Service To The Elite Behind The Scenes Of British Country House Life
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Service to the Elite: Behind the Scenes of British Country House Life
In the grand country houses of England, nestled amidst rolling hills and sprawling estates, lies a hidden world of domestic service, a world inhabited by those who kept the wheels of aristocratic life turning smoothly. This book takes you on a captivating journey into the lives of the country house servants, revealing their daily routines, challenges, and contributions to the grand households they served. From the opulent ballrooms to the hidden corners of the estate, you'll discover the secrets and stories of those who made these houses function. You'll explore the intricate hierarchy of the servants' quarters, where strict social stratification dictated every aspect of life below stairs. From the housekeeper to the scullery maid, each servant had their own role to play in maintaining the impeccable standards demanded by their masters and mistresses. You'll witness the backbreaking work and long hours endured by these unsung heroes, the sacrifices they made, and the resilience they displayed in the face of adversity. Yet, amidst the hardships, you'll also uncover moments of camaraderie, laughter, and even love that blossomed within the servants' hall. Furthermore, you'll delve into the complex relationship between masters and servants, the power dynamics that shaped their interactions, and the unwritten rules that governed their conduct. You'll witness the upstairs-downstairs divide, the tensions and resentments that sometimes simmered beneath the surface, and the rare instances of genuine connection and mutual respect. Through a rich tapestry of historical accounts, firsthand testimonies, and evocative descriptions, this book brings to life the forgotten world of the country house servant, shedding light on their indispensable role in shaping the grand era of British aristocracy. If you like this book, write a review!
The East India Company at Home, 1757-1857
The East India Company at Home, 1757–1857 explores how empire in Asia shaped British country houses, their interiors and the lives of their residents. It includes chapters from researchers based in a wide range of settings such as archives and libraries, museums, heritage organisations, the community of family historians and universities. It moves beyond conventional academic narratives and makes an important contribution to ongoing debates around how empire impacted Britain. The volume focuses on the propertied families of the East India Company at the height of Company rule. From the Battle of Plassey in 1757 to the outbreak of the Indian Uprising in 1857, objects, people and wealth flowed to Britain from Asia. As men in Company service increasingly shifted their activities from trade to military expansion and political administration, a new population of civil servants, army officers, surveyors and surgeons journeyed to India to make their fortunes. These Company men and their families acquired wealth, tastes and identities in India, which travelled home with them to Britain. Their stories, the biographies of their Indian possessions and the narratives of the stately homes in Britain that came to house them, frame our explorations of imperial culture and its British legacies.
The China Threat
Author: Nancy Bernkopf Tucker
language: en
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Release Date: 2014-03-04
Nancy Bernkopf Tucker confronts the coldest period of the cold warÑthe moment in which personality, American political culture, public opinion, and high politics came together to define the Eisenhower AdministrationÕs policy toward China. A sophisticated, multidimensional account based on prodigious, cutting edge research, this volume convincingly portrays EisenhowerÕs private belief that close relations between the United States and the PeopleÕs Republic of China were inevitable and that careful consideration of the PRC should constitute a critical part of American diplomacy. Tucker provocatively argues that the Eisenhower AdministrationÕs hostile rhetoric and tough actions toward China obscure the presidentÕs actual views. Behind the scenes, Eisenhower and his Secretary of State, John Foster Dulles, pursued a more nuanced approach, one better suited to ChinaÕs specific challenges and the stabilization of the global community. Tucker deftly explores the contradictions between Eisenhower and his advisorsÕ public and private positions. Her most powerful chapter centers on EisenhowerÕs recognition that rigid trade prohibitions would undermine the global postwar economic recovery and push China into a closer relationship with the Soviet Union. Ultimately, Tucker finds EisenhowerÕs strategic thinking on Europe and his fear of toxic, anticommunist domestic politics constrained his leadership, making a fundamental shift in U.S. policy toward China difficult if not impossible. Consequently, the president was unable to engage congress and the public effectively on China, ultimately failing to realize his own high standards as a leader.