The must-read memoir from Nancy Jackman, a cook in interwar England. Perfect for fans of Downton Abbey and Upstairs, Downstairs
An inspirational true story loved by readers:
‘To read Nancy’s story in her own words was an absolute joy. The history, the humour, a perfect read of times gone by.’ – ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ READER REVIEW
‘Touching, funny, nostalgic. This book opens a door into a world long ago and is a gem packed with social history. Could read about her life for hours and could not put this story down.‘ – ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ READER REVIEW
‘A wonderful story of life as it was in domestic service; hard going, often tragic, yet not without its joys.’ – ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ READER REVIEW
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Nancy Jackman was born in 1907 in a remote Norfolk village. Life was tough for her family: her father was a ploughman, her mother a former servant who struggled to make ends meet in a cottage so small that access to the single upstairs room was via a ladder.
The pace of life in that long-vanished world was dictated by the slow, heavy tread of the farm horse – and Nancy’s earliest memories were of a green, sunny countryside still unspoiled by the motorcar. But she also knew at first hand the harshness of a world where the elderly were forced to break stones on the roads and where school children were regularly beaten.
Nancy left school at the age of twelve to work for a local farmer where the hardships continued, and then found positions working as a cook for Britain’s wealthy families. Sustained by her determination to make a better life for herself, she continued working as a cook until the 1950s.
The Cook’s Tale tells her story – the story of a now vanished era.
An inspirational true story loved by readers:
‘To read Nancy’s story in her own words was an absolute joy. The history, the humour, a perfect read of times gone by.’ – ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ READER REVIEW
‘Touching, funny, nostalgic. This book opens a door into a world long ago and is a gem packed with social history. Could read about her life for hours and could not put this story down.‘ – ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ READER REVIEW
‘A wonderful story of life as it was in domestic service; hard going, often tragic, yet not without its joys.’ – ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ READER REVIEW
—–
Nancy Jackman was born in 1907 in a remote Norfolk village. Life was tough for her family: her father was a ploughman, her mother a former servant who struggled to make ends meet in a cottage so small that access to the single upstairs room was via a ladder.
The pace of life in that long-vanished world was dictated by the slow, heavy tread of the farm horse – and Nancy’s earliest memories were of a green, sunny countryside still unspoiled by the motorcar. But she also knew at first hand the harshness of a world where the elderly were forced to break stones on the roads and where school children were regularly beaten.
Nancy left school at the age of twelve to work for a local farmer where the hardships continued, and then found positions working as a cook for Britain’s wealthy families. Sustained by her determination to make a better life for herself, she continued working as a cook until the 1950s.
The Cook’s Tale tells her story – the story of a now vanished era.
Reviews
Praise for the Lives of Servants
Reading this fascinating book is likely to unleash anyone's inner Bolshevik...!
...a fascinating portrait of the drudgery and servility of a domestic's life.
...captures the subtelties of the English class system to an extraordinary degree.
If the Brothers Grimm had ended Cinderella where she was being forced to clean the house by her stepsisters, they might have accidentally been writing Rose Plummer's biography. The maid's story makes for harsh, heartbreaking, fascinating reading.