The Real Life Downton Abbey: How Life Was Really Lived in Stately Homes a Century Ago

by Jacky Hyams

Fans of Julian Fellowes' hit show can step back 100 years to the world of the pampered, privileged upper classes and take a look at exactly what goes on behind the magisterial doors of their favorite stately home

 


Using the characters and setting of the popular television show as a point of reference for the reader, this is a closer look at the Edwardian period. They were the super rich of their times, pampered beyond belief—the early 20th century Edwardian gentry, who lived like superstars, their every desire or need catered to by an army of butlers, servants, footmen, housekeepers, and grooms. Class, money, inheritance, luxury, and snobbery dominated every aspect of the lives of the upper crust Edwardian family. While below stairs the staff inhabited a completely different world, their very lives dependent on servicing the rich, pandering to their masters' every whim, and rubbing shoulders with wealth and privilege. While privy to the most intimate and darkest secrets of their masters, they faced ruin and shame if they ventured to make the smallest step outside the boundaries of their class-ridden world. From manners and morals to etiquette and style, this book opens the doors to the reality of the era behind TV's favorite stately home.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Downton Abbey, Historical, British Literature, Edwardian, Ebooks

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2011

About the author

History, especially the 20th Century, is a real passion for me. Yet I didn't start writing about it until quite recently because my career as a journalist and editor took up all my waking hours! I started out as a feature writer, in Sydney Australia, on magazines like Woman's Day, Cosmopolitan and Rolling Stone and my career as a columnist and movie writer took me all over the world for many years until I arrived back where I started, in London, England and various editing jobs on mass market magagines like Bella and Me. Then I freelanced for many years for many major newspapers and magazines. In 2005, I decided there was a real need for an informative self help book for families with older parents and my first book, Time to Help Your Parents was published by Piatkus. At that point, I realised that non fiction writing was even more enjoyable than I'd imagined and since then, I've written six more titles, including The Real Life Downton Abbey and Bombsites & Lollipops -- which some Goodreaders seem to be enjoying!

Reviews

[Petra X · Rating 5 out of 5]

The blurb of this book doesn't do it justice. The blurb makes out that the book is going to be a Julian Fellowes type thing, a light, frothy explication of the real-life Downton Abbey. It isn't inaccurate, that's what it is, but it isn't light and frothy, it's a really well-researched book of the life of the 'toffs' (the author is from the East End of London, like the Krays, aristocrats are toffs), and the servants who hovered round them to save them the effort of picking their own knickers up from the floor.

I've read lots of history books, and enjoyed many, especially Liza Picard's, and read various maids' stories, but none went into quite the detail this did. The daily routine of both 'toffs' and servants, the food, the clothes, the hygiene, the work of each position from butler on down, health care, hobbies and even transport.

And perhaps most sadly, the sorry position of women whether aristocrat or lowly kitchen maid. the kitchen maid literally had no life, working up to 16 hours a day. The Lady of the house whether there for her dowry or love, was expected to live the life so many men would have all women live, look beautiful, say little, have sons, and keep up the good name and status of the family. Part of the looking beautiful was wearing very heavy clothes - undergarments commonly weighed more than 7 lbs - and corsets reinforced with whalebone that made sitting and eating difficult.

The ones I felt sorriest for were the American girls. There were many aristocratic marriages, including Winston Churchill's mother, to American heiresses. Their mothers wanted their own dreams of a title and stately pile in England fulfilled, the prospective husbands wanted the money to maintain their houses and unbelievably extravagent way of life. The girls... well they got to buy a lot of dresses, do a little charity work, be hostesses and breed boys.

When that was accomplished, if the marriage was unhappy, separate bedrooms were in order, and affairs on the side. If Princess Diana had lived a hundred years before she wouldn't have dared open her mouth about Prince Charles' resumption of his affair with Camilla, soon to be Our Queen. So long as no one had to publicly acknowledge their joint adultery there was no problem. And if it did cause a scandal, she, the strumpet is the one who would come off the worst for it.

This extravagant spending did not extend, with very rare exceptions, to the servants. They were underpaid, overworked, no one cared about their health, they were expected to turn their faces to the wall should they find themselves in the same corridor as Sir or My Lady (I hear that they do this at Buckingham Palace should the Queen, the Princes or Duchesses pass by, I hope it isn't true in 2021).

Servants were not people, they were as robots, said the author, and you can't overwork a robot, nor would you want to have a conversation with one, or care in the least about it's feelings. And the only thing these 'robots' had against the Lord and Lady was gossip, servants were ever-present, nothing could be hidden from them. They could make trouble with gossip as it passed servant to servant, house to house, but it could make trouble for them too and they could find themselves without a job or possibility of one.

On the great ocean liners, the aristocrats had suites on one side of the boat and directly opposite the servants would be put up in pokey cabins without portholes. What kind of snobbery builds a ship like that if not to please their paying customers? The aristocrats actively wanted to deprive their servants of any kind of life. Not just on ship, but no drinking, no gambling, no sex, no boyfriends, dismissal for pregnancy (the woman only) or marriage (the woman only) no time to do anything except work for them.

The extreme snobbery of the servants, always a good part of the Downton Abbey, Below Stairs type series, turns out to be even worse than those shows portray. Reading about them was like that Jonathan Swift verse,

Big bugs have little bugs
Upon their backs to bite them.
Little bugs have littler bugs.
And so on, ad infinitum.

From butler down to the scullery maid.

And for all that poverty, overwork, snobbery and being treated as less than human, they were still better off than their relatives whose health suffered from lack of food, good accommodation, lack of any provision of help for the poorest of the poor unless from church or charity, and that wasn't guaranteed. At least they ate well and had a bed to sleep in, even if four had to share it.

It is no wonder with the coming of WWI and the need for women to replace men in the industries, that the number of servants declined. But the shoe is on the other foot now. There are still badly-paid servants, they swap money for prestige, working in Buckingham Palace, but most servants, butlers and housekeepers are extremely well-paid, have their own flats, vehicles and time off. Now it is for Sir and My Lady to please them, if they hope to keep them. And gossip is power now, the media will pay a fortune for the scandals of the upper classes.

All I've done today is read this book, the second by this aurhor in two days, the other one was Vicious, Elegant Bastards: The Truth Behind the Legend of the Krays. The author's writing is a joy to read. There is nothing you could edit out, every word counts. I'm looking for another book by Jacky Hyams now...

[Christina DeVane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Many interesting facts of life mainly in the Edwardian Era. Footmen were hired for their size and looks so they would match standing on either side of the doorway. They were many times renamed James and John.
It’s crazy to think that people really lived like this, but it’s fascinating, and glamorous for the elite yet degrading and sad for the majority who were poor and lifelong servants.
I think that’s why the show is so popular as it does a great job of accurately portraying this time period!

[Rebecca Huston · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this one, but unfortunately, the author's style and comments really turned me off of the book in the long run. He's snide about the upper class -- he refers to them constantly as Toffs throughout, and regards them as parasites. The lower classes aren't too well regarded, pretty much being too terrified to really do anything to improve their lot. There are far better books that tie into Downton Abbey out there, but this is not one of them. Overall, a not recommended and just barely three stars.

For the longer review, please go here:
http://www.epinions.com/review/Jacky_...

[Chele Kispert]

great guide for those that want to go into domestic service in the early 1900's

[Zoe · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is a book that exists solely to ride the popularity of Downton Abbey. Don't waste your time on this. Read one of the books I recommend at the end instead. I've been reading a lot on the subject of Edwardian England lately, both fiction and non, and this is simply a conglomeration of facts stated in other books, very few of which couldn't be gleaned by a careful watching of the show. An immediate flag is the use of casual and language incorrect for the time: "toffs" for aristocrats (I think - it's never explained), "boss" instead of master or mistress when describing the servant-master relationship, "WAG" regarding fashion (still not sure on that one), servant gossip as the "social network of the day," and so on. It's always annoying when the author talks down to the reader in this manner, as if they have no imagination of their own and need it directly connected to their own lives, however erroneously, to make sense of a concept. The use of the present tense throughout the book is an unnecessary and confusing conceit. The author makes broad statements that have no place in nonfiction, such as assumptions about the personality traits of "conceited footmen" and "controlling housekeepers." Sure, they may have needed to have pride in their appearance and good managerial skills, respectively, but that is how it should be expressed. The book jumps back and forth and around in circles on subjects, going between the aristocracy and servants with no consistent through-line. The Kindle edition is poorly formatted and desperately needs a copy editor. For a better written and edited look "behind the scenes" into the real lives of people of the era, I recommend: Over a Hot Stove by Flo Wadlow (a short account from an actual cook in one of the houses, slightly later date); A House Unlocked by Penelope Lively (slightly later but of the same class of house); To Marry an English Lord: Or How Anglomania Really Got Started by Gail MacColl and Carole McD. Wallace (focuses on the marriage of rich American debutantes to English aristocracy); Life Below Stairs: True Lives of Edwardian Servants by Alison Maloney (also trying to ride the Downton wave but better written). For a fictional perspective on the upper-middle class of the period, The Forsyte Saga by John Galsworthy is great. If I come across more and better I'll try to remember to come back and update.

[Lois · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this. Downton Abbey is a very idealized picture of what life was like. Staff not only didn't openly interact with their employers, they were required to turn and face the wall if they came in contact with their employers. Staff worked an average of 16 hour days. The female staff had to buy their own work uniforms and often had to start working earlier than their male counterparts to afford the drab clothing. They were also paid less than men who had their uniforms provided free.
Still within the first paragragh the author refers to Maggie Smith's character as the 'Duchess' of Gratham. Her late husband was an Earl and so she was The Dowager Countless of Gratham. The author not knowing or understanding that calls into question for me how accuracy of her other info.

[Allison Smith steffenhagen · Rating 2 out of 5]

While I did quite a few interesting tidbits, this book feels as though it was a paper written by a teenager, a poorly written paper at that. It is full of random facts, that do not really make sense together. Also the title of the book is quite mis-leading. The book would be be aptly named "What happened during The 20-30 years before Downton Abbey begins"

[Mona · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a sorry excuse for a book. The writing was horridly disjointed, like the editing process was skipped completely. Such a shame, as the info was quite interesting...which is the only reason it gets 2 stars, instead of one. It read like the notes were put on index cards (senior term papers, anyone?), thrown in the air, and then added to the book as they randomly fell.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Probably more enjoyable for history buffs than diehard fans of Downton Abbey,. Reading it I was reminded most of the short-lived reality show 1900 House, where a modern-day family cheerfully engaged in what they assumed would be a jaunt in historical cosplay only to be quite rudely awakened. Spoiler--there are tears.

The brutal truth of it is that upstairs/downstairs life in Edwardian times had a darker underbelly than you get glimpses of in Downton. Brutally long days, detached marriages and parenting with most servants boxed into arrangements that kept them trapped under substandard wages Although it fills in a lot of gaps with historical context, it's abundantly clear that the Granthams are an exception, not a rule in most things.

Personally, I appreciated the warts-and-all take, and the research but felt that the book needed better organization. Subjects kept cycling back and some of the areas marked out for pull-outs weren't always worthy. Also, perhaps a minor annoyance but even though I was on the authors side in spirit, I found the persistent (incessant one might say) use of the word "toffs" to describe the upper class to be stale by the dozenth or so time it was dropped and a lot less cute/cheeky than I think it was intended to be.

[Sherri · Rating 2 out of 5]

The title may take a few liberties tying it to Downton Abbey fame. This is just more factoid of the differences of class between aristocrats (toffs) and the servants and then lower-working class people of the Edwardian time. Many facets of life are covered with o.k. writing. There are a couple of photos placed enough to either make you inquire more or wonder why they're there at all.

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was just blown away by how interesting this was.

[K · Rating 3 out of 5]

It does seem that these days you need to throw in the words “English Manor” or “Downton Abbey” if you want to sell a book or video. The hit PBS series Downton Abbey has done so much to promote interest in another time and era just like Upstairs Downstairs did in the 1970’s. Many viewers are suddenly interested in reading about and watching the English manor life of the early 1900’s. This book, The Real Life Downton Abbey, tries to tell you how life really was for both the upstairs and downstairs people.

As the author states in the Introduction “So who were these toffs and servants that hold so much fascination for us? How did they live, what did they wear, what did they eat, how did they play or form relationships – and how much – or how little – did they spend or earn? In this book I answer many of these questions and reveal, too, a lot more about what went on behind those huge front doors to the grand country house.” So I picked up this book to just find out what life was really like in the Edwardian era and how close does Downton Abbey come to portraying those lives.

While I did read and learn much (and then applied some of that knowledge to Season 3 Downton Abbey to decide what was and was not possible) this book had just a bit too much detail. There were times I felt as if I was slogging through a thick mire of information. And some of that information would be repeated in another chapter. At the same time I am not sure I would call this book a scholarly piece of work. It falls in that in-between stage of easy reading and scholarly text. While the author does write in that light tone of voice it can’t always help if you feel like it is too much information. Anyway, I was struggling towards the end to just finish the book (I started to jump to chapters that sounded interesting). And this is from someone who loves to read non-fiction books that sometimes weigh more than a brick!

Chapters are written around a basic subject. These include The House, Money, The Pecking Order, The Rules, Who Runs this House Anyway?, Relationships, Food & Drink, Entertainment & Sport, Getting Around, Morals & Manners, How to Wear It, and Health. And each chapter includes both the upstairs and downstairs life. As an example, the “Pecking Order” chapter starts with upstairs life by discussing The Father and The Mother (caps are the authors). Then it delves into the Servant Roles of Upper Servants (broken up into Butler, Housekeeper, Cook, Valet, Ladies Maid, Nursery Staff, and Chauffeur) and Lower Servants (again broken up by Footman, Housemaid, and Scullery Maid). To end chapters the author throws in some facts that sometimes are part of the chapter subject, and sometimes they are just facts.

The London based Hyams is a journalist, editor, author, columnist and communications consultant according to her bio. She writes for many of the UK and Australia magazine and newspaper brands, writing on social and historical issues besides in depth profiles. Other books written before The Real Life Downton Abbey include the nonfiction titles written Time to Help Your Parents and Bombsites & Lollipops: My 1950’s East End Childhood. And afterward she wrote Jennifer Saunders: The Biography, The Female Few: Spitfire Heroines of the Air Transport Auxiliary, and White Boots & Miniskirts: A True Story of Life in the Swinging Sixties.

[Meredith Allard · Rating 3 out of 5]

As I’m continuing my quest of reading books inspired by Downton Abbey, I found my way to The Real Life Downton Abbey by Jacky Hyams. The Real Life Downton Abbey is a good summary of what life was like for the British upper and lower classes during the time of the beloved television show (early 20th century), and, as you might expect in a book with this title, Hyams uses Downton Abbey as a springboard, often referencing the show as she illustrates the lifestyle at the time. She talks about the Titanic, for example, and shares a menu of an eleven-course meal that would have been prepared by the French kitchen staff. Before the ship went down, of course.

The Real Life Downton Abbey is a concise summary of the lifestyle surrounding the television show, but having already read Up and Down Stairs by Jeremy Musson, along with several other books about the era, I felt The Real Life Downton Abbey was a lot of retelling of what I already knew. I can’t say I learned anything from this book, though I did enjoy Hyams' easy, conversational tone as she talked about the extravagant upper classes and the poverty of the servants. For example, even butlers made only 50-100 pounds per year for their trouble, and the hardest working servants, the youngest ones who did the most labor-intensive jobs, often the scullery maids, made as little as ten pounds per year.

American readers may be put off by Hyams’ use of Britishisms, but she’s British so she can get away with it. Since I watch a lot of British television and read a lot of British literature, I feel comfortable saying I speak conversational British English and I wasn’t bothered by the British words. Context clues work very well when translating from British English to American English, and if you’re reading the book on a Kindle or other e-reading device you simply have to press on the word and the definition pops up. I found the definition for “Toff” to be as follows: a stylishly dressed, fashionable person; part of the upper classes. Not too hard.

For Downton Abbey fans who are beginning their journey into reading about the era, then The Real Life of Downton Abbey, with its general overview, is a good place to start. If you’ve already read about the class distinctions in the early 20th century and have a firm grasp on the subject, then you may not get as much out of the book.

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a big fan of the TV.show, Downton Abbey. I have been interested in reading about real life below stair servants and staff ever since. This book gives a lot of good information about the lives of staff during the Edwardian era. which is the very late 1800s to around the start of World War One. It also gives information about the rich aristocratic families who owned these Stately homes. I liked how they started with the lowest position and worked up to the butler and head housekeeper and described each one of their duties, hours worked and pay. It was interesting to read that there was snobbery between the upstairs staff and the below stairs staff.
the book went on to describe many topics of living during those years, the long hours worked, the food the rich ate and what the staff had for food. the outfits the rich wore often changing four or five times a day. what the rich did for entertainment. the gossip amongst the staff of what happened upstairs. the scandals that occurred with the rich. and many other topics. A good read. I learned quite a bit about this era. and those big houses and the staff and rich who lived there.

[stormhawk · Rating 1 out of 5]

Awful

Remember in 1984, when Winston Smith is writing in his journal, copying from a children's book written by the Party? The one that tells how things were long ago when the rich few oppressed the many poor, and how it's so much better now that the Party watches over is and makes sure that we all have a proper ration of chocolate and a well ordered life and we've always been at war with Eastasia? That's kind of what this book is like. The writing is simplistic, and the author comes across as having a very class conscious chip on his shoulder.

[Cyn (RaeWhit) · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought this book lacked organization, or perhaps I just didn't understand/see the reasoning behind how the material was presented. The book could've been shorter, as there were many cases of the same information being dispensed more than once.

The part about the Titanic was very interesting, as well as the tracing of the beginnings of the NHS. As I suspected (the author did point this out), the servants at Downton Abbey fare far better than most country estate in-service staff.

[Stephanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Overall the book was okay but there were a few places that I know the author was just relaying misinformation. It sort of ruined the credibility for me.

[Karyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

While interesting, this book felt like it had been thrown together quickly in order to get in on the "Downton craze".

[Helen Dunn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Informative but dry dry dry. I was hoping to assuage some of my sadness after the end of Downton but this did not help.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

"They were the super rich of their times, pampered beyond belief - the early 20th-century Edwardian gentry, who lived like superstars, their every desire or need catered to by an army of butlers, servants, footmen, housekeepers and grooms. Class, money, inheritance, luxury and snobbery dominated every aspect of the lives of the upper-crust Edwardian family.

Below stairs the staff inhabited a completely different world, their very dependent on servicing the rich and pandering to their masters' every whim. Rubbing shoulders with wealth and privilege, they were privy to the most intimate and darkest secrets. Yet they faced ruin and shame if they ventured to make even the smallest step outside the boundaries of their class-ridden world. From manners and morals to etiquette and style, The Real Life Downton Abbey opens the doors to this fascinating period in British history."

https://www.goodreads.com/review/list...

[Madeline · Rating 4 out of 5]

okay it took me actually ten years to finish this, not because it was bad, but partially because it was so thorough! And partially bc I read it on my Libby app instead of kindle, so my perpetually low battery ass could never read it on the go. despite the god awful cover it’s surprisingly v informative and it’s perfect for filling you in on the realities of life in the Edwardian age; my biggest take away is that holy fuck life was so so awful for the masses in GB in this time (of course, a surprise to no one, but the dire existence of the servants and their families is so stark and well demonstrated in discussions of their pay, social repercussions to missteps, vacation time etc.) it does refer to downton abbey as a point of reference and to show similarities, but absolutely doesn’t sugar coat anything or wax on and on which I so appreciate

[Haley The Caffeinated Reader · Rating 2 out of 5]

The facts were quite interesting, but Hyams's childish writing style made it hard to take the book seriously. She has the information repeated constantly in the book but in different sections, as if trying to fill a page quota. It would have been nice to have more stories of those who worked as Servants, or to have followed one family a bit more in detail. Jacky's EXTREME overuse of the word 'toffs' is highly unprofessional, it is a slang insult that doesn't sit well with a nonfiction book of a history-briefing nature (it would have if it had been in historical context). Overall, I would have loved to have seen more research and an advanced writing style but the facts were undoubtedly interesting and still made it a fairly quick read.

[Loz · Rating 2 out of 5]

This started out promisingly, but fast deteriorated.

This review says everything I feel: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I would also add that the lazy and repetitive writing could be improved (the use of “sumptuous” 3 times in 2 pages, the use of “luxury” repeatedly in a chapter), and I really disliked the hypothetical scenarios the author kept adding, as if the history itself needed some element of drama to make it interesting (it does not).

[Melanie A Hackbarth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Downtown Abbey in 3-D!

This book really brings the "behind-the-scenes" aspect of Downton Abbey to life. It is full of information about how things really were back then, with all kinds of tidbits of fascinating detail. Highly recommend fans of Downton Abbey read, to extend the journey of English life 100 years ago, and the changes that occurred over the years.

[Sabrina · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is excellent for Downton Abbey fans or anyone interested in learning about life in Edwardian country homes. It had all the living details of the family and the servants: what they wore, what they did in their leisure time, what they ate, their salaries, and much more. I found it fascinating.

[David Szatkowski · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun, light read about the Edwardian period. Using Downton Abbey backdrop to the era, the author gives a sense of how both upper and lower class servants lived. Also the author shares how the upper class lives differed.

[Margaret Attwood · Rating 1 out of 5]

Good on facts.

I was expecting more of a factual 'story line' and as I knew most of the true facts of life above and below stairs in this era I shall have to opt out for the book on Dow ton Abbey. Mind you, somewhat shocking in parts.

[Helen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting facts and subject matter but I wasn't keen on the style. The writing often seemed rather simple, unprofessional and slangy and it felt like some of the information was unnecessarily repeated.

[Mairana Abballo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed getting to know the ins and outs of the real life of Downton Abbey and back in the Edwardian of Victorian times, but I found it a little hard to read at times and I skipped through chapters or parts of the book that weren’t super interesting to me

[Teresa Westwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book, factual and enjoyable.