About book The Chronicles Of Downton Abbey: A New Era (2012)
I hesitated to read this because I've only seen season 1 & 2 of the show ,and was worried that this book might give away a lot of next season's secrets ,since it has already aired elsewhere . It does kinda give small hints and tells a few things that you sorta knew would probably happen anyhow,so it wasn't too much of a spoiler . This book was comparable to the earlier one I read this year that had many photos of the house and some of the characters, etc . ,but I enjoyed this one much more because it had a lot more detail as to what each person's role in the house would have been ,then gave each main character in the show their own chapter,so it explained a little more about the choices they made and intricate details of their personalities and why they may have said or done the things they did previously . It also tells a lot about the costumes and changes they made in series 3 ,since clothing (especially for women) changed quite a bit after WW 1 ,making clothing a lot looser -fitting and comfortable, but still beautiful and elegant . I'd definitely recommend this if your are a Downton fan ,especially while waiting to buy episodes of season 3. This kinda fills in the gap while waiting . My favorite character in the show is Daisy ,so it's interesting to read more about how her role began in the house,and how she is trying to climb the ladder a bit and have a little more say-so in the kitchen . Anyhow, I enjoyed the book, the pictures are beautiful and it's well worth reading if you want more of Downton Abbey . This is a wonderful companion piece to the Masterpiece Theater period drama Downton Abbey. It is a compendium of historical details, character sketches, actor interviews, production challenges and photographs of this much loved and popular drama series.The production accurately portrays one of the old grand estates of prewar Britain. It was an enormous challenge to try and present the two very different worlds of the Abbey-the grand and calm upstairs world of the Crawley family and the busy below stairs world of their servants. Details of the class system that predominated during the prewar era are all explained, including the expectations of the various roles of the butler, groom, footman, and ladies maid. All the “behind the scenes” research that was required to authentically portray the architectural details of the settings, the costumes, and the props is described. Some of these details come from actual lives lived during the time period.The historical context of the years as they flow by are again true to the times, presenting the challenges of the pre and post war period as they took place: the sinking of the Titanic, the post war stress of soldiers, the problems of child illegitimacy after the war, the Irish search for independence, and the great influx of immigrants fleeing war torn Europe. As the story unfolds through the years, clothing changes to reflect the large societal changes that have taken place. Detail infuses every aspect of the production, and this quest for historical accuracy may not be noted on a first look at the production, when most of us focus on the story being told. One of the details pointed out in this book that I never realized, was how Daisy the kitchen maid is never allowed to sit down, she is always standing. She was on the lowest rung in the kitchen and this behavior reflects her station in that setting.There are interviews with the main actors and a backstory to the roles they are playing. Each actor also shares their feelings about their characters as well as the challenges they faced portraying their roles to the audience.This book is beautifully illustrated with large color photographs of some of the fashions, the action, sets and production props, many of which are authentic. The volume provides the reader with a greater understanding of the context of the Crawley family story, and allows one to appreciate this great series even more.
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Interesting compilation of the characters at the beginning of the series. Beautiful pictures!
—balozada
Delightful! Lots of fun photos and bits of history, particularly British domestic.
—kawaiimiso
