Monday, January 24, 2011

DOWNTON ABBEY

I really hope that I am not the only one watching this wonderful mini series on PBS.

It's on Sunday nights and it's called Downton Abbey.

The show opens on the day the Titanic sunk. The year is 1912. The location is Downton Abbey the Estate/Home of Lord Robert Earl of Grantham and his family.

Lord Robert is married to Cora, his American wife. While they are the "care takers" of Downton Abbey, the English Law states that the Estate must be left to the next "male" heir.

Since Lord Robert only has three daughters, his eldest daughter must marry the next heir in order to continue to live in the Estate.

Sadly, Lord Robert's cousin and his 2nd cousin both died when the Titanic went down. Thus, leaving no known heir to marry into the family.


All three sisters are very different from each other. Lady Mary is the eldest daughter and has no desire to marry anyone her parents want her to.

Lady Edith is more of free spirit that enjoys the changing times. She believes in Women's Rights.

Lady Sybil is the one that lacks the looks. She is the one who believes in love and keeping up the family tradition.



After doing research, Lord Robert locates his 3rd Cousin Mathew. The only problem is he has no real desire to jump into his roll of taking over the Estate.

He is a lawyer and his father, when alive, was a Dr. His mother is a Nurse. However, back in the Edwardian times, a working man (no matter what the job was) was thought of to be a lowly working class man.

Mathew must learn the ways of Downton Abbey and convince Lady Mary to marry him. Neither proves to be an easy task for him.



Mean while we also get to peek into the life of the servants of the Estate. The difference in the way they live and the way the family does can't help but be noticed.

The story line, the clothes, the beautiful Estate and the tale of love is enough to keep anyone amused for hours.

I for one, will be sad to see this show end. I do believe I may even order the DVD so I can watch this again and again.

The Edwardian era is one of my favorite ones. While it was actually a very hard time to live in, it seems to be such a romantic time in history and a beautiful one at that.

If by any chance you have not started to watch this show, do yourself a favor and get caught up. You won't be sorry.

Photobucket

3 comments:

RachelD said...

I'm so glad I found you!! I have two waiting on the DVR, but got in late, so wanted to get a little synopsis on what I'd missed, and there you were!

Thank you---I think our taste in drama must be quite similar, for DD and I love the Austens and Trollopes and all the lovely Victorians and Edwardians. I'm looking for a set of Upstairs, Downstairs, as well.

And, though I know it's truer to the book, I found the characters in Brideshead to be quite annoying in places, whereas in the first, we looked forward to it every week.

Sis gave me a huge set of Shaw for Christmas, and it's so lovely to have such wonderful plays and shows to enjoy.

I'm delighted to find your blog, and will delve more into your archives later!

rachel

RachelD said...

How delightful to have you join us at Lawn Tea---though the weather and the time are not the loveliest, the welcome is warm.

Thank you for dropping in, and I hope you will visit often!

rachel

Donna @ Party Wishes said...

I watched part of the first episode (I just stubbled upon it one night) and I recorded the other episodes but I have yet to watch them.
I saw the King's Speech last night and LOVED it. Colin is amazing!