It’s been almost a year since it was published, and I’ve finally had a chance to read and now review The Residence: Inside the Private World of the White House by Kate Andersen Brower.
Living in the White House is like being on stage, where tragedies and comedies play alternately. And we, the servants of the White House, are the supporting cast. – Lillian Rogers Parks, White House maid and seamstress, 1929-1961, My Thirty Years Backstairs at The White House.
I’ve always believed you can tell a lot about the character of a person by observing how they treat animals, children, the elderly and those in service positions, which is why this book was so intriguing to me. We know America’s First Families by name. We study the Presidents in school. We know what history tells us about important events, but we don’t have a front row seat to what is going on behind the scenes. No one has a more intimate look than the people who serve the President and First Family.
In The Residence, Kate Andersen Brower gives us a closer look at daily life in the White House through the voices of the maids, butlers, chefs, doormen, florists, painters, and others who work in service at “the house”. Brower tells their story by combining anecdotes from in-depth interviews with many White House staff members with archival research. And the result is a fantastic work of non-fiction that is not only worth reading but is worth passing down to your children.
This book gives a different perspective of our nation’s history, covering many significant moments such as the day President Kennedy was assassinated and 9/11. The first couple pages of the book recounting a private moment of grief Jackie Kennedy shared with a beloved staff member after returning to the White House from Texas in her blood stained pink wool suit had me in tears. The book is filled with a mix of personal heart warming stories and interesting behind the scenes details, though nothing too shocking or degrading; there were a few surprises.
What I found the most interesting and inspiring was the heartfelt dedication and pride these staffers carried for their jobs. Many of them have been lifers, serving 3o plus years at the White House. Many come from families with a history of serving in the White House. This book not only humanizes the First Families we’ve seen come and go from the White House, but it also shines a well deserved spotlight on the men and women who have served rather selflessly with humility, grace and pride. Their stories will forever be ingrained in my memory, and I’m grateful they shared them. Kudos to Brower for collecting and retelling a part of our nation’s history we may not have ever learned.
Many have called this book Downton Abbey for the White House, but in my opinion it’s so much more than that. If you’re interested in a backstage view of the White House from Kennedy to Obama this is the non-fiction for you.
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Ordered! Thanks for sharing!