Slightly valet-related book

[triedunture.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry, I don't mean to clog up the comm with meaningless prattle. But I'm in the middle of reading Kazuo Ishiguro's Remains of the Day. It's an older book from the '80s, and apparently was made into a motion picture starring Anthony Hopkins.

Anyway, it's written from the POV of a first-rate butler in post-war England. It's an incredibly sad and moving story (thus far; I have one more chapter so I guess it still has time to go to hell). And it's given me a lot of insight into the daily life of a butler or valet or manservant. I was wondering if anyone else had read it, and do you know if it's historically accurate in the details? Like, was the highest class of silver polish really called Giffen's or is that a little joke?

Also, any other butler- or valet-centric books and/or movies that you've enjoyed would be interesting to hear about. I just can't get over how...strange their lives must have been.