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The Victorian Domestic Servant (Shire Library)
by Trevor May
Product Group: Book
Publisher: Shire (2008-03-04)
ISBN: 0747803684
EAN: 9780747803683
Dewey Decimal #: 306
Binding/Media: Paperback - 32 pages
Edition: illustrated edition
Release Date: 2008-03-04
SKU: SM702
Condition: New
Comments: Paperback, Book is in Unused Condition. Book is completely intact with inside pages in Excellent condition with no tears and with no notations (no pencil marks, no underlining, no highlighting, etc.) Fast Service. Books well packed. ( « if ( document.getElementById ) { document.writeln('less'); } )
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Editorial Reviews
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Product Description
In 1851 there were over one million servants in Britain, making domestic service the second largest occupational group after agriculture. The range of people who kept servants was vast, from aristocrats to the lower middle class families who employed a single 'maid of all work'. This book covers the whole range of domestic service in the nineteenth century, describing the work and conditions of servants and giving an insight into the strict social hierarchy, which was strong 'below stairs' as above.
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Customer Reviews
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Informative and To the Point
Rating  (4)
Date: 2010-04-29
3 out of 3 customers found this reveiw helpful
This book from Shire Classics describes the 19th-Century servant class in Great Britain in satisfying detail. Shire Books are generally short, more monographs than books, but they are jam packed with images and information.
'The Victorian Domestic Servant' reveals that the Duke of Bedford (died 1839) employed 300 servants and the Duke of Portland employed 320. These were excessive amounts to be sure, but most respectable Victorian households employed servants. An income of 250 a year allowed a family to employ a maid of all work, but an income of 100 would barely pay the rent, much less pay for help. As an aside, Jane Austen, her mother and sister were able to afford a maid of all work and a male servant on their modest income. After moving to Barton Cottage, the Dashwood women employed two servants as well. Yet both the Austen and Dashwood women, while not destitute, had to count every penny. People like Mrs. Smith from Persuasion and the Bates women in Emma could afford no help at all.
In 1851 domestic service represented the second largest occupation in England after agriculture, although the servant class was in constant flux. People constantly moved positions looking for higher pay or for promotions. Although many servants felt professional pride towards their work, they often left service because the deference their employers expected wore them down. For the lower servants, the constant need for showing respect was even worse. The servant hierarchy Below Stairs showed as many distinctions as Above Stairs, with lower and upper servants rarely commingling. Lower servants were expected to remain silent at the table when dining, for example. They were expected neither to be seen nor heard.
Most of the work that servants performed had to be done out of sight of the family that employed them. This meant they had to rise early to do their tasks, stopping when the family arose and restarting late in the evening again. Tasks were repetitive and laborious, such as filling a tub with water, or bringing coal to fireplaces and stoves and removing ashes. Much time was spent removing coal ash from fireplaces, and dusting rooms and sweeping floors clear of the substance.
The preferred servant was raised in the country, for these people tended to show respect and deference. A symbol of status was the footman, who wore livery and actually had not much work to do other than open and close doors, help the butler serve food at table, and sleep in the Butler's Pantry to help protect the family plate and silver from thieves. While The Victorian Domestic Servant is only 32 pages long, I found so much information packed in its pages that I will have to read it again soon. For those who are curious about the servant class, or for writers of the Victorian Era, I cannot recommend this book enough, especially to people who are just starting to learn the topic. Yes, much of this information exists online, but in a helter skelter fashion, and it would take the average person some time to hunt up.
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General and short
Rating  (3)
Date: 2010-04-05
3 out of 3 customers found this reveiw helpful
As a basic, general overview of servant life it is a moderate start, but at only 30 pages for $10+, the information can be gathered quite readily from other sources for less money. Some of the illustrations are interesting, and do draw heavily from period sources such as Punch and domestic manuals, but there is nothing terribly insightful here. One plus, however, to be sure, is a list at the back of the book of locations in England where domestic life is presented more thoroughly in manor houses and the like. For my trip to England, that will be a references I will use.
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