La noblesse et ses domestiques

This book focuses on the study of daily human relationships between the aristocracy and their domestic servants in XVIII century in France, from recruitment to the departure of the servant or the death of the master. Archive documents, press articles, literature, memoirs, and correspondence have been consulted to attempt to understand their nature, variety, richness, and complexity. These particular relationships, resulting from the interactions of each individual’s personalities, developed within a framework defined by social conventions that imposed rights and duties on both masters and servants, intertwined with ideal representations, expectations, and prejudices. The Revolution is occasionally mentioned, as the exceptional and often tragic circumstances led to significant changes in the relationships between masters and servants and in the new power’s perception of the domestic world, which constitutes a subject of study in itself.