Within this title, the author quotes Lady Cynthia Asquith: “…in really well-ordered households it was… the rule that no housemaid should ever be seen broom or duster in hand.” Apparently it was more about appearances than actual involvement and work. Yet… Mistresses of the household were expected to maintain control of the household finances, avoid waste, and ensure matters ran smoothly. ~Katharine Chorley, quoted in Life in a Victorian Household "Like a large house and garden, a wife or daughter with nothing to do was an emblem of success." It explains a great deal in four chapters: 1) Middle-class Victorian Homes, 2) Mistress of the Household, 3) Recruiting and Replacing the Servants, and 4) Life Below Stairs. I read this book specifically for my own ongoing research and understanding of history.
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