Not in Front of the Servants: Domestic Service in England, 1850-1939 [Hardcover]

Frank V. Dawes (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Wayland (Publishers) Ltd (July 26, 1973)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0853402876
• ISBN-13: 978-0853402879
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,938,270 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Nitty Gritty of Life Below Stairs, January 27, 2005

By 

Juniperwoman (Portland, Oregon USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Not in Front of the Servants: Domestic Service in England, 1850-1939 (Hardcover)

This is a good book. It is not as long as I would like, it does not go into the detail that I crave, but it is extraordinary because it is full of first hand accounts of life below stairs. It was published in 1973, when many former servants were yet living, and from what I can gather, the author spent years corresponding with actual servants-actual butlers and footmen, nannies and nursemaids, and everyone else who lived behind the green baize door. These letters are quoted quite frequently in the book, as are the letters of the employers of servants and people who grew up in households where there were servants.

Of course, even in 1973, living memory could only stretch back so far, and so the author also relies on the published reminiscences of those who were long dead.

Occasionally, there are moments of greatness, and the reader can almost hear the echo of real life belowstairs. There are maids who cry because they hate their uniforms so much, maids who are hungry, maids who are happy and proud. It seems to have been a mixed bag, and Not In Front of the Servants presents it as such.

My beef with this book is that I would like more of it (it clocks in at a mere 160 pages, including the index). I would love to see some of these letters in their unabridged form. So, Frank Dawes, if you're out there, get moving on an anthology!

And now for some nitty gritty about this book:

There are 16 pages of black and white illustrations (32 illustrations total), and chapters are as follows:

The Great Age of Servants (introduction)

Not in Front of the Servants (attitudes of servants and employers towards each other)

A Fate Worse Than Death (sexual attitudes)

The Divine Order (the role of religion)

Hierarchy Below Stairs

Living at the Top, and Working at the Bottom (daily life of servants)

Fires Before Breakfast (workload)

The Apron will be Starched (uniforms, both on and off duty)

Recruiting the Skivvies

Wages and "Perks"

High Jinks Below Stairs

The Servant Problem (the years of decline between the two Great Wars)