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Below Stairs: The Classic Kitchen Maid's Memoir That Inspired "Upstairs, Downstairs" And "Downton Abbey" (1968)

by Margaret Powell(Favorite Author)

3.53 of 5 Votes: 5

ISBN

1250005442 (ISBN13: 9781250005441)

languge

English

genre

Memoir & Autobiography

publisher

St. Martin's Press

review 1: Good, but not great. The memoir of downstairs cook, who worked primarily in the 20's and 30's. The book was written in the 1960's, when the author was, herself, in her 60's. She was very forward thinking for her age and had lots of feminist viewpoints. I learned a lot of anecdotal information, and this book was clearly written by the author, not a ghost writer, which gave it an authentic feel. However, nothing that was earth-shattering, or that changed my world view was revealed.All in all, it was a very quick, pleasant read.
review 2: Author Margaret Howell's memoires were used as a historical reference for Downton Abbey. Very enjoyable book, short, a page turner, and a peek into a life most of us have never seen or known. I thought people who worked as ser... morevants at least got nice, clean living conditions and plenty of food. In the author case, she went from near starving conditions at home to warmth and plenty of food when she "went into service". But Margaret does complain that the rich have it so much better than the servants. Her rooms were dark and gloomy. Of course she wasn't in them much except to sleep. The furniture was old and didn't match. And surprisingly, servants were nearly invisable to their employers. Margaret tells us her great desire was to get married and be taken care of. A marrired woman in those days would never work, servant or not. Margaret wasn't a beauty so finding a guy, especially when girls greatly outnumbered them, was difficult. But she eventually got her man and left "service." Margaret died in 1984. I felt like she was my friend. less

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Reviews (see all)

reedwan

This book was such a delight for a weekend "fun read."I, like everybody else and their Downton Abbey-loving mother, picked up this book in hopes to read hilarious or insightful anecdotes about kitchen maids, footmen, and the posh life upstairs, and to recapture beloved moments from a favorite BBC show. Margaret Powell's memoir is filled with meticulous details. She is brutally honest about work, about morals, about society, about her employers and fellow coworkers, and though laboring in a hot kitchen with a critical cook or scrubbing brass door handles with fingers riddled with chilblains, she maintains a positivity infused with hope of future success (in marriage) and happiness. Though domestic service was not her first option, and though she often referenced her ignorance when it came to certain life issues, she knew how to navigate her career in the kitchen and come out of the experience successfully.

Raven

I don't watch "Downton Abbey," and I've never seen "Upstairs, Downstairs," but I have always been interested in the "double life" of houses with servants. Mrs. Powell is not a writer, but she performs a service by writing this memoir. It's a real-life look at how people once worked and played and and thought. In the way that Powell just lays it all out in chronological order, the book reminded me of Laura Ingalls Wilder's "Pioneer Girl."

mike

Couldn't finish it. It was fine just not interesting enough to keep going.

bala

Great background biography for Downton Abby fans.

vampanime

Very interesting read!

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