In this exciting new study Tim Meldrum explores the "real lives" of domestic servants. From close examination of court records and other documentary evidence, he has reconstructed the lives of ordinary domestic servants in London. A revealing account of life below the stairs, the gendered nature of domestic service, how different members of the household interacted with one another, it makes a valuable contribution to the "separate spheres" debate.
Author(s): Tim Meldrum
Edition: 1
Publisher: Routledge
Year: 2000
Language: English
Pages: 232
City: London
Cover
Half Title
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Table of Contents
List of tables
Acknowledgements
1. Introduction
The historical importance of domestic service
Historiographical outlines
Principal sources
Structure of the book
2. Metropolitan service: the London context
London's economy
Structures of London domestic service
Useful definitions
Conclusion
3. Service, mastery and authority
Introduction
Household discipline
Character and employment
Conclusion
4. Household relations
Introduction
Privacy and the family
Servants and spatial segregation
Proximity to the person
Sexual relations between household members
Departure from the household
Conclusion
5. Domestic service as work
Introduction to the meaning of work
Housewifery and the drudgery of service
Domestic service in retailing households
Idle luxury
Conclusion
6. Wages and remuneration
Introduction
The importance of money
Non-wage earnings
Conclusion
7. Conclusion
Appendix I Bibliographical essay
General domestic service
Domestic service in london
European domestic service
Domestic service in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries
Service, slavery and patriarchy
Gendered work and wages
Sources for London domestic service
Index
