Every other Sunday

by Jean Rennie

The author describes how she worked her way up from scullery maid during the Depression to become one of England's finest cooks

Genres: History, Memoir, British Literature

217 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1955

Reviews

[Emma Deplores Goodreads Censorship · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating historical memoir. I encountered this book by reading Servants: A Downstairs History of Britain from the Nineteenth-Century to Modern Times, where it is quoted, and the full version did not disappoint.

Born in 1906 to a working poor Scottish family, Jean Rennie excelled in school but had few opportunities. Lacking the money to go on to college and unable to find a job making use of her skills, she wound up going into service as a housemaid, and later a scullerymaid, kitchenmaid and cook—working her way up and then slipping down again over 16 years. This book chronicles her life, with a focus on her work, from a perspective we rarely get to read: there are tons of firsthand historical accounts of being rich, but far fewer of being poor. So it was fascinating to read about the institution of service from the inside, what Rennie’s life and work were really like, where she found enjoyment and meaning.

It helps that she’s an excellent storyteller, so I read through this book very quickly. Rennie takes an almost novelistic approach to her own life, reconstructing scenes and dialogue in a way that certainly isn’t entirely accurate but does bring home her experiences to the reader. Her individuality shines through in a way I rarely find true in historical fiction. And there isn’t a simple trajectory to her life, as she sometimes moves from good jobs to bad ones and loses ground.

If this were written today, I would probably rate it slightly lower—Rennie doesn’t quite have the perspective on herself that I like to see in memoirs, so 9 times out of 10, when she has a conflict someone else (which happens often), she’s right and they’re wrong and that’s the end of it. But I give more latitude here just because I enjoyed seeing a historical perspective so much. In some ways Rennie’s outlook is very modern: she criticizes Britain’s class system as artificial and destructive, which supposedly made the book controversial when it was released in 1955; she explores the way a nasty, critical boss undermines her self-esteem, while she’s at her best in a crisis. In other ways, it’s very clear that she came from another era. She thinks nothing of being physically assaulted by a cook when they overall have a good relationship, and not much more of attempted rape, which happens to her several times as she attempts to pursue a career in theater. Rennie seems to assume that men will often attempt force, women then must scream and fight, and if everyone follows these prescribed roles nothing too bad will happen. And that is how it works out for her. Meanwhile it’s with a sense of fault that she admits to having had sex with her boyfriend of 15 years.

At any rate, overall quite an interesting tale, and I’m glad to have read it firsthand from someone who lived it. I would have liked to see more about Rennie’s life after leaving her final job as a cook, though I understand she published a subsequent memoir about that.

[Suzanne Fournier · Rating 3 out of 5]

I came across this in my local library recently and thought it sounded interesting. A kind of pre-Downton memoir of life downstairs. Rennie details her many years in the service, and I was amazed how she could remember so clearly each place she'd been and who she'd worked with. She does seem to have a series of misadventures during her career, some of which due to her naivety and some due to her head-strongness. I felt sorry for her especially working under Mrs. Callan, but did feel she brought some of it on herself constantly moving from job to job. I found the ending flat but see there are other memoirs that followed. Surprisingly other than these books there seems to be little information about her life, which is almost astonishing in the age of Google.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very interesting look into the life of a young woman in service. Jean Rennie worked her way up from scullery maid to head cook in some of England's finest houses.

The sheer amount of heavy work is unimaginable today, as is the almost total disregard for a servant's rights. Jean (or Jenny, as she is called in the book)is spunky and a hard worker but tends lets her feelings get the better of her, often for the worse. She is human and warm and honest and I loved her for it.

Clean.

[Donia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got this edition of Every Other Sunday from the library. It is a very simply written memoir by a women born in 1906 who spent her early life in service in London and the English countryside. The book gives an accurate glimpse into life in servitude in the 1920's and 1930's and she speaks to the changes that were coming for domestics. Jean Rennie had very low self image throughout her early life and this affected her ability to "get along" in her various positions of which she had many. The book is simple. I admit that I got frustrated with Jean Rennie for making what I thought were very stupid choices in life but she is very introspective and open and admits that her anger got in her way over and over. If you aren't familiar with servitude in this era this is a good read.

[Nell Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

A difficult time. A difficult life. I tried to put myself in her place and commiserate with her.