The Complete Servant

by Samuel Adams

First published 1825. A fascinating source of social history and a guide to backstairs living in both large and modest houses of the late Georgian era. Advice to employers and their servants from an ex-butler and an ex-housekeeper, dealing not only with the kitchen but also with the house, stables and garden, and with an unusual section on menservants' duties over a period when little is known about them. 30 categories of servants' duties are discussed, and also the duties of employers toward them; these last are surprisingly humane and tolerant. Introduction by Pamela Horn.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Historical, Research

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1826

Reviews

[Sophie Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an absolutely amazing book for research. Not only are the descriptions of the various roles for servants -- by people who actually worked in service -- incredibly valuable, but there are also recipes not only for the cook, but also for the still-room, sick-room, etc. I found it fascinating how many things there were listed in the recipes that I hadn't heard of, and how many of them are known to be poisonous or toxic today. I love it when I can find a book that fills in the gaps of my knowledge on the Georgian/Regency period, and this book definitely did that.

I will note, though, that I bought a printed copy of this on Amazon before I saw that Google Play books has it for free. Wish I would have gone that route as then I could have zoomed in. My copy had rather difficult-to-read text, particularly the recipes, which were printed in smaller font.

[Kressel Housman · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I was working on my own Jane Austen fanfic, which focused on the Pemberley servants, this book was recommended as a primary source for my research. It was written circa 1825 by a husband and wife who were the highest-ranking servants in their household. They wrote it as a practical guide for people seeking work as servants. Each chapter describes the different positions and the jobs required in each. The introduction with general advice was especially useful for me, but my favorite part was the stillroom chapter, which included recipes for homemade cosmetics and perfumes. And most of all, after reading this book, I began to see the presence of servants much more clearly in the Jane Austen books I'd loved and read for so long.

[Louise Culmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Published in 1825, this is a fascinating book written by a couple who had been in service for many years, which describes the duties and salaries of all different grades of servants of both sexes. THe book opens with a helpful guide to how many servants you could expect to employ depending on your income. At the lowest end of the scale, a widow or other unmarried lady with £100 a year could employ a young maid servant, at a salary from 5 to 10 Guineas a year. a Gentleman and Lady without children, and £150 to £180, could afford a better serving-maid at from 12 to 14 Guineas. WIth £300 and two or three children you could afford two maid-servants. at £500 a year you could have "three females and a boy, Viz: - A Cook, House-Maid and Nursery-Maid, with a Boy as Groom, and to assist in the House and Garden. A Gardener occasionally. ". and so on through the levels until you come to £4000 to £5000, when you could afford "Eleven female and thirteen Male Servants: viz - A Housekeeper, Cook, Lady's Maid, Nurse, two House-Maids, Laundry-Maid, Still-RoomMaid, Nursery-Maid, Kitchen-Maid, and Scullion, , with Butler, Valet, House-Steward, Coachman, Two Grooms, one Assistant Ditto, two Footmen, three Gardeners, and a Labourer."
THe book has chapters on all the different types of servants and their duties, with helpful tips about recipe, how to clean things, cooking etc. It is interesting for instance to read about roasting meat - at this date still being done on a spit in front of the fire rather than in an oven: "Large joints should be kept a good distance from the fire at first, and gradually brought nearer and nearer; - the average distance for a large joint, at a good fire, may be about ten or twelve inches, an inch or two more or less, according to circumstances. great care should be taken, in spitting the meat, that the prime part of the joint be not injured: - to balance it on the spot, cook-holds and loaded skewers are very handy."
The section on The Man Cook is particularly amusing,it is not quite clear whether the Adamses approve of the species or not: "He is generally a foreigner, or if an Englishman, possesses a peculiar tact in manufacturing many fashionable foreign delicacies, or of introducing certain seasonings and flavours in his dishes, which render them more inviting to the palate of his employer, than those produced by the simple healthful modes of modern English Cooks".
This is a delightful book for anyone who wants to know what domestic life was like 200 years ago.

[Susan Molloy · Rating 5 out of 5]

🖊 This quite long and intense book is “A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO THE PECULIAR DUTIES AND BUSINESS OF ALL DESCRIPTIONS OF Servants, FROM THE HOUSEKEEPER TO THE SERVANT OF ALL-WORK, AND FROM THE LAND STEWARD TO THE FOOT-BOY; WITH USEFUL RECEIPTS AND TABLES . . .” Indeed, this is a valuable reference book from England, yet as an historical and primary source, it is invaluable. Herein we learn how servants learned to help to run the household, including costs of items and salaries, with lots of tables.
📙 This book was published in 1776.
🟢The e-book version can be found on Project Gutenberg.
🔲 Excerpts of note:

🔹Let your commands to your servants be consistent and reasonable; and then mildly, but firmly, insist on obedience to them.—“My servants never remember what I tell them to do,” is a complaint but too common, but that might, in some degree, be obviated. Let them see that you will not pass over any neglect of orders; and when they find that this decisive measure is accompanied with kindness and consideration, and that you are not to be disobeyed with impunity, they will soon learn to remember what you command them to do. A little effort very easily overcomes a bad memory.

🔸CHEESE. Of the common kinds, Cheshire, North Wiltshire and double Gloucester, are the best. Cheese of the first making, in May, is usually brought to Market in August. Factors have a pernicious practice of sticking brass pins into cheese, which gives it the appearance of blue mould and old age. That cheese which has a smooth, moist coat,[87] is generally good. Spanish arnatto is often used to give the rind a beautiful red colour.

🔹EGGS.—If fresh, will feel warm when the tongue is applied to the biggest end; but if stale, it will be cold. An egg, when quite fresh, will sink at once when put into cold water; but if rotten, it will swim.

🔸BUTTER should be chosen by the taste and smell.—The best fresh butter is the Epping, and next the Cambridge; sometimes the potted weekly Dorset is very good. Of tub butter, the Welch is best, the Dutch next, and the Irish worst. In examining tub-butter, and particularly the Irish, look at and smell to the outside next the cask, which is often white in appearance like tallow, and quite rank in smell.

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[Julian Griffith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every Regency writer NEEDS TO READ THIS.

It's not just advice for servants and explanations of their duties, although that in itself is brilliant. But it has recipes, and weights and measures, and HACKNEY FARES IN LONDON including a table of fares from the major theaters to various locations, and information on the London post, and where the mail-coaches leave from for outlying parts... THIS IS YOUR SECRET WEAPON FOR AUTHENTICITY.

note: free on Google Books.

[Stevie Carroll · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very comprehensive guide to the servants required in Georgian houses of all sizes. Recipes for all manner of dishes and cleaning stuffs are included too.