Below Stairs: Advent #7

Welcome to the seventh in a series of Advent posts. I’ve written about Margaret Powell, writer of several memoirs about her time in service, before. As I said then, it is important to note her books reflect the vernacular of the time with language and attitudes that are not acceptable now. Still, they remain a fascinating insight into class, feminism, and female working-class ambition (a voracious reader, Powell went on to study for a degree and became a TV personality), which we still don’t hear enough about. Her memoirs aren’t ostensibly about Christmas but, being such a busy time for servants, it does feature in her writing.