Shandi Sturgill

I recently went to the Biltmore Estate to attend the Downton Abbey exhibition. There is a small bookstore on the estate and I found a couple of titles that caught my interest: Maid to Match by Deeanne Gist and Servant’s Hall by Margaret Powell. Both summaries offered similar stories, a young woman working in service falls in love and must choose between love and career. The difference is that one was fictional and the other is a memoir. I thought it would be fun to compare the two. 

Let’s begin with the fictional selection. Maid to Match tells the story of Tillie who aspires to be Mrs. Edith Vanderbilt’s lady’s maid. After years of work the coveted position is finally in her grasp. However, the handsome and volatile Mack begins working at Biltmore and Tillie is forced to reconsider her plans for her life. 

Tillie and Mack were developed well, and we see them both grow and reevaluate what their plans and aspirations are. This was one of the more realistic elements of the novel. I enjoyed seeing them make compromises rather than acting like there’s nothing they will have to sacrifice to be together. I also enjoyed that Gist included a physical conflict in conjunction with Mack and Tillie’s emotional one. Though it escalated far more than I expected.

Over all I enjoyed this book. I love historical fiction and it was interesting to see life through the eyes of the people who worked at Biltmore, even if it’s a fictional idea.  However, I disliked the ending. Everything was tied up too perfectly for me. I was especially annoyed that after Mack has discovered that he is willing to forgo his dream of freedom in the mountains he still gets everything he originally wanted. Tillie chooses to sacrifice her position at Biltmore and estranges herself from her mother all to be with Mack.  To me it would have been more significant, and true to the themes of the book, to have both characters give up something to be together. It’s probably fair to say that I’m reading too much into it, but it felt like Gist was favoring her male lead. It also destroys the growth Mack goes through because it ultimately means nothing.

I don’t have as much to say about Servant’s Hall. I liked Powell’s writing, though I wish we saw more of the individuals that work with her. The book is mainly Powell’s recollections, and she doesn’t provide us with much insight into those around her. I also must admit that it was difficult for me to like Powell as a character. She came across as very condescending, particularly when commenting on Rose’s taste in romantic literature and lack of interest in intellectual pursuits.

Speaking of Rose I wish that we saw more of her and her relationship with Gerald. The synopsis makes it seem that their romance will be an important element of the story. However, the couple is hardly mentioned.  We see that Gerald’s father disowns him for marrying beneath his social class, and that the couple experiences marital issues, but that’s about it.

I think this is the harshest review I’ve written, but please do not think that these books are not worth reading or that you may not enjoy them. If you have an interest in history there is a lot to learn from these books. They provide interesting insight into the lives of those working in service and social norms from the Edwardian era.