Friday, January 6, 2012

Book Review and Giveaway! Rose: My Life in Service to Lady Astor


ETA: I'll be closing the comments section on this post at 5 p.m. ET on January 13

Here stateside many of us are eagerly counting the hours to the premiere of Downton Abbey's second season on PBS (Sunday at 9 p.m; check your local station to confirm). The word from the UK is that this season is a bit of a dud, but I'll still be watching simply because I love the cast of characters and am willing to give the anachronisms a pass.

Anyway, earlier this week I was contacted by Penguin Books to see if there was any interest in an autobiography they were reprinting called Rose: My Life in Service to Lady Astor. Written by Rosina Harrison, Lady Astor's lady-maid of decades, it details what it was like to work "in service" during a bygone era of British aristocracy.* Since Rose grew up in the village of Ripon, which figures in Downton Abbey, Penguin wondered if I would be interested in reading an advance copy of the book. But of course!

Last night I crawled into bed early with my book, intending to skim a few pages, but I ended up reading a full three chapters. This simply written story starts by detailing Rose's upbringing in a loving working-class family and how she knew from an early age her career would be working in service for her social superiors.

I was drawn in by the descriptions of Rose's childhood and the expectations her parents -- nay society -- had for her. Children worked and worked hard at the turn of the 20th century. Almost as soon as Rose could walk, she was helping her mother with the backbreaking work of washing clothes (her mother, a laundress, took in the neighborhood aristocrats' laundry). She was also responsible for polishing the stove each week (again, another grueling chore especially when you remember stoves back then ran on wood or coal) and helping her parents take care of their younger children. There's no hint of complaint in her recollections, although she remarks:

"People have often said to me how lucky I was to be brought up in a village in the beautiful countryside with the freedom of the fields and lanes, the simplicity of life among animals and above all in peace. It sounds lyrical as I write it and perhaps in a way it was, but most people forget and sometimes I do that for the most part life was continual hard work even as a young child."

She later writes that people often dismiss the struggle and low wages as relics of a different era, but she wrote:

"Things were different. There was no National Insurance, so there was the constant fear of getting ill, of being out of work, of growing old without a family to look after you and being buried in a pauper's grave. There was no electricity, no sewerage, no running water, no refrigeration; fruit and vegetables came and went with the seasons."

It's clear that Rose is a smart girl, which serves her well in service. Her parents scrimp and save so she can be tutored in French and acquire finer sewing skills to become a proper lady's maid, which will afford her the chance to travel and see the world, something Rose desperately wants to do. As a knitter myself, I giggled at her complaint of having to knit her father's socks, which seemed to go on forever, round and round, but seemed to get done as she kept him in new socks for years. I got as far as Rose's first placement, a lady's maid to two daughters of a wealthy London family. Her experience here gives her insight into her role as a servant to the upper classes. She describes her relationship with one of the daughters:

"We weren't friends, though if she was asked today she might well deny this. We weren't even acquaintances. We never exchanged confidences, never discussed people, nothing we said brought us any loser [sic]; my advice might be asked about clothes or bits of shopping, but my opinions were never sought or given on her music or the people we met or on anything that was personal to either of us, nor did I expect it or miss it at that time. That was the accepted way of things."

I thought that was a fascinating illustration of how times have changed, especially with those words "miss it at that time." Today, such chilly separation between employer and employee would be unbearable, don't you think?

Rose: My Life in Service to Lady Astor was first published in 1975 and is being re-published by Penguin this month. Along with my copy, Penguin has send another copy for me to give away to a lucky Hail Britannia reader. All you have to do is comment below, making sure you add your e-mail address to the appropriate field -- it will not appear on the site! -- so I can contact you should you win the book. I'd also love to hear whether you'll be tuning into Downton Abbey this Sunday -- or, if you've already seen it, what you thought of the 2nd season. I'll be picking a winner a random next Friday (lucky Friday the 13th!) and yes, the contest is open to anyone no matter where you live, although if you're overseas it may take some time for the book to show up. Just can't wait? Order the book on Amazon.

I am counting the hours until bedtime so I continue reading this treasure of a book. I'm eager to find out more about the relationship between Rose and her witty, yet often tempestuous, mistress.

* An interesting note. Lady Astor, whose birth name was Nancy Langhorne, was a spirited American lass who moved to England in the early 1900s after a disastrous marriage to a fellow American. In England, she met Waldorf Astor, also born in America but resettled in England, and married him, thus becoming Lady Astor. Later, Lady Astor became the first female member of Parliament. Which just goes to show, with enough money, even an American can stand in Parliament.

25 comments:

  1. This book sounds fascinating and I'd love to read it--I hope I win! Thank you for the review and snippets which show the real side of this era!

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  2. Thank you Else -- and good luck!

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  3. Oooh, sounds wonderful. My grandmother was born in 1901, when young girls were still going "into service" in the UK. She didn't, but it was definitely something most young working class people expected to do. Downtown Abbey, even with that cruel old bag and her son, doesn't quite convey the misery and hardship that many people in service experienced.
    I do remember gran telling me that she and her sisters often had to stay off school on laundry day as it was literally a full day's work. Of course the brothers weren't expected to contribute.
    I once did some research for a fabulous book called "Unquiet Souls" by the late Angela Lambert. It was about the children of the Bloomsbury set, who called themselves The Souls. None of them had to work, and basically floated from one weekend house party to another. The chasm between the upper and lower classes in those days was staggering.
    Sorry for such a long comment; got carried away there.

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  4. I'd love to read that book. That's what bugs me most about Downton Abbey -- the easy relationship between the family and the servants. It just didn't work that way, but oh well. I look at kids these days, like my son who complains bitterly about having to take the garbage to curb on Tuesday nights in the cold, and want to make them read books like this so they can see what real work looks like.

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  5. I'm fascinated by social history and I love reading first person accounts like this. Thanks for doing this giveaway!

    I really enjoyed the first season of Downton Abbey and I will definitely be watching. It's disheartening to hear that it may be a dud!

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  6. I tweeted this competition and then kicked myself. Why am I bringing more entrants? Doh!

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  7. Aww ... but thanks anyway. Maybe the Karma Gods will smile brightly upon you next Friday. :-)

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  8. Found the book on Amazon. It's probably out of print now but available used. Very interesting.
    http://www.amazon.com/Unquiet-Souls-Illustrious-Irreverent-Aristocrats/dp/0060153296

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  9. I just saw the link on Penguins twitter account, looked up the book and thought "what a neat read that would be!" and lo, your tweet came up with a review... I would love to win a copy and start reading this book. I find this type of book incredibly fascinating!

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  10. I can't wait for the next season of Downton Abbey on Sunday evening, and I'm just hoping that there will be repeat airings during this season in case I miss an episode!

    The book you describe sounds fascinating. I've often wondered what my life would have been like if I'd lived during that time period. I know I wouldn't have been the Lady of the house, which means I would have wound up changing sheets or washing dishes most likely! I would love to win a copy of this autobiography, and thanks for posting the review of it so far!

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  11. The book sounds so interesting. We are avid watchers of Downton Abbey and looking forward to this year's episodes.

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  12. Thank you for writing the book review for Rose. Im delighted such a book exists.
    I am an avid Downton fan, have both series on DVD & watched the gripping 2hr Christmas Special.
    Today I have been reading a Christmas gift, The World of Downton Abbey by Julian Fellowes in which he mentions Lady Astor who lived at Cliveden in Berkshire, a stunning country house not far from my beloved home.
    In my honest opinion series 2 is not dud as the critics put it, more enhancing upon the previous story and characters within. I hope that you will love it as much as I did.
    As Lady Mary would say, Dont Listen to what other people think, find out for yourself and make your own Judgement.
    Enjoy :)

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  13. Stephanie, according to the PBS.org website, they will be showing repeats throughout the week -- better yet, it looks like you can watch episodes online. (Probably only works in the states.)

    I, too, wonder what my job would have been 100 or so years ago. One side of my family is fairly well-to-do/educated and the other side is blue collar, so it's a toss!

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  14. Olga, thanks for entering. I love these kinds of memoirs too. They give you a glimpse into a totally different world.

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  15. Toni, thanks for that link - off to check it out!

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  16. Golda, you're welcome. The British press doesn't seem to like Julian Fellowes very much, so perhaps that's why I've read so much negativity about DA.

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  17. Dee, good to hear that you enjoyed it. I'm sure I will too!

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  18. This looks like a great book to reprint, esp. with all of the renewed interest in domestic life and those who served. Can't wait to read it! As for Downton, well, I'm planning a British menu for Sunday...or at least scones for breakfast.

    So nice to find your blog! I haven't been to Britain since my junior abroad in London but have always been a crazed Anglophile.

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  19. Oh my. I love books written of a byegone era, by someone from that time. The autobiography of Agatha Christie is one of my favorites - so many details of that time. I will definitely purchase this, if my name is not chosen.

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  20. I'll be watching tonight! This book sounds fascinating :)

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  21. The book sounds fascinating, and I would love a chance to win it! And to answer your question, yes I will be watching the start of Downton Abbey. I am just not sure when. I subscribed to the season in iTunes and it is supposed to automatically show up. Hopefully it makes it appearance in iTunes at the same time it does on TV. And thanks for stopping by my blog and leaving a comment!

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  22. This sounds like a very interesting book! Unfortunately, I haven't seen any of Downton Abbey, though I keep hearing about it. Living without cable has its downsides....

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  23. I just watched the opener of Season 2 and absolutely loved every minute! Every scene, every word, was perfect. I'd be fascinated to read the book you describe, and have read many over the years. Does anyone remember when PBS did a show where families had to live as if they lived in those days? There was one for the pioneer's lifestyle, and the DA period, for working class families. It was just amazing to see people from our normal society trying to get by in those circumstances! The mother of the household in the DA time was endlessly washing, cleaning, cooking, even just heating up water was a major chore, and she couldn't believe it all had to be done while wearing a corset! Anyway, I'd love to read the book, will do so whether or not I win!

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  24. Are employees and affiliates of The Renegade Writer allowed to enter the contest? Because I'd love to read that book. :)

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  25. Thank you so much for the interesting morsels from"Rose". I have always been a reader of anything historical because I believe we must try to understand from where we have come. Although I have not lived a servant's life, I can learn from their disciplined world. I find it fascinating to glimpse lives so vastly different from mine. Reading is our way of capturing the world...and I am a voracious explorer! I cannot wait to see what lies ahead in "Downton Abbey" this season.

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