My Life in Service as a Lady's Maid. The incredible true story told by a former lady's maid, Hilda Newman, of what life was really like living and working amongst England's nobility. The year was 1935: the twilight of the English arisocracy. It was a time of wealth and glamour. As personal maid to Lady Coventry, Hilda had a unique insight into the leisured life of one of Britain's most noble families. In her fascinating memoir, she takes us back to the period between the wars, an era which would soon be dramatically changed by the Second World War.