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Below Stairs: The Classic Kitchen Maid's Memoir That Inspired "Upstairs, Downstairs" and "Downton Abbey" Hardcover – January 3, 2012

by Margaret Powell (Author)
4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 2,006 ratings
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Brilliantly evoking the long-vanished world of masters and servants portrayed in Downton Abbey and Upstairs, Downstairs, Margaret Powell's classic memoir of her time in service, Below Stairs, is the remarkable true story of an indomitable woman who, though she served in the great houses of England, never stopped aiming high. Powell first arrived at the servants' entrance of one of those great houses in the 1920s. As a kitchen maid – the lowest of the low – she entered an entirely new world; one of stoves to be blacked, vegetables to be scrubbed, mistresses to be appeased, and bootlaces to be ironed. Work started at 5.30am and went on until after dark. It was a far cry from her childhood on the beaches of Hove, where money and food were scarce, but warmth and laughter never were. Yet from the gentleman with a penchant for stroking the housemaids' curlers, to raucous tea-dances with errand boys, to the heartbreaking story of Agnes the pregnant under-parlormaid, fired for being seduced by her mistress's nephew, Margaret's tales of her time in service are told with wit, warmth, and a sharp eye for the prejudices of her situation. Margaret Powell's true story of a life spent in service is a fascinating "downstairs" portrait of the glittering, long-gone worlds behind the closed doors of Downton Abbey and 165 Eaton Place.

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Previous page
  1. Book 1 of 2
    Below Stairs
  2. Print length
    224 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publisher
    St. Martin's Press
  5. Publication date
    January 3, 2012
  6. Dimensions
    5.75 x 0.75 x 8.75 inches
  7. ISBN-10
    1250005442
  8. ISBN-13
    978-1250005441
  9. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

The popularity of Sunday school among the working classes had less to do with religion than parents’ much-needed private time, according to Margaret Powell. Such revelations are rampant in Below Stairs, a fascinating and feisty memoir of Powell’s life as a kitchen maid and cook in 1920s England. Originally published in the UK in 1968, it’s again a best-seller there after the debut of the Emmy Award–winning series, Downton Abbey, which, along with Upstairs Downstairs, took inspiration from the book. Powell writes conversationally, offering cutting and humorous insights. She piles on the details of a domestic servant’s day—up at 5:30, work enough for six people, and don’t forget to iron the bootlaces—but stops before she falls into self-pity. Running through it all is the divide between the servants and Them, manifesting itself in everything from the sad parade of practical Christmas gifts to the employer’s order that nothing be served from a servant’s bare hands. Powell reminds readers that these things shouldn’t be forgotten, and she is an honest, saucy, and skilled storyteller. --Bridget Thoreson

About the Author

MARGARET POWELL was born in 1907 in Hove, and left school at the age of 13 to start working. At 14, she got a job in a hotel laundry room, and a year later went into service as a kitchen maid, eventually progressing to the position of cook, before marrying a milkman called Albert. In 1968 the first volume of her memoirs, Below Stairs, was published to instant success and turned her into a celebrity. She died in 1984.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ St. Martin's Press; Unknown edition (January 3, 2012)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 224 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1250005442
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1250005441
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 10.9 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.75 x 0.75 x 8.75 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 2,006 ratings

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Margaret Powell

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Customer reviews

4.1 out of 5 stars
4.1 out of 5
2,006 global ratings
If you’re a Downtown Abbey fan..
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If you’re a Downtown Abbey fan..
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Top reviews from the United States

D_shrink
5.0 out of 5 stars Good Clean Fun With Wry British Humor
Reviewed in the United States on February 10, 2012
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This was a humorous account of life in service in the early to mid 1900s. Margaret Langley Powell [1907-1984] started in the lowest position of service in the British household, that of being a cook's helper; meaning she did all the dirty work in the kitchen. She finally rose to the rank of cook with her own helper, after which she became an author and life was a bit easier for her later years. Since this book was originally published in 1968, she really had a hard life until she was 61.

I particularly loved her descriptions of life in service without the use of vulgar language thrown in gratis by most modern authors. I would like to give a few examples that sum up her thoughts, at least as I see them.

1. "...when you see an economic recipe and they say you can't taste the difference from the original, [normally this meant substituting margarine for butter] well probably you can't if you've never eaten the original." P96
2. In speaking of her disdain for employers always being practical, "At Christmas we got presents of cloth to make things with, aprons and horrible sensible presents." P98
3. One of the cutest stories about sex without using the word was told about the upstairs parlor maid Gladys and her family, "According to Gladys, her father drank like a fish and he came home most nights roaring drunk and incapable. I used to think he couldn't have been SO incapable, otherwise her mother couldn't have had nineteen children, could she?" :)
4. In describing her regular Spring cleaning chores at one household she says, "During these four weeks I got up at five o'clock each morning and I worked until eight o'clock at night. Then I had to get supper for the servants after that. We all worked those hours, but of course, I remember mine in particular because it was mine that made me tired, not theirs." P121
5. In describing an outhouse still used at one home Margaret says, "And it had one of those seats with two holes. The sort for Darby and Joan who couldn't bear to be separated. Talk about two hearts that beat as one! Heaven knows it was lethal enough when only one had been in. I shouldn't think two could have come out alive." :0
5. In discussing the advantages that employers gave for paying low wages and stressing what the servant would learn, she says, "When I left domestic service I took with me the knowledge of how to cook an elaborate seven course dinner and an enormous inferiority complex; I can't say I found those an asset to my married life." P191
6. To explain poverty and sex she said, "...when I was a child I'd lived on a street where most babies were born as a result of Saturday night reveries. They were known as beer babies." P193

I really liked this little book which can easily be read in one very long sitting or several shorter ones. It kept my interest throughout, and the lack of any vulgar language was a refreshing change. I would say it is a safe book for middle aged kids, although they may ask what some of the anachronistic terms mean. I highly recommend this book to all.
56 people found this helpful
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S. Goldberg
4.0 out of 5 stars Charming. Delightful. I wanted to read more!
Reviewed in the United States on January 5, 2012
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I bought this book solely on the basis of the second half of the title - "The Classic Kitchen Maid's Memoir That Inspired 'Upstairs, Downstairs' and 'Downton Abbey'". I am a far bigger fan of Downton Abbey than I was of Upstairs, Downstairs, but never mind that. What a charming and delightful memoir!

The book's notes say that the first volume of Margaret Powell's memoirs were first published in 1968. That would also be consistent with the declaration that this book helped inspire Upstairs, Downstairs which I think originally ran from 1971-1975. I am assuming (but I may be wrong), that this book is the compilation of her original memoirs. Since the author passed away in 1984, she couldn't very well have added anything recently unless the family came across additional writings which she might have done.

Anyway, onto the book itself which is charming and written in very British English. I had to resort to the dictionary a few times to find the meaning of a British term with which I was unfamiliar, but who doesn't love learning some new words? It tells Margaret's story in her own words, from childhood through older age when she was finally able to return to school. It was so easy to put myself in her place as the story unfolded, trying to imagine what I might have said or done in the same circumstances which she describes as first a kitchen maid in service and then a cook.

One thing I might want to point out to potential readers who are expecting to read something with a storyline like Downton Abbey's multilayered saga - This is Margaret's personal story. Other characters enter and exit, but it is essentially Margaret's struggle to survive in service during the early part of the 20th century. She describes in first person a bygone era which we now watch on television. I can't always agree with her opinions or decisions at times, but I greatly respect the journey which she took as well as the ultimate thirst for life and learning which she embodied.

The only reason this book received four stars instead of five is a very personal one. I loved reading the novel from beginning to end, but I wish it had been a little more detailed in places. I would have liked to have known what happened to the author's family, for example. I would have liked to have known a bit more about how she met and courted Albert the milkman. I would have loved to have heard about the rest of her personal life, but I suppose there are only so many pages in a book. Either way, the lack of one star does not mean a lack of quality in the book. Reading this book is like sitting down and listening to the tales of a beloved relative with tales to tell. It's an opportunity you don't want to miss.
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DM
3.0 out of 5 stars A good draft, but desn't get Into the Below Stairs Life as in depth as much as I expected.
Reviewed in the United States on May 13, 2014
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This book was a nice, quick read, and dipped generally into the life of someone in domestic service in England, but this book begins after the Great War when changes to serive had already begun to be made. And as it focussed on only one person, there was only one position we really learned about - and I felt this book was almost a cookbook, and not a memior of her time. I was glad when the book was over. I closed it wanting more, but not from this person. I wanted to learn more in general. This may have been the "inspiration" for Upstairs Downstairs and Downton Abbey, but in my humble opinion, it certainly wasn't much more than that. .
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Rita
5.0 out of 5 stars ... the homes of wealthy people in London is very funny. It offers insight into another time and place ...
Reviewed in the United States on July 17, 2016
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This memoir by a kitchen maid who beomes a cook in the homes of wealthy people in London is very funny. It offers insight into another time and place before world war two and provides a relevant observation on the effects of class on human achievement. Margaret Powell is the daughter of a family without the means to support her during school so she is unable to take advantage of a scholarship offered to her. This effects the rest of her life as she cannot become a school teacher and instead must enter service. Without a hint of pathos we are treated to a very funny take on the indignities inherent in serving.
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Mrs. Miggins
5.0 out of 5 stars A brilliant account of life as a servant.
Reviewed in Germany on September 10, 2021
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Margaret Powell"s is a compelling read about life as a servant in the twentieth century. Being in service was sheer hard work and the relationship if one could call it that between master and servant was nothing like it was portrayed in Downton Abbey. My own grandmother was a lady's maid ..having read Margaret Powell's memoir I can well believe some of the going on she told me about. The book is very well written, despite some of the ghastly employers she worked for, Margaret Powell didn't lose her sense of humour. A book worth reading.
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JJ
5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating Read!
Reviewed in Canada on August 2, 2019
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Such a cool book. A life of someone from a time where today seems so glamorous. The truth of it all is very interesting, and the author's memories are wonderful. Worth a look.
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charlotte.k
5.0 out of 5 stars Intriguing Insight into life below stairs
Reviewed in Australia on October 8, 2023
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Wonderful book that tells the true tale of one woman 's life as a servant. Without providing spoilers, t's nothing like Downton Abbey!!
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paula
5.0 out of 5 stars Genial
Reviewed in Spain on July 5, 2015
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Divertido, de lectura amena. Esta muy bien escrito. una mirada critica con grandes dosis de humor. Perfecto para llevarselo a la playa o acompanar una tarde lluviosa en el sofa.
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Stitcher69
5.0 out of 5 stars A very honest and natural true story
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 26, 2015
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Margaret Powell gives a very frank insight into her life as a kitchen maid and later as a cook. Previous to that she describes a little of her childhood in Hove.

The book flows naturally, as though she was sitting opposite to you and perhaps pausing to drink from a cup of tea. I think she was a natural story teller, and this makes the book a very enjoyable read. At no time was she asking for pity or sympathy; she was simply telling it just how it was. Although it was an insight into how life in service was for her, in a way there were no surprises. I think most people have a pretty good idea of how it was, although perhaps the very youngest people may find it all very strange. I think the only thing that surprised me was her having to take out bootlaces and iron them, in addition to polishing the boots. I thought presumably it would take ages to re-lace them so that the laces laid flat after every turn.

It certainly makes you realise how much we are now a meritocracy, with life being just what we ourselves make of it. In Margaret's days there appeared to be very little chance at all of breaking out of the strata in which you were born.

I am now reading Climbing the Stairs, the next book, which will perhaps reveal that she managed to make a better life for herself after all.
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