Below Stairs
Meet the Maid Whose Memoir Helped Inspire Downton Abbey
Sunday, September 22
2:00pm - 3:00pm
Downers Grove Public Library
Meeting Room Both (Max Capacity 100)Leslie Goddard portrays Margaret Powell, a kitchen maid and cook who worked in several stately English homes in the 1920s.
Leslie Goddard portrays Margaret Powell, a kitchen maid and cook who worked in several stately English homes in the 1920s. Powell’s 1968 best-selling memoir Below Stairs was a key inspiration for the television programs Downton Abbey and Upstairs, Downstairs. This first-person program introduces you to Powell, as she shares stories about the work it took to run a wealthy household in this era and the eccentricities often found among employers. As she reveals, behind the glamour of these lavish households, a small army of servants toiled around the clock, bound together by hard work and a necessary sense of humor.
Inspired by the book Below Stairs: The Classic Kitchen Maid's Memoir That Inspired "Upstairs, Downstairs" and "Downton Abbey" by Margaret Powell (2012).
Before this presentation, please join the Historical Society as they present their Historian of the Year award to Helen S. Myers.
Contact the Ask Us Desk at askus@dglibrary.org with questions.
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