Nanny Knows Best: The History of the British Nanny by Katherine Holden
Talk and Book Signing Event: Foyles, 6 Quakers Friars, Cabot Circus, Bristol, BS1 3BU Friday Jan 17th 6 - 8pm
In Nanny Knows Best Katherine Holden delves into the lives of nannies in twentieth century Britain to reveal the crucial role they played in many households. Not quite part of the family and more than just an employee, idealised and demonised, the nanny has always had a difficult role in family life. Drawing on interviews with nannies, mothers, and children looked after by nannies and considering the influence of the fictional Mary Poppins on the national consciousness, the author goes beyond the myths to discover where our tradition of employing nannies omes from.
The book is interwoven with personal stories from a variety of families and domestic situations. It examines the tensions between nannies, parents and children and the changing role of the nanny over time from wet-nurse to servant to dispenser of advice. The title Nanny Knows Best has several different meanings explored in the book: our common longing to be looked after by a kind maternal figure who knows what’s best; the rivalry between mother and nanny and nannies’ desire to tell mothers what is best for their children; and mothers' needs for the help of professional carers to support them in bringing up their children and give expert advice.
Katherine Holden is a Research Fellow at UWE Bristol who lives in Bath. She was prompted to write the book by a desire to understand how her parents' upbringing by nannies had influenced their lives and therefore indirectly her own. Katherine’s grandmother was a Norland nanny in 1914 and she herself worked as a mother’s help in 1971. She writes about all these personal connections to nannies in the book and places them in the context of a much wider history of nanny employment.
Katherine will be talking about the book, reading extracts and signing copies at Foyles Bookshop between 6 and 8pm on Friday January 17th. Please email her at to let her know that you will be attending.