They Also Serve: The Real Life Story of My Lifetime in Service as a Butler (Lives of Servants)

Told by a man who's seen it all firsthand and perfect for fans of Downton Abbey, this is a scandilous behind-the-scenes look at the real-life estate houses of England

During more than 30 years in a variety of houses, Bob Sharpe managed to rise from garden boy to valet and finally to the feared and respected position of butler. As a boy he had to kill pheasant chicks, boil rabbits for the estate dogs, carry the wood up and down stairs every day for 30 fires, and sleep on the floor outside his master's room. He cleaned shoes, ironed underwear and socks, and once had to stand all night in the hall waiting for a late visitor to arrive. But as a butler he was the best paid servant in the house, waited on, feared, and respected by the other servants. Bob Sharpe knew the real world of upstairs/downstairs and the secrets of the landed gentry—even to the point of incest and attempted murder—and it's all included here in this captivating read.