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Chargement... Life Below Stairs: True Lives of Edwardian Servants (original 2011; édition 2012)par Alison Maloney (Auteur)
Information sur l'oeuvreLife Below Stairs: True Lives of Edwardian Servants par Alison Maloney (2011)
KayStJ's to-read list (1,271) Chargement...
Inscrivez-vous à LibraryThing pour découvrir si vous aimerez ce livre Actuellement, il n'y a pas de discussions au sujet de ce livre. This book is an enjoyable primer into the lives of English domestic servants in the early 20th century. In it, Alison Maloney covers the basics of their existence, from the experience of hiring and the background of the servants through their daily routines to the aspects of their lives outside of their work. As one might expect Downton Abbey is a clear inspiration behind the book, which is reflected in the occasional quotes about domestic service during that era from various people involved with the show. Yet Maloney’s book stands on its own as a short overview to the people “downstairs,” and is an excellent book for anyone seeking an introduction to the world in which they lived. For fans of Upstairs, Downstairs & Downtown Abbey (ME!), comes Life Below Stairs. It's a fabulous, fascinating look at the true lives of servants who served the rich and fabulously wealthy. It's definitely written towards fans of the two mentioned series - it's a rather light look, doesn't get into a lot of details, and doesn't hit upon any of the negative aspects of being a servant - like 80 hour work weeks for no pay or sleep or freedom. Anyone who really knows the time period well, or the history of servants, will find this book too light to really enjoy, but for someone like me who was introduced to the time period through Downtown Abbey, it was a great read, though I really do wish there was MORE as the volume is pretty small. The photographs and letters were a nice touch. Life Below Stairs: True Lives of Edwardian Servants by Alison Maloney 192 pages ★★ This sounded like such a fascinating book to me when I checked it out at the library, at least for a history geek like myself. But I was highly disappointed. It reads so much like a text book, a poorly formatted one at that. Everything is put into subcategories such as “How a butler dresses”, “How a house maid dresses” “Hiring of servants”, etc…some being only a paragraph or so and it just ended up feeling repetitive. There is some good information within but the writing lacked any personality and came off as quite dry. Some good pictures as well but not enough to save this book. She uses long quotes and paraphrasing from other history and memoir books (where is seems she mostly copied her info from) that seemed way more interesting so I may give one of those a try. An okay book for quick information but there are definitely better reads with better information in them. aucune critique | ajouter une critique
History.
Nonfiction.
HTML:In Life Below Stairs, bestselling author Alison Maloney goes behind the scenes to reveal a detailed picture of what really went on 'downstairs', describing the true-life trials and tribulations of Edwardian servants in a gripping non-fiction account. Thoroughly researched and reliably informed, it also contains first-hand stories from the staff of the time. A must-read for anyone interested in the lifestyle and conduct of a bygone era. Aucune description trouvée dans une bibliothèque |
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Google Books — Chargement... GenresClassification décimale de Melvil (CDD)640.46094109041Technology Home and family management Home management Specific aspects of home management Household employees History, geographic treatment, biographyClassification de la Bibliothèque du CongrèsÉvaluationMoyenne:
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I'm a huge Downton Abbey fan and I'm afraid this had made the storyline regarding the staff relationships with The Family seem preposterous. That's unfortunate and almost seems a silencing of the servants true stories which do deserve to be told. ( )