Author Description

Drawing on personal letters, business and government documents, and numerous oral histories of older Richmonders -- both black and white -- O'Leary examines the parallel and divergent viewpoints of server and served in this Virginia version of "Upstairs/Downstairs." Raised in slave-owning households before the Civil War, Maymont owners James H. and Sallie Dooley experienced the transformation of the master/mistress-slave relationship to that of employer-employee. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, they relied on a full complement of domestic servants to maintain their lavish residences and lifestyle. In turn, numerous men and women -- predominantly African-American -- labored to meet the day-to-day challenges of running an elaborate household. At the same time, they negotiated the era's increasing Jim Crow restrictions and, during precious hours off-duty, helped support families, churches, and the larger black community. By examining the formalities and practices of the Dooley's at home and by giving a presence and voice to their "help," From Morning to Night offers insights into domestic and social systems at work within and beyond the upper-class household in the Gilded Age South. - Jacket flap.