Knowing Their Place offers a fascinating look at the relationships of antagonism and friendship, disgust and desire, that marked domestic service in twentieth century Britain. this is a marvellous book â deftly researched and adroitly argued â that offers a new image of the relationship between domestic service and British culture in the twentieth century. It shows the richness and depth that cultural history can achieve if written with an eye to emotional experience as well as popular representation. Its particular triumph lies in the way that it successfully thinks through the relationship between experience and culture â showing the connections between the real and imagined worlds â and how these are inextricably interlinked.