{"product_id":"below-stairs-margaret-powell-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\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Margaret Powell\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1250023211\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781250023216\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e St. Martin's Griffin\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 12\/24\/2012\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 224\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.44lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.21h x 5.56w x 0.60d","brand":"Margaret Powell","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":43991903011071,"sku":"9781250023216","price":16.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_5f1e30ee-8100-4c5c-9649-e3565d5fdf97.jpg?v=1683312903","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/below-stairs-margaret-powell-9781250023216","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}