One Pair of Hands

by Monica Dickens
One Pair of Hands cover
Good Books rating 4.0
Biography and Memoir
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Paperback • £14.99
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Technical
  • ID: 1417
  • Added: 2025-10-05
  • Updated: 2025-10-05
  • ISBN: 9781448116096
  • Publisher: Random House
  • Published: 2011-11-30
  • Formats: 4
  • Reviews: 3

Monica Dickens shocked her family by trading debutante balls for a job as a cook-general, armed with little more than enthusiasm and a knack for hiding her mistakes. Her early attempts at cooking and cleaning were less than stellar, but she soon found her footing, discovering the joy of honest work and the daily banter with local tradesmen. /n/n One Pair of Hands offers a wry and entertaining look at life both upstairs and downstairs in the early 1930s, filled with Monica's humorous observations and the childish pique of her employers. It's a delightful memoir that captures the spirit of a bygone era with charm and wit.

Reviews
Tales from the Landing Bookshelves · 2023-04-25
charming 4.50

The memoir is charming and humorous, detailing Dickens' domestic adventures with a witty and engaging tone. The recalcitrant boilers and other mishaps add to the book's appeal.

Tales from the Landing Bookshelves finds 'One Pair of Hands' to be a delightful read, filled with humor and charm. The reviewer enjoys Dickens' ability to turn everyday domestic struggles into entertaining stories. The memoir's lighthearted approach to topics like recalcitrant boilers and other household challenges makes it a joy to read. The reviewer appreciates the book's ability to blend humor with a sense of nostalgia, making it a memorable and enjoyable experience.

Quick quotes

    The memoir is humorous and indeed charming detailing Dickens' various domestic adventures with recalcitrant boilers.

    It's a delightful and easy read that makes you hoot with laughter.

    The characters are wonderfully grotesque, in the true sense — a blend of the comic and the hideous.

The Common Reader · Henry Oliver · 2022-01-24
engaging 4.00

The book is compared to a collection of Bateman drawings, with wonderfully grotesque characters that blend the comic and the hideous. The reviewer finds the character portraits particularly engaging.

Henry Oliver from The Common Reader draws a fascinating comparison between 'One Pair of Hands' and a book of Bateman drawings, highlighting the wonderfully grotesque characters that populate the memoir. The reviewer appreciates the blend of the comic and the hideous in Dickens' character portraits, which add depth and humor to the narrative. Oliver finds the book to be a unique and engaging read, with a distinctive style that sets it apart from other memoirs.

Quick quotes

    It's like a book of Bateman drawings.

    The characters are wonderfully grotesque, in the true sense — a blend of the comic and the hideous.

    It's a delightful and easy read that makes you hoot with laughter.

Fiction Fan Blog · 2013-05-26
pleasant 3.50

The book is gentle, amusing, and well-written, making it a pleasant read that has stood the test of time. The reviewer is glad to see it republished.

The Fiction Fan Blog reviewer finds 'One Pair of Hands' to be a gentle, amusing, and well-written book that has retained its charm over the years. They appreciate the memoir's ability to evoke a sense of nostalgia and humor, making it a pleasant read. The reviewer is particularly happy to see the book republished, allowing new readers to discover its delightful stories and characters. While the book is formulaic at times, the reviewer finds it to be a consistent and enjoyable read.

Quick quotes

    I first read this gentle, amusing and well-written book many years ago and am glad to see it re-published.

    It was certainly amusing, but a slightly too formulaic and repetitive.

    Yes it is - what an extraordinary book, I don't know what I was expecting, but it wasn't that, but it's wonderful.

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