
Upstairs & Downstairs
My Life In Service as a Lady's Maid
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
3 months free
Buy for $20.00
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Helen Lloyd
-
By:
-
Hilda Newman
-
Tim Tate
The year was 1935: the twilight of the English aristocracy. It was a time of wealth and glamour; of lavish balls and evening gowns; of tiaras and a coronation. As personal maid to Lady Coventry, Hilda Newman had a unique insight into the leisured life of one of Britain's most noble families. In her fascinating memoir of life upstairs and down, Hilda takes us back to this period between the wars; a gilded era which would soon be dramatically changed by the Second World War.
Transplanted from a tiny house with no bath or hot water to an 18th-century Neo-Palladian mansion, Hilda's life changed beyond recognition. But in a time when the very foundations of British society were being shaken to their core, the luxurious life of the country nobility couldn't last. The Second World War brought more turbulence with it, and Croome Court, where Hilda had lived and worked, became a haven for the Dutch Royal Family fleeing Nazi occupation, whilst also home to a top-secret RAF base. The lavish banquets and decadent parties had become a thing of the past.
Hilda's story takes us back to a bygone era, showing us what life was really like in England's classic country manors of old - and uncovers the real lives of the people who occupied them, from wealthy lord to lowly servant.
©2019 Martyn Newman obo Hilda Newman (P)2019 Penguin AudioListeners also enjoyed...




















People who viewed this also viewed...



The only thing I could say was a minus is that it was far too short.
I am sure this lady's lifes story had SO much more that could have been put in.
But I'm happy she wrote it.
What a lovely and impotant piece of history!
Lovely & informative
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
An appreciative listener.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Enjoyable vacation listen
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
One of the themes seems to be how the aristocracy holds themselves above their moral betters, the working class from which she emerged.
The other theme of the book seems to be how much better than modern youngsters the young people of the narrator's generation were.
And the third seems to be a bit of self-pity for what she experienced.
Interesting to hear; but it does seem the narrator seems more snobby than the aristocracy she serves.
interesting but judgy
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
A wonderful listen.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
The tone of the book was kind of cloying and syrupy but the story is so good that I let that go. This book was one I kept eagerly looking forward to reading.
Insight into life below stairs
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Full of interesting history
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Loved r
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
What a treasure!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Wonderful listen!!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.