Category Archives: servant life

Life Below Stairs: Life as a Maid-of-all Work in Victorian England

Posted on August 21, 2024 by Regina Jeffers

Maids-of-all-Work were the “general,” rather than the exception in Victorian England. Women employed in these positions were expected to be a combination of housemaid, nurse, parlourmaid, and even cook if something happened to incapacitate the cook. They were expected to … Continue reading →

Posted in Great Britain, servant life, Victorian era | Tagged , , , , , | 15 Comments

Life Below Stairs – The Footman

Posted on August 19, 2024 by Regina Jeffers

There are tales of footmen who experienced criticism and mild taunts when they went about their master’s business. Even so, the footman became a sort of symbol of the division in society. Reports abound of street urchins throwing mud on … Continue reading →

Posted in British history, estates, fashion, Georgian Era, Great Britain, history, Living in the Regency, Living in the UK, servant life, Victorian era | Tagged , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Life Below Stairs: English Servants Emigrating to Australia, the U. S., and Canada

Posted on April 17, 2020 by Regina Jeffers

Young girls who set out for Australia to earn a living as a domestic servant, opportunities to marry were not out of the question. In England, seduction ruled, but these young girls entered a different world, where they could consider … Continue reading →

Posted in Act of Parliament, British history, Living in the UK, real life tales, servant life | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

The Role of Servants in Jane Austen’s Novels, a Guest Post from Eliza Shearer

Posted on February 26, 2020 by Regina Jeffers

To complement my series on Life Below Stairs, I thought you might enjoy this piece from Eliza Shearer which first appeared on Austen Authors on 7 January 2020.  One of the things I love about Jane Austen is that nothing … Continue reading →

Posted in Austen Authors, book excerpts, Emma, Georgian England, Georgian Era, Guest Post, Jane Austen, Living in the Regency, Mansfield Park, Pride and Prejudice, reading habits, Regency era, servant life, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Life Below Stairs, Part 5 – The “Fallen” Female Servant

Posted on January 31, 2020 by Regina Jeffers

The life of a female servant in an English household of the 18th or 19th Century was a lonely one in terms of romantic entanglements, and we can only imagine how easily such a woman might be tempted to “taste” … Continue reading →

Posted in British history, commerce, Georgian England, Great Britain, history, Living in the Regency, Living in the UK, Regency era, romance, servant life, vocabulary | Tagged , , , , , | 9 Comments

Georgian Garden Adornments & Embellishments, a Guest Post from Sharon Lathan

Posted on October 13, 2017 by Regina Jeffers

Today, I have stolen one of my good friend’s post from Austen Authors to share with you. Sharon Lathan loves research as much as I, so you should enjoy this piece on Georgian Gardens, originally posted on May 16, 2016. … Continue reading →

Posted in Austen Authors, British history, buildings and structures, Georgian England, Georgian Era, Guest Post, history, Living in the UK, research, servant life | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Announcing More Winners from Regina Jeffers’s “A Dance with Mr. Darcy” Giveaway

Posted on April 2, 2017 by Regina Jeffers

 These are the winners from the various giveaways associated with the release of A Dance with Mr. Darcy. All winners were chosen by Random.org. Each date will have two winners of eBooks of A Dance with Mr. Darcy listed and will … Continue reading →

Posted in book excerpts, book release, British history, Church of England, eBooks, Georgian Era, giveaway, historical fiction, history, Jane Austen, marriage, marriage customs, Pride and Prejudice, romance, Scotland, servant life, Vagary | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Life Below Stairs: Benevolent Groups Come to the Aid of Domestic Servants

Posted on September 21, 2016 by Regina Jeffers

There were groups operating in London and throughout England to aid domestic servants. The most important of those were… Established in May 1846, The General Domestic Servants’ Benevolent Institution was located at 32 Sackville Street, Piccadilly. It was under the … Continue reading →

Posted in British history, Living in the UK, servant life, Victorian era | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Life Below Stairs: Increase in the White-Slave Traffic

Posted on August 23, 2016 by Regina Jeffers

Back in March, I spoke of the Fallen Female Servant, those young (often innocent) girls who were seduced or conquered by their masters. Today, I wish to speak of what the future held if the mistress of the house drove … Continue reading →

Posted in British history, Great Britain, Living in the Regency, Living in the UK, servant life, Victorian era, William IV | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Life Below Stairs: Servants as a Status Symbol

Posted on July 29, 2016 by Regina Jeffers

A trend we incur during the Victorian era was the obsession to have more servants than one’s neighbors or comparable members of one’s social circles. It was “Keeping up with the Joneses” with servants, rather than with expansive homes and … Continue reading →

Posted in British history, family, fashion, Georgian Era, Great Britain, Living in the Regency, servant life, Victorian era | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments