Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey: The Lost Legacy of Highclere Castle Author: Visit Amazon's The Countess of Carnarvon Page | Language: English | ISBN:
0770435629 | Format: PDF
Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey: The Lost Legacy of Highclere Castle Description
Review
A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
“Almina was a woman of great charm and courage.”
—New York Times Book Review
“The more interesting and entertaining book is
Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey: The Lost Legacy of Highclere Castle. Written by the castle's current countess, Lady Fiona Carnarvon, the Eighth Countess of Carnarvon and great-granddaughter-in-law of Lady Almina, the book is a fascinating look at the woman of the house who turned her castle into a hospital for wounded British soldiers returning from World War I. (It corresponds perfectly with this season's war story line on
Downton Abbey.)”
—USA Today
“Gives the juicy backstory behind last year's Emmy-winning 'Masterpiece Theater' drama.”
—
New York Times
“If you can’t wait for the new season of ‘Downton Abbey’...this one’s for you....a revealing portrait of the changing times.”
—New York Post
“[A] fascinating insight into how the seriously rich once lived.”
—Newsweek Daily Beast
“The present Lady Carnarvon, who tapped the family archives for her comprehensive research, dramatically captures the estate during the pre-war and war years, and paints a compelling...portrait of Lady Almina.”
—Newark Star-Ledger
About the Author
FIONA,
New York Times bestselling author and the 8th Countness of CARNARVON, married Geordie, the 8th Earl of Carnarvon, in 1999, and aceded to Highclere ten years ago upon the death of Geordie's father. Highclere has become one of the most famous houses in England as the location for the PBS series
Downton Abbey. She is also the author of the companion piece,
Lady Catherine, the Earl, and the Real Downton Abbey. - Paperback: 310 pages
- Publisher: Broadway Books; Later Printing edition (December 27, 2011)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 9780770435622
- ISBN-13: 978-0770435622
- ASIN: 0770435629
- Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.2 x 0.9 inches
- Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
I received this book as a Christmas gift and enjoyed it very much. I think the other reviewer's review is off the mark and it's duplicitous of "William" not to mention is that he is the author of a self-published bio of Lady Almina.
The author of this book, the current Countess of Carnarvon, drew largely from primary sources in the Highclere archives. She also examined contemporary periodicals and previous family memoirs and bios. The focus of the book is, as the subtitle indicates, Almina's connection with Highclere. So, it begins with her wedding to the 5th Earl of Carnarvon and ends with his untimely death in 1923, as that event marked the end of Almina's time at Highclere.
There is a concise discussion of Almina's pre-countess life, including her paternity (that Almina was in all likelihood Alfred Rothschild's natural daughter is stated plainly). There is also some background on the 5th Earl: his parents and childhood, and a short history of the Highclere estate. The 5th Earl was in debt when he met Almina and in need of a large infusion of cash, which Rothschild provided.
The book goes on to cover Almina's arrival at Highclere as a 19-year-old bride and her triumphant success as a society hostess, which was something Edwardian women aspired to and were admired for. The visit by the Prince of Wales (later Edward VII) for one of Highclere's famous shoots in 1895 was a major event at Highclere and it is appropriate that it should be included here, even if written of previously in other works.
I picked up this book because I'm a fan of Downton Abbey, although I knew before I bought the book that it had little to do with the fictional world of those characters. If you are looking for information on the Downton Abbey television show, there is a marvelous book by Jessica Fellowes which will probably better suit your needs. This is the story of Lady Almina Carnarvon who lived at Highclere Castle which is the real world setting for the fictional television program. If you want to know more about the lives of the real people who inhabited that world during that same era, keep reading.
Any biography is a story being told, and each story has a unique voice. In this case, the voice is a member of the Carnarvon family. She seems to draw from source documents such as journals, letters, and other historical references to create a picture of Almina Wombwell who became the wife of the Fifth Earl of Carnarvon. (Yes, this was the same Lord Carnarvon who worked with Howard Carter and discovered King Tut's tomb in Egypt.) This book is told primarily as Lady Almina's story after her marriage, although it can't help but touch on the story lines of many of the other principle players.
While the book is historical in nature, that doesn't make it dry reading. There is scandal (Almina was most likely the illegitimate daughter of the wealthy Alfred de Rothschild), wildly fabulous wealth (Almina lived a lavish and luxurious lifestyle prior to WWI), Egyptian adventures, and ultimately heartbreak as WWI touched almost every family in Britain.
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