The House Servant's Directory: Or a Monitor for Private Families : Comprising Hints on the Arrangement and Performance of Servants' Work (Paperback)

by Robert Roberts (Author), Graham Russell Hodges (Editor)

Editorial Reviews

Review
Provides a window into the work habits and thoughts of Anerican domestic workers and into antebellum African-Amrican politics. -- Georgia Historical Quarterly --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Description
An annotated introduction exploring the contemporary importance of the book "The House Servants Directory", the identity and character of the author, and its significance in American history.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: M.E. Sharpe (October 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 076560115X
• ISBN-13: 978-0765601155
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.3 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,409,876 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good household advice c. 1827, May 22, 1998

By A Customer

The author, a black freeman and a prominent figure in Boston Abolitionist politics, published this remarkable work in 1827 not only as a handbook for servants but as a guide for proper behavior by masters toward their employees.
The recipes given are practical and detailed, and the editor believes "still useful today", but some ingredients may prove inconvenient, (bullock's gall) or downright dangerous (mercury) and adding live eels to a master's libations to discourage intoxication seems more a prescription for brief employment than a useful intervention.
Quibbles aside, Robert's work stands as a readable and useful view into an era little known to most Americans today.

(The "score" rating is an ineradicable feature of the page. This reviewer does not "score" books.)