Tag Archives: Maidservants

Tale from Aunt Ruby

Debbie, , , , ,

Plot

Storyteller Aunt Ruby tells tales:

The Tree Sprite

Vicky Gibbs has a miserable job in service because the other servants bully her, but says nothing to her family because they depend on her job. She confides in an oak tree, which turns out to be inhabited by a tree sprite. The bullying gets worse when another servant Millie, starts blackmailing Vicky into doing all her chores, leaving Vicky with no time for her own. The tree sprite wreaks revenge on Millie, but the servants deem the tree dangerous. They are out to cut it down when Master Richard returns from his art studies. He stops them and gives Vicky a new job – the model for his new painting “Nymph in a Tree”. Master Richard makes his fortune with the painting and Vicky and her family never want again.

Tree sprite

Notes

List of Stories

  • The Tree Sprite –  Debbie: #220 (30 April 1977)

The Evil of Emily

Bunty, , , ,

Plot

Kate Williams is about to be adopted by Lord and Lady Lester when she is badly burned in fire caused by nasty Emily West. When she recovers, she discovers that Emily is posing as her to be adopted in her place. Kate goes into the household as a scullery maid to expose Emily, but is impeded by the loss of her voice from the fire and being illiterate. She is overcoming the latter by learning to write, but Emily keeps sabotaging her efforts to prove her identity, and eventually gets her thrown into prison.

 

Notes

  • Artist: John Woods

Appeared

  • The Evil of Emily – circa #1316 (2 April 1983) – #1329 (2 July 1983)

The Impostor!

Bunty, , , , ,

Plot

Scheming maidservant Hetty Brown tricks the Honourable Harriet Mannering into trading places with her. Harriet strives to prove her identity agains the increasingly nasty tricks from Hetty to stop her, and and in the meantime Harriet is discovering how hard the life of a servant can be.

impostor-1

Notes

  • Artist: Douglas Perry

Appeared

  • The Impostor! – #1946 (29 April 1995) – #1957 (15 July 1995)

Rosie’s Revenge

Judy, , , , ,

Plot:

When maidservant Emily Carter is wrongly accused of theft, she runs away in a terrible state and drowns. Emily’s sister Rosie goes into service in the household to unmask the real thief and clear Emily’s name. But the thief rumbles Rosie and starts sending her death threats.

Rosie

Notes:

  • Artist: Bert Hill
  • Translated into Dutch as “Emma is geen dief!” (Emma is no thief!) and published in Tina #49/1989 – 2/1990.

Appeared:

  • Rosie’s Revenge Judy: #1486 (2 July 1988) – #1495 (3 September 1988)

 

The Proud Willoughbys

Judy, M&J, , , , ,

Plot

Emily and Victoria Willoughby become destitute when their father is lost at sea and their mother is injured in an accident. All their servants leave except the kitchen maid Jenny. The girls are too proud to let anyone find out about their poverty, so they they all turn to running the household themselves with Jenny’s help. But they soon find they have hard lessons to learn, including raising income and Victorian house-cleaning.

Willoughbys.jpg

Notes

  • Artist: Oliver Passingham

 Appeared

  • The Proud Willoughbys – Judy: #946 (25 February 1978) – #959 (27 May 1978)
  • Reprinted (as Judy Classic) – M&J:  #84 (16 January 1993) – #101 (18 April 1993)