Quote:
Originally Posted by The Colonel
I don't have a source, but I recall hearing that - before the Great War at least - having at least one full time servant was how you determined that you had made it into the middle class (not quite the Roman rule of "poor was being unable to afford even a single slave", but similar) - and even the top end of the working class might have a char lady who worked for them for a few hours. The first servant acquired was generally a maid of all work - although in the countryside a labourer for agricultural work was often an early hire as well.
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Thanks.That's kind of what I meant in the question, but better expressed, and a good point about the upper working class. The link with the Roman/slave case is a good point of comparison too.