{"product_id":"9780750983334","title":"Schoolboy, Servant, GWR Apprentice: The Memoirs of Alfred Plumley 1880-1892","description":"In 1890, after strings were pulled by his kindly mistress at the big house, 16-year-old page-boy Alfred Plumley unexpectedly found himself leaving domestic service and beginning an apprenticeship with the GWR. Based on his own eloquent memoir, this book uses Alfred's two years as a \"lad porter\" at a Somerset village station to explore the importance of the railways in 19th century rural life. High-spirited Alfred quickly comes to love his new life and, undeterred by an unhappy temporary posting to the \"great city\" of Bristol, ends up spending 45 years a GWR employee. Alfred's words evoke a time when life was harder but pleasures were simple, friendships were lasting - and the railway was king.","brand":"The History Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47114393682160,"sku":"9780750983334","price":11.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9780750983334_p0.jpg?v=1763636586","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9780750983334","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}