At Your Service: Memoirs of a Majordomo

The sequel to the coauthors' upstairs-downstairs account of the Marlo Thomas and Phil Donahue household ( That Girl and Phil ) tells tales about other former employers of superbutler Atholl, such as New York's Saul and Gayfryd Steinberg. Others whom Atholl was pleased to serve include nobles at a shooting party in his native England, a Roman contessa and a Jordanian prince--names have been changed to protect those clients who are not public figures. But for the most part, the jokey tittle-tattle denounces the Americans he worked for: rich as Croesus but shamelessly cheap, incredibly selfish exploiters of good servants. Although one stated purpose of this book is to argue the case for respecting domestic helpers, the gossipy tidbits will probably be its chief appeal. (Dec.)