For anyone interested in Edwardian social history, the lives of working men and women, or even the Downton Abbey fan to list only a few subjects, Life Below Stairs is an excellent read. Detailing the lives of butlers to scullery maids, Maloney makes use of a variety of sources to describe the daily chores and doings of those who lived below the stairs of the lavish Edwardian homes. Creatively written, not only does this work describe the life conditions of serving men and women, but included are intimate stories of individual servant such as Margaret Thomas and Dorothy Green, recipes for hair wash, and a time table of a Butler’s day from 6:45 am to 1:00 am the next day. What makes this work particularly valuable is Maloney’s list of sources which are largely primary accounts and some well researched scholarly texts. Through the use of such sources, Maloney offers analysis that is both easy to read and well researched.
Of the many topics covered in this text, of great interest was the segment on maids’ uniforms. For a young girl going into service, she had to provide her own set of uniforms including a “ . . . uniform of a print dress, a black dress and several white aprons”(pg. 61). A maid would have also have had to own a corset and all the proper underpinnings. Saving and working up for these items was laborious and expensive resulting in girls, as young as age 14 beginning to work and save to eventually find a position in a large and respectful home. Once in a good position, her pay would have been meager but it was a preferred alternative to work elsewhere. For a footman, his uniform would have been supplied to him and would have been quite lavish according to Maloney and she elaborates that:
“[i]t was a bone of contention among the female staff that, while the lowliest maid had to scrimp and save to buy her own uniform, the footman, who earned a higher wage than the majority of the female staff, was provided with his” (page 69-70).
The subject of men’s and women’s uniforms alone is fascinating and offers some interesting sub text on the culture of the Edwardian period in itself. In this period, servants were sub divided by sex and even position much like the society above stairs. No matter where one was on the social ladder, there was always more dividing and sub dividing. This position on the ladder was of great importance to the staff and Maloney elaborates on this with the stories of young new maids such, as Beatrice Gardner, being teased, often cruelly, by the more experienced and higher ranking maids. Maloney elaborates:
“The snobbery in the ranks below stairs was perpetuated as much by the staff themselves as by their employers. ‘Knowing your place’ was as important, if not more so, when talking to a fellow member of the staff as when addressing the family” (page 22).
Although this is a well-researched and very easy to read text, it is aimed towards a British audience. Much of the stories Maloney uses are European in origin as are her primary sources. With that said, if one wants to know more about American servants, this text may not be too helpful for specific details. This text would be good for a general idea though. Since this text is British based, when Maloney discusses money, it is in English pounds, etc. There is no American equivalency. This text also focused only in the Edwardian period in great detail with very little analysis into the lives of servants before or after that period. It would be an interesting addition to this work to include how the lives of serving men and women changed throughout the decades and centuries but that is content alone for another book I am sure.
Overall, this is an excellent text for the Downton Abbey fan, those interested in social history or even of servants in the Edwardian Period. Making use of individual stories and period sources, Maloney reconstructs the lives of the men and women who made the homes of the lavish and wealthy tick like a well- tuned clock. What really sets this work apart from the rest is that it is detailed and focused. Most texts are too general and broad. They look only at a few sources and accounts and leave the reader with an underdeveloped outlook at what it was like to be a maid or a foot man. Maloney leaves you with a new perspective on what it meant to be a maid, a butler, or a house maid in the Edwardian Period. The topics covered do indeed cover nearly ever topic that concerned a servant in the Edwardian Period from pay to living conditions to uniforms, and even private life (and gossip too, shhhh . . . ). I think this is an excellent addition to my own library and I think you too may like it.
Maloney, Alison. Life Below Stairs: True Lives of Edwardian Servants. (New York: St. Martin’s Press). 2011.
