They Also Serve

by Tom Quinn

Told by a man who's seen it all firsthand and perfect for fans of Downton Abbey, this is a scandilous behind-the-scenes look at the real-life estate houses of England

During more than 30 years in a variety of houses, Bob Sharpe managed to rise from garden boy to valet and finally to the feared and respected position of butler. As a boy he had to kill pheasant chicks, boil rabbits for the estate dogs, carry the wood up and down stairs every day for 30 fires, and sleep on the floor outside his master's room. He cleaned shoes, ironed underwear and socks, and once had to stand all night in the hall waiting for a late visitor to arrive. But as a butler he was the best paid servant in the house, waited on, feared, and respected by the other servants. Bob Sharpe knew the real world of upstairs/downstairs and the secrets of the landed gentry—even to the point of incest and attempted murder—and it's all included here in this captivating read.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Memoir, Autobiography, Biography

256 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2012

Reviews

[Shiloah]

I ate this book up in two days. I was fascinated with the life of this man and how he started working at a tender age in the big country houses. What he saw and experienced was so interesting. I’ve always had an interest in real life stories of upstairs and downstairs in England’s great houses. Bob was a cheerful man and did well in his vocation. I’m so glad his last employer helped him get situated in an apartment of his own. So much to learn here. What a great read.

[I.M.SPINKS]

A dawn good read

I did so enjoy this book and would recommend without hesitation .
I suppose it just reflects my personality to really enjoy
as much as I did this and all and any historical reads as this.
If you are a history fanatic , then at this kindle price you can't go wrong ; bringing together a biography and a historical biography , what cream to indulge in.
Enjoy

[Alison Bacon-snow]

A lovingly remembered memoir

So very interesting and funny too. The tasks, duties and also mental understanding of life in such a working environment that you get from reading this book is most captivating.
A very worthwhile read which I wish had had more stories and anecdotes to enthralling us readers, further.
Thank you for a wonderful read!!

[marian hodgson]

Good read

My only criticism would be that he never told us enough stories about the people he met. Saying that I'll give it a 5 star rating.

[Maureen Tongs]

A must read

This book was easy reading and the description of years gone by and the lives of those were bought home vividly.

[John Seston]

A very interesting read, though too many gaps in the life story particularly about the daughter Marjorie. Just little snippets of what happened to her when Alice died??.

[Charlotte Foxell]

History brought to life

Lovely read. I was very sorry when I had finished it. Good descriptive narrative of a real life in service.

[Adella Averill]

Interesting subject matter, but poorly written and edited. It was a slog to get through.

[Joy Page]

They also serve,

What a lovely story, all things come to an end though, just lovely to look back on how life was, and what a wonderful gentleman Bob was ,Joy Page xx

[Jan]

Such a lovely story

The story of a life well lived in a time of restriction and class prejudice . The joys and tribulations of an age past, & the people who lived then.

[Giles47]

Outstanding

A wonderful and moving autobiography of a man who rose through domestic service from a hall boy on an estate rural Hertfordshire to two posts as a butler in London.

[Heather Hamer]

An enjoyable read

I enjoyed this book. It was easy to read and brought to life the day to day work of a servant to the so-called upper classes.

[Rachael]

I loved reading this! As a fan of Downton Abbey as well as a major history-lover, I fully recommend this book. The poetic title was what first caught my interest, and Mr Sharpe's stories of downstairs life kept it piqued. I was so excited when this book came (I'd been checking the mailbox for days in anticipation) and I didn't want it to end. The very interesting story of a life spent below stairs.

[Dawn]

Not the most engaging book, but if you stick with it it has some interesting and amusing insights. Obviously partly ghost-written: not an easy task to put mundane servant life into writing which engages people, so you have to stick with it through the dull bits.

[Amanda]

Couldn't finish this. The conversational language and repetitive chapters made it too much of a drag. I may go back to it at some stage and write a better review.

[Jane Botten]

Not that entertaining, a bedtime read.

[Marilyn]

I thought this book is not as "full bodied" as Eric Horne's "What the Butler Winked At", but it is a nice memoir of life in service between the world wars, and will complement "Minding the Manor: The Memoir of a 1930s English Kitchen Maid by Mollie Moran. Mr. Sharpe has his own take on domestic life "then" and the molly-coddled post war and austerity generations. He was a game keeper's son, and some of the anecdotes of growing up with his brother and under his father's oversight are charming. It was a rough but good outdoor life for a rural lad in the Edwardian era; but he was marked out by his employer to be a "hall boy", the lowest of the "indoor servants". You did not argue with the "Master", so there he was, and he learned to be ambitious about bettering himself.

The first half of the book is the cream. Learning the ropes, advancing to footman, leaving the country for London, learning to ride a bike, meeting the maid who would marry him, setting up housekeeping. All that is lovely, but the interesting parts peter out as he ages.

I did not discover new insights about his job; but that may be because I've read Horne's book, Not in Front of the Servants: A True Portrait of English Upstairs/Downstairs Life and a few other "upstairs / downstairs" books.

It's a charming memoir. I liked it.