Christina here. Why Shoot a Butler? is the title of one of Georgette Heyer’s country house mysteries/crime stories. It kind of makes it sound as though a butler isn’t even worth shooting, which is a bit odd! Or maybe that’s just the slant my mind put on it and it wasn’t what the author meant? It did make me think though …
I have just reread all Heyer’s mystery/crime books, and although most of them are ostensibly set during the 1930s (only the last one is after the war), the settings seemed to me almost identical to those of her Regency novels. They all take place either in stately homes or among people of the upper class. The characters are similar to her Regency ones as well – strong alpha males, sensible girls who triumph over the pretty but vapid ones, matrons with decided views on things, etc. And then there are the servants, particularly the butlers, whom I couldn’t help but notice even if the other characters don’t pay them much attention.
The 1930s must have been a very confusing time for upper class people. Society had changed a lot after World War I and nothing would ever be the same. And yet, in Heyer’s books they are living just as they’ve always been, with either a house full of servants – butler, housekeeper, cook, maids, grooms and gardeners – or in slightly straightened circumstances but still with a few servants to do all the boring work. There are complaints about how difficult it is to find good staff, and references to the fact that young people (mostly girls it seems) are so much more independent and don’t want a life in service. The older servants complain too because it’s a way of life they are used to and don’t see anything wrong with. And no one is more supercilious than the butlers.
They are invariably against anyone crossing the divide between upstairs and downstairs. In Penhallow, one of the maids has set her sights on marrying one of the sons of the house, but even though she is the butler’s niece (and you would have thought he’d want her to do well for herself), he is completely against this. According to the unwritten rules, no good can come of mixing with your “betters” or marrying above your station. For the Regency period this rings true, but for the 1930s, I found it harder to accept, even if this was the case.
The butler was the most senior member of the staff and all the others were supposed to be in awe of him. His duties seem to have been varied, but chief among them were being in charge of the household silver and the wine cellar, anticipating his master and mistress’s every need (even before they themselves knew what they wanted it seems), and being a sort of omnipresent person with eyes in the back of his head. It was clearly a very important job and he knew it.
In Heyer’s books, the butlers are very efficient and wear a wooden expression that is more or less constant as they seldom show any emotions. Some have a sense of humour and sometimes allow their mouths to twitch or their eyes to flash – even raise an eyebrow on occasion! – but most remain passive and calm in the face of the worst of calamities. If they do unbend a little, towards the heroine for example, you know it’s a sign that they approve of that person. Some of them are even more aware of the family’s status than the people they are serving, a sort of inverted snobbery. In Envious Casca for example, the butler Sturry strongly disapproves of working in a family where a murder has been committed, as it is beneath him. Such goings-on, he feels, would never have happened when he worked for his previous employer, a lord of impeccable character.
Other butlers are unfailingly loyal, even to the point of remaining with a family when they can no longer afford to pay the staff properly. Such loyalty is rewarded by the employers by recognising that the butler is never wrong and that he is a tower of strength. More often than not, he is also married to the housekeeper, who is just as loyal, hardworking and efficient as he is. I wonder how often this was actually true in real life?
I personally love it when one of Heyer’s butlers says something like “Just so, Miss”, showing with those few words that he means a wealth of other things besides. He is the master of understatement! And she often uses them to great advantage to inject humour into any situation.
Bad butlers are those who drink, or – heaven forbid! – water down the wine. That seems to have been a terrible crime and one could not possibly keep a servant who did that.
The butler is au fait with all the correct codes of conduct and will not put up with any slipping of standards. They would never dream of reprimanding their employers, but they still manage to convey their disdain just by a certain look.
It must have been an incredibly difficult job to have in real life!
You would have thought that this job died out after the second World War, along with things like ladies’ maids and tweenies, but there is actually a school in London where you can learn to become the perfect butler. Clearly, there is still a need for butlers worldwide and now that they no longer rise through the servants’ ranks, learning that way, they can take a course. They learn things like social etiquette and dining, how to open and close a door (silently I assume?), and confidence and deportment. The main change is, of course, that these days you can have female butlers. Have a look here.
The duties seem to be more or less the same as in days gone past: managing the rest of the staff, being responsible for looking after silver, china and crystal items, having a knowledge of fine wines, looking after guests and all the various needs of the household.
When I think of the perfect butler, the ones in the TV series Downton Abbey or the film Gosford Park always spring to mind (although neither is as calm as they make out and have their own personal problems to contend with). My thoughts also went straight to Jeeves from the Jeeves and Wooster books by P G Wodehouse, but when I looked him up again it turns out he’s not a butler but a valet. Still, I feel he fulfils the same functions and as he’s very intelligent and resourceful, he’s often rescuing his clueless master.
Another perfect butler is Alfred Pennyworth from the Batman comics and films. He is incredibly loyal, supportive and clever, and a father-figure to the orphaned Bruce Wayne. The films are very modern, of course, but Alfred’s duties seem really similar to those of butlers from times past. The only difference is that he has a sense of humour and isn’t afraid to voice his opinions.
Returning to my original observation – shooting a mere butler might not have seemed worth it to some of Heyer’s characters (hence the title), but most of them knew that a good butler was worth his weight in gold and they wouldn’t want to lose him. And butlers were good at keeping secrets, which in this case made it imperative to murder him. I guess they couldn’t second-guess everything their employers were going to do!
Have you ever noticed the butlers in the stories you read or are they just part of the setting? And would you want a butler and a house full of servants to see to your every whim? Personally I’d settle for a chef (preferably a Japanese one) and a cleaning lady!