Victorian Servants, a Very Peculiar History by Macdonald, Fiona -- Read -- Imperial Library of Trantor

Index

Cover Front Matter

Title Page Publisher Information Dedication

Victorian Servants

Quotes INTRODUCTION: ‘The greatest plague in life’*

Without whom… Worn out and thrown away

CHAPTER ONE: ‘Domestics no longer know their place’

Faces in the crowd ‘Numerous and universal’ Out of sight, out of mind? The ‘servant question’ A terrible, tragic revenge ‘Dependent on servants’ The cost of (genteel) living Why be a servant?

CHAPTER TWO: The best circles

False impressions? Maid – or horse? Domestic duties Situations vacant: Female Situations vacant: Male Overcrowded! Content to serve

CHAPTER THREE: Dinner is served

The perks of the job Help at hand A kitchen maid’s day Foods for a buffet supper Fact and fantasy A day’s meals Kitchen or laboratory? Changing food fashions Service à la russe

CHAPTER FOUR: Personal services

A gentleman’s gentleman A word of warning Helpless! The worm that turned Airs and graces Layers and layers Crowning glories Trusted with treasures Tea and sympathy Temptations Back down to earth

CHAPTER FIVE: Home, sweet home?

Victorian servant joke no. 1 First steps Tricked and trapped Not proud Round the clock How to make beds – Victorian style Victorian servant joke no. 2 So lonely Victorian servant joke no. 3 Don’t let them in! Victorian servant joke no. 4 Weekly tasks Fact and fiction Seeking and hoping A home of her own!

CHAPTER SIX: ‘Sedentary, Solitary, Constrained, Joyless, Toilsome’*

Lost and gone Doomed to be a governess? Anything else? Meanwhile… A governess’s day Essential equipment Joining in?

CHAPTER SEVEN: Down on the farm

Food and farming Cosy cottages? Home on the farm Worth every penny! Bottom of the heap Ideal home vs. rough reality No time to rest? The Scranky Farmer On the move Cut and run

CHAPTER EIGHT: A good character

A real ‘lady’? Band of brothers… and sisters Strange but true no. 1 Into service Seek and find Strange but true no. 2 Away from home – alone Strange but true no. 3 Onwards and upwards

CHAPTER NINE: Them & us

Not like us Coarse and common Disgraceful! Not seen, not heard Keep your distance For servants: A delicate question For employers: What’s in a name? An unfortunate affair How to dress the part: Your capsule wardrobe On the other hand…

CHAPTER TEN: World of women

Domestic goddesses The great unwashed Household joys? What men want Cheap but not cheerful Servant starvation… …and mistress murder

CHAPTER ELEVEN: End of an era

The peculiar case of the Chocolate Cream Poisoner Rights and rewards How would you serve? More choice, greater freedom The end of housework? The professionals

Timeline of Servant History Glossary

End matter

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