Eric Horne

This book was referred to extensively in one chapter of The Perfect Summer by Juliet Nicholson, so I really wanted to check it out. It is the memoir of a man who spent most of his life in service to the aristocracy. He was born around 1850, and wrote the book when he was in his seventies. The author has a very distinct "voice", as his own spelling and storytelling idiosyncrasies remain intact.

This is the side of the story that we don't usually read about. While he spends a good bit of time lamenting the loss of the old ways, he also makes it clear that the old ways weren't very good either. He writes about camaraderie amongst the servants, and the pleasure of working for a considerate employer, but also of unreasonable demands, outright cruelty, and the loss of any personal life or independence. He looks back over his career with both nostalgia and bitterness.

I'd recommend the book to anyone interested in Victorian and early 20th century social history, or who reads lots of books that take place in great houses with rafts of servants always conveniently at hand.… (más)