Les tribulations d'une cuisinière anglaise

by Margaret Powell

Dans l'Angleterre du début des années 1920, la jeune Margaret rêve d'être institutrice, mais elle est issue d'un milieu modeste et doit "entrer en condition". De fille de cuisine elle devient rapidement "cuisinière", un titre envié parmi les gens de maison. Elle n'en est pas moins au service de "ceux qu'on appelle "Eux"", confinée au sous-sol de l'aube à la nuit. Elle sait leur tenir tête et rend souvent son tablier pour améliorer ses conditions de travail, ce qui nous vaut de découvrir bien des dessous de maisons et de maîtres. Grâce à son franc-parler aux antipodes des récits nostalgiques de domestiques trop parfaits, ce truculent témoignage paru en 1968 valut la célébrité à Margaret Powell (1907-1984) et inspira plusieurs scénaristes, dont celui de la série Downton Abbey.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, History, Biography, Historical, Biography Memoir, British Literature

288 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1968

About the author

Margaret Powell (1907 – 1984) was an English writer. Her book about her experiences in domestic service, Below Stairs, became a best-seller and she went on to write other books and became a television personality. Below Stairs was an impetus for Upstairs, Downstairs and the basis of Beryl's Lot, and is one of the inspirations of Downton Abbey.

Reviews

[Magrat Ajostiernos · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un libro estupendo para todos los que nos interesa la Historia y especialmente detalles sobre la sociedad inglesa de principios del siglo XX y las diferencias de clase.
Tampoco es un libro que te vuele la cabeza, ni lo pretende, son las memorias de la autora contadas de manera sencilla, cargadas de sinceridad y sentido del humor.
Cuenta su experiencias sirviendo en distintas casas desde que tenía 13 años, y el trato que recibían los criados aún en las casas más modestas, y la precariedad laboral extrema que sufrieron.
Es un libro muy interesante por toda la información que te da sin dejar de resultar muy entretenido, lo que más me gustó es que la autora desde bien niña es consciente de estas diferencias de clase y al contrario que muchos de sus compañeros más conformistas es consciente de la injusticia que vive, y nunca deja de sentirse indignada... sentimiento que transmite con mucha facilidad al lector.

[Madeline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Do you watch Downton Abbey?

If you answered yes, congratulations, we can continue being friends. I'm currently obsessed with that show, and so when I was in Barnes and Noble last week browsing through the biography/memoir section (like I do) this caught my eye, and I was about to put it back when I noticed that the title was blaring MEMOIR THAT INSPIRED "UPSTAIRS, DOWNSTAIRS" AND "DOWNTON ABBEY" and the next thing I knew I bought it. So kudos to the marketing team behind this book, because they know exactly what they're doing.

If you don't know what Downton Abbey is or haven't watched it, I'd suggest you go do that immediately. The first season is on Netflix instant and has only eight episodes; it won't even take you that long. (I would also suggest you watch Gosford Park, which was also created by Julian Fellowes. I haven't seen Upstairs, Downstairs, but can only assume that it is also great) You can continue with this review if you like, but be forewarned that it will contain lots of references to Downton Abbey and probably Gosford Park too, and you will probably find yourself wondering why anyone would find the memoir of a maid in the 1930's so interesting. Guys. Guys. You don't even know.

Margaret Powell's memoir begins, "I was born in 1907 in Hove, the second child of a family of seven. My earliest recollection is that other children seemed to be better off than we were." Powell spends a few chapters telling us about her childhood and what it was like to grow up dirt poor and hungry, so we can understand that going into service was really the only option available to her. She left school at thirteen and spent a while working in a hotel laundry, and then at fifteen got a job as a kitchen maid for an upper-class family. (those of you who immediately began imagining Powell as Daisy: we have a lot in common)

In case anyone's curious, kitchen maids are the lowest of the low in the servant hierarchy. They are, essentially, the servant's servants. If you can't imagine how much that must have sucked, let Powell explain it to you:

"Kitchen maid's duties - rise at five-thirty (six o'clock on Sundays), come downstairs, clean the flues, light the fire, blacklead the grate (incidentally, when you blackleaded the grate you didn't have nice tins of liquid polish, you had a hard old lump of blacklead, which before you went to bed at night you had to put in a saucer with water and leave soaking all night before it would assume any kind of a paste to do the grate with. I didn't know this; and nobody bothered to tell me. I tried to do it next morning with the lump; I thought you had to rub it on the stove. No one told me anything. Why people should assume I knew, I don't know), clean the steel fender and the fire-irons (that steel fender, without exaggerating, was all of four foot long, with a tremendous shovel, tongs, and poker all in steel, which all had to be done with emery paper), clean the brass on the front door, scrub the steps, clean the boots and shoes, and lay the servants' breakfast. And this all had to be done before eight o'clock."

If nothing else, this book will relieve you of the illusion of happy servants, bustling around cheerfully and whistling while they work and all that. Powell is very clear about one thing: being a servant sucks.

"It was the opinion of 'Them' upstairs that servants couldn't appreciate good living or comfort, therefore they must have plain fare, they must have dungeons to work in and to eat in, and must retire to cold spartan bedrooms to sleep. After all, what's the point of spending money making life easier and more comfortable for a lot of ungrateful people who couldn't care less what you did for them? They never tried, mind, to find out if we would have cared more by making our conditions good and our bedrooms nice places in which to rest. ...But if 'Them' upstairs could have heard the conversation the parlourmaids carried down from upstairs, they would have realized that our impassive expressions and respectful demeanours hid scorn, and derision."

As you can probably see, there's a good deal of bitterness in Powell's narration. But there should be - she never wanted to go into service, but her situation in life gave her no other option. The bitterness and the anger annoyed some other reviewers, but I liked it, because it felt genuine. It didn't hurt that Powell is a great narrator - in addition to dishing out the gossip and letting us know in no uncertain terms that being a kitchen maid sucks eggs, she's always reminding us that things were a lot harder before we had all this newfangled technology. Every few sentences she's like, "This was before we had refrigerators" or "Nowadays you can just go to a supermarket and pick up so-and-so, but in my day..." She does everything except tel you she had to walk to school barefoot in the snow, uphill both ways.

I also appreciated the fact that Powell is secretly ballsy as hell. After working as a kitchen maid for two years, she decides that it's bullshit and she wants to work as a cook. So she lies about her age and basically bluffs her way into a job as a cook, where she then tells the mistress of the house that she certainly will not wear the little cap that comes with her uniform, thank you very much.

And her anger is understandable, because Powell's life was really very sad. She did really well in school and wanted to continue after she was thirteen, but since continuing her education would mean living in her parents' house (and her parents having to provide for her) until she was eighteen, she had to leave school in order to get a job. And Powell was smart - she talks about how she loved reading and would often scare boys away at dances by asking them what they thought of Dickens. In one of her later jobs, when her employer chides her for not being careful enough around the knick-knacks, Powell replies, "To me they're just material things; I have an affinity with G.K. Chesterton who wrote about the malignity of inanimate objects, and I think they are malign because they take up so much of my time, dusting, polishing, and cleaning them." It's kind of sad when Powell reflects at the end of the memoir how different her life could have been if she had continued her schooling and become a teacher like she'd wanted.

But it's not all sad. Did I mention the gossip? Because oh my, there is gossip. Those familiar with Julian Fellowes's various shows and movies will find themselves picking out his characters in this book. As I read, I found myself thinking, "Yep, that's Mrs. Patmore. Oh, that's totally Elsie. Aw, there's Ethel. Poor Ethel." (those who, unlike me, have not seen Season 2 of Downton Abbey because they're watching it on TV and didn't find episodes online a month ago, don't worry, no spoilers. But keep an eye on Ethel) I was thinking as I got into the book that it could only be better if it turned out that Powell knew a gay footman who spent all his time scheming and hitting on various male guests, but I knew that it was a slim chance. But then Powell gave me this delightful tidbit: "Once I heard Mrs. Mellroy say, 'Not her ladyship!' Ambrose Datchet said, 'I saw it with my own eyes.' So Mrs. Mellroy said, 'What, with her?' 'Her, and with him, too,' he said. 'He was a very handsome young man.' I gathered it was one of the footman having an affair with both the lady and the master of the house." Holy shit, guys, Thomas (or possibly Henry Denton) is real. That's all Powell says about the footman, so I can only assume that he had a malicious lady's maid as his partner in crime and they spent their time plotting and spying on everyone and it was awesome.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a delightful book! I admit I was drawn to it because of its claim to have inspired "Upstairs, Downstairs" and "Downton Abbey," but I think I would have loved it regardless.

The writer was born in 1907 in Hove, England, and even though she was bright and had won a scholarship, her family was poor and she couldn't afford to go to school, so she started working at age 13. Her first domestic service job was as a kitchen maid, and she eventually worked her way up to cook, which was a prestigious position in a household.

The stories of domestic service are not all charming, of course. Some of Margaret's employers were mean and the working conditions were awful, and the disparities between the rich and the lower class were keenly felt. But there is also spunk and gaiety in Margaret's stories, and she tells them so well that you feel as if you are sitting with her in the servants' hall, enjoying your afternoon tea and having a laugh about mean ol' Lady Gibbons.

Update October 2013:
My copy of this book has vanished and I am sad. I wanted to reread a few of Margaret's stories and the book is no longer on my shelf. I don't think I lent it to anyone, since I no longer lend books after one was returned with chocolate-stained pages. *shudder* One explanation is that a thief who loves stories about English servants broke into our house and swiped just this one book. And yet, my copy of "The Remains of the Day" is still there. Hmmm...

In any case, I really liked this book and wish I could reread it. If only I could find it.

[capture stories · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny, touching, and intriguing stories told from the true-life memoir written by the author during her time in service. The heart-breaking misfortunes are becoming a maid, Agnes, who got pregnant and abandoned by her master was part of it. The writing was witty, with a pinch of humor between lines, interlacing with the misery of servants' livelihood working from daybreak to nightfall with unending chores. It seemed unfair and unjust when it is deemed the humble one who should be sacrificed when there ought to be two parties to blame. It's a world that has always perked my curiosity and fed my wildest imagination; what is it like to live in that era where maids, masters, and mistresses play their parts in the upper and lower class society in the most part abstract yet absolute sensations in existence.

[Whitney · Rating 2 out of 5]

Overall: A memoir about the life of a kitchen maid turned cook in service at some of the great houses throughout London. Some interesting stories but the whole book had an overall negative tone 2/5 or 4/10

The Good: There was just enough good in this book to keep me going. I loved Downton Abbey and the positives in this book was learning more about the life of being in service in some of these great houses. Even in the show, Daisy (the kitchen maid) was one of my least favorite characters and compared to the narrator in this, I adored Daisy. There were some interesting stories and a few funny ones, though I only laughed out loud once in the entire book.

The Bad: The writing was not great and she just seemed angry all the time. I never liked her so that made the whole story a bit less than ideal. The life she led and stories she told were bland and lacked depth and details. Good potential but fell short. If you liked Downton Abbey then you may get some enjoyment from this, but not much.

[Zanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

This is a brisk and efficient book full of interesting observations on interwar British society from a working class perspective. Powell grew up in a poor family in Hove, a seaside town on the UK south coast very close to Brighton. That the working poor lived in dreadful conditions during the period is no surprise, but what struck me was Powell's praise of Hove, where during her childhood all the lawns were public space and filled with children of all classes playing (though generally not together of course, strict nannies keeping watch on middle class kids to see that they kept their clothes clean and stayed away from the rabble). By the time she wrote her memoir in 1968 it was all 'laid out for people with money' and there was nowhere for hide-and-seek. Seaside shows charged for seats, but those without money could stand at the back and watch. Even more agreeable to penniless children was the easily accessible countryside full of small scale family farms where they were sure to be allowed to watch and play and were likely to be offered home made lemonade. Thus, the text bears witness to a vanished commons, which can come again if we make it.

On the never again list however go most of the other experiences Powell describes. She won a scholarship at thirteen to continue her studies and wanted to become a teacher, but left school at the same age to start working in 'domestic service' because her family could not afford to support her. Powell notes that WWII completely changed the labour situation in the UK, allowing domestic workers to demand better conditions as the fighting took its toll on numbers of working age men, and women found more work available to them. Since service was renowned as appallingly paid, extremely hard work, and being a 'skivvy' was so disdainfully looked down on (in my view classism around work plagues British culture just as much today) that people were eager to find any other work, employers were forced to offer better pay and conditions as well as scale down their staffs as other sectors opened. However, during the years Powell worked as a kitchen maid, extremely long hours, humiliating treatment, minuscule wages and physically exhausting work were the norm. Her determination and intelligence helped her transition to the desirable post of cook (regarded as the best job in service), which gave her more time off, but pay was still poor and hours long.

While many middle class people in the UK pay someone to come in and clean for them regularly, and the very wealthy employ nannies, cooks and housekeepers, it's the exception rather than the rule for these people to live in the house of the folks they provide services for. Thus, the worker has an external private life in which they are not defined by their job, something vitally important for dignity and self esteem in our individualistic culture, even more so with the influence of the mythology of meritocracy. What Powell rails against most strongly is the condescension of employers (thinking about Mr Collins' use of the word to describe and praise the insufferably arrogant Lady Catherine in Pride and Prejudice) who aren't capable of considering their employees equally human to themselves. She is enraged by the ugliness and carelessness with which 'servant quarters' are furnished and vigorously ridicules employers' concern for the 'moral welfare' (ie religious observance and abstinence from sex and alcohol) of their staff when they care little enough for their physical or psychological welfare to provide them with unheated garrets, straw mattresses and leftover food.

Neither much of a feminist (she complains about the appalling fate of women who became pregnant while 'in service' yet asserts proudly that her husband got 'good value from [her]' in terms of cooking, child-bearing and housekeeping) nor an egalitarian ('I don't particularly envy rich people but I don't blame them. They try and hang onto their money, and if I had it I'd hang onto it too. Those people who say the rich should share what they've got are talking a lot of my eye and Betty Martin') Powell is at least a forceful opponent of the mockably elitist culture of classism. She speaks warmly of one family she worked for who genuinely respected their staff as people and provided excellent conditions and care. I'm sceptical that Powell's 'hang onto what you've got' philosophy is compatible with the cultural shifts needed to make that one good apple in the rotten barrel of employers the rule rather than the exception. It's obviously scandalous that an academically inclined young girl was prevented by the failure of the state and social fabric from continuing her education, and instead had to undertake work that, she reports, caused her long term psychological damage.

I've got carried away discussing the social implications of Powell's spirited and amusing memoir, but it is also fascinating from a food history perspective. Powell compares pre-war food very favourably with more modern fare, pointing out that everything was fresh as there were no refrigerators, and that bread and cakes weren't made in cost-cutting factories. British post-war food culture has a dire reputation partly blamed on rationing (though the people of Powell's class finally got enough to eat thanks to the regulations) so it's no surprise to hear that the food of the twenties and thirties was more appealing than than of the sixties, but the interwar diet of the rich as cooked by Powell for her employers was heavy on meat and fatty dairy products like cream and butter, which most likely caused the gout and other diseases of excess to which the sickly rich were prone in middle and older years. Pretty much within my lifetime London has become a good place to eat, mainly thanks to immigration, but also increasing health-consciousness that has led to more and fresher veg and wholefoods on offer. If you want to know more about this topic, check out this fun documentary series'Back in Time for Dinner' which starts in the '50s = )

[Labijose · Rating 3 out of 5]

Es más bien un libro de apuntes sobre cómo era el servicio doméstico de la época. No es nada del otro mundo, pero tiene algunos puntos interesantes, y te puedes hacer una idea de las estrecheces por las que la protagonista tuvo que pasar. No sé porqué hay lectores que esperaban encontrar una especie de "Downton Abbey", pues no tiene nada que ver, aunque se haya publicitado como el libro en el que se inspiró la serie, y esté ambientado también en Inglaterra. Es otra cosa. Eso sí, el estilo literario no es su punto fuerte, pues yo lo leí en inglés esperando encontrar algo similar a las obras de Austen, y está a años luz de su estilo. Son unas memorias narradas de forma bastante plana, y sin un sentido narrativo destacable. Aún así, recomendable por su valor histórico y emocional. Creo que fue publicado en 1968

[Darla · Rating 4 out of 5]

My Downton Abbey friends will find it an interesting read. Margaret wrote her book in a conversational tone and you feel like she is across from the table sipping cup of tea while she tells her story. I enjoyed it!

[Ana Cristina Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

No envidio especialmente a la gente rica, pero tampoco la culpo. Intentan aferrarse a su dinero. De haber tenido dinero, yo también me habría aferrado a él.

Este es el tono duro y lúcido de las memorias escritas por Margaret Powell en 1968, que recogen sus experiencias desde que con 13 años, en la Inglaterra de los años 20, entró a trabajar para una familia acomodada como pinche de cocina. Es la época de 'Downton Abbey' y 'Arriba y abajo', pero con menos glamour y vista desde la perspectiva de unas personas que trabajaban en condiciones muy injustas y estaban desprovistos de consideración social:

No teníamos la menor libertad. Puede que por eso la gente mirara tan despectivamente nuestro trabajo, y a nosotros mismos: porque estábamos irremediablemente atados a nuestros patronos.

Desde el principio la autora fue consciente de su situación y desnuda con una prosa clara y contundente todas las vanidades y la hipocresía de la sociedad de la época: la verdad es que no deja títere con cabeza y no se corta a la hora de criticar a 'los de arriba'. Ella misma lo reconoce:

Al repasar lo que he dicho puede dar la impresión de que estoy muy resentida por mi vida en el servicio doméstico. Si lo que predomina es la amargura, se debe a que ésa era la sensación dominante en mí, y porque lo que cuento son las experiencias que recuerdo.

En conjunto me ha parecido un relato muy sincero que da una idea clara de las costumbres y las tensiones sociales de esta época. Está narrado con mucha naturalidad, sin pretensiones, pero ofrece mucha información interesante.

[Kim A · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very easy and enjoyable read. Loved how Margaret Powell didn't romanticize the jobs and roles of servants like many other books I've read. Also appreciated hearing the opinions she had in regards to feminism and the injustices of the poor as well as the plight of those in the servant industry in England

Wish it were a bit longer but am now waiting for her second book which is a sequel to this one.

[Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

My gran could have written this book. It certainly sounded like her voice coming down through time! A fascinating first hand account of what life was like at the early part of the 19th century for so many bright, capable women. Choices were few and life was outlined almost from birth if you were born into a working-class family of uncertain means. My great grandfather, who served galantly in the war, raised three children in Paddington on a carman's wages.

My gran went into service as a laundry maid at 14. She was bright, gifted musically (played the piano by ear), had a sharp, penetrating sense of humor and a way with words. But undereducated, she had few opportunities to shine. Like Margaret, she decided to marry and be a mum, but unlike Margaret, she was pretty and outgoing and didn't have a problem finding a suitable (actually unsuitable was more the case) husband.

Powell makes some astute observations and social commentary that were right in line with the sufferage movement that gave women the vote but it was probably WWI that opened up society and started the movement towards a more fair and equitable society where wages were earned for a fair day's work and the understanding that treating servants, or laborers or any working class trade, fairly and more humanely was a way to keep them in your service for a longer. Is was going to take much more time, another world war, the rise of socialism, massive immigration and the raise of feminism before bright, intelligent women like Powell go their day.

One of the saddest comments in her book (for me) came in the last chapters when she described her self as aggressive and took great pains to assure the reader that she was not bitter. I believe her, but today, I think we would call her smart, funny, wary, astute, assertive and savvy. If only she had born 100 years later, who knows what this woman could have written or what she might have contributed to our understanding of society. A really great read.

[Kaethe · Rating 5 out of 5]

When Powell was one of seven children, and pretty much starving, everything was better and had more flavor. Not like the rubbish you get nowadays (ie., 1968). She has a strong voice but lacks perspective on everything. She tells the reader that her parents could enjoy sexy times in privacy only when the kids were off at Sunday School (nine people in two or three rooms) but doesn't consider that information about birth control was suppressed by the church and the state at that time. She had to leave school at thirteen because her parents couldn't afford to feed her.

On the other hand, when she describes the idiocy of being made to iron shoelaces, you can't help rooting for her.

Library copy

[Mela · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is a very informative book, especially for someone who likes to read historical fiction which take place in UK amongst upper class. The look from the house servant point of view is priceless. This memories opened my eyes to many aspects.

It is really hard to believe sometimes how people lived not such long ago. What they ate, how they made their dishes, how day cleaned a house and so on. (e.g.: there weren't fridges, nobody heard of something like a diet or healthy eating.)

Then, you have here different examples of a upper-class representative. Like people in other classes, groups, there were good and mean people, wise and stupid.

But most of all I like in this book two things.

First, the first part (unfortunately short) about childhood of the author. Although it was so hard I felt it was also happy, because even in the worst circumstances children want to be happy. And I simply felt they spirit.

Secondly, that Margaret Powell's experience as a house servant included times when that service went through a very big changes. So, you can find here descriptions of the old world and of the new one.

What I find here lacking is some kind of editing. Stories, memories were very engaging. I wasn't bored at any time. But I couldn't fail to notice that she repeated herself a few times. Her narration wasn't bad but it could be definitely better. Nonetheless, I can understand, she wasn't a professional writer after all. And considering how she started her life, it is quite impressive.

[nettebuecherkiste · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spätestens seit Downton Abbey besteht großes Interesse an sogenannten „Upstairs-/Downstairs“-Geschichten, die vom Leben der Bediensteten eines typischen britischen Upper Class-Haushalts des frühen 20. Jahrhunderts erzählen. Margaret Powell war eine von ihnen, wollte sich jedoch nicht mit dem harten Leben einer Küchenmagd abfinden und schaffte es mit viel Chuzpe, sich schnell zur Köchin hochzuarbeiten. Was sie erzählt, zeugt vom harten Leben der Bediensteten, die kaum mal etwas Freizeit hatten und von den himmelschreienden Ungerechtigkeiten der damaligen Zeit, trotzdem bleibt ihr Ton humorvoll. Margaret Powells Bedienstetenkarriere war begrenzt, da sie mit ihrer Heirat diese Tätigkeit aufgab, außerdem war sie sehr clever. Ihr Hauptwerk „Below Stairs“ ist unterhaltsam und informativ zugleich, doch möchte ich weitere ähnliche Memoiren lesen von Menschen, die länger ein solches Leben führten und vielleicht etwas weniger Geschick bei ihrer Durchsetzungsfähigkeit hatten.

[❀⊱RoryReads⊰❀ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Margaret Powell has a wonderful sense of humor and her experiences are a fascinating look at class prejudice and the poor treatment of servants in England prior to World War II.

[Georgiana 1792 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Avevo letto questo memoir anni fa ma, a parte l'atmosfera, ricordavo molto poco. Il che è un peccato, perché Margaret è di un'ironia incredibile (tanto che adesso, quando guarderò il retro di un autobus, non riuscirò a non pensare alla similitudine che lei utilizza per gli uomini brutti). Anni fa, molte persone sono rimaste male perché questo libro veniva pubblicizzato come la storia che aveva ispirato la serie Downton Abbey, ma naturalmente, nessuno dei personaggi della serie TV compariva in quest'autobiografia. Tuttavia, la storia di Margaret è utilissima a capire quale fosse la condizione dei domestici - delle ragazzine di quattordici e quindici anni, soprattutto - che andavano "a servizio", ovvero andavano a vivere e lavorare praticamente senza soluzione di continuità - con pochissimi giorni di riposo in un anno - nelle case degli aristocratici e dei benestanti, e che venivano trattati alla stregua di oggetti.
L'esperienza di Margaret è molto variegata, perché riesce a lavorare in diverse case e a dare il preavviso quando le cose non le stanno bene. E comunque, Margaret ha sempre avuto il desiderio di studiare e di migliorarsi, per cui, non appena ne ha l'opportunità (dopo il matrimonio e dopo che i figli sono cresciuti, naturalmente), si iscrive a vari corsi extra-universitari, e questo spiega come mai nel memoir ci siano tanti riferimenti letterari che mi erano sembrati strani, se non altro perché, vista la vita che descrive, nella prima parte del libro non mi sembrava che avesse tempo o modo di accedere a una biblioteca così fornita.
Non l'ispirazione per Downton Abbey, dunque, ma un'autentica chiave di lettura per comprendere i rapporti fra il piano di sopra (upstairs) e quello di sotto (downstairs) delle case signorili fino all'inizio del XX secolo.

[Sverre · Rating 3 out of 5]

At the conclusion of the book, Margaret Powell says "So despite what it may sound like, I'm not embittered about having had to go into domestic service." Readers would like to believe that but most of the contents and tone of the book can easily be understood as being the memoirs of an embittered domestic.

Fans of Downton Abbey and Berkeley Square may expect to discover tantalizing details of below and above stairs goings-on in this book but will be rather disappointed to learn that the dreary slavish monotony of domestic service in the 1920's and 30's was romantically uninspiring. Powell is bluntly honest and depressingly descriptive about her plight. Thankfully she occasionally does offer a humorous take on her experiences. And, trying hard not to be completely one-sided, towards the end she attempts to put into perspective the above stairs situations "they" had to contend with in a historically class-disruptive era. I do not know what her later books are like but in this her first memoir she provides the stark reality of below stairs drudgery and the often inhumane expectations of her superiors.

Movies and TV series (for entertainment enhancement) tend to overlook the worst occupational hardships and social deprivations which so many domestics had to endure. Powell's book can provide a necessary corrective for those misrepresentations.

[Francesca kikkatnt 'Free Palestine, Stop Genocide' · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ho voluto mettere in TBR questo titolo dopo aver finito la serie TV Downtown Abbey. Avevo letto da qualche parte che la serie era liberamente ispirata e che la traduzione in italiano dell'opera era avvenuta proprio grazie al successo televisivo.
Forse mi ero creata delle aspettative dovute alla visione della serie, ma pensavo che la storia assomigliasse molto di più.

Nonostante tutto mi è piaciuto. Ho potuto conoscere uno spaccato di vita dell'autrice che racconta come le persone povere dei primi anni del 900 non potessero essere destinate a nient'altro che il servizio.

«So che il passato è morto e sepolto; ora cose del genere non succedono più. Ma credo valga la pena di non dimenticare che accadevano»

[LolaF · Rating 3 out of 5]

Libro corto. Entretenido

Me ha gustado el tono irónico, mordáz y sarcástico que se se recoge en determinados pasajes, pero no ha sido un estilo uniforme en todo el libro.

Se nota los distintos sentimientos que han marcado cada época en la vida de esta mujer, desde unos buenos recuerdos de una infancia feliz en una familia muy humilde, la dureza y la amargura que destila cuando habla de su época de interna en las casas, su vida de casada que en muchos aspectos solo "toca de puntillas", las aspiraciones que tiene para sus hijos y por fin, al cabo de muchos años, poder centrarse en sacarse esa espinita que le marcó durante toda su vida y le quedó pendiente desde los 13 años.

En gran parte de la obra - pero no en toda- va comparando lo que se consideraba normal en aquellos tiempos con su época "actual" -finales de los 60, primera publicación del libro-. En algunos aspectos, determinadas cosas de los años 20 en Inglaterra no me han parecido tan lejanas, como sus juegos de infancia o la precariedad de la vida y el tener que servir en casas de interna, comparándolo con España en épocas mucho más recientes.

Me ha gustado el personaje de Margaret, una mujer inconformista, avanzada a su entorno en la época, que tenía claros sus objetivos y ha luchado por ellos.

Y sinceramente, creo que en la sinopsis se han recogido algunas citas para dar una imagen que no termina de corresponderse con lo que recoge el libro.

Valoración: 6/10
Lectura: Junio 2019

[El Convincente · Rating 3 out of 5]

Durante la lectura de este libro me ha venido a la memoria Roma, la película de Alfonso Cuarón. Y es que en su momento yo no entendí Roma:

¿Por qué siempre había tantas cacas de los perros en el patio de la casa? ¿De verdad la familia tenía aprecio a una empleada del hogar tan poco eficiente? ¿De verdad la empleada del hogar tenía aprecio a una familia que la reprendía por no limpiar más a menudo las cacas de sus perros? ¿De verdad las dos empleadas del hogar, cuando se quedaban a solas, no comentaban nada entre ellas sobre las putas cacas de los perros?

En el piso de abajo me ha convencido de que yo estaba en lo cierto. En una relación de servidumbre no puede haber amor. No se puede querer, apreciar o respetar a una persona que te paga para que limpies las cacas de sus perros.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a contrast to read this right after Julia Child's "My Life in France." With her acerbic wit and keen eye for social injustice -- not to mention the intellectual perseverance that led her to finally take and pass her O-levels after her children were grown -- Powell was clearly a force to be reckoned with, "in service" and out. Yet the function of the British class system at the time -- she was born in 1907 to a hardscrabble family -- was to continually "put her in her place," in other words to remind her how worthless she was. Powell took the bone-weary life of a kitchen maid, where she literally worked 16 hours a day nonstop, seven days a week, and made a career as a cook, which required all the ingenuity of Julia Child and more. Still, the forces of class were insidious and implacable. To take just one example: When the well-off American Julia Child, as a newlywed, cooked her husband an ambitious yet failed dinner, he encouraged her to enroll in the Cordon Bleu; when the young Powell (who took marriage as a way out of servitude) applied her professional success to her new domestic life, her husband told her to stick to fish and chips.

[Kate · Rating 2 out of 5]

While I did enjoy learning about Downstairs life, it was rather a slow read for me. Margaret Powell did have some interesting stories in the book but most of the book seemed negative. Negative on not just being a servant but life it self. I see that the author wrote more books, maybe give another one a try. Overall, not a bad book but not something that really held my attention.

[Abril Camino · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bien como relato de una época y acercamiento a lo que era la vida del personal doméstico a principios del siglo XX. Pero la narración es flojísima y muy aburrida por momentos. Me ha costado mucho acabarlo.

[fenrir · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dal libro che si vocifera abbia ispirato la serie televisiva Downton Abbey mi aspettavo qualche cosa di più, lo ammetto.
E' un libro interessante che descrive la vita dei domestici che lavorano nelle case degli aristocratici degli anni trenta ma senza i dettagli che mi aspettavo di trovare. Parla principalmente solo della vita della protagonista mentre va a servizio e senza descrivere in maniera dettagliata in realtà niente. Di "loro", cioè dei suoi datori di lavoro, sappiamo poco o niente e Margaret Powell li ha spesso in tale antipatica (di solito più che meritata) da accennarne solo qualche fatto negativo e basta. In generale mi aspettavo qualche cosa di più, anche sulla vita dei domestici quando invece è come se Margaret facesse un veloce riassunto della sua vita a servizio senza scendere mai troppo nei dettagli (dettagli che avrei apprezzato molto).

[^ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was surprised to find no mention of a ghost writer; because the style of the writing is very much 'as told'. That directness really does work well, because the reader is firmly put at the same level as the servants; and, boy, don't a number of the employers seem to inhabit some rarefied and distant plane!

Yes, one is left wishing that employers would be more considerate of the quality of life of their servants. But one can well see in Margaret Powell the dilemma to many: wondering how to be a humane employer, without encouraging advantage to be taken. That dilemma persists today. Plus ça change.

A good read, and yes, very funny.

[Guzzo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bueno, me espera más de este libro, no sé si más o algo diferente. Me esperaba ironía, finura en las observaciones, más detalle. Imagino que al saber que inspiró "Arriba y abajo", serie que recuerdo perfectamente, me he hecho mi propia composición del libro.

Se trata de una narración sencilla, en momentos crítica, pero con poca lucidez, la verdad, tirando a simple. No hay grandes descripciones, solamente las experiencias de una chica que tiene que entrar a servir. Una chica que sueña con ser señora.

Recomendable.

[Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A scrivere questo memoir è una ragazza nata nel 1907 in una povera e numerosa famiglia di Hove, a sud di Londra. Costretta ad abbandonare gli studi perché non può permetterseli, Margaret va a servizio, prima come sguattera e poi come cuoca.
L’edizione Einaudi sottolinea come questo libro abbia ispirato la serie televisiva Downton Abbey, ma a dir la verità qui i saloni sfolgoranti che si menzionano in quarta di copertina sono visti solo di sfuggita. Margaret può parlare con certezza e proprietà solo di seminterrati bui e scale di servizio.
Una testimonianza che mostra l’enorme differenza tra ricchi, poveri ed arricchiti. Scritta in modo semplice da una penna schietta, senza falsi moralismi: mai stucchevole né troppo amara, a tratti divertente.

[Bree (AnotherLookBook) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting read and surprisingly compelling. The author’s voice reminded me strongly of the character Daisy from Downton Abbey. Some of the most fascinating parts were her reflections on growing up in poverty in a time before social services. Looking forward to reading the sequel at some point in the future.

[Shiloah · Rating 5 out of 5]

M. Powell has such a cheery way of writing. I love her spunky attitude. This is an enjoyable feel-good book. I have such a fascination about how all people lived throughout history. This is an interesting look at service in 1920s England.

[Lois · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was interesting and surprisingly well written