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Below Stairs The Classic Kitchen Maid Memoir That Inspired "Upstairs Downstairs" and "Downton Abbey" Margaret Powell Books

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Below Stairs The Classic Kitchen Maid Memoir That Inspired "Upstairs Downstairs" and "Downton Abbey" Margaret Powell Books

I bought this book solely on the basis of the second half of the title - "The Classic Kitchen Maid's Memoir That Inspired 'Upstairs, Downstairs' and 'Downton Abbey'". I am a far bigger fan of Downton Abbey than I was of Upstairs, Downstairs, but never mind that. What a charming and delightful memoir!

The book's notes say that the first volume of Margaret Powell's memoirs were first published in 1968. That would also be consistent with the declaration that this book helped inspire Upstairs, Downstairs which I think originally ran from 1971-1975. I am assuming (but I may be wrong), that this book is the compilation of her original memoirs. Since the author passed away in 1984, she couldn't very well have added anything recently unless the family came across additional writings which she might have done.

Anyway, onto the book itself which is charming and written in very British English. I had to resort to the dictionary a few times to find the meaning of a British term with which I was unfamiliar, but who doesn't love learning some new words? It tells Margaret's story in her own words, from childhood through older age when she was finally able to return to school. It was so easy to put myself in her place as the story unfolded, trying to imagine what I might have said or done in the same circumstances which she describes as first a kitchen maid in service and then a cook.

One thing I might want to point out to potential readers who are expecting to read something with a storyline like Downton Abbey's multilayered saga - This is Margaret's personal story. Other characters enter and exit, but it is essentially Margaret's struggle to survive in service during the early part of the 20th century. She describes in first person a bygone era which we now watch on television. I can't always agree with her opinions or decisions at times, but I greatly respect the journey which she took as well as the ultimate thirst for life and learning which she embodied.

The only reason this book received four stars instead of five is a very personal one. I loved reading the novel from beginning to end, but I wish it had been a little more detailed in places. I would have liked to have known what happened to the author's family, for example. I would have liked to have known a bit more about how she met and courted Albert the milkman. I would have loved to have heard about the rest of her personal life, but I suppose there are only so many pages in a book. Either way, the lack of one star does not mean a lack of quality in the book. Reading this book is like sitting down and listening to the tales of a beloved relative with tales to tell. It's an opportunity you don't want to miss.


Tags : Amazon.com: Below Stairs: The Classic Kitchen Maid's Memoir That Inspired "Upstairs, Downstairs" and "Downton Abbey" (9781250005441): Margaret Powell: Books,Margaret Powell,Below Stairs: The Classic Kitchen Maid's Memoir That Inspired "Upstairs, Downstairs" and "Downton Abbey",St. Martin's Press,1250005442,Cooks;Great Britain;Biography.,Women household employees;Great Britain;Biography.,Working class women;Great Britain;Biography.,20th Century England,Biography,Biography & Autobiography,Biography & Autobiography Women,Biography Autobiography,BiographyAutobiography,Cooks,GENERAL,GREAT BRITAIN - HISTORY - 20TH CENTURY,General Adult,Great Britain,Great BritainBritish Isles,HOME MANAGEMENT,Non-Fiction,Personal Memoirs,Rich people,United States,Women,Working class women

Below Stairs The Classic Kitchen Maid Memoir That Inspired "Upstairs Downstairs" and "Downton Abbey" Margaret Powell Books Reviews

Below Stairs and the sequel Climbing the Stairs are wonderful first person memoirs by a woman who worked in service to the wealthy upper crust of Britain in the early part of the 20th century. The books were written in the late 1960's and are being given renewed life because they inspired the wildly popular Downton Abby and Upstairs Downstairs. Margaret Powell didn't have much use for her masters and wanted out of the life as soon as she could find herself a husband. It is a first-hand account of the dichotomy between rich and poor as it played out in wealthy homes of Britain. There is anger and bitterness expressed for the people she calls THEM (as opposed to the servants...us). But both books are laced with wonderful humor. She made me smile and laugh out loud! Though the author died in 1984, I have got to give her a silent cheer. From the depths of poverty, having left school at the age of 14 to work first in a laundry and then as a kitchen maid and cook, Margaret went on to get an education in her senior years, write best-selling books, be a television personality, and died leaving a substantial amount of money in her estate. Kudos to Margaret Powell. I thoroughly enjoyed both books.
This was a humorous account of life in service in the early to mid 1900s. Margaret Langley Powell [1907-1984] started in the lowest position of service in the British household, that of being a cook's helper; meaning she did all the dirty work in the kitchen. She finally rose to the rank of cook with her own helper, after which she became an author and life was a bit easier for her later years. Since this book was originally published in 1968, she really had a hard life until she was 61.

I particularly loved her descriptions of life in service without the use of vulgar language thrown in gratis by most modern authors. I would like to give a few examples that sum up her thoughts, at least as I see them.

1. "...when you see an economic recipe and they say you can't taste the difference from the original, [normally this meant substituting margarine for butter] well probably you can't if you've never eaten the original." P96
2. In speaking of her disdain for employers always being practical, "At Christmas we got presents of cloth to make things with, aprons and horrible sensible presents." P98
3. One of the cutest stories about sex without using the word was told about the upstairs parlor maid Gladys and her family, "According to Gladys, her father drank like a fish and he came home most nights roaring drunk and incapable. I used to think he couldn't have been SO incapable, otherwise her mother couldn't have had nineteen children, could she?" )
4. In describing her regular Spring cleaning chores at one household she says, "During these four weeks I got up at five o'clock each morning and I worked until eight o'clock at night. Then I had to get supper for the servants after that. We all worked those hours, but of course, I remember mine in particular because it was mine that made me tired, not theirs." P121
5. In describing an outhouse still used at one home Margaret says, "And it had one of those seats with two holes. The sort for Darby and Joan who couldn't bear to be separated. Talk about two hearts that beat as one! Heaven knows it was lethal enough when only one had been in. I shouldn't think two could have come out alive." 0
5. In discussing the advantages that employers gave for paying low wages and stressing what the servant would learn, she says, "When I left domestic service I took with me the knowledge of how to cook an elaborate seven course dinner and an enormous inferiority complex; I can't say I found those an asset to my married life." P191
6. To explain poverty and sex she said, "...when I was a child I'd lived on a street where most babies were born as a result of Saturday night reveries. They were known as beer babies." P193

I really liked this little book which can easily be read in one very long sitting or several shorter ones. It kept my interest throughout, and the lack of any vulgar language was a refreshing change. I would say it is a safe book for middle aged kids, although they may ask what some of the anachronistic terms mean. I highly recommend this book to all.
I bought this book solely on the basis of the second half of the title - "The Classic Kitchen Maid's Memoir That Inspired 'Upstairs, Downstairs' and 'Downton Abbey'". I am a far bigger fan of Downton Abbey than I was of Upstairs, Downstairs, but never mind that. What a charming and delightful memoir!

The book's notes say that the first volume of Margaret Powell's memoirs were first published in 1968. That would also be consistent with the declaration that this book helped inspire Upstairs, Downstairs which I think originally ran from 1971-1975. I am assuming (but I may be wrong), that this book is the compilation of her original memoirs. Since the author passed away in 1984, she couldn't very well have added anything recently unless the family came across additional writings which she might have done.

Anyway, onto the book itself which is charming and written in very British English. I had to resort to the dictionary a few times to find the meaning of a British term with which I was unfamiliar, but who doesn't love learning some new words? It tells Margaret's story in her own words, from childhood through older age when she was finally able to return to school. It was so easy to put myself in her place as the story unfolded, trying to imagine what I might have said or done in the same circumstances which she describes as first a kitchen maid in service and then a cook.

One thing I might want to point out to potential readers who are expecting to read something with a storyline like Downton Abbey's multilayered saga - This is Margaret's personal story. Other characters enter and exit, but it is essentially Margaret's struggle to survive in service during the early part of the 20th century. She describes in first person a bygone era which we now watch on television. I can't always agree with her opinions or decisions at times, but I greatly respect the journey which she took as well as the ultimate thirst for life and learning which she embodied.

The only reason this book received four stars instead of five is a very personal one. I loved reading the novel from beginning to end, but I wish it had been a little more detailed in places. I would have liked to have known what happened to the author's family, for example. I would have liked to have known a bit more about how she met and courted Albert the milkman. I would have loved to have heard about the rest of her personal life, but I suppose there are only so many pages in a book. Either way, the lack of one star does not mean a lack of quality in the book. Reading this book is like sitting down and listening to the tales of a beloved relative with tales to tell. It's an opportunity you don't want to miss.