The best books by Victorian servants telling their stories, warts and all

Hannah Cullwick worked all her life in domestic service, starting at the age of eight in 1841. Her diaries are unique and they were written at the behest of Arthur Munby, an upper-class author and poet, who later became her husband. In her diaries, Hannah describes her employers, the nature of her work, and how she found her different jobs through servants’ registries, personal recommendations, and newspapers. 

What’s fascinating is that the diaries are presented with Hannah’s spelling and grammar, so her voice leaps off the page. Liz Stanley, who edited Hannah’s diaries, also provides an excellent introduction to Hannah’s life; her highly unusual secret eighteen-year-courtship with Munby; and the reasons their marriage of thirty-six years was also kept secret. 

In spite of its title, Eric Horne’s What the Butler Winked At does not contain any really juicy tales about his employers. But what it does do is lift the lid on Horne’s working experiences as a footman, valet and butler during a career spanning 50 years, starting in the 1870s. 

Interestingly, Horne wrote his book in 1923 at a time when the great country estates were beginning to break up and he was struggling to find work. Horne was not a professional writer so there are grammar issues; also, some of the anecdotes may not be amusing to modern readers. But the book is packed with fascinating details about what life was like working in domestic service, not just for male servants, but female servants too.

Elizabeth Banks was an American journalist who settled in London around 1893. She undertook a series of ‘adventures’ in which she posed as a laundry girl, a crossing sweeper, a flower girl, a chaperone, an heiress, and a domestic servant. In working as a maid, she hoped to discover why domestic service ‘was looked upon with so much contumely’. 

Originally published as "In Cap and Apron" in the Weekly Sun, Elizabeth’s experiences were then published in 1894 in Campaigns of Curiosity: Journalistic Adventures of an American Girl in London. It’s not clear how much artistic licence Elizabeth used when describing her time in domestic service, but she does provide some interesting details about the duties of staff in households where three or four servants were employed.

William Tayler worked as a footman in London for the wealthy widow Mrs. Prinsep and her unmarried daughter. He kept a diary for the year 1837 "as I am a wretched bad writer [and] many of my friends have advised me to practice more…" On Sundays, he usually went to see his wife and children who were lodged nearby, although he never mentions her or them by name. 

As it focuses on just one year, the diary only provides a snapshot of William’s working life. However, it gives an illuminating insight into the life of a male servant for the gentry, including details of what William did in his spare time and how the wealthy entertained. Research has shown that he later became a butler.

With this book, you get two servants for the price of one! This is a collection of memories from working women who were members of the Women’s Co-operative Guild. The two servants are Mrs. Layton (chapter titled "Memories of Seventy Years") and Mrs. Wrigley (chapter title "A Plate-Layer’s Wife"). Mrs. Wrigley’s recollections of domestic service only span three pages, but she describes her first place, aged nine, as a servant-of-all-work in heart-breaking detail. Mrs. Layton describes ten years in service from the age of ten with some kind (and not so kind) employers. After her marriage, she became a midwife.