Lady Almina and The Real Downton Abbey: The Lost Legacy of Highclere Castle was penned by the current Countess of Carnavon and is generally a favorable account of her predecessors upon whom the TV show is very loosely based. The "above stairs" scenes are filmed at Highclere.
Almina was the acknowledged (illegimate) daughter of fabulously wealthy Alfred de Rothschild. Her future husband Lord Carnavon had title, property, royal friends, but no cash. At least they seemed to genuinely like each other when they married and appeared to have had a relatively happy life together. When Almina opened their home as a hospital for returning WWI vets, she paid for everything with her father's money--being a child of my times, I just assumed the government paid the expenses. While dry at times, this book fed my obsession with all things Downton!
This beautiful book is billed as "the official companion to series 1 and 2". Chockful of photos, tidbits of history, and behind-the-scenes stories, The World of Downton Abbey is perfect for any Downton afficionado.
I couldn't put down Dead End Gene Pool: A Memoir by a great-great-great-great granddaughter of Cornelius Vanderbilt, Wendy Burden, who is a contemporary of mine. In many respects this memoir is a coming-of-age tale to which anyone of my generation can relate. Wendy is funny and irreverent, and she definitely doesn't wallow in self-pity. This book has plenty of sad times and family tragedies too. F. Scott Fitzgerald said the rich "are different from you and me", to which Hemingway famously replied, "Yes, they have more money". By Wendy's account, that is the only difference.
No comments:
Post a Comment