Governesses in the nineteenth century
In my story, set circa 1825, I have an impoverished, well educated, well born young lady forced to take up employment. I'm making her into a governess. I have detailed information about salary, social position and duties, but one thing that I haven't been able to discern is how somebody went about advertising their services as a governess.
In Jane Eyre, Jane places an advert and is contacted by the family. Was this normal procedure? Other servants could be hired via agencies that specialised in finding household staff. Were there reliable agencies for governesses? I have one (unsubstantiated) mention of unreliable agencies on this website, but there are no names mentioned.
In modern times, the magazine The Lady is often used as a means of finding reliable domestic help for rich families. Was there an early nineteenth century eqivalent?
I've looked at various articles brought up in Google searches from victorianweb and other historical websites based on search terms such as 'governess agencies nineteenth century' and 'how were governesses employed in the nineteenth century'.
Many thanks to anybody who can help.
In Jane Eyre, Jane places an advert and is contacted by the family. Was this normal procedure? Other servants could be hired via agencies that specialised in finding household staff. Were there reliable agencies for governesses? I have one (unsubstantiated) mention of unreliable agencies on this website, but there are no names mentioned.
In modern times, the magazine The Lady is often used as a means of finding reliable domestic help for rich families. Was there an early nineteenth century eqivalent?
I've looked at various articles brought up in Google searches from victorianweb and other historical websites based on search terms such as 'governess agencies nineteenth century' and 'how were governesses employed in the nineteenth century'.
Many thanks to anybody who can help.