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Not in Front of the Servants: A True Portrait of English Upstairs/Downstairs Life
Whole armies of butlers, cooks and housemaids were employed in the great households of Victorian and Edwardian England. This book is a nostalgic study of this vanished world, recreated through interviews, memoirs and letters. The author discusses different households including the estate of the Duke of Portland, who employed more than 30 kitchen staff at Welbeck Abbey and another 32 indoor servants. At the other end of the scale, no respectable villa in the suburbs was without its maid or maids. Domestic service thrived because economic necessity forced larger poor families to put their children into service as one of the few means of feeding and clothing them.
160 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1973
41 people are currently reading
1457 people want to read
About the author
Frank Victor Dawes
5 booksFrank Victor Dawes fue un periodista y escritor inglés que en los años cincuenta trabajó de reportero en periódicos locales y más tarde en la sección de política exterior del Daily Herald. En 1972 se convirtió en director de informativos y productor de BBC Radio. Su interés en el período victoriano y el hecho de que su madre hubiera sido empleada doméstica lo impulsaron a escribir Nunca delante de los criados, que se convirtió en un bestseller cuando se publicó en 1973.
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June 16, 2022
Un ensayo muy bien documentado sobre esa clase trabajadora típicamente inglesa que son “el personal de servicio” en la historia del Reino Unido. Un mundo aparte, literalmente, en el que se sobrevivía a base de trabajo durísimo, poca remuneración y mucha flema inglesa. Ese sistema esclavista que se nutría, sobre todo, de mujeres/niñas de clase baja, mejor si era del campesinado, desapareció como tal bien entrado el siglo XX, y dejó una clase media-alta descontenta con su falta y sin enterarse del porqué ese rechazo a una vida en la que las jornadas laborales eran de entre 16 y 18 horas de duro trabajo físico, con sueldos (si los había) miserables, y cero vida personal.
El libro está bien estructurado y toca múltiples aspectos de este “sistema laboral”, basándose, sobre todo, en testimonios aportados por los propios supervivientes o sus descendientes. A ratos se hace pesado por lo que machaca algunos aspectos concretos (sueldos, condiciones de trabajo, explotación infantil, falta de empatía por parte de los empleadores…) pero deja claro que el romanticismo que han creado series de tv o cine en torno al tema es eso, solo ficción en la mayoría de los casos.
El libro está bien estructurado y toca múltiples aspectos de este “sistema laboral”, basándose, sobre todo, en testimonios aportados por los propios supervivientes o sus descendientes. A ratos se hace pesado por lo que machaca algunos aspectos concretos (sueldos, condiciones de trabajo, explotación infantil, falta de empatía por parte de los empleadores…) pero deja claro que el romanticismo que han creado series de tv o cine en torno al tema es eso, solo ficción en la mayoría de los casos.
September 18, 2022
Frank Victor Daws, el autor, era hijo de una mujer que trabajó como criada.
Quiso investigar sobre el tema y publicó en 1972 un anuncio en el Daily Telegraph en el que solicitaba a cualquiera que hubiese trabajado como personal doméstico que le enviara cartas en las que contara sus vivencias.
Recibió más de 600 cartas, tanto de criados como de señores que tuvieron criados. Con toda esa información y testimonios reales construyó este ensayo en el que veremos cómo era la vida en las buhardillas y en los sótanos durante un periodo de tiempo de unos cien años.
Muy interesante, organizado y bien escrito. Se tratan muchos temas como las jerarquías de sirvientes, sus funciones, horarios, la relación entre ellos y con los señores, el tiempo libre, las mejoras conseguidas, etc.
(4/5) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ¡Me ha encantado!
Quiso investigar sobre el tema y publicó en 1972 un anuncio en el Daily Telegraph en el que solicitaba a cualquiera que hubiese trabajado como personal doméstico que le enviara cartas en las que contara sus vivencias.
Recibió más de 600 cartas, tanto de criados como de señores que tuvieron criados. Con toda esa información y testimonios reales construyó este ensayo en el que veremos cómo era la vida en las buhardillas y en los sótanos durante un periodo de tiempo de unos cien años.
Muy interesante, organizado y bien escrito. Se tratan muchos temas como las jerarquías de sirvientes, sus funciones, horarios, la relación entre ellos y con los señores, el tiempo libre, las mejoras conseguidas, etc.
(4/5) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ¡Me ha encantado!
June 27, 2022
Se trata de un libro escrito allá por la década del 70. Su autor es hijo de una mujer que trabajó de criada en las grandes mansiones londinenses y decidió publicar un aviso en el diario para que le escribieran experiencias de personas que hayan trabajado en el servicio doméstico inglés.
Recibió una lluvia de cartas.
Y bueno, a través de esas experiencias va armando cómo era la vida de esos sirvientes de la época victoriana y eduardiana. Lo bueno, lo malo.
Muchas veces cercanos a la esclavitud y, al mismo tiempo, con casa y comida asegurada; cosas a las que no siempre accedían los pobres. Y de qué manera y porqué se fue derrumbando ese estilo de vida: los de arriba y los de abajo.
(Muchas veces me vinieron a la mente cómo se trata a ese personal en la actualidad, sobre todo la explotación de inmigrantes que trabajan "con cama" y "en negro").
El libro es muy interesante, sobre todo si gustan de leer experiencias narradas por lo propios protagonistas. Pero, a veces, el hilo se vuelve un poco desordenado y repetitivo.
Para aquellos que gustamos de la novela romántica histórica... bueno, la cosa no era tan ideal como la pintan.
Recibió una lluvia de cartas.
Y bueno, a través de esas experiencias va armando cómo era la vida de esos sirvientes de la época victoriana y eduardiana. Lo bueno, lo malo.
Muchas veces cercanos a la esclavitud y, al mismo tiempo, con casa y comida asegurada; cosas a las que no siempre accedían los pobres. Y de qué manera y porqué se fue derrumbando ese estilo de vida: los de arriba y los de abajo.
(Muchas veces me vinieron a la mente cómo se trata a ese personal en la actualidad, sobre todo la explotación de inmigrantes que trabajan "con cama" y "en negro").
El libro es muy interesante, sobre todo si gustan de leer experiencias narradas por lo propios protagonistas. Pero, a veces, el hilo se vuelve un poco desordenado y repetitivo.
Para aquellos que gustamos de la novela romántica histórica... bueno, la cosa no era tan ideal como la pintan.
January 29, 2017
The Great Age of Servants is long, long gone, but we are still morbidly fascinated by it. Look at the success of Downton Abbey, and before that Upstairs, Downstairs, which is referenced in this book's title. Needless to say, Downton is rose-tinted in its view of the lives of servants and their relationships with their masters, though perhaps not as much as we might suppose. After all, it concerns a big house in the early 20th century. If you had to be a servant, you would choose to work at this time, and in this sort of place. Conditions and pay for servants improved rapidly in the inter-war period, as a severe shortage drove employers to offer increasingly good money and (relatively) easy terms. And it was nearly always better to work in a big house than in a small one, especially a middle-class suburban home where the put-upon "maid of all work" suffered under an impossible workload and unrealistic expectations.
But let's rewind to the 19th century, the real Great Age of Servants. One of this book's most shocking ideas, which the author comes back to a few times, is that there was less difference between being a servant and being a slave than we might like to think. Free time was exceptionally limited - for many servants, going to church on a Sunday was the only time they were not working. If you got an afternoon off per week, you were very lucky. Your employer may not legally have owned you - you could walk away, but without a reference (a "character") you could never work again. There was nothing to stop a malicious or unreasonable employer refusing to give a character. If you were young, you were kept away from the opposite sex. You probably didn't have your own room: sometimes not even your own bed. The work was backbreaking, and hours were long. You were constantly expected to be at your employer's beck and call. You weren't really regarded as a human being at all: woe betide the parlourmaid who allowed herself to smile if she heard something funny in the drawing room. Yet people were grateful for these jobs, because there was a roof over their heads and they didn't have to worry where the next meal was coming from. Untold millions of people lived these sort of lives, many from a very tender age, and some of them even managed to whistle a tune while they scrubbed stone flagstones or dusted the hundreds of tiny ornaments, figurines and other kitschy bric-a-brac beloved of the Victorians. Of course they couldn't whistle if a master or mistress was in earshot.
I have never really tried to imagine what these lives might have been like. Frank Victor Dawes, whose mother was in service, allows us to begin to imagine it, and it is awful, not just by our modern standards, but by any human standards. But this is not an angry book - it's not written in the way I'm writing this, but calmly and factually, with empathy, but not wearing its heart on its sleeve. In this way, it is itself very English.
The average Victorian master or mistress comes across badly. While generally believing that it was important for their servants' spiritual welfare that they attended church every Sunday, they showed scant concern for their employees' physical or emotional well-being. As labour-saving devices and other mod cons came into wider use, many employers did not invest in them because, after all, they had servants. Why install running water when you had a servant to carry your hot bath water up two flights of stairs?
Servants were unable to organise themselves effectively into unions, and though there were parliamentary efforts to improve their lot from time to time, they foundered because the whole system of servants was just too damn convenient for the employer class. Efforts to regulate the profession, even in the early 20th century, were greeted with horror as an intrusion into the domestic sphere.
Though it doesn't set out to be, this is a damning book. There is a kind of nostalgia in the popularity of Downton Abbey and its ilk, a feeling that life was somehow easier, more graceful and happier when everyone knew their place in the system and took pride in fulfilling their God-given function. This book will disabuse anyone of such notions. For most servants, life was tough, and tough in a way it's hard for us to understand today. The idea of masters and mistresses who were able to live in such proximity to their servants and yet fail to acknowledge their humanity shouldn't fill us with a warm cosy glow.
But let's rewind to the 19th century, the real Great Age of Servants. One of this book's most shocking ideas, which the author comes back to a few times, is that there was less difference between being a servant and being a slave than we might like to think. Free time was exceptionally limited - for many servants, going to church on a Sunday was the only time they were not working. If you got an afternoon off per week, you were very lucky. Your employer may not legally have owned you - you could walk away, but without a reference (a "character") you could never work again. There was nothing to stop a malicious or unreasonable employer refusing to give a character. If you were young, you were kept away from the opposite sex. You probably didn't have your own room: sometimes not even your own bed. The work was backbreaking, and hours were long. You were constantly expected to be at your employer's beck and call. You weren't really regarded as a human being at all: woe betide the parlourmaid who allowed herself to smile if she heard something funny in the drawing room. Yet people were grateful for these jobs, because there was a roof over their heads and they didn't have to worry where the next meal was coming from. Untold millions of people lived these sort of lives, many from a very tender age, and some of them even managed to whistle a tune while they scrubbed stone flagstones or dusted the hundreds of tiny ornaments, figurines and other kitschy bric-a-brac beloved of the Victorians. Of course they couldn't whistle if a master or mistress was in earshot.
I have never really tried to imagine what these lives might have been like. Frank Victor Dawes, whose mother was in service, allows us to begin to imagine it, and it is awful, not just by our modern standards, but by any human standards. But this is not an angry book - it's not written in the way I'm writing this, but calmly and factually, with empathy, but not wearing its heart on its sleeve. In this way, it is itself very English.
The average Victorian master or mistress comes across badly. While generally believing that it was important for their servants' spiritual welfare that they attended church every Sunday, they showed scant concern for their employees' physical or emotional well-being. As labour-saving devices and other mod cons came into wider use, many employers did not invest in them because, after all, they had servants. Why install running water when you had a servant to carry your hot bath water up two flights of stairs?
Servants were unable to organise themselves effectively into unions, and though there were parliamentary efforts to improve their lot from time to time, they foundered because the whole system of servants was just too damn convenient for the employer class. Efforts to regulate the profession, even in the early 20th century, were greeted with horror as an intrusion into the domestic sphere.
Though it doesn't set out to be, this is a damning book. There is a kind of nostalgia in the popularity of Downton Abbey and its ilk, a feeling that life was somehow easier, more graceful and happier when everyone knew their place in the system and took pride in fulfilling their God-given function. This book will disabuse anyone of such notions. For most servants, life was tough, and tough in a way it's hard for us to understand today. The idea of masters and mistresses who were able to live in such proximity to their servants and yet fail to acknowledge their humanity shouldn't fill us with a warm cosy glow.
August 2, 2019
Things I thought while reading this book:
Damn, I'm lazy
NO WAY
Whut?
I'm so lazy
No, they didn't!
Stupid rich people
God, I'm lazy
Damn, I'm lazy
NO WAY
Whut?
I'm so lazy
No, they didn't!
Stupid rich people
God, I'm lazy
March 11, 2023
Creo que series como Downton Abbey (de la que yo me declaró fan absoluta) y Arriba y abajo han ofrecido una imagen excesivamente romantizada de lo que era servir en una casa señorial a finales del siglo XIX y principios del XX. No hay que olvidar que en la primera ¡el chófer se casaba con una de las hijas! Y era luego aceptado en la familia...
El libro que reseño hoy viene a romper absolutamente con esa idea. Ser trabajador/a doméstica no era bonito ni los patrones eran amables. Escrito en los años 70 y partiendo de una serie de cartas de ex sirvientes que el autor recibió a raíz de una petición que él mismo había hecho en un periódico, se nos da un buen repaso de lo que SÍ era la vida ahí abajo. Desde los horarios, pasando por las diferentes responsabilidades, sueldos e incluso diversiones, uno acaba el libro con una clara idea de lo que fue vivir como sirviente.
Me ha parecido un libro muy interesante, aunque algunos aspectos me han interesado menos. Está muy bien documentado y es una lectura recomendable. De ahí mis 4 🌟.
El libro que reseño hoy viene a romper absolutamente con esa idea. Ser trabajador/a doméstica no era bonito ni los patrones eran amables. Escrito en los años 70 y partiendo de una serie de cartas de ex sirvientes que el autor recibió a raíz de una petición que él mismo había hecho en un periódico, se nos da un buen repaso de lo que SÍ era la vida ahí abajo. Desde los horarios, pasando por las diferentes responsabilidades, sueldos e incluso diversiones, uno acaba el libro con una clara idea de lo que fue vivir como sirviente.
Me ha parecido un libro muy interesante, aunque algunos aspectos me han interesado menos. Está muy bien documentado y es una lectura recomendable. De ahí mis 4 🌟.
April 9, 2023
Un libro muy interesante sobre un tema que no suele profundizar la historia: el estado del servicio doméstico en la Inglaterra victoriana.
Lo disfruté mucho aunque creo qué hay algunos detalles que debo mencionar.
1) realmente no me pareció tan impresiónate pues mucho de lo que se menciona me parece evidente
2) suele ser un poco repetitivo con temas o incluso argumentos usados por el autor
Claro que debo decir que me gusta cómo está estructurado todo: la inserción de las cartas me agrada.
Creo que es un libro muy interesante que te podría gustar en especial si eres fan de temas como Downton Abbey o es tipo de series.
Lo disfruté mucho aunque creo qué hay algunos detalles que debo mencionar.
1) realmente no me pareció tan impresiónate pues mucho de lo que se menciona me parece evidente
2) suele ser un poco repetitivo con temas o incluso argumentos usados por el autor
Claro que debo decir que me gusta cómo está estructurado todo: la inserción de las cartas me agrada.
Creo que es un libro muy interesante que te podría gustar en especial si eres fan de temas como Downton Abbey o es tipo de series.
December 27, 2022
Uno de los mejores libros que he leído en mucho tiempo. Trata el tema de forma realista sin ser desagradable ni generalista; al hablar a través de casos específicos y reales (basándose en la correspondencia dirigida al autor) puedes ver muchos puntos de vista distintos. De primeras puede parecer un libro de ensayo tostonazo y ha sido todo lo contrario; más de una vez me he descojonado, indignado, etc. Un libro muy humano 👏
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May 9, 2024Leerlo durante mi viaje a Londres ha sido toda una experiencia. Si ya estaba odiando la ciudad, ir descubriendo estos testimonios me hacían sentir que tampoco había cambiado mucha cosa.
Total, comerse a los ricos nosequé.
Total, comerse a los ricos nosequé.
July 22, 2022
Llegué a esta libro por casualidad. Quería comprar algo en esta preciosa librería de los soportales de Logroño y entonces lo encontré. Me sedujo el título. Me fascinó la imagen de la portada. Me invadió toda la carga ideológica en la que yo me siento tan a gusto.
Nunca delante de los criados y los criadas -mejor dicho, las criadas - nunca delante de nadie.
Me ha gustado mucho la perspectiva de género del libro: no intencionada, pero evidente; natural, obvia, imprescindible. Me ha gustado el esfuerzo por desmitificar el mundo ordenado y sin conflicto del sistema "arriba y abajo". Me ha gustado conocer la evolución del servicio doméstico en Inglaterra desde hace más de 200 años, las vivencias reales de personas durante el siglo XX. El invite a reflexionar sobre la invisibilidad de los cuidados y en trabajo reproductivo, el rol de género, la negación de su valor en el capitalismo, su naturalización en la grupos sociales más vulnerables, la inexistencia (hasta años muy recientes) de un movimiento sindical de trabajadoras domésticas.
En fin, me han gustado muchas cosas.
No me han gustado algunas reiteraciones, un hilo narrativo al que le falta trabajo y orden, y al que le sobran algunas cosas (creo que se debe a alguna historia secreta con el manuscrito original y su posterior - y tardía- publicación).
Recomendable para cualquier persona interesada en la división de género y de clase del trabajo.
Nunca delante de los criados y los criadas -mejor dicho, las criadas - nunca delante de nadie.
Me ha gustado mucho la perspectiva de género del libro: no intencionada, pero evidente; natural, obvia, imprescindible. Me ha gustado el esfuerzo por desmitificar el mundo ordenado y sin conflicto del sistema "arriba y abajo". Me ha gustado conocer la evolución del servicio doméstico en Inglaterra desde hace más de 200 años, las vivencias reales de personas durante el siglo XX. El invite a reflexionar sobre la invisibilidad de los cuidados y en trabajo reproductivo, el rol de género, la negación de su valor en el capitalismo, su naturalización en la grupos sociales más vulnerables, la inexistencia (hasta años muy recientes) de un movimiento sindical de trabajadoras domésticas.
En fin, me han gustado muchas cosas.
No me han gustado algunas reiteraciones, un hilo narrativo al que le falta trabajo y orden, y al que le sobran algunas cosas (creo que se debe a alguna historia secreta con el manuscrito original y su posterior - y tardía- publicación).
Recomendable para cualquier persona interesada en la división de género y de clase del trabajo.
September 12, 2022
Un ensayo que retrata la realidad del trato que se le daba a la servidumbre durante la epoca victoriana y eduardiana en Reino Unido.
Un libro basado mayormente en relatos de personas que trabajaron como personal de servicio. Deja ver que quienes tenían la necesidad de realizar estos trabajos, estaban en condiones muy similares a la esclavitud y se les trataba como seres inferiores sin derechos; ayudándose muchas veces en el adoctrinamiento de mano de la religión católica para mantenerlos sometidos.
Aunque es muy interesante leer estos relatos, llega un punto en que el libro se siente muy repetitivo.
Un libro basado mayormente en relatos de personas que trabajaron como personal de servicio. Deja ver que quienes tenían la necesidad de realizar estos trabajos, estaban en condiones muy similares a la esclavitud y se les trataba como seres inferiores sin derechos; ayudándose muchas veces en el adoctrinamiento de mano de la religión católica para mantenerlos sometidos.
Aunque es muy interesante leer estos relatos, llega un punto en que el libro se siente muy repetitivo.
July 10, 2009
If you have ever wondered what it was like to be a servant in the late 1800s through early 1900s, this book will answer a lot fo questions for you. The author has actual excerpts from interviews with servants who worked during that time period, and the book also covers such matters as uniforms, pay, living conditions, and interactions between servants and their "betters." Very interesting stuff.
October 26, 2022
Me ha encantado!
January 23, 2023
Libro con datos muy interesantes y que ofrece una visión no dulcificada del servicio doméstico en la Inglaterra de finales del siglo XIX y principios del siglo XX. Sin embargo, gran parte de la información parece puesta sin un orden lógico, sin mencionar varias erratas.
December 11, 2023
El tema muy interesante pero el primer capitulo resume las ideas que se van a desarrollar en los demás y al final se hace súper repetititvo 😔
April 9, 2023
A highly informative book about how it really was to be a servant between the XVIII and XX century in England. It helps de-romanticise this position, something to keep in mind after watching shows like Downtown Abbey.
This book contains lots of information about the life of servants: from how people from the lower classes preferred to serve in the golden age of service, since it got them food and a bed, to how after two World Wars most of the system collapsed. It explains different aspects of the servant's life: the differences between the upper and lower class, as well as the differences in serving for a high class family than for a middle class family. It also displays the differences amongst those "downstairs", depending on their positions, as well as what was expected of them: how they spent their free time, the clothes they had to wear and how to get them, the gigantic load of work they had to do, and how all of these things changed as we moved into a new century.
The author has done a good research, not only with the cards he received from both old servants and patrons, but also researching and explaining about old investigations, laws, and newspaper publications about the matter.
I would have liked for the book to include some pictures- specially in the clothes department. Also, sometimes some caricatures were mentioned and explained- i would rather have seen the caricature as it was, for example, rather than having to picture it.
Overall, it gives a great insight into the lives of the people that were the backbone of english houses for ages. Mind you, while the book is not hard to get through at all, it contains very detailed information. So if you came to it expecting a light read and some complete letters from old servants with gossip about the old times, this book may not be for you! The letters are cut and quoted were they are relevant, but you cannot read them completely.
There is one little thing that annoyed me though, in the epilogue. It talks about how the serving class has mostly disappeared and now almost no one from that lineage is serving, since most of the people serving now are from other countries anyway. And how no one feels ashamed of serving as they used to be. I think this conclusion was not fitting at all- yes, maybe the problem has ended for the English servants, but what about the conditions of the foreigners that work in domestic care? After explaining in great detail how these workers have suffered through the years, i was expecting some kind words or reflection towards the people who work in the field now. Conditions can always be improved. And i still thing there is predjudice nowadays, but instead of being only class predjudice, it's also xenophobia. But since it doesn't affect the English as much anymore, the book gives the conclusion that "the problematics of serving and knowing where you belong have ended now, everything is good and well". Seems like you just found someone else to put below you to elevate you? It really bothered me.
Other than that, good research.
This book contains lots of information about the life of servants: from how people from the lower classes preferred to serve in the golden age of service, since it got them food and a bed, to how after two World Wars most of the system collapsed. It explains different aspects of the servant's life: the differences between the upper and lower class, as well as the differences in serving for a high class family than for a middle class family. It also displays the differences amongst those "downstairs", depending on their positions, as well as what was expected of them: how they spent their free time, the clothes they had to wear and how to get them, the gigantic load of work they had to do, and how all of these things changed as we moved into a new century.
The author has done a good research, not only with the cards he received from both old servants and patrons, but also researching and explaining about old investigations, laws, and newspaper publications about the matter.
I would have liked for the book to include some pictures- specially in the clothes department. Also, sometimes some caricatures were mentioned and explained- i would rather have seen the caricature as it was, for example, rather than having to picture it.
Overall, it gives a great insight into the lives of the people that were the backbone of english houses for ages. Mind you, while the book is not hard to get through at all, it contains very detailed information. So if you came to it expecting a light read and some complete letters from old servants with gossip about the old times, this book may not be for you! The letters are cut and quoted were they are relevant, but you cannot read them completely.
There is one little thing that annoyed me though, in the epilogue. It talks about how the serving class has mostly disappeared and now almost no one from that lineage is serving, since most of the people serving now are from other countries anyway. And how no one feels ashamed of serving as they used to be. I think this conclusion was not fitting at all- yes, maybe the problem has ended for the English servants, but what about the conditions of the foreigners that work in domestic care? After explaining in great detail how these workers have suffered through the years, i was expecting some kind words or reflection towards the people who work in the field now. Conditions can always be improved. And i still thing there is predjudice nowadays, but instead of being only class predjudice, it's also xenophobia. But since it doesn't affect the English as much anymore, the book gives the conclusion that "the problematics of serving and knowing where you belong have ended now, everything is good and well". Seems like you just found someone else to put below you to elevate you? It really bothered me.
Other than that, good research.
September 11, 2022
En vacaciones me vi todas las temporadas de Downton Abbey y su deriva cada vez mayor al culebrón, abandonando la cuidada contextualización histórica de las primeras temporadas, me incitó a saber más sobre cómo eran las relaciones reales entre los señores y los criados en esas grandes mansiones de inicios del siglo XX. Y así llegó este libro a mis manos.
Y como es obvio, la servidumbre no tenía un trato tan cercano y familiar con sus señores como en la serie, que edulcora en exceso los vínculos.
En este libro (escrito en los años 80, a raíz del éxito que tuvo en su momento la mítica Arriba y abajo) se parte de testimonios de personas que sirvieron en casa de distintas clases, desde grandes mansiones de la aristocracia, con un plantel de 50 o 60 sirvientes a casas más modestas de médicos o funcionarios, en los que normalmente "sólo" había una cocinera, una doncella y un chófer.
Y la realidad que narran es demoledora: jornadas de 14 o 16 horas, habitaciones son calefacción ni servicio (en muchas casas, incluso de las más grandes, sólo había un retrete exterior para todo el servicio), una tarde libre al mes... hasta que la ley se cambión tras la IGM y se pudo disfrutas de 4 horas libres cada dos semanas. Y las propias divisiones internas del servicio, pues los hombres siempre estaban mejor considerados y pagados que las mujeres (¿a alguien puede sorprenderle?) y no tenía la misma consideración o respeto una cocinera que una doncella, no digamos ya la pinche de concina, que ni la luz del sol veía...
Es un libro muy interesante en el que se van narrando los esfuerzos (pocos) por mejorar las condiciones del servicio, las leyes que regulaban las relaciones entre señores y criados, las normas no escritas sobre dichas relaciones, la forma de contratación, los abusos, la explotación...
Puede ser una anécdota o parecernos muy lejano, pero si tenemos en cuenta que en nuestro país sólo ahora se ha conseguido que las mujeres trabajadoras del hogar puedan cobrar paro, vemos que el servicio no es un trabajo muy respetado socialmente...
Y como es obvio, la servidumbre no tenía un trato tan cercano y familiar con sus señores como en la serie, que edulcora en exceso los vínculos.
En este libro (escrito en los años 80, a raíz del éxito que tuvo en su momento la mítica Arriba y abajo) se parte de testimonios de personas que sirvieron en casa de distintas clases, desde grandes mansiones de la aristocracia, con un plantel de 50 o 60 sirvientes a casas más modestas de médicos o funcionarios, en los que normalmente "sólo" había una cocinera, una doncella y un chófer.
Y la realidad que narran es demoledora: jornadas de 14 o 16 horas, habitaciones son calefacción ni servicio (en muchas casas, incluso de las más grandes, sólo había un retrete exterior para todo el servicio), una tarde libre al mes... hasta que la ley se cambión tras la IGM y se pudo disfrutas de 4 horas libres cada dos semanas. Y las propias divisiones internas del servicio, pues los hombres siempre estaban mejor considerados y pagados que las mujeres (¿a alguien puede sorprenderle?) y no tenía la misma consideración o respeto una cocinera que una doncella, no digamos ya la pinche de concina, que ni la luz del sol veía...
Es un libro muy interesante en el que se van narrando los esfuerzos (pocos) por mejorar las condiciones del servicio, las leyes que regulaban las relaciones entre señores y criados, las normas no escritas sobre dichas relaciones, la forma de contratación, los abusos, la explotación...
Puede ser una anécdota o parecernos muy lejano, pero si tenemos en cuenta que en nuestro país sólo ahora se ha conseguido que las mujeres trabajadoras del hogar puedan cobrar paro, vemos que el servicio no es un trabajo muy respetado socialmente...
July 9, 2018
Even after watching Upstairs Downstairs on TV in the ’70s, and then seeing the more recent (and more realistic) Gosford Park, not to mention Downton Abbey, there still is a tendency to view the 19th century English dependence on domestic servants as “quaint.” Dawes, an experienced television journalist, is himself the grandson of a career domestic, and as he makes clear, the life of most of those in service was far more than simply hard work. Servants -- especially those at the bottom of the pecking order, like scullery maids and “maids of all work” -- were grossly underpaid, often worked eighteen hours a day, could be fired at a moment’s notice, and were generally treated by their employers as not quite human. A very large percentage of domestics were girls under twelve years of age. And yet the middle and upper classes constantly harped on the “servant problem” and their inability to get “good” servants. Their blindness to social inequity was not unlike the insistence of many slaveholders that their chattels were loyal out of love of the family they served! (It rather amazes me that there was never a bloody class revolution in Britain. . . .) Dawes does an excellent job detailing the service system with its layers of controls, how servants survived, the hierarchy imposed even below stairs (everyone has to feel superior to someone), hiring and firing practices, how those in service were kept in line by Church of England propaganda, and what was likely to happen to young women who resisted the advances of male members of the household. Dawes depends heavily on reminiscences of and correspondence from those who were servants in their youth, or whose parents were, because forty years ago there still of lot of such people alive in Britain. This book couldn’t be written today. There are quite a few excellent period illustrations, too.
January 29, 2016
A fascinating and well written look at the "Upstairs, Downstairs" culture of the English domestic service during the years 1850 to 1939.
the author uses historical references, anecdotes from the time as well as correspondence with surviving members of the serving class of the time to bring to life what it was like to live and work in those times.
It's a way of life I don't think anyone in our times or culture can fully understand. Servants lived and worked in conditions appalling close to slavery, were treated as a separate species almost, not fully human, and yet they were better off than many of their contemporaries and many found a level of dignity and even social standing among their peers with their own pecking order and status levels.
The whole thing was amazingly complex and only worked as long as everyone accepted that this was the way it was supposed to be. Which changed after the two World Wars.
the author uses historical references, anecdotes from the time as well as correspondence with surviving members of the serving class of the time to bring to life what it was like to live and work in those times.
It's a way of life I don't think anyone in our times or culture can fully understand. Servants lived and worked in conditions appalling close to slavery, were treated as a separate species almost, not fully human, and yet they were better off than many of their contemporaries and many found a level of dignity and even social standing among their peers with their own pecking order and status levels.
The whole thing was amazingly complex and only worked as long as everyone accepted that this was the way it was supposed to be. Which changed after the two World Wars.
December 26, 2017
I was a fan of Downton Abbey , but before of that I fell in love with Downstairs Upstairs (an old outstanding British TV series portraying the lives of the servants and their upper-class employers).
You can watch it on YouTube.
So when a friend suggested this book I couldn’t help reading it. It is a serious research based on the testimonials of people who worked as servants nearly between 1890 and 1930 (the most). Plus a summary of the government studies on the situation of lack of servants after the WWI.
Nonetheless have found the book a bit poor as for information, it s portraits a world that was not as romantic as it is depicted in several TV series.
You can watch it on YouTube.
So when a friend suggested this book I couldn’t help reading it. It is a serious research based on the testimonials of people who worked as servants nearly between 1890 and 1930 (the most). Plus a summary of the government studies on the situation of lack of servants after the WWI.
Nonetheless have found the book a bit poor as for information, it s portraits a world that was not as romantic as it is depicted in several TV series.
September 2, 2022
Niños y sobre todo niñas que entran a formar parte de la servidumbre a edades tan escandalosas como los 12 ó 13 años. O antes. Se levantaban al amanecer, 5 ó 6 de la mañana, y se acostaban a medianoche. No había descanso y los días libres no existieron hasta bien entrado el siglo XX.
Lástima de la guillotina para esos señores ingleses, monarquía, nobleza e Iglesia, que fomentaron esta otra forma de esclavitud en el servicio doméstico a lo largo de decenas de años en la sociedad inglesa hasta pasada la Segunda Guerra Mundial.
Lástima de la guillotina para esos señores ingleses, monarquía, nobleza e Iglesia, que fomentaron esta otra forma de esclavitud en el servicio doméstico a lo largo de decenas de años en la sociedad inglesa hasta pasada la Segunda Guerra Mundial.
November 27, 2010
This was a very interesting history about the lives and duties of English servants in the Victorian and Edwardian eras in England.
It covers everything from what they wore to how they ate, wages, daily duties an interaction with each other and the people they served. Much of this did not come as a big surprise after all the reading I've done about Victorian England, but it brought it all together in one neat package.
It covers everything from what they wore to how they ate, wages, daily duties an interaction with each other and the people they served. Much of this did not come as a big surprise after all the reading I've done about Victorian England, but it brought it all together in one neat package.
July 9, 2022
El libro te da un panorama de lo que era la vida acomodada, cómo una clara división social no permitía crecer a la gente y una clara decadencia provoco que se terminará este servicio y memorias de los grandes ricos añorando que volvieran esas épocas doradas en las que contaban con muchos sirvientes, la Serie Dowton Abbie retrata una realidad cinematográfica... Que no está ni muy cerca a lo que relata el autor...
July 20, 2022
Pues es la primera vez que leo un ensayo. Me ha parecido interesante pues siempre he visto series que afianzan mi opinión de que es una suerte entrar en una gran casa , donde trabajabas y te trataban con respeto . Aquí vemos que no es así en la mayoría de los casos. Trabajando de sol a sol . Con sueldos ínfimos y muchas veces pagándote tus propios uniformes. Todo muy lejos de la vida que nos cuentan series como Downtown Abbey.
April 21, 2011
For anyone who wants to know more about being a servant, having a servant in the nineteenth century - this is the book. Loved it, easy to read, informative.
August 7, 2013
This gives a lot more detail on what life was really like for english servants. It was much worse than portrayed on shows like downton abbey.
August 15, 2014
I loved this book (surprising, I know) and learned a lot. I love this style of non-fiction (interviews and letters) though it is a bit dense and thus takes longer to finish. But well worth it.
January 3, 2016
Enjoyed this - great insight into the lives of former servants, mostly from letters from people who lived and worked below stairs.
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