'One Pair of Hands' plus 'One Pair of Feet' (2 books) (1949) By Monica Dickens

'One Pair of Hands' plus 'One Pair of Feet' (2 books) by Monica Dickens.

Publisher: Michael Joseph Ltd, 1949, reprint.

Hardbacks with jackets. Both books are in very good condition with unclipped jackets. (10/6 net) One Pair of Hands - red cloth boards, silver titles to spine, no inscriptions, bookseller's stamp to ffep. Binding firm, pages very good. Jacket is chipped at edges. One Pair of Feet - yellow cloth boards with black titles to spine, bookseller's stamp to ffep. Binding firm, pages very good. Jacket is chipped at edges with a mark to front cover and a couple of tears to spine.

Monica Enid Dickens, MBE was an English writer, the great-granddaughter of Charles Dickens. She decided to go into domestic service despite coming from the privileged class; her experiences as a cook and general servant would form the nucleus of her first book, One Pair of Hands in 1939.

One Pair of Feet (1942) recounted her work as a nurse. 'Life was a wordless and unacknowledged battle of wits between us, with her keeping a sharp look-out for signs of dirt and neglect, and me trying to disguise my slovenliness by subterfuge. I became an adept at sweeping dust under the bed, and always used the same few pieces of silver, so that I didn't have to keep polishing the rest.'Unimpressed by the world of debutante balls, Monica Dickens shocked her family by getting a job. And so, with no experience, she began her life as a maid-of-all-work in the 1930s. Monica's cooking and cleaning skills certainly left much to be desired, and she got sacked from her first few positions, but she soon started to hold her own behind the green baize door.Keeping a wry eye on the selfishness and childish pique of her employers, Monica discovered the enjoyment that comes from daily banter with the milkman and grocer's boy and the joy of doing well an honest day's work. One Pair of Hands is a fascinating and thoroughly entertaining insight into worlds both upstairs and down by a very courageous young girl.

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