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A review by felinity
Downton Abbey: Rules for Household Staff by Justyn Barnes, Julian Fellowes
4.0
Mr. Carson's guide to the efficient running of a household. Some is specific to Downton Abbey, including a little new background for Mr. Carson, but the majority comprises the rules which allow a house to be kept in good order, and to explain the roles and routine for each position. It's relatively short but very informative, not just about the household but also giving insight into the social customs and mores of the era as well as the incredible organisational skills needed by the butler, valet, cook and lady's maid.
The butler's section is, naturally, the most comprehensive, and contained a lot of fascinating detail about managing the wine cellar. There were also instructions for creating various cleaning solutions, for opening a bottle with a decayed cork, preparing a razor strop, the proper way to brush and clean clothes (including furs and lace collars), how to care for hats, even how to restore proper time to a pocket watch. There were the obvious instructions on serving at table and how to polish glasses and silverware as well as how to bend down correctly, and a new method of making tea - probably for a silver teapot, which will react differently from a porcelain one.
A few things were also out of place for a manual from Mr. Carson, but included out of general interest for the reader. (I don't see him caring about recipes for lady's pickles, or instructing on napkin folding.) There were also some anachronisms and a couple of minor inconsistencies, but these may well be fixed in the final version. (The position of scullery maid, for instance, wasn't mentioned at all, and all her duties were given to the kitchen maid.) I was a little surprised by the brevity of the housekeeper's section, but the details elsewhere made up for it. Discovering salt came in large blocks and had to be sieved each morning, for instance!
All in all, an interesting read. If the bus driver hadn't been alert I would have missed my stop at work, and that never happens, so you can see how intriguing it all was!
Disclaimer: I received a free ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
The butler's section is, naturally, the most comprehensive, and contained a lot of fascinating detail about managing the wine cellar. There were also instructions for creating various cleaning solutions, for opening a bottle with a decayed cork, preparing a razor strop, the proper way to brush and clean clothes (including furs and lace collars), how to care for hats, even how to restore proper time to a pocket watch. There were the obvious instructions on serving at table and how to polish glasses and silverware as well as how to bend down correctly, and a new method of making tea - probably for a silver teapot, which will react differently from a porcelain one.
A few things were also out of place for a manual from Mr. Carson, but included out of general interest for the reader. (I don't see him caring about recipes for lady's pickles, or instructing on napkin folding.) There were also some anachronisms and a couple of minor inconsistencies, but these may well be fixed in the final version. (The position of scullery maid, for instance, wasn't mentioned at all, and all her duties were given to the kitchen maid.) I was a little surprised by the brevity of the housekeeper's section, but the details elsewhere made up for it. Discovering salt came in large blocks and had to be sieved each morning, for instance!
All in all, an interesting read. If the bus driver hadn't been alert I would have missed my stop at work, and that never happens, so you can see how intriguing it all was!
Disclaimer: I received a free ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.