The servant's behaviour book : or, Hints on manners and dress for maid…
The servant's behaviour book by Emily A. Patmore is a conduct manual for maidservants written in the mid-19th century. Framed as practical hints on manners and dress for girls entering gentlemen’s families, it stresses quiet speech, respectful address, discreet movement, competent table service, and neat, economical attire as the foundations of good service and social advancement. The opening of this manual addresses “my dear girls,” insisting that polished manners matter as much
as domestic skill and can raise a servant to better places. It sets firm rules about the voice—speak only when needed, briefly, and never chat—how and when to approach a mistress, avoiding talk with servants or children in a lady’s presence, not calling across rooms or stairs, and always answering orders and reproofs civilly. It requires constant use of “sir,” “ma’am,” and proper titles; teaches quiet, graceful bearing (where to stand, when to rise, how to hold the hands); and gives step‑by‑step directions for a small household dinner, from laying the cloth and arranging the sideboard to serving, offering vegetables and beer, and clearing. Further early sections instruct on opening the door and announcing visitors, meeting employers in public, using trays and tray‑cloths, tapping at bedroom doors, keeping the garden as the family’s space, and, finally, maintaining clean, simple, durable dress over gaudy show. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
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About this eBook
| Author | Patmore, Emily A. (Emily Augusta), 1824-1862 |
|---|---|
| Title | The servant's behaviour book : or, Hints on manners and dress for maid servants in small households |
| Original Publication | London: Bell and Daldy, 1859. |
| Credits | Terry Jeffress, toy9683 and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at www.pgdp.net (This book was produced from scanned images of public domain material from the Google Books project.) |
| Language | English |
| LoC Class | TX: Technology: Home economics |
| Subject | Women household employees -- England -- Handbooks, manuals, etc. |
| Category | Text |
| EBook-No. | 78121 |
| Release Date | Mar 5, 2026 |
| Copyright Status | Public domain in the USA. |
| Downloads | 4794 downloads in the last 30 days. |
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