the classic kitchen maid's memoir that inspired "Upstairs, downstairs" and "Downton Abbey"
lingua English
Pubblicato il 30 Dicembre 2012 da St. Martin's Press.
"A kitchen-maid's through-the-key hole memoir of life in the great houses of England--now a bestseller in the UK. At fifteen, she arrived at the servants' entrance to begin her life as a kitchen maid in 1920s England. The lowest of the low, her world was one of stoves to be blacked, vegetables to be scrubbed, mistresses to be appeased, and even bootlaces to be ironed. Work started at 5:30am and went on until after dark. In this captivating memoir, Margaret tells her tales of service with wit, warmth, and a sharp eye. From the gentleman with a penchant for stroking housemaids' curlers, to raucous tea dances with errand boys, to the heartbreaking story of Agnes the pregnant under-parlourmaid, fired for being seduced by her mistress's nephew, Below Stairs brilliantly evokes the longvanished world of masters and servants portrayed in Downton Abbey and Upstairs, Downstairs. Rocketing back on to the UK …
"A kitchen-maid's through-the-key hole memoir of life in the great houses of England--now a bestseller in the UK. At fifteen, she arrived at the servants' entrance to begin her life as a kitchen maid in 1920s England. The lowest of the low, her world was one of stoves to be blacked, vegetables to be scrubbed, mistresses to be appeased, and even bootlaces to be ironed. Work started at 5:30am and went on until after dark. In this captivating memoir, Margaret tells her tales of service with wit, warmth, and a sharp eye. From the gentleman with a penchant for stroking housemaids' curlers, to raucous tea dances with errand boys, to the heartbreaking story of Agnes the pregnant under-parlourmaid, fired for being seduced by her mistress's nephew, Below Stairs brilliantly evokes the longvanished world of masters and servants portrayed in Downton Abbey and Upstairs, Downstairs. Rocketing back on to the UK bestseller lists almost fifty years after its initial publication, this is the remarkable true story of an indomitable woman, who, though her position was lowly, never stopped aiming high"--
Margaret diventa inserviente di cucina a 15 anni, siamo nel primo 900. Con un linguaggio asciutto e ironico descrive i suoi anni al servizio delle case aristocratiche inglesi, tra ore lunghissime, letti scomodi, paghe irrisorie e pettegolezzi. Uno spaccato d'epoca da un punto di vista inusuale. Consigliato anche da Prunetti come buon esempio di letteratura working class.
