Fiona1986 wrote:
Perhaps one of Margaret Powell's books? I think her books were the inspiration for Downton Abbey.
They mentioned Margaret Powell and her 'Below Stairs' book in the documentary I watched.
There was a clip of her from the 1960s showing her giving a speech.
She said (something like) "I was once told by my employer that I should call her 'my lady' when I was speaking to her directly and 'her ladyship' when speaking to others. But most of the time I referred to her as 'that silly old cow' lol
Anyway I'm glad people are finding this topic of interest.
Come to think of it, one of my first introductions to fictional domestic service was Molly Mills in my sister's Tammy annuals (yes, I liked reading them!) She was a maid in a large stately home in the 1920s, and while the Lord and Lady of the house were fair employers, the butler was a vindictive tyrant.
timv wrote:The 'gritty realism' of this series had one housemaid killing herself, another former housemaid (played By Pauline Collins, wife of 1970s sitcom star John Alderton, who I once saw with her in Hampstead High Street) having a baby by the 'son of the house' Captain James Bellamy, and a male servant ending up in an abusive relationship with a gay German count, who he then killed - all a bit more 'risky'than Downton's generally 'feelgood' storylines?
Oh yes, I've only seen the first two series and this was a few years ago, but I remember all this. When the housemaid killed herself, you could see that even Hudson had been shedding a few tears over her. And when the undertakers were about to take her body away and said that obviously she couldn't be buried in hallowed ground, he immediately agreed that couldn't happen, but you could see in his face how cruelly unjust he thought it all was.
Anyone remember You Rang, M'Lord? It was basically a Perry and Croft comedy version of Upstairs, Downstairs with a lot of the Hi-De-Hi! cast. It was actually quite good.
Stephen wrote:Come to think of it, one of my first introductions to fictional domestic service was Molly Mills in my sister's Tammy annuals (yes, I liked reading them!) She was a maid in a large stately home in the 1920s, and while the Lord and Lady of the house were fair employers, the butler was a vindictive tyrant.
I used to like the Molly Mills stories, Stephen. Like others here, I also have fond memories of Upstairs, Downstairs and The Duchess of Duke Street.
"Heyho for a starry night and a heathery bed!" - Jack, The Secret Island.
"There is no bond like the bond of having read and liked the same books."
- E. Nesbit, The Wonderful Garden.
I watched 'You Rang M'Lord' too, and enjoyed the apparent satire on 'Upstairs Downstairs' and its world - and the mixture of actors from various Perry and Croft BBC sitcoms. It was mostly 'Hi-de-Hi' actors eg Paul Shane, Su Pollard, and Jeffrey Holland, with the 'upper class twit' officers from 'It Aint's Half Hot Mum' as His Lordship and his brother, but the cake-scrounging local policeman was played by Bill Pertwee who was most famous as Chief Air Raid Warden Hodges ('Put that light out!') in 'Dad's Army' in the 1970s. (Another actor who I later saw when I was least expecting it, this time in a village street in Surrey near Guildford around 1981; I suppose he lived nearby.)
Perry Benson, who played the 'put-upon' teenage 'boot-boy' at the grand house in YRML, also appeared in the 1981 televisation of 'The Island of Adventure' as Jack Trent, so I have him on my list of Blyton adaptation actors. This 'one-off' version of the first of the Adventure series was never followed up on, so I suppose it did not have good enough viewing figures; it made the children older (mid-teens) and had Jo-Jo as a white Englishman, Joe, who was portrayed as a muscular 'hunk' and expert sailor who was more 'friendly' than in the book but nosy and interfering, with a younger and more dashing Bill (played by Norman Bowler from 'Softly Softly' the TV police thriller series) and Wlifred Brambell (aka grumpy and seedy old rag-and-bone-man Pa Steptoe in the BBC series 'Steptoe and Son') as Uncle Jocelyn. It was filmed in Cornwall, where it is set, for a change - and I hope to do an article on it for the Journal at some point. The 'Craggy Tops' house was somewhere on the cliffs at Mullion Cove near Land's End and the Isle of Gloom was Mullion Island, offshore - but I'm still trying to figure out where the 'harbour' scenes with Bill on his boat (a glamorous motor-cruiser, fit for the 1980s, not a sailing yacht) were filmed. I missed seeing this series at the time, probably as I was at university, but from the YouTube copy it seems to have got a bit over the top with terrorists and ended with Jo being killed off by the children throwing a bucket onto him as he was climbing up the mine-shaft after them ! An uneasy mix of fairly accurate Blyton adaptation and 1980s spy thriller.
Somewhere I have a book about life 'below stairs'. I haven't read it yet, but I think from the blurb that it's quite an unusual book as it was written by someone who had actually been in domestic service.
I don't think that when reading the books as a child I ever gave the servants much thought, even though the concept of paying someone to do household tasks was beyond my comprehension. That's why it annoys me when modern critics moan about the stories being too middle-classed. I certainly didn't come from that class.
My family background is a mixture, but certainly a couple of generations ago there were a fair number of great-great aunts who were in service. I've had 3 cleaning jobs, one for an office and two for private households, although it wasn't a role that I particularly enjoyed, but beggars can't be choosers.
Monica Dickens (author of Follyfoot) wrote a book about someone in domestic service, but I have an idea it might have been her mother. I can't remember what it was called.
The Just William books had the same sort of social progression. The Browns had a cook and a housekeeper when the series started, but when it ended thirty or so years later they had no live-in servants at all, just a daily woman who came in.
I live in an old terrace house, originally back to back but now converted. It was basically three reasonably sized rooms on top of each other with a cellar underneath, but the cellar was designed for living in - it had its own grate and outside doorway, and a slopstone (sink) but probably no running water. Some of the censuses from the 1800's mention that there is a housekeeper. And it's not a "posh" terrace.
I grew up in late 80s early 90s South Africa - height of the apartheid days! And yeah, we had a live in maid/housekeeper as well as a gardener that came twice a week, and we were very much a middle class family. So I never found the servants function in EB in any way odd until I moved to the UK in my 20s, and realised just how much I'd taken for granted!!!!
That being said, my sisters and I were alternatively adoring and terrified of our housekeepers. In fact I recall more than one occasion when I got whacked with a wooden spoon - with my mom's permission
Very different times of course, and our 'servants' really were very much part of the family, so much so that when one went on holiday, it would be a competition amongst their family members as to who got to cover their leave!!!
Big learning curve for me though moving to the UK and learning to do all the 'grown-up' things like laundry and cleaning! (Felt like a bit of a Gwendoline Mary!!!)
Anita Bensoussane wrote: ↑23 May 2021, 17:08
I used to like the Molly Mills stories, Stephen. Like others here, I also have fond memories of Upstairs, Downstairs and The Duchess of Duke Street.
Great to be reminded of The Duchess of Duke Street, that was my favourite show when it came out, I wouldn't miss it for anything. I'd enjoy to see it again now.
Talking of Monica Dickens, her 'No more Meadows' makes good reading.I had read it in my college days about 50 years ago-- and liked it.The story is based on her own life.
