02133cam a2200301 i 4500 296020214 TxAuBib 20120110120000.0 110924s2012||||||||||||||||||||||||eng|u 2011038190 9781250005441 1250005442 eng rda TxAuBib rda Powell, Margaret, 1907-1984. Below stairs [BOOK] : the classic kitchen maid's memoir that inspired "Upstairs, downstairs" and "Downton Abbey / Margaret Powell. First U.S. edition. New York : St. Martin's Press, 2012. 212 pages ; 22 cm. txt rdacontent n rdamedia nc rdacarrier Orignally published: London : Davies, 1968. "A kitchen-maid's through-the-key hole memoir of life in the great houses of England--now a bestseller in the UK. At fifteen, she arrived at the servants' entrance to begin her life as a kitchen maid in 1920s England. The lowest of the low, her world was one of stoves to be blacked, vegetables to be scrubbed, mistresses to be appeased, and even bootlaces to be ironed. Work started at 5:30am and went on until after dark. In this captivating memoir, Margaret tells her tales of service with wit, warmth, and a sharp eye. From the gentleman with a penchant for stroking housemaids' curlers, to raucous tea dances with errand boys, to the heartbreaking story of Agnes the pregnant under-parlourmaid, fired for being seduced by her mistress's nephew, Below Stairs brilliantly evokes the longvanished world of masters and servants portrayed in Downton Abbey and Upstairs, Downstairs. Rocketing back on to the UK bestseller lists almost fifty years after its initial publication, this is the remarkable true story of an indomitable woman, who, though her position was lowly, never stopped aiming high"-- Provided by publisher. 20120110. Powell, Margaret 1907-1984. Cooks Great Britain Biography. Biographies.