Below Stairs by Margaret Powell

 

What a delightful book even though the subject of being a kitchen maid in a wealthy household was far from delightful.  The author had a sense of humor that made the book fast paced, funny, and interesting.

This book was the memoir of a "real" kitchen maid.  It definitely was not a pleasant life, but the author kept the book light and factual. The household staff would work from sunup to sunset with no conveniences that we have today in the kitchen or for cleaning to a shine.  

The staff would have to fire up the coal stove early in the morning, cook and clean up nonstop all day and with no appreciation from their employer.  All food had to be made from scratch, but the food definitely was not healthy, though.   Households used a lot of butter, eggs, and cream and other fat-filled ingredients.

The author explained the drudgery and hardships of the maids and household staff in a wealthy household and how the majority of the staff were from poor families that couldn't  keep their own young children in their household because they had no money and not enough food to feed them.

It definitely was not a glamorous job, and there was even a class structure within the staff.  I wonder if it is still like that today among household staff.  I would guess yes.  The author also talked about how she never had a good self esteem because of how early she had to begin work and how she was treated for the majority of her life.

Despite the difficulty of this job and what it does to people's lives emotionally this is most definitely a book to read if you enjoy the lives of the English and any household that has a staff for their everyday living. 

I give this book a cleanly scrubbed and well cooked 5/5.  ENJOY!!

My son bought this book for me because he knows I enjoy learning about the lives of English household staff members.  This is ONE of my Christmas presents for him.....he wanted me to read this by the end of the year.  :)  I am glad I did.

Merry Christmas, Mark.  :)