Servants' Hall: A Real Life Upstairs, Downstairs Romance (Below Stairs Book 2)

Retail Margaret Powell's Below Stairs , a servant's firsthand account of life in the great houses of England,'' became a sensation among readers reveling in the luxury and'' subtle class warfare'' of'' Masterpiece Theatre 's hit television series'' Downton Abbey .'' In Servants' Hall ,'' another true slice of life from'' a time when armies of servants lived below stairs simply to support the lives of those above,'' Powell tells the true story of Rose, the under-parlourmaid to the Wardham Family at Redlands, who took'' a shocking step: She eloped with the family's'' only son, Mr. Gerald. Going from rags to riches, Rose finds herself caught up in a maelstrom of gossip, incredulity and envy among her fellow servants. The reaction from upstairs was no better:'' Mr. Wardham, the master of the house,'' disdained the match so completely'' that he'' refused ever to have contact with'' the young couple'' again. Gerald and Rose marry, leave Redlands'' and'' Powell looks on with envy, even as the marriage hits on bumpy times:'' "To us in the servants' hall, it was just like a fairy tale . . . How I wished I was in her shoes." Once again bringing that'' lost world to life,'' Margaret Powell'' trains her pen and her gimlet eye on her'' "betters" in this next'' chapter from'' a life spent'' in service. Servants' Hall is Margaret Powell at her best—a'' warm, funny and sometimes hilarious memoir of life at a time when wealthy'' families like'' ruled England. About the Author MARGARET POWELL'' was born in 1907 in Hove, and left school at the age of thirteen to start working. At fourteen, she got a job in a hotel laundry room, and a year later went into service as a kitchen maid, eventually progressing to the position of cook, before marrying a milkman called Albert. In 1968 the first volume of her memoirs, Below Stairs , was published to instant success and turned her into a celebrity. She died in 1984. Excerpt. ''© Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. 1 In 1922, when at the age of fifteen I entered domestic service – after two years as a РІР‚

The sequel to New York Times bestseller Below Stairs, Servants' Hall tells a gripping real-life tale reminiscent of Downton Abbey's Lady Sybil and Tom Branson and makes a perfect gift book for fans of the popular series and film.

Margaret Powell's Below Stairs became a sensation among readers reveling in the luxury and subtle class warfare of Masterpiece Theatre's hit television series Downton Abbey. Now in the sequel Servants' Hall, Powell tells the true story of Rose, the under-parlourmaid to the Wardham Family at Redlands, who took a shocking step: She eloped with the family's only son, Mr. Gerald.

Going from rags to riches, Rose finds herself caught up in a maelstrom of gossip, incredulity and envy among her fellow servants. The reaction from upstairs was no better: Mr. Wardham, the master of the house, disdained the match so completely that he refused ever to have contact with the young couple again. Gerald and Rose marry and leave Redlands, and Powell looks on with envy, even as the marriage hits on bumpy times: "To us in the servants' hall, it was just like a fairy tale . . . How I wished I was in her shoes."

Once again bringing that lost world to life, Margaret Powell trains her pen and her gimlet eye on her "betters" in this next chapter from a life spent in service. Servants' Hall is Margaret Powell at her best—a warm, funny and sometimes hilarious memoir of life at a time when wealthy families like ruled England.

The sequel to New York Times bestseller Below Stairs , Servants' Hall tells a gripping real-life tale reminiscent of Downton Abbey's Lady Sybil and Tom Branson and makes a perfect gift book for fans of the popular series and film. Margaret Powell's Below Stairs became a sensation among readers reveling in the luxury and subtle class warfare of Masterpiece Theatre 's hit television series Downton Abbey . Now in the sequel Servants' Hall , Powell tells the true story of Rose, the under-parlourmaid to the Wardham Family at Redlands, who took a shocking step: She eloped with the family's only son, Mr. Gerald. Going from rags to riches, Rose finds herself caught up in a maelstrom of gossip, incredulity and envy among her fellow servants. The reaction from upstairs was no better: Mr. Wardham, the master of the house, disdained the match so completely that he refused ever to have contact with the young couple again. Gerald and Rose marry and leave Redlands, and Powell looks on with envy, even as the marriage hits on bumpy times: "To us in the servants' hall, it was just like a fairy tale . . . How I wished I was in her shoes." Once again bringing that lost world to life, Margaret Powell trains her pen and her gimlet eye on her "betters" in this next chapter from a life spent in service. Servants' Hall is Margaret Powell at her best—a warm, funny and sometimes hilarious memoir of life at a time when wealthy families like ruled England. "Margaret Powell's Below Stairs, a servant's firsthand account of life in the great houses of England, became a sensation among readers reveling in the luxury and subtle class warfare of Masterpiece Theatre's hit television series Downton Abbey. In Servants' Hall, another true slice of life from a time when armies of servants lived below stairs simply to support the lives of those above, Powell tells the true story of Rose, the under-parlourmaid to the Wardham Family at Redlands, who took a shocking step: She eloped with the family's only son, Mr. Gerald. Going from rags to riches, Rose finds herself caught up in a maelstrom of gossip, incredulity and envy among her fellow servants. The reaction from upstairs was no better: Mr. Wardham, the master of the house, disdained the match so completely that he refused ever to have contact with the young couple again. Gerald and Rose marry, leave Redlands and Powell looks on with envy, even as the marriage hits on bumpy times: "To us in the servants' hall, it was just like a fairy tale . . . How I wished I was in her shoes." Once again bringing that lost world to life, Margaret Powell trains her pen and her gimlet eye on her "betters" in this next chapter from a life spent in service. Servants' Hall is Margaret Powell at her best--a warm, funny and sometimes hilarious memoir of life at a time when wealthy families like ruled England."--From publisher description Margaret Powell's Below Stairs, a former kitchen maid's firsthand account of life in the great houses of England, became a sensation among readers reveling in the luxury and elegant class warfare of Downton Abbey. In Servant's Hall, another warm and funny memoir of her days as a servant, Powell tells the true story of Rose, the Wardham family maid, who shocked people upstairs and downstairs by eloping with the family's only son, Mr. Gerald. As she went from rags to riches, Rose found herself caught up in a maelstrom of gossip among her fellow servants and subject to a rebuke from the master of the house: Mr. Wardham refused ever to have contact with the young couple again. Even after the couple left Redlands, the family home, and their marriage hit on bumpy times, Powell remembers thinking, "To us in the servants' hall, it was just like a fairy tale." Once again bringing that lost world to life, Margaret Powell trains her pen and her gimlet eye on the life she lived when families like the Crawleys of Downton Abbey and the Bellamys of Upstairs, Downstairs saved their firstborn sons for marriage to only the most perfect roses of English society. Margaret Powell was a true English treasure and Servants' Hall is Powell at her best A collection of accounts about life in the servants' halls of England's great houses shares the true story of under-parlourmaid Rose, who after eloping with her employer's only son was swept up in a maelstrom of gossip.