Life Upstairs, Downstair... | Servants' Hall: A Real

While Powell’s first book, Below Stairs , focused on the grueling labor of a kitchen maid, Servants' Hall centers on a real-life "fairy tale" that was more like a nightmare for the aristocracy.

Despite the sensational elopement, Powell doesn’t let us forget the daily grind. She describes a world of and exhausting labor , where: Servants' Hall: A Real Life Upstairs, Downstair...

The story follows Rose, an under-parlourmaid at the Wardham family’s estate, Redlands. In a move that sent shockwaves through both the drawing room and the basement, Rose eloped with the family’s only son, Mr. Gerald. The fallout was immediate: While Powell’s first book, Below Stairs , focused

Scandals and Soufflés: A Real Look at Life in the Servants' Hall In a move that sent shockwaves through both

Mr. Wardham was so incensed by the match that he cut off all contact with his son.

Powell describes the servants' hall as having tiny windows where you could only see the legs of people passing by outside.

If you have ever binged Downton Abbey and wondered if a kitchen maid could really snag the Earl’s son, Margaret Powell has the true story for you. In her witty and sharp-eyed memoir, , Powell pulls back the heavy velvet curtain of 1920s England to show us what life was actually like for the people who kept those grand houses running. The Scandal That Rocked Redlands