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The Butler's Guide to Running the Home and Other Graces Hardcover – November 6, 2012

4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 208 ratings

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Perched on an island off the shores of Cornwall, England, the soaring castle of St. Michael’s Mount has been home to the St. Aubyn family since 1647. For nearly thirty years, Stanley Ager, one of the most esteemed butlers of the twentieth century, ensured that St. Michael’s Mount was an impeccable place to live and a gracious and welcoming one for guests to visit.

Revered by everyone from royalty to the estate staff, Stanley Ager considered it his calling to run a home gracefully and efficiently. Several of the men whom he trained at St. Michael’s Mount went on to serve in the Royal Household at Buckingham Palace and at British embassies throughout the world. But you don’t need a manor to benefit from Ager’s wisdom on homekeeping. This carefully detailed, charmingly illustrated, eminently useful volume offers important insights and techniques, including how to:

Wipe a glass—or a chandelier—until it sparkles *** Fold napkins precisely—in six different ways *** Polish furniture—or silver—to a mirror finish *** Lay a beautiful table and serve a meal impeccably *** Brush, buff, and maintain any manner of clothes and footwear *** Fold and pack for a trip—for business or pleasure *** Select and pour wine *** Stage “impromptu” romantic picnics *** And, among other graces, open a door soundlessly, roll an umbrella perfectly, and iron a newspaper
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“The wisdom of butler and lady combine in this book to instruct anyone who wishes to ‘recreate that same grace in entertainment’ on how to lay down wine, polish brass, iron trousers, clean shoes, and so on. If you know people who aspire to these tasks, give them this book." --The New York Times

About the Author

Stanley Ager entered service as a hallboy at the age of fourteen and eventually became head butler at St. Michael’s Mount, where he remained for nearly thirty of his fifty-three years in service. The Butler’s Guide was written after he and his wife, Barbara, retired nearby to Marazion, Cornwall. They are buried on St. Michael’s Mount.
 
Fiona St. Aubyn
 is also the author of A Portrait of Georgian London and wrote ClothesCarewith James Wagenvoord. She graduated from the University of Winchester with a degree in creative writing and lives in Hampshire with her family. Fiona St. Aubyn is a granddaughter of the late third Lord St. Levan and his wife the Dowager Lady St. Levan, and her brother now lives at St. Michael’s Mount. She knew Stanley Ager all her life.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Potter Style; Reissue edition (November 6, 2012)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 208 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0385344708
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0385344708
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 15.3 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.91 x 0.81 x 8.55 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 208 ratings

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Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
208 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book provides useful information and tips for keeping a home. They describe it as an informative and enjoyable read. The book provides valuable historical insights and fun facts that are educational and of value today. Overall, readers consider it a great seller and recommend it to others.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

28 customers mention "Information quality"28 positive0 negative

Customers find the book provides useful information and tips on maintaining a household. They appreciate the detailed explanations and helpful answers to questions. The book is described as a memoir and how-to manual for maintaining a household. Readers mention that the old information is still useful, and the book is not stuffy or full of rules.

"...Literally everything in the book is important to know and I think it should be more heavily circulated. It really is a must have." Read more

"...It is a combination of useful tips, historical insight, and fun facts. It also works well as a coffee table book and conversation starter...." Read more

"...However, there are detailed instructions (many with illustrations) of how to do some of the many chores this butler was required to do throughout..." Read more

"...contains numerous hints that we can use nowadays, such as cleaning methods and materials, plus ways of preserving valuable heirlooms, antiques, etc.,..." Read more

22 customers mention "Readability"22 positive0 negative

Customers find the book easy to read and understand. They say it's a great resource for anyone who wants to do things right, such as packing and setting tables. The content is well-written and easy to comprehend.

"...It can be read intensively or just randomly. Overall, an interesting and fun book." Read more

"Overall, a delightful read. Well-written and easy to understand...." Read more

"A great book for anyone who wants to do things right from packing, setting tables, polishing silver and how to keep stored .....just about anything." Read more

"If you're a fan of Downton Abbey, this book is for you! It's a well written and detailed tome on what it takes to keep one of the big British..." Read more

18 customers mention "Informative"18 positive0 negative

Customers find the book informative and interesting. They appreciate the historical insights and fun facts. The instructions are educational and still relevant today. It provides a great window into a way of life that we in the U.S. never experienced. The book provides ideas and explanations for wonderful things.

"...It is a combination of useful tips, historical insight, and fun facts. It also works well as a coffee table book and conversation starter...." Read more

"...reference guide for writers as well as historians, and it's an entertaining read for those with a casual or passing interest in the subject." Read more

"...Our family found it fascinating, plus it contains numerous hints that we can use nowadays, such as cleaning methods and materials, plus ways of..." Read more

"...it yet but find the book full of information and find Stanley Ager's observations fascinating...." Read more

4 customers mention "Value for money"4 positive0 negative

Customers find the book educational and of value. They say it's a great seller.

"...I found the instructions informative, educational, and of value, even in today's world...." Read more

"...setting and service, and packing clothes for travel are worth the price of admission...." Read more

"Great Place to Buy..." Read more

"Great Seller!..." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on August 1, 2024
    This is a must-have book for anyone that hosts dinner parties! It has some narrative about the author's life, which is colorful, but the true metal of the book is in the 'how to' info. Literally everything in the book is important to know and I think it should be more heavily circulated. It really is a must have.
  • Reviewed in the United States on September 9, 2019
    I bought this for a present for my wife, but I checked with her first to be sure she wouldn't be offended. It is a combination of useful tips, historical insight, and fun facts. It also works well as a coffee table book and conversation starter. It can be read intensively or just randomly. Overall, an interesting and fun book.
    3 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on April 29, 2016
    Overall, a delightful read. Well-written and easy to understand. I most enjoyed the sprinkling of personal anecdotes and would have preferred more of them (that's why I gave it only 4 stars). However, there are detailed instructions (many with illustrations) of how to do some of the many chores this butler was required to do throughout his years of service. I found the instructions informative, educational, and of value, even in today's world. I recommend this for anyone interested in reading about "life in an English Manor" as well as anyone interested in learning how things were done (just prior to, and after WWII). It's a great reference guide for writers as well as historians, and it's an entertaining read for those with a casual or passing interest in the subject.
    9 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on November 24, 2012
    We love this book. It is a great window into a way of life that we in the U.S. never (or hardly ever) experience. Our family found it fascinating, plus it contains numerous hints that we can use nowadays, such as cleaning methods and materials, plus ways of preserving valuable heirlooms, antiques, etc., and much more. The subtitle tells everything about what the book is about, so no one should be surprised that it is not a mystery or who-done-it, for instance! Would recommend this book to anyone with a special interest in the subject.
    7 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on August 30, 2023
    A great book for anyone who wants to do things right from packing, setting tables, polishing silver and how to keep stored .....just about anything.
  • Reviewed in the United States on January 10, 2013
    This kindle edition seems to be formatted well enough but the illustrations are too small to see (guess I'll have to get an 8.9" kindle fire some day) so I'll use the PC kindle reading software to see it on a larger screen.

    There is some good information for anyone to use. I work at a church as a jack of all trades and many times I have to set up a table for a small lunch of six to ten people and the information here will help me to make it look better than just something slapped together.

    I also have to clean the pastors coat from time to time and the tip of using a soft haired brush to clean a coat has come in handy. They don't seem to make brushes just for that use anymore so instead I have used a horse hair shoe polish brush instead and it is working fine when used as he shows. Just remember to write on it what it's being used for so no one uses it for shoes. I would not want to see old shoe polish brushed on a white coat!
    13 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on April 24, 2018
    What kind of person becomes a Butler? What do Butlers actually do between serving up the post-dinner Port accompanied by the obligatory sense of dry humor? What's behind that door leading to the kitchen and the inner workings of the house we rarely get to see? These were some of the questions I had that made me order the book in the first place. Stanley Ager and Fiona St. Aubyn did an amazing job answering every question I had. Reading the book took me on a journey behind the scenes that gave me a better understanding of how it's really done.

    After reading the book, however, nothing has been the same at home: The furniture is polished, the floors get waxed regularly, glasses get polished, and all items of clothing are arranged smartly. OCD? I'd argue otherwise. Stanley's view of organization and means of running a household got me inspired to give it a go, and once I did it made it almost impossible to look back. It's only been four months since I purchased the book, these chores have become routine, and I feel no signs of wanting to let up. I don't enjoy calling it a night with dirty dishes lingering in the sink anymore and my wife is over the moon.
    23 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on May 9, 2024
    Great information on how to run a household staff

Top reviews from other countries

  • AJ
    5.0 out of 5 stars An insight into the lives of the upper class
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 17, 2022
    The book has too many pages on cleaning and how to do it, which was really funny and interesting at the same time, and the last chapter on how to go to a romantic picnic, just did it for me. Hence, this review.
  • M Elkington
    5.0 out of 5 stars The Butler's Guide - review
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 25, 2013
    This book was very useful when packing a morning coat and trousers for my husband and a silk suit to go to a wedding in France. I followed Stanley Ager's instructions on how to fold the clothes. All came out of the suitcase without a crease and ready to be worn. This saved me a great deal of inconvenience and also the expense of getting them pressed.
  • johnniemac83
    4.0 out of 5 stars Unexpected words of wisdom
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 20, 2013
    I bought this as a present for a Downton Abbey fan, but now I think I am going to keep it as so much of the information it contains is unexpectedly useful. Even though Stanley Ager was a butler in a great house and was surrounded by beautiful and valuable things, much of what he says is just as useful to those of us in more humble abodes. He is very sensible about routines, cleaning and keeping things tidy, and his tips for storing wine or making a dining table look pretty are still valid. Of course it is dated and old fashioned at times, but that adds to its charm. A book to treasure!
  • Gonzalo1973
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great knowledge from a forgotten world
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 27, 2015
    It is an amazing book. Knowledge from the old times about how to run a house in a perfect way, letting us know how was the life in the old times.
  • Mr John West
    5.0 out of 5 stars Easy purchase.
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 21, 2013
    A clean copy at a second-hand price and swift delivery. I first read this book many years ago and did not expect to find a copy so easily.