Wednesday Reading about Servants

[oracne]

Servants: A Downstairs History of Britain from the Nineteenth Century to Modern Times by Lucy Lethbridge is the sort of nonfiction which intersperses selected summations and quotes from memoirs and diaries with the census and labor statistics, so it was more of an armchair journey than an academic slog. I thought I would be most interested in the Edwardian material but it turned out I was more fascinated by the slow decrease and eventual near-disappearance of servanting as a lifelong career and social class; I also was intrigued by specialized modern agencies that provide factotums and butlers to the very rich, or for special occasions. I want to read more about that; let me know if you have any recommendations. Someone should write a contemporary with a butler protagonist, perhaps falling in love with a bodyguard or a chef.

I seem to be doing more reading on my vacation that writing; I did not buckle down at all on Tuesday and Wednesday. Instead, those days involved a lot of Flight Rising and reading. However, I am catching up on household chores, and yesterday I went out and jogged. The other mornings I've gone out and walked. Our mornings are currently cold (thirty Farenheit this morning) but the trees are blooming and look beautiful as they exhale pollen everywhere. Zyrtec is my friend; I dislike the dry, stuffy feeling it causes in my nose and sinuses, but my other choice is my nose running like a faucet for the duration.

The front wall work proceeded yesterday, and today the front stairs are being demolished in preparation for the new stairs. I look forward to not having that one step that is much higher than the others, always requiring a Hup! from me when I'm carrying heavy groceries.

I received some gift cards for my birthday, and I've spent some of the bounty on Shakespeare DVDs: Macbeth with Christopher Eccleston, and the second "Hollow Crown" set with both Henry VI plays and Richard III. I barely spend any time watching my vast collection of DVDs, which annoys me a bit. Mainly what annoys me is how much money I spent in the past on things I don't watch any more, which I can't do anything about, so, onwards, time to watch more. I've never seen Henry VI, so that will be fun! And I'm in the mood for Shakespeare after reading the Judi Dench book.

Comments

[misbegotten]

Link for purchasing the Macbeth?

[oracne]

I got it from Amazon: https://amzn.to/3TqEYLB

[misbegotten]

Thank you!

[oursin]

Hah: I read this Lucy Delap, Knowing Their Place: Domestic Service in Twentieth-Century Britain (2011) some while ago but I suspect it probably does count as more of an academic slog! (though this is one more instance where I wonder if academic-slogging by Person I Know has been trawled for a more accessible trade publication, for I am a cynic).

[oracne]

Very possibly! I didn't review the bibliography, but it's from 2013.

[moon_custafer]

I also was intrigued by specialized modern agencies that provide factotums and butlers to the very rich, or for special occasions.

I think I once read an article about somebody who trains modern-day butlers. The main bit I recall was a set of (fairly sensible) protocols for when you go up to wake your employer in the morning and discover an unannounced second person in the bed.

[teenybuffalo]

I must know! What is the recommended butlerian response to that situation?

[moon_custafer]

Basically, first you discreetly figure out if the other person's presence is supposed to be kept secret, by asking if they'll be coming down to breakfast.

If they won't be coming down to breakfast, you tell the kitchen the master/mistress is having breakfast in bed this morning and is especially hungry. Cook makes an extra-large breakfast. Meanwhile you've snuck an extra plate, cup and cutlery from the pantry so you can divide the breakfast between two people. You wash up the dishes yourself afterwards.

No idea if the kitchen is actually expected to believe the cover story, or if it's a signal for "mouths shut and if you see a visitor slipping out the back later this morning pretend you don't notice."

[teenybuffalo]

Thank you, I love it!

[oracne]

I am guessing the signal version...I doubt the kitchen is ever surprised by guests!

[brithistorian]

For more about modern butlering, I recommend this article: https://getpocket.com/explore/item/8-secrets-of-five-star-hotels-i-learned-as-a-butler-to-vips-celebrities

[oracne]

Thanks!!!

[lunabee34]

That sounds like such a good read; thanks for reccing.

[marginaliana]

The Servants book sounds amazing, definitely going on my library list.

[qwentoozla]

I loved that Hollow Crown adaptation!