Saturday 31 August 2013

Read in 2013 - 32: Tea by the Nursery Fire

This little book (218 pages) by Noel Streatfeild (no typo, that really is the spelling) is subtitled "A Children's Nanny at the Turn of the Century". It is non-fiction, but reads as easily and cosily as fiction.

Noel Streatfeild describes the life and times of Emily Huckwell, a Sussex girl born in the 1870s who went to work as a nursery maid when she was not yet twelve years old. Eventually, she was made head nanny to a wealthy family and looked after two generations of their children. One of those children became the father of Noel Streatfeild.
All "her" children loved her very much - which is hardly surprising, seeing how well she treated them and how much time she spent with them, in stark contrast to their own parents, who would see them for one hour between tea and bed time when they were little, and ship them off to boarding schools when they were older - and so Noel was of course introduced to her father's old nanny when she was a little girl.

In those days, people did not question that girls from poor families went into service until they married, and boys worked as farm hands. It was also not questioned that servants were available at all hours and every day; having a week off was all they had in a whole year, and sometimes they did not even take that, if they felt they could not be spared.

The work Emily does, the children and their parents and the other staff at the house are all well described, as are the big houses where she works.
The rhythm of daily life is occasionally interrupted by visits to or from other families, and punctuated by family prayers, meals, lessons and walks.

I was reminded of The Lady's Maid, a book I read almost two years ago, but there are differences: "The Lady's Maid" is an autobiography, written by a woman who did not have much formal education, which shows in her writing style. But it also goes much deeper where her feelings and thoughts are concerned, while "Tea by the Nursery Fire" necessarily has to remain on the outside of its main subject for most of the time, and the author was a professional writer.

Speaking of the author, my first surprise was to learn that Noel Streatfeild was a woman. Up until then, I thought that Noel was a male first name, Noelle being the female version. My second surprise was to read (on Wikipedia, where else!) that her books are well known and very popular; I had never heard of her before.

I bought this paperback for myself on my last day in Ripon, knowing that after I've read it (and maybe my Mum, if she wants to), I'll include it in my Christmas parcel to Mary. It really was a good read, giving a close-up portrait of "Victorian and Edwardian life above and below stairs", as the short summary on the back says. Children from around 10 years could, I guess, find this just as interesting as an adult reader.

9 comments:

  1. Oh, I wonder if I've read this....I know I've read some other Nanny memoirs and most of Streitfeild's great "shoes" books which have other titles in the UK...And even a few of her books under the pseudonym of Susan Scarlett......But have I read this?

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    1. So, I managed to actually misspell her name a different way!

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    2. Easy to misspell that name, Kristi; I am sure she was very much used to people doing that all her life :-)

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  2. This is exactly the kind of book that I would love to read. If non-fiction is well written it is just as engaging as any book of fiction, but more so because it is about real people or real events.
    Another great book review, as always. :-)

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    1. Yes, I can imagine you liking this, Kay. As you say, it is about real people and real events.

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  3. This sounds very interesting. I enjoy social history very much, so this appeals to me.
    Thank you so much for visiting my blog, and for following me. I look forward to catching up with your earlier posts.

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    1. You are welcome, Tracey, and thank YOU for popping over, too!

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  4. This sounds a 'must read'. Noel Streatfield is a wonderful English writer who I have been reading since my childhood in England.
    My mother had a beloved Nanny, Nanny Pratt, who looked after her when she was little. Nanny Pratt was very very old when we used to visit her when I was a child. She never had her own children -though she had a brother who was an engine driver.
    When I was about 8 and my mother 48, Nanny Pratt turned to Mummy and said "You look tired, dear!" just as she had when Mum was under her charge.
    My grandmother was warm and lovely so Mum and Uncle Oliver had 2 people doting on them and loving them as tinies. And they both grew up to be warm and loving people too. All best wishes.

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    1. Hello Elizabeth, I believe this is your first visit to my blog. I am now going to have a look at yours, of course.

      Your mother's Nanny sounds like a wonderful person, and it speaks for her that your mother still went to see her and took you along many years later.

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