I fully intended to talk of palaces and duchesses with pearl covered tea gowns when I started this blog. And I will yet. But for some unknown reason, the research I have been doing takes me into some of the realities of life for the majority of people. And many of these realities hit hard for the aristocracy, too. Take for example:
Bed bugs. What a joy. No matter your station in life, you might be visited by the bed bug, and it was no picnic to get him to move along. You could probably blame it on the maids, but it did not give you a better night's sleep to do so. I am not aware of the modern means of treating a house for bed bugs, but even today, I hear it is not easy. One woman in the 19th century wrote about tossing 20 pails full of water on the kitchen floor trying to drown them. All the parts of her bed were then immersed in water, after which they were laid out in the sun for two days. The bed's joints were painted with mercury ointment (beware the vapors thereafter, although they were unaware of it's toxicity and probably blamed the maids for the onset of illness) and the curtains were taken down and washed. If you think that was an easy task, kindly refer to my post on doing laundry. Bedroom curtains were often thick, heavy fabric to help keep the cold out, and just getting them into the boiling pot would have taken a bit of energy. From what I understand, bed bugs can live within the walls of a house, so depending on whether you lived in a stone castle or a stuccoed Belgrave Square mansion, you may have to learn what could be done to evict them from between the stones or plaster.
Life with mattresses. The less expensive beds were stuffed with wool flocking, which became lumps. The wool might also become fodder for moths. Therefore, the mattresses would have to be disassembled and the wool would have to be washed, boiled and teased. After that, you would have to hire someone to come in and put the mattress back together. Feather beds were the more spendy type, but every third year or so you would have to pull all the feathers out to clean them. So, I wonder, where would you put them all? On the floor to air, while you washed and waxed the ticking cover. Enjoy the 21st century!
I am sure you are dismayed enough by now, but I thought that you should know why families only did their laundry every five to six weeks. It turns out that it is because of the etiquette books. One of them, for example, stated that "a family wash should be performed as seldom as possible". And one was, of course, to abide the etiquette books for fear of becoming a social outcast. One would surely not want a reputation for doing the laundry more than once a month!
Many thanks to Liza Picard's book, Victorian London. (Again.)
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Friday, April 8, 2011
British and Other Period Movies and TV Series, Part Two
A while ago, I posted about a few period flicks and TV series and found that my blog has received a large number of hits for that to this day. I'm thinking that I may not be the only one who likes the Regency and Victorian stuff! Love stories, mystery, drama, true life movies, which can be stranger than fiction... I must confess to watching about a million of them in the olden days, when I was making jewelry, before the economy hit a glitch. Now I just sit around writing things. And enjoying it.
Part One, and that is clickable for more information, discusses the following shows, all of which I was, at least at one time, able to obtain from Netflix.
1) The House of Eliot~ Two sisters became a 1920s Fashion Design team. Wonderful!
2) Aristocrats~ The story of the Lennox sisters, descendants of George II. Great!
3) Edward the King~ A playboy king, son of Victoria. Again, great stuff.
4) Victoria and Albert, The Young Victoria and Mrs. Brown; all about Queen Victoria.
5) Nicholas and Alexandra~ Long and amazing: the Russian Czar and Czarina with Rasputin. Heartbreaking.
And now, for Part Two. Sorry, I don't have the time to discuss actors, but you can in the comments section!
1) The Importance of Being Ernest~ Truly one of the greatest period comedies. And I adore the song, Lady Come Down. Two men learn that lying weaves a tangled web and that it can cause problems in love and romance! Five stars!
2) The Ideal Husband~ Another great comedy, and I have to mention the adorable Minnie Driver because I love her faces! Do not miss this one.
3) The Sissi movies~ old films and subtitled, but it is another real Queen and her difficult life. It is one way to learn history.... I enjoyed them.
4) Fall of Eagles~ Shows the demise of the Hapsburgs of Austria-Hungary, the Romanovs of Russia and the Hohenzollerns of Germany, and how they were involved in the outbreak of World War I. Amazing miniseries! Sissi is in there again.
5) The Crown Prince~ Another royal tragedy. Rudolph, the Crown Prince of Austria-Hungary. I would call it depressing, but based on true history. Poor Sissi... again. Subtitled
6) Howard's End~ An Edwardian period movie which shows some struggle between the classes, but also the lovely politeness of society. Some favorite actors and actresses.
7) Downton Abbey~ The first seven episodes: A fictional story which shows how the hereditary system worked in period Britain, with everything being entailed to the closest male heir. Women got nothing, and at times had to leave their homes when their husbands died, kids included. I am looking forward to the next season, which starts in December.
8) I have to mention Fawlty Towers, even though it is only from about the 1960s. It is about a prudish hotel owner, his irritated wife and bumbling staff. It is hysterical! I don't generally like slapstick, but this one had just the right balance, and I've watched it repeatedly. Wonderful!
9) Of course, there are the Jane Austen movies, some of which have been made over more than once! You can type Jane Austen into the Netflix search box and get a drop down menu. Wonderful!
10) Sherlock Holmes~ There are a lot of episodes as well as movie length shows about this interesting Victorian London based detective. Also, watch for Hound of the Baskervilles, which is Holmes, but it seems to go by the Hound name. (I had to make up a name for an Earldom for my book. What's a good British name? Holmes! Thus, the Companion of Lady Holmeshire.)
11) Poirot~ Many movies and episodes of the Agatha Christy detective from Belgium. He is a quirky guy, and the mysteries he solves are interesting.
12) Miss Marple~ More Agatha Christie mystery. Along with the great stories, you get to putz around in little old English villages and gardens a bit.
13) Stone of Destiny is really great. A true 1950s story; some Scottish students take on a centuries old problem. Their country's ancient coronation stone was taken by the British in a war, and British monarchs to this day are crowned sitting over it. These students were determined to get it back to Scotland.
14) Type Charles Dickens into the Netflix search box. Though only a few of his stories show up on the drop down menu, go ahead to the page and there are more. Some of the ones I really like include Bleak House and Little Dorrit. Bleak House shows much about Chancery (the system for orphan care) and Little Dorrit shows how a man in debtor's prison would take his family along, although the family could go out and work. There is also a pathetic twist that shows the viewpoint of (some of) the aristocrats toward lower class persons. All the Dickens movies are great.
15) That Hamilton Woman~ More magnificent palatial homes. Watch a real life story.
16) This weekend I tried to watch War and Peace for the second time. The first time I got bored, but I don't remember what was going on with me that time. This time, I'm afraid, I got bored again. I know that this time I had other things on my mind. It has the adorable Audrey Hepburn in it, but they dressed her up like a 1950s Barbie doll, complete with pony tail, short cut bangs and a dress with a waistline during the Empire period! I watch these things for the period effects, largely. Modern movies can have great stories, too, but I don't watch 'em! I am going to try this one again, one more time. The soldiers had great costumes. Maybe farther along, the rest of the people will. And please, if you have watched it, leave a comment and let me know if it gets better after the first 20 minutes or so. Thanks!
17) So what did I watch then? I put Monarch on. It is an incredible series about the monarchs of Britain, starting waaaaaay back. It has a lot of episodes and it will take me several more sessions to see it all. I am only up to the 14th century after probably 4 hours of watching. There are great shots of the castles they built, many now in ruins, and various effects left over from history. There are a lot of war scenes, but they are blurred, so no gore there, but the narrator does not mind spelling out the details of how this or that person was put to death. I would, therefore, not recommend it for sensitive viewers or kiddos, although you can probably tell that it is coming and fast forward. It is worth the time spent, for sure.
18) I am alternating streaming Monarch with Bramwell on disc. Dr. Bramwell is a woman in Victorian England. The first episode really shows the way women were undervalued, to put it mildly. I like the series well enough, except that I am shocked at how they show all the medical procedures. I can't handle it, myself, although I have attended real life surgeries professionally and did fine. They show the doctors slicing right through apparent persons and blood shooting out. Not at all necessary, in my opinion, and it certainly takes away from the "sit down and relax with a movie" scenario. I'm not kidding; it is worse than real life. I turned away, so as not to watch a caesarean on a deceased woman, but then they had to throw in the horrid sound of them ripping her open. Good heavens. Not pleasant. I may watch it for the rest of the show, which is good and gives a good view of life at that point in time, but I will take care to close my eyes and cover my ears a time or two per episode.
19) Here is a good run down on Bride and Prejudice, the Bollywood version of Pride and Prejudice.
20) In the comments section, Cindy mentions North and South. I wanted to point out that there are two of them available through Netflix. One is British and is a good story. A rural family has to leave their nice home and move to a polluted industrial town. Ugh. It is a good movie. The other is an American Civil War series. That I have not seen. Anyone who has, please comment on it!
21) Lark Rise to Candleford has been recommended to me by the administrator of the Jane Austen Community on Facebook. She says it is a great series, so I've put it on my queue (at the top, actually) and look forward to watching it.
22) London Hospital, again recommended by Julia Salsbury (above) is not available on Netflix, but she says it is on Amazon. In her words, "This stars Charity Wakefield (Marianne Dashwood from Masterpiece Classic's Sense and Sensibility) "This series was created from actual case notes, manuscripts, diaries, papers and other ephemera done by and for the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel. As a result it is a clear window into the history of the London and into the history of medicine. Heartwarming AND heartbreaking. Frequently disturbing and difficult to watch. Not softened by Hollywood but done in acid by British writers Colin Heber-Percy and Lyall B. Watson. The whole thing is brilliant - the acting, the sets, the costumes, the actors, the scripts... wonderful series!" Available to buy on Amazon for Digital Download only."
23) Little Lord Fauntleroy- a name I had heard all my life but never knew why. An adorable movie about a boy who was taken away from his mother (Netflix says it as "rescued from poverty") by his aristocrat grandfather. I enjoyed it.
24) I have added three movies that I have not yet seen to my queue. I will write on them here after I see them. They are The Old Curiosity Shop (Dickens), Dombey and Son and The Pickwick Papers (Dickens).
25) If you like something from older times, Lorna Doone is set in the 17th century.
26) The Barchester Chronicles is in my list of watched movies, but I don't remember it! Anyone care to comment on it?
27) There are ever so many movies about Elizabeth 1. Some of them include some torture scenes, so be aware. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the others and learned quite a bit about that era. It seems that eras are mostly about the queens and kings....
I will be adding to this list as I have the time. I intend to make it long.... you may want to bookmark this page if you are a lover of period movies, sometimes wondering what to watch next. Please mentions your favorites in the comments section. I may have missed one! See you soon! ---> Netflix <--- (No affiliation)Tweet
Part One, and that is clickable for more information, discusses the following shows, all of which I was, at least at one time, able to obtain from Netflix.
1) The House of Eliot~ Two sisters became a 1920s Fashion Design team. Wonderful!
2) Aristocrats~ The story of the Lennox sisters, descendants of George II. Great!
3) Edward the King~ A playboy king, son of Victoria. Again, great stuff.
4) Victoria and Albert, The Young Victoria and Mrs. Brown; all about Queen Victoria.
5) Nicholas and Alexandra~ Long and amazing: the Russian Czar and Czarina with Rasputin. Heartbreaking.
And now, for Part Two. Sorry, I don't have the time to discuss actors, but you can in the comments section!
1) The Importance of Being Ernest~ Truly one of the greatest period comedies. And I adore the song, Lady Come Down. Two men learn that lying weaves a tangled web and that it can cause problems in love and romance! Five stars!
2) The Ideal Husband~ Another great comedy, and I have to mention the adorable Minnie Driver because I love her faces! Do not miss this one.
3) The Sissi movies~ old films and subtitled, but it is another real Queen and her difficult life. It is one way to learn history.... I enjoyed them.
4) Fall of Eagles~ Shows the demise of the Hapsburgs of Austria-Hungary, the Romanovs of Russia and the Hohenzollerns of Germany, and how they were involved in the outbreak of World War I. Amazing miniseries! Sissi is in there again.
5) The Crown Prince~ Another royal tragedy. Rudolph, the Crown Prince of Austria-Hungary. I would call it depressing, but based on true history. Poor Sissi... again. Subtitled
6) Howard's End~ An Edwardian period movie which shows some struggle between the classes, but also the lovely politeness of society. Some favorite actors and actresses.
7) Downton Abbey~ The first seven episodes: A fictional story which shows how the hereditary system worked in period Britain, with everything being entailed to the closest male heir. Women got nothing, and at times had to leave their homes when their husbands died, kids included. I am looking forward to the next season, which starts in December.
8) I have to mention Fawlty Towers, even though it is only from about the 1960s. It is about a prudish hotel owner, his irritated wife and bumbling staff. It is hysterical! I don't generally like slapstick, but this one had just the right balance, and I've watched it repeatedly. Wonderful!
9) Of course, there are the Jane Austen movies, some of which have been made over more than once! You can type Jane Austen into the Netflix search box and get a drop down menu. Wonderful!
10) Sherlock Holmes~ There are a lot of episodes as well as movie length shows about this interesting Victorian London based detective. Also, watch for Hound of the Baskervilles, which is Holmes, but it seems to go by the Hound name. (I had to make up a name for an Earldom for my book. What's a good British name? Holmes! Thus, the Companion of Lady Holmeshire.)
11) Poirot~ Many movies and episodes of the Agatha Christy detective from Belgium. He is a quirky guy, and the mysteries he solves are interesting.
12) Miss Marple~ More Agatha Christie mystery. Along with the great stories, you get to putz around in little old English villages and gardens a bit.
13) Stone of Destiny is really great. A true 1950s story; some Scottish students take on a centuries old problem. Their country's ancient coronation stone was taken by the British in a war, and British monarchs to this day are crowned sitting over it. These students were determined to get it back to Scotland.
14) Type Charles Dickens into the Netflix search box. Though only a few of his stories show up on the drop down menu, go ahead to the page and there are more. Some of the ones I really like include Bleak House and Little Dorrit. Bleak House shows much about Chancery (the system for orphan care) and Little Dorrit shows how a man in debtor's prison would take his family along, although the family could go out and work. There is also a pathetic twist that shows the viewpoint of (some of) the aristocrats toward lower class persons. All the Dickens movies are great.
15) That Hamilton Woman~ More magnificent palatial homes. Watch a real life story.
16) This weekend I tried to watch War and Peace for the second time. The first time I got bored, but I don't remember what was going on with me that time. This time, I'm afraid, I got bored again. I know that this time I had other things on my mind. It has the adorable Audrey Hepburn in it, but they dressed her up like a 1950s Barbie doll, complete with pony tail, short cut bangs and a dress with a waistline during the Empire period! I watch these things for the period effects, largely. Modern movies can have great stories, too, but I don't watch 'em! I am going to try this one again, one more time. The soldiers had great costumes. Maybe farther along, the rest of the people will. And please, if you have watched it, leave a comment and let me know if it gets better after the first 20 minutes or so. Thanks!
17) So what did I watch then? I put Monarch on. It is an incredible series about the monarchs of Britain, starting waaaaaay back. It has a lot of episodes and it will take me several more sessions to see it all. I am only up to the 14th century after probably 4 hours of watching. There are great shots of the castles they built, many now in ruins, and various effects left over from history. There are a lot of war scenes, but they are blurred, so no gore there, but the narrator does not mind spelling out the details of how this or that person was put to death. I would, therefore, not recommend it for sensitive viewers or kiddos, although you can probably tell that it is coming and fast forward. It is worth the time spent, for sure.
18) I am alternating streaming Monarch with Bramwell on disc. Dr. Bramwell is a woman in Victorian England. The first episode really shows the way women were undervalued, to put it mildly. I like the series well enough, except that I am shocked at how they show all the medical procedures. I can't handle it, myself, although I have attended real life surgeries professionally and did fine. They show the doctors slicing right through apparent persons and blood shooting out. Not at all necessary, in my opinion, and it certainly takes away from the "sit down and relax with a movie" scenario. I'm not kidding; it is worse than real life. I turned away, so as not to watch a caesarean on a deceased woman, but then they had to throw in the horrid sound of them ripping her open. Good heavens. Not pleasant. I may watch it for the rest of the show, which is good and gives a good view of life at that point in time, but I will take care to close my eyes and cover my ears a time or two per episode.
19) Here is a good run down on Bride and Prejudice, the Bollywood version of Pride and Prejudice.
20) In the comments section, Cindy mentions North and South. I wanted to point out that there are two of them available through Netflix. One is British and is a good story. A rural family has to leave their nice home and move to a polluted industrial town. Ugh. It is a good movie. The other is an American Civil War series. That I have not seen. Anyone who has, please comment on it!
21) Lark Rise to Candleford has been recommended to me by the administrator of the Jane Austen Community on Facebook. She says it is a great series, so I've put it on my queue (at the top, actually) and look forward to watching it.
22) London Hospital, again recommended by Julia Salsbury (above) is not available on Netflix, but she says it is on Amazon. In her words, "This stars Charity Wakefield (Marianne Dashwood from Masterpiece Classic's Sense and Sensibility) "This series was created from actual case notes, manuscripts, diaries, papers and other ephemera done by and for the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel. As a result it is a clear window into the history of the London and into the history of medicine. Heartwarming AND heartbreaking. Frequently disturbing and difficult to watch. Not softened by Hollywood but done in acid by British writers Colin Heber-Percy and Lyall B. Watson. The whole thing is brilliant - the acting, the sets, the costumes, the actors, the scripts... wonderful series!" Available to buy on Amazon for Digital Download only."
23) Little Lord Fauntleroy- a name I had heard all my life but never knew why. An adorable movie about a boy who was taken away from his mother (Netflix says it as "rescued from poverty") by his aristocrat grandfather. I enjoyed it.
24) I have added three movies that I have not yet seen to my queue. I will write on them here after I see them. They are The Old Curiosity Shop (Dickens), Dombey and Son and The Pickwick Papers (Dickens).
25) If you like something from older times, Lorna Doone is set in the 17th century.
26) The Barchester Chronicles is in my list of watched movies, but I don't remember it! Anyone care to comment on it?
27) There are ever so many movies about Elizabeth 1. Some of them include some torture scenes, so be aware. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the others and learned quite a bit about that era. It seems that eras are mostly about the queens and kings....
I will be adding to this list as I have the time. I intend to make it long.... you may want to bookmark this page if you are a lover of period movies, sometimes wondering what to watch next. Please mentions your favorites in the comments section. I may have missed one! See you soon! ---> Netflix <--- (No affiliation)Tweet
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Darcy and Fitzwilliam by Karen Wasylowski
The story of Darcy and Fitzwilliam is of two men who have been life long friends, competitors, relatives. They share little in common. Darcy is elegant, fabulously handsome and meticulous in manner and dress. The other one - well, Colonel Fitzwilliam is a rogue. Rough looking, brawny and possessing enough charm and love of life to sustain him through the years of England's war with France.
Their personal lives cross, with women and babies; feisty old Aunt Catherine is along for the ride. Hope you enjoy!
Reviews:
Both Jane Austen World and Jane Austen Today
“It’s intoxicating. It’s absorbing. It’s excellent.”
THE CALICO CRITIC
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Karen Wasylowski has done a fine job with these Austenian characters. She has stayed true to the original vision of their temperaments, yet brings new aspects of who they are to light. Their witty repartee is always fun, as they regularly jab at each other in non-cynical brotherly ways. Darcy and the Colonel passionately love their women, sometimes going to extremes to protect them and those they love. There is much drama in this narrative, although it doesn’t cross over into melodrama in the least.
There was more than one night when I had trouble putting the book down to go to bed! Being the men who they are, there are a few moments that are a bit PG-13 as far as language and sexual content. I mention this only for those who are particular about these issues or are considering this for young readers. Most of the bedroom material is within the confines of marriage, and Wasylowski doesn’t go overboard with frequent gratuitous moments of intimacy or colorful tirades.
Thank heavens this isn’t some tawdry bodice-ripper with blue dialog every other minute.
Darcy and Fitzwilliam was an enjoyable read. Karen provides an epilogue that occurs decades after the main story, and I think she could easily draft a sequel in the future. I readily enjoyed her treatment of these characters and hope she continues to revisit this world. Her work is page turning, humorous, maddening (Caroline!!) and touching.
This is a fine edition to the ever-growing library of Austenesque novels. It’s definitely a “bromance” worth an Austen fan’s consideration.
LINDA BANCHE REVIEW
Review: DARCY AND FITZWILLIAM: A TALE OF A GENTLEMAN AND AN OFFICER by Karen V. Wasylowski
Laugh until your sides ache and then laugh some more with Karen V. Wasylowski's delicious Darcy and Fitzwilliam: A Tale of a Gentleman and an Officer. This absorbing, fast-moving romp of a book catalogues the often hilarious ups and downs in the enduring affectionate friendship of those brothers-in-spirit, cousins Fitzwilliam Darcy and Colonel Richard Fitzwilliam.
I read this entire 481 page book in one day, laughing all the way. Ms. Wasylowski has a good ear for realistic male banter, most of it uproariously funny. The best two lines in the whole novel occur when Darcy and Fitzwilliam reminisce about their youth and the hilariously disgusting things young boys do to each other. I still laugh when I think of those lines.A truly wonderful and original take on Pride and Prejudice. I can't wait for Ms. Wasylowski's next book.
HISTORICAL BOOKS Review
Pride and Prejudice has given contemporary writers of historical fiction an endless source of ideas. Many of these novels of possibilities are very good and honor the original classic, while others are wastebasket material. Karen V. Wasylowski has turned out one of the former, a charming and believable rendering that offers the reader a look at the men in Pride and Prejudice. Austen herself would no doubt welcome Darcy and Fitzwilliam, an amusing and witty interpretation.
Comment below, and include your user name (or some way to make sure that I can contact you) to win a free copy via random drawing! Karen will ship a signed copy of her book to one winner anywhere.
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Upstairs Downstairs; To Celebrate!
To celebrate the new Upstairs Downstairs, which plays in 3 episodes on PBS "Masterpiece" starting April 10th here in the US of A, I thought I would review some aspects of the old series. In this greatly loved and long running production, we learned much about the workings of an Edwardian household.
We learned, first, that the servants area, including the kitchen, was downstairs, and that it had it's own doorway. Servants were never seen coming in the front door. There was a rigid hierarchy among the servants, with Mr. Hudson, the butler reigning over the others. In a larger household, we would have seen him sitting at the head of the table, but this little kitchen had, if I recall correctly, a round one.
The upstairs family was headed by Richard Bellamy, Member of Parliament, but in the watching we learn that it is his wife, the Lady Marjorie, who deals with the staff, and mostly through her butler. She, however, meets and hires the help. Kitchen maids and the scullery maid, who gets to do the worst of the dirty work, came under the authority of the cook, Mrs. Bridges.
The house, 165 Eaton Place, was one of the smaller homes in the richest development in the world, Belgravia. Another part, therein, was Belgrave Square, which had enormous mansions, occupied by dukes and others of the highest rank.. Belgrave Square now houses mostly embassies, but once again, there are some residencies being prepared.
At the Bellamy's, we watch the ritual of the afternoon tea. Ladies in attendance would wear their hats and gloves throughout the meal (yes, it was a meal, usually with neatly cut sandwiches, as dinner was served four hours later at 8:00). If a lady was going to eat bread and butter, however, she was allowed to remove her gloves. There were, indeed, rules for everything! Should Mr. Bellamy have needed to see his wife at this time of day, he would enter with his hat and stick, the appropriate way to show that he was aware of the short length of time that it would be acceptable for him to remain in the room, and that he would comply. The butler would bring in the tea, which was to be poured by the hostess herself. In a larger household, it may have been carried in by a footman assisting the butler. Mrs. Bellamy knew better, of course, than to pour milk into cups before the tea, or she would come to be known as a "miffer", a milk-firster, and would develop a reputation as "socially impossible".
The setting, Edwardian England, was a grand time in many ways. Victoria's last decades had been marked by her endless mourning for Albert, and she was rarely seen in public. Edward, though, enjoyed the pleasures of life, and his country joined in the cheer. A sad note, at the start of his reign, was the cancellation of his coronation due to his appendicitis. No doubt a small fortune had been spent preparing, but it was all put on hold for two months. Londoners were thrilled that he moved his court from Windsor to Buckingham Palace, which he redecorated. His wife was lovely, and the family, adored. It was a golden age. All the pomp and ceremony that the Prince Regent, in the early 1800s, had initiated was carried on, and is still today as a mark of royal events.
Marjorie and her guests were stunning in their Parisian corsets, with, of course, only real whale bone, and bought at the London Corset Company. The ladies bustles contributed, as well, to their stately and elegant profiles. Should anything go wrong with a lady's clothing, her lady's maid was the one to call. Rose would have been well trained, likely as an apprentice to a seamstress, for the role. I'm sure she could also efficiently remove soil from a silk dress by rubbing it with stale bread crumbs. Where the wet wash was hung out in Belgravia, I cannot say, but it certainly would not have been out of doors.
The inexperienced house parlour maid could purchase a booklet describing her duties for 3d. An older woman would have to provide references, called a character, to show that she was already well aware of the responsibilities and had previously carried them out in a fine way. Lady Marjorie would certainly have been cautious about who she hired, but took on a maid with a false character, who, we later learn had been a jailbird! Her name, Clemence, was inappropriate for a servant, so Her Ladyship changed it to Sarah.
England was under one dark cloud, however, and Richard Bellamy was most disturbed by it. That cloud was the arrogant and distrusted Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany, Queen Victoria's grandson gone wrong, a major contributor to the Great War. Elizabeth Bellamy, the somewhat rebellious daughter, brought home a German Baron, much to her father's distress.
There is so much more to say about the times, but if you are still here with me, I will just relate that the actress who played Marjorie decided to leave the show to strike out on her own in movies, though she was not successful and regretted the decision, even before the show in which she was written out was aired. She was taken out of the story by traveling to America on a ship called the Titanic, never to return to 165 Eaton Place.
This great series may be available at your local library on DVD, and it is also available on Netflix. It is well worth the many hours it will take you to watch it! Much of my information was taken from The World of Upstairs Downstairs by Mollie Hardwick. Other information was gleaned in books long ago read and returned to the library and from Wikipedia.
Update: And now that the show has begun, please share your viewpoints on the new episodes!
We learned, first, that the servants area, including the kitchen, was downstairs, and that it had it's own doorway. Servants were never seen coming in the front door. There was a rigid hierarchy among the servants, with Mr. Hudson, the butler reigning over the others. In a larger household, we would have seen him sitting at the head of the table, but this little kitchen had, if I recall correctly, a round one.
The upstairs family was headed by Richard Bellamy, Member of Parliament, but in the watching we learn that it is his wife, the Lady Marjorie, who deals with the staff, and mostly through her butler. She, however, meets and hires the help. Kitchen maids and the scullery maid, who gets to do the worst of the dirty work, came under the authority of the cook, Mrs. Bridges.
The house, 165 Eaton Place, was one of the smaller homes in the richest development in the world, Belgravia. Another part, therein, was Belgrave Square, which had enormous mansions, occupied by dukes and others of the highest rank.. Belgrave Square now houses mostly embassies, but once again, there are some residencies being prepared.
At the Bellamy's, we watch the ritual of the afternoon tea. Ladies in attendance would wear their hats and gloves throughout the meal (yes, it was a meal, usually with neatly cut sandwiches, as dinner was served four hours later at 8:00). If a lady was going to eat bread and butter, however, she was allowed to remove her gloves. There were, indeed, rules for everything! Should Mr. Bellamy have needed to see his wife at this time of day, he would enter with his hat and stick, the appropriate way to show that he was aware of the short length of time that it would be acceptable for him to remain in the room, and that he would comply. The butler would bring in the tea, which was to be poured by the hostess herself. In a larger household, it may have been carried in by a footman assisting the butler. Mrs. Bellamy knew better, of course, than to pour milk into cups before the tea, or she would come to be known as a "miffer", a milk-firster, and would develop a reputation as "socially impossible".
The setting, Edwardian England, was a grand time in many ways. Victoria's last decades had been marked by her endless mourning for Albert, and she was rarely seen in public. Edward, though, enjoyed the pleasures of life, and his country joined in the cheer. A sad note, at the start of his reign, was the cancellation of his coronation due to his appendicitis. No doubt a small fortune had been spent preparing, but it was all put on hold for two months. Londoners were thrilled that he moved his court from Windsor to Buckingham Palace, which he redecorated. His wife was lovely, and the family, adored. It was a golden age. All the pomp and ceremony that the Prince Regent, in the early 1800s, had initiated was carried on, and is still today as a mark of royal events.
Marjorie and her guests were stunning in their Parisian corsets, with, of course, only real whale bone, and bought at the London Corset Company. The ladies bustles contributed, as well, to their stately and elegant profiles. Should anything go wrong with a lady's clothing, her lady's maid was the one to call. Rose would have been well trained, likely as an apprentice to a seamstress, for the role. I'm sure she could also efficiently remove soil from a silk dress by rubbing it with stale bread crumbs. Where the wet wash was hung out in Belgravia, I cannot say, but it certainly would not have been out of doors.
The inexperienced house parlour maid could purchase a booklet describing her duties for 3d. An older woman would have to provide references, called a character, to show that she was already well aware of the responsibilities and had previously carried them out in a fine way. Lady Marjorie would certainly have been cautious about who she hired, but took on a maid with a false character, who, we later learn had been a jailbird! Her name, Clemence, was inappropriate for a servant, so Her Ladyship changed it to Sarah.
England was under one dark cloud, however, and Richard Bellamy was most disturbed by it. That cloud was the arrogant and distrusted Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany, Queen Victoria's grandson gone wrong, a major contributor to the Great War. Elizabeth Bellamy, the somewhat rebellious daughter, brought home a German Baron, much to her father's distress.
There is so much more to say about the times, but if you are still here with me, I will just relate that the actress who played Marjorie decided to leave the show to strike out on her own in movies, though she was not successful and regretted the decision, even before the show in which she was written out was aired. She was taken out of the story by traveling to America on a ship called the Titanic, never to return to 165 Eaton Place.
This great series may be available at your local library on DVD, and it is also available on Netflix. It is well worth the many hours it will take you to watch it! Much of my information was taken from The World of Upstairs Downstairs by Mollie Hardwick. Other information was gleaned in books long ago read and returned to the library and from Wikipedia.
Update: And now that the show has begun, please share your viewpoints on the new episodes!
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Book Giveaway; Many Authors
Please join me at a Book Giveaway hosted by the author of A Very Merry Chase, Teresa Bohannon. There are a variety of books to consider and perhaps win!
Book Giveaway
You can also visit my author's page on Facebook and Like me, should you wish. Many thanks for your support! My book, The Companion of Lady Holmeshire, has been published by World Castle Publications. My website for the book is Author Debra Brown.
Book Giveaway
You can also visit my author's page on Facebook and Like me, should you wish. Many thanks for your support! My book, The Companion of Lady Holmeshire, has been published by World Castle Publications. My website for the book is Author Debra Brown.
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