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'Real-life Downton' memoir to MJ

11.04.12 | Benedicte Page

Diane Banks at Diane Banks Associates has sold the memoirs of a 95-year-old former domestic servant to Katy Follain at Michael Joseph.

Follain bought UK and Commonwealth rights to the story of Molly Moran, who was born in 1916 and worked in domestic service in the 1930s before the outbreak of the Second World War. The book, described by Banks as "pure real-life 'Downton Abbey'",  is due for publication in spring 2013.

Moran is said to provide "a rare and fascinating insight into a world that has long since disappeared", and a time when the gentry thought nothing of hiring 15 staff to look after one person. Banks said: "Talking to Mollie makes the 1930s feel like yesterday.  This memoir is going to be a lot of fun as well as bringing to life a long lost time which is much talked about."
 
 

• Benedicte Page
• Daine Banks Associates
• katy follain
• Michael Joseph
• Penguin
• Rights deal