The vividly told lives of British servants and the upper crust they served. From the immense staff running a lavish Edwardian estate and the lonely maid-of-all-work cooking in a cramped middle-class house to the poor child doing chores in a slightly less poor household, servants were essential to the British way of life. They were hired not only for their skills but also to demonstrate the social standing of their employers―even as they were required to tread softly and blend into the background. More than simply the laboring class serving the upper crust―as popular culture would have us believe―they were a diverse group that shaped and witnessed major changes in the modern home, family, and social order. Spanning over a hundred years, Lucy Lethbridge?in this "best type of history" (Literary Review)?brings to life through letters and diaries the voices of countless men and women who have been largely ignored by the historical record. She also interviews former and current servants for their recollections of this waning profession.
At the fore are the experiences of young girls who slept in damp corners of basements, kitchen maids who were required to stir eggs until the yolks were perfectly centered, and cleaners who had to scrub floors on their hands and knees despite the wide availability of vacuum cleaners. We also meet a lord who solved his inability to open a window by throwing a brick through it and Winston Churchill’s butler who did not think Churchill would know how to dress on his own.
A compassionate and discerning exploration of the complex relationship between the server, the served, and the world they lived in, Servants opens a window onto British society from the Edwardian period to the present. 17 illustrations

Servants: A Downstairs History of Britain from the Nineteenth Century to Modern Times

History

Lethbridge, Lucy

Europe

W.W.Norton&Company

The author of Servants tells us what made British households, of all sizes, shine.
British estates were known to be the epitome of cleanliness with their white-glove perfection. Through her meticulous research on servants, Lucy Lethbridge gleaned much knowledge about how these homes were made to gleam over almost two centuries, from the Victorian through the Edwardian years and beyond. The majority of household tasks were done with basic ingredients like lemon juice, white vinegar, and bicarbonate of soda, which feel very modern in their display of frugality and ecological soundness. Tea leaves were used to freshen up rugs and stewed rhubarb to remove rust stains. Here, Lethbridge reveals these old-fashioned and almost-forgotten techniques that made British households sparkle before the use of complicated contraptions and a spray for every surface. A treasury of advice from servants’ memoirs and housekeeping guides, and illustrated with charming art from period advertising and domestic classics, Mind Your Manors is the perfect book for all those who want to put time-tested cleaning methods to work. 100 color illustrations

Mind Your Manors: Tried-and-True British Household Cleaning Tips

A New York Times Book Review Editor’s Choice "Beautifully written, sparkling with insight, and a pleasure to read, Servants is social history at its most humane and perceptive." ―Paul Addison, Times Literary Supplement
From the immense staff running a lavish Edwardian estate to the lonely maid-of-all-work cooking in a cramped middle-class house, domestics were an essential yet unobtrusive part of the British hierarchy for much of the past century, required to tread softly and blend into the background. Lucy Lethbridge’s Servants gives them a voice in this discerning portrait of the complex relationship between the server, the served, and the world they lived in, opening a window on British society from the Edwardian period to the present. 17 illustrations

“A ridiculously diverting glimpse of downstairs life in Edwardian England. . . . Most gratifying.”―Laura Miller, Salon From the immense staff running a lavish Edwardian estate and the lonely maid-of-all-work cooking in a cramped middle-class house to the poor child doing chores in a slightly less poor household, servants were essential to the British way of life. They were hired not only for their skills but also to demonstrate the social standing of their employers―even as they were required to tread softly and blend into the background. More than simply the laboring class serving the upper crust―as popular culture would have us believe―they were a diverse group that shaped and witnessed major changes in the modern home, family, and social order. Spanning over a hundred years, Lucy Lethbridge?in this "best type of history" (Literary Review)?brings to life through letters and diaries the voices of countless men and women who have been largely ignored by the historical record. She also interviews former and current servants for their recollections of this waning profession.
At the fore are the experiences of young girls who slept in damp corners of basements, kitchen maids who were required to stir eggs until the yolks were perfectly centered, and cleaners who had to scrub floors on their hands and knees despite the wide availability of vacuum cleaners. We also meet a lord who solved his inability to open a window by throwing a brick through it and Winston Churchill’s butler who did not think Churchill would know how to dress on his own.
A compassionate and discerning exploration of the complex relationship between the server, the served, and the world they lived in, Servants opens a window onto British society from the Edwardian period to the present. 17 illustrations

Servants

Bloomsbury Publishing

Presents the life of the famous English nurse and hospital reformist considered to be the founder of modern nursing.

Florence Nightingale (Uaborne Famous Lives)

Children's Books

Biographies

Usborne Pub Ltd

Recounts the stories of individuals who survived pirate attacks, men who set out to capture pirates, and famous pirates, including Captain Kidd, Long Ben, and "Black Bart" Roberts.

True Stories Of Pirates (True Adventure Stories)

Literature & Fiction

Sent to a military school at nine, Napoleon rapidly rose through the ranks of the French Army. But a brilliant military career wasn't enough. Soon, he had seized control of France and then he embarked upon a plan to rule all of Europe.

Napoleon

Pirates (Usborne True Stories)

Action & Adventure

‘It is the paramount wish of every English heart, ever addicted to vagabondizing, to hasten to the Continent…’ In the early 1800s, a new social phenomenon was born in Britain. The exploration of Europe, previously the preserve of the wealthy and aristocratic, began to be taken up by the British middle-classes. The era of the lofty Grand Tour was over; here instead was the advent of tourism as we know it today. In Tourists, Lucy Lethbridge brings the voices of ordinary British travellers vividly to life. She charts the rise of guidebooks, explores the connection between tourism and mass production and shines a light on the evolving public attitudes towards leisure. Sweeping in its scope, extensively researched and brilliantly observed, Tourists is an original and fascinating portrait of Brits abroad, with all their foibles and eccentricities. It spans two centuries of British experiences of travel: from the allure of Spanish seaside holidays to the alarming nature of foreign food, from the appetite for architecture and art to the tragedy of sourcing a proper cup of tea. At a time when staycations are becoming the norm and travelling abroad is wrapped up in the red tape of vaccinations, Tourists serves as a reminder of the long, sometimes comic, always complex relationship between the British and their holiday destinations.

Tourists: How the British Went Abroad to Find Themselves

Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.

In the late nineteenth century, general housework in the British home was so labour intensive that it required an army of servants to undertake it. Since then, the ways in which we look after our homes may have changed dramatically but the best and simplest of methods from that time still work for us today. From floor to ceiling, and leaving no awkward corner untouched, here are the tricks and techniques that generations once took for granted, distilled for modern use: how to get rid of water marks or heat rings on polished wood; the antibacterial qualities of simple vinegar; the damp cloth versus the dry duster; and using lemon juice to clear limescale.
 Combining fascinating 'below-stairs' social history with startling facts and useful tips, Lucy Lethbridge restores fast-disappearing skills to keep at bay dust, rust, mildew, stains and pests. Here, beautifully illustrated and entertainingly presented, are a bygone era's keys to a clean house.

Spit and Polish: Old-Fashioned Ways to Banish Dirt, Dust and Decay

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Lethbridge, Lucy. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Lethbridge, Lucy

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Lethbridge, Lucy. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Servants: A Downstairs History of Britain from the Nineteenth Century to Modern Times

Mind Your Manors: Tried-and-True British Household Cleaning Tips

Servants: A Downstairs History of Britain from the Nineteenth Century to Modern Times

Servants

Florence Nightingale (Uaborne Famous Lives)

True Stories Of Pirates (True Adventure Stories)

Napoleon

Pirates (Usborne True Stories)

Tourists: How the British Went Abroad to Find Themselves

Spit and Polish: Old-Fashioned Ways to Banish Dirt, Dust and Decay