Servants' Hall

A Real Life Upstairs, Downstairs Romance

By: Margaret Powell

Narrated by: Susan Lyons

Length: 7 hrs and 3 mins

Publisher's summary

The sequel to New York Times best seller Below Stairs, Servants' Hall tells a gripping real-life tale reminiscent of Downton Abbey's Lady Sybil and Tom Branson.

Margaret Powell's Below Stairs became a sensation among listeners reveling in the luxury and subtle class warfare of Masterpiece Theatre's hit television series Downton Abbey. Now in the sequel Servants' Hall, Powell tells the true story of Rose, the under-parlourmaid to the Wardham Family at Redlands, who took a shocking step: She eloped with the family's only son, Mr. Gerald.

Going from rags to riches, Rose finds herself caught up in a maelstrom of gossip, incredulity and envy among her fellow servants. The reaction from upstairs was no better: Mr. Wardham, the master of the house, disdained the match so completely that he refused ever to have contact with the young couple again. Gerald and Rose marry, leave Redlands, and Powell looks on with envy, even as the marriage hits on bumpy times: "To us in the servants' hall, it was just like a fairy tale… How I wished I was in her shoes."

Once again bringing that lost world to life, Margaret Powell trains her pen and her gimlet eye on her "betters" in this next chapter from a life spent in service. Servants' Hall is Margaret Powell at her best - a warm, funny and sometimes hilarious memoir of life at a time when wealthy families ruled England.

©1979 Margaret Powell (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

Similar to Below stairs

I liked the book and it was a worthy listen. However, the author has written 2 stories, this one and below stairs and there is a some rehash of the same content. I was rather disappointed to hear the same stuff twice. I did like the book, and there is some new stuff there, but, I'm not sure I would've bought it if I knew it was basically the same story..

It is worth listening to, especially if you like to read about the lives of servants but if you have already read Below Stairs, be warned there is repeat content in this one.

Memoir of a Bygone Era

Fans of Upstairs Downstairs and Downton Abbey will recognize the inspiration behind the TV shows in Powell's memoirs. Margaret Powell had a gift for storytelling and wordsmithing reminiscent of James Herriot. Her books are populated with equally memorable and often humorous characters, and her tales can bring laugher and tears. This is not a Cinderella story with a fairytale ending. Rather, it is a sad story of true life and love. I prefer Mary Wells, who narrated Below Stairs. This narrator has a harsher, almost angry sounding, tone to her voice in comparison.

Good Story

What made the experience of listening to Servants' Hall the most enjoyable?

I enjoyed the reader and the story was charming. Sort of like Downton Abbey but definitely a different twist.

Engrossing and entertaining

This is a light, entertaining read for driving, house cleaning and the like. Dialogue moves smoothly and provides good depth to characters.

real life no fantasy

What made the experience of listening to Servants' Hall the most enjoyable?

Reader was very good

What was one of the most memorable moments of Servants' Hall?

that servant's parents did not want servant daughter to marry the rich guy.

Which scene was your favorite?

just the discussion of the pecking order among the servants

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

no

Any additional comments?

It makes you realize that "the good ole days" were not that good for most people,
but that people coped and got by. If you got sick, it really didn't matter if you were
rich or poor.

More Material for Downton Abbey

The story goes into more detail about the places were she's worked. I see many parts of this book replicated in PBS Downton Abbey. I did enjoy making those connections.

Well Written Memoir

What made the experience of listening to Servants' Hall the most enjoyable?

Susan Powell's voice is very mellow and soothing with a British accent. It was a pleasure hearing her talk.

What did you like best about this story?

This book shared the memoirs a woman servant. The memoirs were well written. They shared a lot of details and feeling about what it was like to be a servant in Britain in the past.

Have you listened to any of Susan Lyons’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

This audible book reminds me of the Call the Midwife series for its quality of written, good narrating, and portrayal of British life in the past.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

The story although simple is will hold one's interest. It makes you want to finish the book in one sitting. There are enough details of the characters and situations that the book her readers into the story.

Any additional comments?

Anyone who likes, biographies, history, or memoirs will like this book.

Enjoyable Downton Abbey like tale

The reader really made this book work for me. It is a simple tale of a woman's coming of age in service between the wars and I found it engaging throughout.

Story

Very nice story whether you’d read the 1st book or not. The performance by the narrator was so irritating I almost stopped listening a few times.. It sounded different during the sample but maybe it wasn’t long enough to really get into the grating voice of Narrator.. Finally by 1/2-3/4
thru the book I just got used to the narrators voice..

Interesting

I enjoyed both the story and the narration. It was an interesting, well done production.