across the country, while the Aristocracy lived so unbelievably better was horrifying. To think poverty lived next door to extreme abundance like that. It's also fascinating how the war as well as fair taxation for the Aristocracy took the class down so quickly. The nostalgia for the wealthy of that time period puzzles me. I love Downton Abbey but the treatment of those below stairs is vastly and unrealistically idealized. The Aristocracy controlled massive amounts of wealth and largely ignored the suffering of the poor.

Only taking advantage of them in service. Nov 24, Kate rated it liked it. I've read better books from the s, when Upstairs Downstairs was hot and Edwardian servants were still around to be interviewed with more first-hand accounts of servant life, but this book, despite its overly ambitious subtitle, does something those books didn't: You can feel that Lethbridge did a lot of reading before she wrote this, I've read better books from the s, when Upstairs Downstairs was hot and Edwardian servants were still around to be interviewed with more first-hand accounts of servant life, but this book, despite its overly ambitious subtitle, does something those books didn't: