Life Below Stairs: True Lives of Edwardian Servants

by Alison Maloney

UPSTAIRS, an Edwardian home would have been a picture of elegance and calm, adorned with social gatherings and extravagantly envisioned dinner parties.DOWNSTAIRS, it was a hive of domestic activity, supported by a body of staff painstakingly devoted to ensuring the smooth running of the household.Brimming with family secrets, society scandal, and of course elaborate parties, dresses, and social customs, the world of an aristocratic Edwardian household as depicted on the hit show Downton Abbey has captivated millions. But what was life really like for the people who kept such a household the servants? In Life Below Stairs, international bestselling author Alison Maloney takes readers behind the scenes to reveal a lively and colorful picture of what went on "downstairs," describing servants' daily life in this now-vanished world.Detailing everything from household structure, pay and conditions, special duties, and rules and regulations, to perks, entertainment, and even romance, Maloney examines the drudgery and hardships below stairs, as well as the rewards and pleasures. Thoroughly researched and reliably informed, this charmingly illustrated volume also contains first-hand stories from the staff of the time, making it a must-read for anyone interested in the lifestyle and conduct of a bygone era.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Historical, British Literature, Biography, Adult, Edwardian

192 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 15, 2011

Reviews

[Shawn Thrasher · Rating 2 out of 5]

A colleague once referred to a book as "report fodder" - the type of disposal book that elementary-aged students use to write reports about presidents, or animals, or countries. They are almost always library books, written methodically and in a similar manner, easy to digest, baled together like straw in great sets ("mammals" or "California missions").

This book is report fodder, for adults. Probably, particularly, for three types of adults: 1. Adults like me who like reading fiction and nonfiction about Victorian and Edwardian England; 2. A similar group of folks who religiously watched Downton Abbey (I fell into this camp for two series); 3. Writers who are writing a book about Victorian and Edwardian England.

It's not poorly written. It's not well written. It's just written. With lots and lots of quotes from other, probably better, books.

These types of books are sort of like the "pink slime" that chicken nuggets are made out of. Essentially, this is a chicken nugget. It looks like a book, and it tastes like a book, but it's not really a book.

Or, as a friend called it on Goodreads: "kind of a pseudo-book."

Yep.

Exactly.

So did I read it? Yes. Did I enjoy it? When you eat chicken nuggets, you always enjoy them. I didn't throw it across the room in disgust (it was on my Ipad, so I wasn't going to do that anyway). Would I recommend it? To anyone that falls in those three groups.

But if I'm being completely honest, at least star-wise, it's a solid 2-star book.

[DeLace Munger · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think a more appropriate (but lengthier) title for this book should be "Lots of People Wrote About Their Lives as Servants and Nobles and Here's the Best Stories From Those Books So You Don't Have To Read Them".

This makes a great little source of extra information on servants in the Edwardian era for anyone who is curious (most likely Downton Abbey fans) or anyone who might happen to be an Anglophile. It was clear, concise and referenced many other works which allows the reader to do more research if one should so choose.

There were interesting advertisements from the time as well as other photos and quotes. I enjoyed it thoroughly and it was short and sweet. I'd be willing to pick this up at some point just to use as a reference in my personal library.

[Kirsty · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have to say that I was quite looking forward to reading this book, as the second series of Downton Abbey begins on TV. I thought it would make an interesting and detailed companion to the show, unfortunately as I was reading I soon realised that it wasn't going to be as entertaining as first thought.

Rather than specific, detailed accounts from real people, the book is actually a broad view of the lives of servants in the Edwardian period. The true life accounts actually come in VERY small snippets that are placed sparingly throughout the book. I found that the main part of the book covered common knowledge about the subject, and I did not find any new or exciting information. I was also annoyed that many of the quotes and information had been pulled from other books, this added to the feeling that I needed to look elsewhere for the type of details that interest me.

The book was also very short, and has rather a lot of unnecessary illustrations that did not really add anything for me. As the book is described as "true lives of Edwardian servants", it would have been nice to have some actual photos inserted to give a more authentic experience to the reader.

Overall I think this book maybe more suited to children studying history, rather than adults trying to enrich their knowledge. The book does provide a good overview, but there is nothing new to learn here. It is not really true life accounts, more a generalisation with a few true quotes here and there. I don't think that this should be marketed to the fans of Downton Abbey, as it previously has been. As adult fans of the show will be left sorely disappointed.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Domestic servants are now rare indeed, but over one hundred years ago domestic service was the largest form of employment in the UK. In the 1911 census there were 1.3 million people who worked below stairs, usually in middle class homes. As other job opportunities became available, such as working in factories or as typists, the idea of working in service became far less attractive - unsurprisingly, as it entailed extremely long hours and little personal freedom. By the end of WWI, the end of the golden age of domestic service was over.

This book gives a good overview of this era - looking at the relations between the servants, their jobs and status, life in a country house, etc. On the downside, if you have read other books on this subject, there is really nothing new in here. The book is liberally peppered with quotes from books such as the excellent 'Lost Voices of the Edwardians' and 'Keeping Their Place: Domestic Service in the Country House'. In a way it is just a collection of quotes which have been repackaged. So, if this is the first book you are reading on the subject, you will almost certainly enjoy it, but otherwise you have probably read it before.

[Pamela(AllHoney) · Rating 4 out of 5]

The life of the servant class during the Victorian/Edwardian era. I found this book very informative about the lives of these people. I certainly have a lot of respect for them and the hard life they lived. The book breaks down each servant's position and responsibilities and where they lie on the hierarchy within their class.

Enjoyable but eye-opening! It makes me thankful for the time I was born into. I don't think I'd have made a very good maid. :)

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short but well written introduction to the life of servants in the nineteenth century up to the First World War (most of these books are labeled "Edwardian" or "20th century" to cash in on Downton Abbey but cover some of the 19th century as well). The interjection of "real life" anecdotes was a good touch in a book that is clearly intended to provide a brief overview rather than go into any depth.

[Rachel · Rating 2 out of 5]

I impulsively picked this up in my local library, as it was on the "Featured Titles" table. A slim, light read that I finished in two sittings, I suspect its publication is directly related to the commercial success of the Dowton Abbey television programme. Which I've been meaning to watch, but I find soap operas dull and not sure the handsome valets and Edwardian costumes will be enough to overcome that, but people assure me that it's worth a peek and so I do intend to watch it. Someday.

As entertainment, this is a satisfying read - I zipped through it, and found most of it interesting. As history, hm, there are far better resources available about the lives of Victorian and Edwardian servants. From a socio-economic standpoint, it's a fascinating time in history. As many as 1/4 of all British citizens were in service, and even people whom we would today consider lower-middle class had servants. This is a very difficult concept for modern people to accept - nowadays, it's mostly affluent people who have live-in servants. Even in the 19th century, labor was never as cheap and plentiful in the States as in the UK, and for that reason, many Gilded-Age wealthy Americans preferred to hire immigrants from Great Britain rather than their own countryman, who were regarded as too uppity to make effective servants. The class structure of late 19th- and early 20th-century Great Britain is somewhat mystifying to Americans. Upper classes were titled aristocrats and landowners, regardless of their wealth or lack thereof. Working classes labored with their hands, and yet a prosperous cabinet-maker could have much more disposible income than an impoverished aristocrat. There was a clear division between "lettered men" and "unlettered men," and a poor parson's son was considered a higher social class because he could read and write, than a prosperous laborer who earned a good living with his hands. These distinctions are very different from the modern American notion of class, which is directly related to economic status and not to education or aristocratic titles.

As difficult as the work was in domestic service, the poor often regarded it as a good option. This is hard to believe - I mean, who in their right mind would want to slave for 14+ hours a day, 6 1/2 days a week? Standards of living have risen so high in the Western world that what we now describe as "poor" in most Western countries are a hundred times better off the poor of the 19th century (or for that matter, the poor of most Third-World countries) The simple fact that the majority of domestic servants got regular meals, ate meat daily, and enjoyed the leftovers from the master's table, that they had shelter, and almost no expenses, and could therefore spare their families another mouth to feed, and send home their modest wages to support younger siblings - all of these things were far from trivial in an era without birth control, in which children as young as six or eight were pushed out to fend for themselves while parents devoted their limited resources to infants, in which dying of disease or starvation were far from uncommon - how quickly we've forgotten why poor parents were eager to place children as young as 12 in service. For the same reason, many men joined the military and endured conditions that we would consider appallingly bad treatment - and yet, the prospect of three square meals a day, including meat, and room and board and a ration of ale or rum, attracted many starving people to the military service.

In any case, Maloney's book contains some interesting snippets drawn from letters and diaries of the servants of the era, but her own knowledge of the history seems a bit superficial. In referring to the footmen, she writes, "Bizarrely, they were often given a generic name, such as William or James, which would be used for every footman employed by the household." She omits the fact that these generic names were also given to housemaids - if the mistress decided the parlor-maid should be called "Mary," then every parlormaid hired after the first "Mary," would also be re-named "Mary." Bizarre, yes, but limited to footmen, nope. It might have also be relevant to mention that John and Thomas were popular generic names for footmen, from which the bawdy slang "John Thomas" derives (since footmen always "rose in the presence of a lady").

Likewise, Maloney mentions the seduction of young maids by the master of the house, referring to the diary of a 14-year-old aristocratic girl, who described such seduction as "eighteenth century and droit du seigneur and rather nice." With this snippet, she sums up the Edwardian attitude towards the seduction of maids - rather a vast leap, as even by Edwardian standards, a 14-year-old girl's diary would not be an adequate reflection of the social attitudes of adults. In fact, the seduction of house-maids was not lauded - this was a society in which nearly everyone was Christian and expected to behave in a Christian manner. Certainly this behaviour would have been frowned upon, but the sad fact is that the master of the house ruled the roost, and if he chose to either seduce maids or allow others in his household to do so, there would be very little anyone else could do to prevent it. Nevertheless, to use a girl's diary as evidence that all of Edwardian society found this not merely acceptable, but laudable, is ridiculous, and yet she states that "this young aristocratic lady sums up the attitude of the upper classes to the predatory sexual behaviour which often ruined the life of a vulnerable maid," which is simply untrue.

Maloney also describes droit du seigneur as "an ancient abomination which gave a feudal lord the right to have sex with his subordinate's bride on her wedding night..." I am not sure how "ancient" and "feudal" can possibly be used to describe the same period of time. Ancient, classical, and antiquarian generally refer to what would be pre-history in Europe, before written records were widespread - depending on the region and the historian's assessment, this might be anywhere from 500-700 AD. The feudal period is definitely later in Great Britain's history and relates more directly to the medieval period. Additionally, there is absolutely no evidence that droit du seigneur was practiced by medieval lords. It's just plain sloppy to report it as such without any citation whatsoever. And yet it's one of those inaccuracies that crops up everywhere, since no one bothers to actually verify what is considered common knowlege. Like a bad penny, this inaccurate information reappears everywhere, along with Victorians concealing piano legs behind frilly pantaloons, or the U.S. government giving smallpox-infected blankets to Native Americans. Because we know that feudal lords did mistreat their vassals, and particularly English lords in Ireland and Scotland, so why not just tack on yet another awful thing? Likewise, the US government was dreadful to the Native Americans, so who cares if they weren't actually giving small-pox infected blankets to Native Americans? But history is not about conveying character through inventions - accurate details are important and lack of citation is an ongoing problem.

Finally, she mentions the unusual story of Arthur Munby, who married a London housemaid Hannah, as a "touching love story" and describes their secret 18-year courthsip, and subsequent secret marriage in which Hannah continued to act as his maid when they had company, as evidence of the social barriers the two of them crossed with their relationship. This is only part of the bizarre story - Munby had a fetish for hard-working women, especially those who did dirty manual labor. And Hannah herself resisted all efforts to become a grand lady, preferring the manual labor she described in minute detail in her diaries. Perhaps Maloney wanted to keep her book more PG-rated. Well-documented in their diaries and photographs, their dominant/submissive relationship, his fetish for dirt, and her clear preference for hard labor over the pampered life of a wealthy lady, are just too remarkable to omit from any mention of the couple.

For this and other reasons, Maloney gets a middling C for historical research, but a solid B+ for entertainment value. Even so, this book should not be regarded as valid source material for any serious researcher of the lives of domestic servants in the Edwardian era.

[Lois · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a light easy read. I'm fascinated by this time period. It is amazing the disconnect between Nobility and those who served them. I was surprised to find the gender based differences. Service was disproportionately female and young. Young women starting in service had to provide their own uniforms. So many had to work for 2 to 4 years prior to service just to earn the cost of their starting dresses. In addition they were paid considerably less and had horrible duties and long hours. The working conditions weren't better for the young men as far as hours and harrowing duties. However they were paid more and their upper positions came with much status and prestige. In addition their quite well made and very expensive livery plus powdered wigs were provided and tailored by the employers.
I'm a huge Downton Abbey fan and I'm afraid this had made the storyline regarding the staff relationships with The Family seem preposterous. That's unfortunate and almost seems a silencing of the servants true stories which do deserve to be told.

[Katie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Downton Abbey is so hott right now. The life of a British Earl, his family, and staff- utterly delightful. Through in his upper middle class cousin, yessir! I thoroughly enjoy reading about class roles in Victorian and Edwardian England but Life Below Stairs is not one of those reads. It is not as boring as other readers may it out to be but it definitely lacked in some areas. It is like the writer stops mid way through an idea. She gives these wonderful real life examples of servants but never really finishes their stories (very frustrating- I want to know what happen to the knocked up maid). Also- it is not the best research book (she relies more on other people research than on primary sources it seems).

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful book about the life of servants in England from the 1850's - early 1900's.

[Hoyadaisy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Absolutely lazy. Relies on long quotes from others and illustrations (which were often pointless or hard to make out) to fill up the narrow pages. Repeats itself with great regularity and contradicts itself occasionally. Reminds me of a lazy student doing a term paper. So clearly an attempt to cash in on "Downton Abbey." Even quotes people from the series as experts!

[Lauren Stoolfire · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nothing really new presented in Maloney's book, but it's still an intriguing read if you're a fan of Downton Abbey. I particularly like seeing the breakdown between the different staff positions, conversations with Julian Fellowes, and hearing the voices of the staff.

[Nicola Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great account of the jobs and hierarchy of those who lived ‘below stairs’ in a life of servitude and work during the Edwardian times.

Included some lovely illustrations and stories/ excerpts of those who lived in those times and were in service themselves. I loved the accounts of the individuals and it was a perfect little succinct book which held a wealth of information on what the various jobs entailed within the households they worked for, ending with ‘the servant problem’ which saw the downfall of the favour of service. Great little account of life below stairs!

[Paula Dembeck · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nowadays, domestic servants are employed only in very rich homes, but over a hundred years ago it was the largest form of employment in the United Kingdom. Many of those who worked in what was referred to as “below stairs” did so in middle class homes, employed by doctors and lawyers. The term “below stairs” refers to the area of the house where domestic servants were confined much of their time, the place where they ate, slept and carried out some of their work, a place that kept them out of the view of those they served.

This is a wonderful little book that describes what life was like for domestic servants during the Edwardian Period (1901-1910). For everyone who has read a novel set in those times, this book provides a detailed description of the work they did while living out of sight in sparsely furnished and uncomfortable basements and attics. Their workday lasted from dawn to dusk, as they were expected to be at the beck and call of their master and mistress every moment of the day. Their lives depended largely on the demeanor of their employers; some were kind and respectful, others were mean and condescending. However, these jobs were prized by those with little education and limited prospects for the future because they provided steady employment, room and board and a safe place to live. It was much better than the alternative, which for many meant starvation and a dangerous life on the streets. Recruits for domestic service came from poor homes, orphanages and work houses and often came only through word of mouth.

Those who took on these roles were subject to strict rules of conduct, a "below stairs" hierarchy that was rigidly enforced by their fellow workers and rigid “above stairs” protocols for their behavior with their employers. They were to be unobtrusive at all times, quiet and invisible. Suitors or family were never allowed to visit at the house and fraternizing with staff of the opposite sex resulted in immediate dismissal. Many of the staff were young girls in their early teens with little life experience and it was not uncommon for their male masters to take advantage of them. If they became pregnant, they were forced to leave immediately and without references. The man responsible was given a limp slap on the wrist and excused for his predatory behavior.

The butler was at the top of the power structure below stairs and ruled the staff with the valet and the cook beneath him. At the lower end of the ladder were the maid-of-all work, the hall boy and the scullery maid, who carried out the more menial tasks. Each role had rigidly defined duties with no overlap between them. The daily life of the staff depended not just on the personality and demeanor of their employers, but on those who lorded over them in their own environment. Some were kind and respectful, others were harsh and quick to criticize.

Those who held jobs as domestic servants held on to them fiercely, frightened of losing their security and fearing a bad character reference which would doom their future prospects for employment. Women left only to marry or in some cases, if they were especially talented, were recruited by other families and moved to better their circumstances.

In some cases, staff became a beloved arm of the family, never one of them but held in such high esteem over many years they were provided a small cottage to live in on the estate when they retired. Some were even buried in the family cemetery. Nannies, who had raised generations of the same family, were often among this group because they had spent so much time with their charges, closer to them than their own parents with whom they had spent little time.

In this easy-to-read compendium of information, Maloney describes everything from the staff uniforms, their pay and their daily to their work schedules. Buckets of water were lugged up long flights of stairs for morning baths and fires had to be lit early so the rooms were warm when their masters arose and began their day. There was no electricity, washing machines, dishwashers, refrigerators or indoor plumbing, so without the availability of time saving appliances and conveniences, the work was physically demanding.

There was enough laundry produced in the large homes to keep a maid busy for a week, with table cloths, napkin, aprons, collars and cuffs, sheets and towels among the many items. The larger homes had a separate wash house with an ironing room and drying room next door. Some of the items such as lace required particular care and there was tricky pressing required for many of the ladies’ fine dresses.

The cook and the kitchen maid spent hours preparing large meals, with each serving having a variety of choices for the soups, meats and vegetables which were always accompanied by delicate sauces and elaborate puddings. The upper classes organized their lives around the London social scene, the shooting season and weekend parties, so there were often guests in the house, some who stayed for weeks at a time. During these times and other special occasions, the cook was expected to produce even more elaborate meals with nine or ten courses so the master and mistress could be seen in a good light, as people who ran a fine home with a good table. The house staff sometimes benefitted the next day from the leftovers, but the wastage incurred by these extravagant meals often angered the staff who saw that what was thrown out could feed their family back home for an entire day.

The staff was expected to attend church services, the belief being that a God-fearing staff was an obedient one. The servants never sat with their masters but at the back of the church while the family sat in their assigned pews. The class lines and hierarchy among them was rigidly enforced with each seated according to rank whether it was at their table in the kitchen or in the community church. The importance of religion in life was emphasized by the presence of the bible, always available and kept in a prominent place.

The staff had little free time, often only a day a month. Given their meagre salaries, they had little money to spend on entertainment, with much of it going to maintaining their uniforms, footwear and daily necessities. Some sent money home to their families, so it was difficult and almost impossible to put any savings away for future use.

When the family moved house to the country or back to the city, the house had to be packed up and moved. It was the time of intense cleaning when walls and ceiling were washed, carpets were moved outside and beaten and repairs were made to linen. It was the time much of the heavy work was done, but with the family not “in house”, the staff’s salary was often reduced.

The outbreak of World War II sounded the death knell for domestic service. Women who filled jobs left by the men who went off to war, were not always ready to return to a life in service after enjoying good pay and shorter hours as part of the work force in the cities and towns. With the country intent on getting back on its feet, there were new jobs available for clerks, shop keepers and typists, work that was much more appealing than the drudgery of house work and waiting on those who believed they held a superior position in society. And as electricity, plumbing and new labor-saving appliances became available there was less need to hire people to lug water for the baths, light fires for heat and spend hours with their hands in a laundry tub. The world was undergoing a dramatic change.

This is a great primer on life below stairs for all those interested in reading about the Edwardian period or who enjoy novels from this time period. The author must be applauded for finding a way to present so much material in a way that does not give the reader simply a list of facts, but brings the material alive with real life stories, a number of informative charts, illustrations and newspaper clippings.

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every since Downton Abbey I have been interested in reading about what it is like for servants and staff who are "below stairs" this book mainly focuses on life for servants during the "Edwardian" time. which is the very late 1890s and early 1900s. the staff in one of these "big houses"can count on very long hours. especially for the scullery kitchen help and the maid who in on the lowest rung of pecking order. this was before modern conveniences so just about every thing had to be done by hand. most of the staff were instructed to never come in contact with the owners of the house. only the butlers and footmen and personal maids for the people who owned the house would see them.
back in that time there were no codes or laws enforced for staffs rights. they slept in the basement or attic in bad conditions. they could not speak to the upstairs owners. the slightest mistake could result in being fired. if a servant was fired with no references it destroyed their chances of ever being employed in a house again.I was amazed at how hard these servants worked and what they put up with.i found this a very interesting read for this part of history.I cannot imagine working under these conditions. some of the servants talked about being Lucky enough to work for a nice family that treated them well. but more times than not they had employers who treated them like they were nothing. UPDATE; This is the second time reading this book. still interesting and shocked on what the working conditions could be like in the Big houses.

[Chrissy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great for fans of Downton Abbey

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! Learning about the lives of the servants in the Edwardian times was fascinating and the book was hard to put down.

I definitely recommend it for fans of Downton Abbey.

[The Irregular Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

engagingly written and to the point. great for history buffs or anyone looking for m orw information on life below stairs...

[Susan Snodgrass · Rating 3 out of 5]

This title intrigued me, especially after watching Downton Abbey. Those servants worked themselves to death! Sixteen hour days were not uncommon. And a myriad of rules, too. Fascinating.

[Doreen Petersen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book!!

[Lynne Lillard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book 11 of the book club challenge - a book about ancestor. Both of my great grandmothers were domestic servants in England and both of my maternal grandmothers were born out of wedlock. The book was interesting. Another look at how awfully humans treat each other!

[Joy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have mixed feelings about this one. Basically, it's a decent overview of how large houses were run and how the servants lived during the Edwardian era. It was definitely broadly done; there's not a lot of depth to any of the subjects. I found some of the language and phrasing a bit confusing or distracting, but overall, it's a fairly good introduction to the subject if you're not expecting a great deal of detail. If you already have more than a passing familiarity, you might want to get something else.

[Brian Eshleman · Rating 3 out of 5]

There wasn't much ambience to it. In my judgment it didn't really enter into the Edwardian world, offering more like a guided tour complete with a businesslike guide giving out factoids, including recipes, yes recipes. Informative, yes. Magic, no.

[Chris · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kind of a pseudo book--not terribly informative/well written.

[Claudia · Rating 3 out of 5]

From the brutal conditions that servants needed to endure - up before dawn and, in many cases, not allowed to bed until well after dark, nearly midnight, or after for some specific servants.

The author went into what actually would happen - from the youth or maid taking a part time job in order to buy their uniforms so that they could go to a service. The service finding them jobs which - unless they had desirable talents and skills - usually meant starting at the very bottom. The daily grind of hard physical labor repeated day after day. Performing duties while remaining out of sight. Sparse amounts of pay while having to provide their own uniforms - in the case of most female workers - while male employees could be judged by how well they matched each other in livery Giving up their own name since employers often called all of their servants by the same name - why bother to learn the individual lower level servants. And then there were the different ranks within the servants themselves: from the Upper - butler, housekeeper, lady's maid or valet - to the Under -scullery maid and hallboy who basically was the servant to the servants.

Basically, it was the start of World War I that ended the proliferation of domestic service as most male servants were needed to fight and females needed to fill in many of the vacant jobs. Once the war ended, few felt the need or desire to return to the dated expectations of society.

But if you're a fan of books set in the late Victorian/early Edwardian eras or perhaps Downton Abbey, this one will definitely give some further insight into what is going on - or what should actually be happening without the modification of a writer's imagination.

2022-284

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a delightful primer into the lives of English domestic servants in the early 20th century. In it, Alison Maloney covers the basics of their existence, from the experience of hiring and the background of the servants through their daily routines to the aspects of their lives outside of their work. As one might expect Downton Abbey is a clear inspiration behind the book, which is reflected in the occasional quotes about domestic service during that era from various people involved with the show. Yet Maloney’s book stands on its own as a short overview to the people “downstairs,” and is an excellent book for anyone seeking an introduction to the world in which they lived.

[Jodi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Relatively short book, provides a good overview of all aspects of life below stairs. However, the true stories were barely even a snippet of a story. They provided some "aha" moments as to why certain things were done but I thought there would be many more actual accounts. Author used similar books as references so I may read some of those instead. This was just an ok book for me, left me wanting more.

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting Facts - laid out in an easy to read manner.

[Emilie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really interesting! I loved the easy readability of the book. Was a really fun in between read!

[Grant Erickson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This could have been a Wikipedia article.

[Rhoda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not What I Expected

I expected Downton Abbey but got a documentary on service pie-WWI.
Interesting but not what I expected.
It does help me understand Downtime Abbey more and makes me think their people “below stairs” had it pretty good.