Below Stairs: The Classic Kitchen Maid’s Memoir That Inspired Upstairs, Downstairs and Downton Abbey
By: Margaret Powell
Genre: Biography
Pages: 212
Published: 2012
Read: October
3.5 out of 5
First published in 1968, this biography is written in the
high standards that avid readers place on books today. This was not only
impressive, but also unique. In the retelling of her life as a servant, Powell
does so with humor and grace. The reader
won’t feel sad for her, but instead proud of her and her accomplishments. I do believe this was her intent and the book
was not written to gain sympathy, just awareness. This biography also exemplifies
the difference between good and bad employers. Powell stresses several times
throughout the novel, what a difference a good employer is to a servant’s, or
any employee’s, attitude towards work. My favorite aspect of the book was the
comedic side of Powell’s storytelling.
Margaret Powell, who died in 1984, also wrote Servants’ Hall: a Real Life Upstairs,
Downstairs Romance which was published in 1979.
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