What readers think of Below Stairs, plus links to write your own review.

Below Stairs is the true story of Margaret Powell who worked as a kitchen maid – the lowest of the low – in 1920’s England. I appreciated the book for its honesty, directness, and the informative way in which it was written. I also appreciated the integrity with which Margaret wrote – she wasn’t backward at coming forward about expressing the anger and contempt she felt for some of those she worked for.

Overall I found Below Stairs to be a funny, honest, and charming read.

Margaret was born in 1907 in Hove and died in 1984 at the age of 77.

If you watched "Downton Abbey," then you may think you know what went on in those massive English estate homes in the early 1900s, but this book by Margaret Powell will no doubt be an eye-opener. Powell went into domestic service at age 15 as a kitchen maid—the lowest in the hierarchy of servants—and the stories she has to tell run the gamut from fascinating to frightening.

Powell was born in Hove, England, the second child in a family of seven children. There was lots of love and laughter but little money and food, so at age 13 she left school and started working. At 14 she got a job in a hotel laundry room, and a year later entered domestic service. Although quite shy, Powell had a feisty personality. She was appalled at the differences between "Them" (the family that lived above stairs) and the domestic servants that lived below stairs, and she often cheekily said exactly how she felt.

Of her own volition, she changed jobs frequently, hoping to learn enough about cooking so that she could become a cook, a feat she managed quite successfully.

The book was originally published in 1968 and became a bestseller, catapulting the author to a bit of celebrity before her death in 1984. That said, this is not great writing. Instead, it is written as if Margaret Powell made you, the reader, a cuppa and the two of you are sitting at a worn kitchen table while she recounts her years in service. The style is quite conversational and filled with colloquialisms of her time, as well as some sordid revelations about her employers.

If nothing else, the stories of cooking with a finicky range, few kitchen tools and only an icebox and no refrigerator, as well as cleaning with salt and vinegar, will certainly make you appreciate our own modern conveniences.