Minding the Manor: The Memoir of a 1930s English Kitchen Maid (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780762796830)

Born in 1916 in Norfolk, Mollie Moran is one of the few people still alive today who can recall working "downstairs" in the golden years of the early 1930's before the outbreak of WWII. She provides a rare and fascinating insight into a world that has long since vanished. Mollie left school at age fourteen and became a scullery maid for a wealthy gentleman with a mansion house in London's Knighsbridge and a Tudor manor in Norfolk. Even though Mollie's days were long and grueling and included endless tasks, such as polishing doorknobs, scrubbing steps, and helping with all of the food prep in the kitchen, she enjoyed her freedom and had a rich life. Like any bright-eyed teenager, Mollie also spent her days daydreaming about boys, dresses, and dances. She became fast friends with the kitchen maid Flo, dated a sweet farmhand, and became secretly involved with a brooding, temperamental footman. Molly eventually rose to kitchen maid for Lord Islington and then cook for the Earl of Leicester's niece at the magnificent Wallington Hall.

Author: Mollie Moran
ISBN-10: 0762796839
ISBN-13: 9780762796830
Publisher: Lyons Press
Language: English
Published: 01/07/2014
Pages: 353
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.85lbs
Size: 7.90h x 5.50w x 1.20d

Review Citation(s):
Booklist 01/01/2014 pg. 38
Library Journal 03/01/2014 pg. 97