{"id":12636,"date":"2020-03-16T21:10:10","date_gmt":"2020-03-17T01:10:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/?p=12636"},"modified":"2025-10-01T18:25:54","modified_gmt":"2025-10-01T22:25:54","slug":"death-below-stairs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/12636","title":{"rendered":"Death Below Stairs"},"content":{"rendered":"

Death Below Stairs<\/a><\/em> (2018) Jennifer Ashley<\/a> (Kat Holloway)<\/p>\n

\"Death<\/a>Set in London in 1881.<\/p>\n

I read the novella A Soup\u00e7on of Poison<\/em> awhile ago, and when I didn’t find a novel immediately, forgot about it.<\/p>\n

Kat Halloway has just taken a position as cook for Lord Rankin. She is relatively young for her position, but sought after for her skills. <\/p>\n

The kitchen\u2019s range was neatly fitted into what had been a large fireplace, the stove high enough that I wouldn\u2019t have to stoop or kneel to cook. I\u2019d had to kneel on hard stones at one house\u2014 where I hadn\u2019t stayed long\u2014 and it had taken some time for my knees and back to recover.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Her second day there, she literally stumbles over the body of the kitchen maid, and (after a small freak-out) tries to send for her friend Daniel, who helped her previously in unraveling a mystery.<\/p>\n

The household is an odd one, with the Lord working at his business to make more money, his wife a pale and fragile thing, and the wife’s sister and strange woman who goes about in men’s clothes.<\/p>\n

In addition to a murder, Kat continues to wonder about Daniel. He is definitely now who he first presented himself as, and she is unsure which of his guises is the true him. Kat also has decisions to make about her daughter–one that would be extremely difficult for any woman, but even harder for a woman of her position in that time period.<\/p>\n

There was one thing I was slightly uneasy with, and that was Lady Cynthia. She dresses as a man, and it is relatively clear that she does so for the freedom her garments give her. What I’m unsure about is whether she’d actually have been able to get away with it at that time, and whether one of the reactions to her would have been correct.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd to answer your question, no, I am not a hermaphrodite.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cOh.\u201d Elgin looked disappointed. \u201cPity. I would have liked to learn all about being a hermaphrodite from one who actually practiced such things. One shouldn\u2019t rely on hearsay.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cFor God\u2019s sake, sit down,\u201d Daniel growled at him. \u201cThe British Empire will fall by the time you finish talking. Have a look at this.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It’s pretty clear from the text that Lady Cynthia’s friend is a lesbian and Cynthia is not, but the terminology used here isn’t something I’d come across before, and would really like to know where it came from in this context.<\/p>\n

Publisher: Berkley
\nRating: 7.5\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Death Below Stairs (2018) Jennifer Ashley (Kat Holloway) Set in London in 1881. I read the novella A Soup\u00e7on of Poison awhile ago, and when I didn’t find a novel immediately, forgot about it. Kat Halloway has just taken a position as cook for Lord Rankin. She is relatively young for her position, but sought […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[194,30,48,24,33,8],"tags":[372,870,616,456,457,557],"class_list":["post-12636","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-7-5-10","category-british","category-female","category-food","category-historical","category-mystery","tag-ashley-gardner","tag-below-stairs-mystery","tag-cooking","tag-jennifer-ashley","tag-kat-holloway","tag-victorian"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/piQkW-3hO","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":24438,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/24438","url_meta":{"origin":12636,"position":0},"title":"Death Below Stairs, Audio Book","author":"Michelle","date":"April 27, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Death Below Stairs, Audiobook (2018) Jennifer Ashley narrated by Anne-Marie Piazza (Below Stairs Mystery #1) Set in London in 1881. I'd completely forgotten I had several of these audiobooks. Since historicals and mysteries are mostly what I'm in the mood for, I was delighted to start listening to a series\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"Death Below Stairs","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Death-Below-Stairs.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":12643,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/12643","url_meta":{"origin":12636,"position":1},"title":"Scandal Above Stairs","author":"Michelle","date":"March 20, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Scandal Above Stairs (2018) Jennifer Ashley (Kat Holloway Mysteries) Set in London in 1881 Kat Holloway is still cook at Lord Rankin's house, even though he has retired to the country, Lady Cynthia remains, and to give her countenance, her aunt and uncle are living with her. Kat and the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "7.5\/10"","block_context":{"text":"7.5\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/7-5-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"Scandal Above Stairs","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Scandal-Above-Stairs.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":24638,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/24638","url_meta":{"origin":12636,"position":2},"title":"Death at the Crystal Palace, Audio Book","author":"Michelle","date":"June 1, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Death at the Crystal Palace (2021) Jennifer Ashley narrated by Anne-Marie Piazza (Below Stairs Mystery #5) Set in London in 1882 Characters: Mrs. Kat Holloway, Mr. Davis, Mrs. Bywater, Mr. Bywater, Mrs. Redfern, Tess, Mrs. Millburn, Mr. Elgin Thanos, Mr. Errol Fielding, James McAdam, Daniel McAdam, Lady Clifford, Lord Clifford,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "7.5\/10"","block_context":{"text":"7.5\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/7-5-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"Death at the Crystal Palace","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Death-at-the-Crystal-Palace.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":24640,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/24640","url_meta":{"origin":12636,"position":3},"title":"The Secret of Bow Lane, Audio Book","author":"Michelle","date":"June 14, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"The Secret of Bow Lane, Audiobook (2022) Jennifer Ashley narrated by Anne-Marie Piazza (Below Stairs Mystery #6) Set in London in 1882 Characters: Mrs. Kat Holloway, Mr. Davis, Mrs. Redfern, Mrs. Bywater, Mr. Bywater, Tess, Lady Cynthia Clifford, James McAdam, Daniel McAdam, Mr. Errol Fielding, Caleb Constable Greene, Mr. Thanos,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Secret of Bow Lane","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/The_Secret_of_Bow_Lane.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":24593,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/24593","url_meta":{"origin":12636,"position":4},"title":"Scandal Above Stairs, Audio Book","author":"Michelle","date":"May 2, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Scandal Above Stairs, Audiobook (2018) Jennifer Ashley narrated by Anne-Marie Piazza (Below Stairs Mystery #2) Set in London in 1881 I renewed my conviction that he was not married as I viewed his rumpled frock coat and noted a missing button on his waistcoat. No wife would let her husband\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio Book"","block_context":{"text":"Audio Book","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/audio-book"},"img":{"alt_text":"Scandal Above Stairs","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Scandal-Above-Stairs.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":24078,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/24078","url_meta":{"origin":12636,"position":5},"title":"A Measure of Menace","author":"Michelle","date":"November 13, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"A Measure of Menace (2024) Jennifer Ashley (Kat Holloway #7.5) Set in London in 1883. Kat Holloway is once again asked to assist in a mystery--this time by Lady Cynthia's father, Lord Clifford, who is more than a bit of a cad. Couldn\u2019t you have used that to pay back\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"A Measure of Menace","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/A-Measure-of-Menace.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/A-Measure-of-Menace.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/A-Measure-of-Menace.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12636","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12636"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12636\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12636"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12636"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12636"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}