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The World Of Downton Abbey (2011)

by Jessica Fellowes(Favorite Author)

4.11 of 5 Votes: 1

ISBN

1250006341 (ISBN13: 9781250006349)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

St. Martin's Press

review 1: Being a huge fan of the Downton Abbey TV show, I was a little more than excited to discover there was a book dedicated to it! My one and only fear was that it was going to be a play-by-play of the TV show. Thankfully it wasn't!There is an abundance of information about each of the character's real-life roles at Downton Abbey, most of which was never explained in the show. You learn all about the maid's full schedule of chores, who does what, who's related to who, what was happening to the world during this time, and even some actors commentary about what it was like to play these characters.Full of colorful photographs and insightful facts, this is a must read for all fans of Downton Abbey!
review 2: I was impressed with both the gorgeous color photographs and ... morethe written content in this companion book to the first two seasons of "Downton Abbey." The plot is not revealed, except in very general terms, so the book is not a spoiler for the reader who has not seen all the episodes. It gives insight into the lives of both the wealthy Crawleys and their servants in Yorkshire in 1912. The oldest daughters were presented to Society in the hopes of making a good match in the first few episodes. There were big changes as woman wanted the vote, automobiles replaced horses, and Downton Abbey got electricity and telephones. When World War I started, many of the men at Downton Abbey went to war, and part of the mansion was devoted to the rehabilitation of wounded soldiers.The book takes the reader behind the scenes as it discusses everything from period costumes and hairstyles to filming the scenes in the trenches in an Ipswich location which was specially built for World War recreations. Photographs and stories of famous people of the era are included in the historical section since they served as inspiration for characters in the television series. The crew tries to keep everything authentic to the period in history. This book was a wonderful, informative look behind the scenes at "Downton Abbey." less

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Reviews (see all)

Kai

I'm a fan of Downton Abbey, so I read this book and will read the next. I enjoyed it. I just thought it could have been much better. The historical details are slim. It seems to reinforce the series, repeating what we saw vs. expanding and giving more background. For instance, the chapter on war mentions shell shock, mustard gas and amputations. But it doesn't really elaborate. So it reminds us of their coverage in the show. But, in general, the facts in the book seem to be isolated data and quotations from other sources, without any really plan to inform us. This resulted in my feeling like I read a lot, but didn't get a great return on the investment. It was enjoyable, but I didn't really learn much. There are some photos that are interesting. In particular, the photos on the set design and the style chapters (showing the actors' dress) were helpful in understanding the text. But other photos were blurry or difficult to see/interpret (e.g war scenes, filming of dinner).We learn a bit of what it would have been like for the peerage and servants through brief quotes or comparisons to real people. But again, I wanted more. In addition, the text repeats itself in several places, making it again seem thin.I guess it's more of a coffee table book than I had hoped!

Carmen

It’s not really what I would call a “behind the scenes” book, it’s more like a historical overview of life in the Downton Abbey era. There were a few behind the scenes of the TV show scoops toward the end, but it just felt like a tease; I would like to read a version that goes into more detail including casting etc. If that’s what you are in the mood for this book might let you down.If you’re in the mood for a history lesson however, then this book is great! Since it draws on the popularity of the show and explains the parallels between the story lines and what was happening in “real life” at the time it was extremely educational. It wasn’t dry nor did it feel like a boring lesson but rather because we know and love the characters so well it was a great way to learn! Unfortunately it did not go beyond season 2, I wanted more.

ninaja1999

Downton Abbey is a one-in-a million show, and this book is VERY well done!

Laura

ooohhhhh! give me more!

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