ext_25895 ([identity profile] jestana.livejournal.com) wrote in [community profile] indeedsir_backup2012-09-01 12:47 am
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Question

I'm writing a story set between the two World Wars. Two of the main characters are a wealthy young lady and her maid. They're traveling on an ocean liner from England to America, like Bertie and Jeeves did. Would they have shared quarters, or berthed separately? Any advice would be welcome.

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[identity profile] erynn999.livejournal.com 2012-09-01 06:20 pm (UTC)(link)
A few months ago I was reading an autobiography of Lady Astor's lady's maid. According to her, maids/valets might have a room with/near their employer if that had been arranged. She also said, however, that a lot of maids and valets preferred to travel steerage because it meant they couldn't actually be on call 24/7 because it was a lot more effort to get them up to the master/mistress's cabin for any whim that might possess them. So I'd say it's your call.

[identity profile] jestana.livejournal.com 2012-09-01 08:33 pm (UTC)(link)
Okay, thank you very much for this! It's precisely what I needed to know. *makes notes*

[identity profile] electricwitch.livejournal.com 2012-09-02 08:23 am (UTC)(link)
The lady would have a cabin with a salon and a bedroom, and the maid would have a little bedroom attached to the suite. If she's single, don't let the lady travel alone with only her maid though, that would never have happened.

[identity profile] jestana.livejournal.com 2012-09-02 04:04 pm (UTC)(link)
Ah, good to know. *makes notes* Hmm. What if she were traveling with her great-aunt? Or should it be a male relative?

[identity profile] electricwitch.livejournal.com 2012-09-02 05:00 pm (UTC)(link)
Great aunt would be fine, but they would share a suite/bedroom, unless the great aunt's husband was there also, then they'd have a family suite or she would an adjacent bedroom.

[identity profile] jestana.livejournal.com 2012-09-02 05:38 pm (UTC)(link)
So it'd be all right if the great aunt's husband wasn't there? He's passed away, but she's a tough old bird. Along the lines of Aunt Dahlia.

[identity profile] electricwitch.livejournal.com 2012-09-02 06:20 pm (UTC)(link)
Yeah, that would be fine, she's old and respectable enough to chaperone her niece.

[identity profile] jestana.livejournal.com 2012-09-02 10:00 pm (UTC)(link)
Good to know. I love writing the great-aunt. :D

[identity profile] storyfan.livejournal.com 2012-09-03 03:30 am (UTC)(link)
Sounds like an intriguing story. Will you try to publish it? I hope so.

[identity profile] jestana.livejournal.com 2012-09-03 04:29 am (UTC)(link)
The trip itself isn't the main focus of the story, but it helps get things going. I have a prequel of sorts written already: Lady's Maid (http://s2b2.livejournal.com/208503.html). It sets up the relationship between the two women and helps set up the conflict that is the focus of the story.

[identity profile] georgeodowd.livejournal.com 2012-09-28 06:35 pm (UTC)(link)
*reforms from oozing pile of goop on the floor* OMG, that was... HOT. Will there be more??? Please say yes! Lady/maid is just about the hottest thing in my universe.... *points to icon* There is far, far too little of it out there. This was fantastic! :D

[identity profile] jestana.livejournal.com 2012-09-28 09:12 pm (UTC)(link)
*grin* Thanks! I am planning more, don't worry. My brain got hijacked by another story, though, so I can't say when I'll get back to this one.
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