By Lucy Lethbridge Bloomsbury, £20 (ebook £10.64).
WRITER, journalist and historian Lucy Lethbridge has written a number of non-fiction books for children, including Ada Lovelace: Computer Wizard Of Victorian England.
With Servants, her latest historical dissection, she draws us into the world downstairs and explores the relationship between server and served.
From footmen and butlers, maids and housekeepers to au pairs, cleaners and babysitters, the unheard masses and their well-heard masters have been a staple component of British culture.
Over seven decades, we learn what was expected from a maid-of-all-work, and the varied opinions of the household.
Comprehensively researched and charmingly engaging, Servants is a sensitive, penetrating insight into society.
Beautifully written, Lethbridge presents the evidence with great detail and finesse, allowing the reader to absorb huge swathes of fascinating facts. A worthy historical account.
8/10
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