{"product_id":"below-stairs-the-classic-kitchen-maids-memoir-that-inspired-upstairs-downstairs-and-downton-abbey-9781250023216","title":"Below Stairs: The Classic Kitchen Maid's Memoir That Inspired Upstairs, Downstairs and Downton Abbey","description":"\u003cp\u003eBrilliantly evoking the long-vanished world of masters and servants portrayed in \u003ci\u003eDownton Abbey\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eUpstairs, Downstairs\u003c\/i\u003e, Margaret Powell's classic memoir of her time in service, \u003ci\u003eBelow Stairs, \u003c\/i\u003e is the remarkable true story of an indomitable woman who, though she served in the great houses of England, never stopped aiming high. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003ePowell 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. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eYet 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. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eMargaret 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.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eMARGARET 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, \u003ci\u003eBelow Stairs\u003c\/i\u003e, was published to instant success and turned her into a celebrity. She died in 1984.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"St. Martin's Griffin","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50848987939090,"sku":"9781250023216","price":13.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_106ac656-76ee-4080-8d5d-47160a32069a.jpg?v=1737385827","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/below-stairs-the-classic-kitchen-maids-memoir-that-inspired-upstairs-downstairs-and-downton-abbey-9781250023216","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}