Knowing their place

"Historians have traditionally seen domestic service as an obsolete or redundant sector from the middle of the 20th century. 'Knowing Their Place' challenges this by linking the early 20th century employment of maids and cooks to later practices of employing au pairs, mothers' helps, and cleaners. Lucy Delap tells the story of lives and labour within British homes, from great houses to suburbs and slums, and charts the interactions of servants and employers along with the intense controversies and emotions they inspired. [This book] also examines the employment of men and migrant workers, as…