Below Stairs: 400 Years of Servants’ Portraits

Below Stairs is a study of servant portraiture in Britain and is illustrated with works by Hogarth, Gainsborough and Stubbs. Continuing the examination of traditional domestic life explored in the films Gosford Park and Remains of the Day, Below Stairs is also the subject of a BBC Four documentary. Featuring portraits of all ranks of servant the book illustrates the shifting organisation of households through the centuries, and the highly complex…