A year in the life of Downton Abbey

Downton Abbey enthusiasts will be more than a bit chuffed over the latest book on their favorite PBS television series. They probably will cheer with joy! Not that avid fans need any enticement, but the book is a stunning prelude to next year’s season. In addition there will be another season after that, which will start production next year.  This book is set in post-World War I England. Jessica Fellowes interweaves the story of the upstairs and downstairs characters and daily life at the fictional estate.  There are cameo features on the actors; interviews with individual television professionals who created and executed the series; behind the scenes photographs and commentary; detailed information about the costumes and make-up; authentic recipes; history on the various social customs of the time; a wonderful bibliography for further reading and exploring English history, the stately homes and estates, and cooking. All of it is lavishly presented in a book with color photographs on every page, some with double spreads, and cleverly set within chapters that are based on a twelve-month calendar. It is not necessary to be a devoted Downton Abbey fan to find the book interesting because the book, like the BBC production, is meticulously and compellingly accurate in its dramatic portrayal.