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    The World of Downton Abbey
    The World of Downton Abbey
    The World of Downton Abbey
    Audiobook3 hours

    The World of Downton Abbey

    Written by Jessica Fellowes and Julian Fellowes

    Narrated by Elizabeth McGovern

    4.5/5

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    About this audiobook

    A perfect gift for Downton Abbey fans, a lavish look at the real world--both the secret history and the behind-the-scenes drama--of the spellbinding Emmy Award-winning Masterpiece TV series that's now a feature film.

    April 1912. The sun is rising behind Downton Abbey, a great and splendid house in a great and splendid park. So secure does it appear that it seems as if the way it represents will last for another thousand years. It won't.

    Millions of American viewers were enthralled by the world of Downton Abbey, the mesmerizing TV drama of the aristocratic Crawley family--and their servants--on the verge of dramatic change. On the eve of Season 2 of the TV presentation, this gorgeous book--illustrated with sketches and research from the production team, as well as on-set photographs from both seasons--takes us even deeper into that world, with fresh insights into the story and characters as well as the social history.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMacmillan Audio
    Release dateFeb 20, 2012
    ISBN9781427227027
    Author

    Jessica Fellowes

    JESSICA FELLOWES is an author, journalist, and public speaker. She is the author of The Mitford Murders novels as well as the New York Times bestselling official companion books to the Downton Abbey TV series. Former deputy editor of Country Life, and columnist for the Mail on Sunday, she has written for the Daily Telegraph, the Guardian, The Sunday Times, and The Lady. Jessica has spoken at events across the UK and US, and has made numerous appearances on radio and television. She lives in Oxfordshire with her family.

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    Reviews for The World of Downton Abbey

    4.5/5

    26 ratings12 reviews

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    • 5/5
      A superb balance of history, cultural, and character reference. Well done.
    • 5/5
      I miss the tv show so this was welcoming read.
    • 5/5
      Wonderful behind the scenes of this fabulous show but I don’t understand why the narrators of audiobooks, in this case Elizabeth McGovern, take on the various accents of different people instead of just reading them in her normal beautiful voice.. In every case, it is extremely annoying, especially when they can’t pull it off..
    • 5/5
      Answered all of my immediate questions about the era and gave an extensive list of recommended reading to learn more. Loved it - will tide me over until the new season starts next year!
    • 5/5
      Like thousands of others, I fell in love with the series, Downton Abbey. I'm glued to my seat with each season in anticipation to find out what will happen to these beloved characters. I love the upstairs characters as well as the downstairs characters. For those reasons and many others, I absolutely love The World of Downton Abbey by Jessica Fellowes.This book is a behind the scenes look at the mesmerizing world that I can't get enough. The World of Downton Abbey is broken up into several chapters that dives deeper into the series such as: Family Life, Society, Life in Service and Style. Each chapter explores the historical significance of events that take place, beautiful photographs, quotes from the actors, as well as mannerisms of the era. This is a great book for any fan of Downton Abbey to own. It's interesting as well as very entertaining. There is so much to learn about this period in time. Reading this book will help you get an insightful look at what it was to live in this era as well as the trials and tribulations of belonging to the aristocracy. I also love reading the actor's thoughts on the characters they portray. This is definitely a book that I will read again and again.
    • 4/5
      An interesting and broadly scoped look at the British television series Downton Abbey. Every chapter covers a different aspect of the show, with the vast majority being devoted to the historical setting of the early 1900s: clothing, society, romance, war, etc. The last chapter gives a brief look behind the scenes at the show's production (both seasons are covered).Although the book is beautiful (lots of full page color photographs and some artsy layout choices), the main text of the book is broken up by all of the added features, including the little snippet sidebars, which can be distracting if you like a continuous narrative flow.
    • 5/5
      This a beautiful souvenir for fans of the television series. The book is broken into sections covering family life, society, change, life in service, style, house and estate, romance, war, and behind the scenes. The plot of the series is not really covered. It's more of a collection of gorgeous photographs of the cast as well as historical photographs alongside nonfiction articles relating tidbits of the time. I read this along with other books such as Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey and Below Stairs to tide me over to the new season of Downton Abbey. I was so looking forward to it until I read that Dan Stevens aka Matthew Crawley has decided to move on leaving his character to....well I won't ruin it for you like it was ruined for me. Really Dan? You couldn't commit to a few measly episodes of a hit drama that anyone else would give their eye teeth to be a part of. I curse you and the remnants of what is sure to be your sad pathetic career prospects. Thanks a lot for nothing. Oh yeah, the book is good, you should buy it, a must for fans (and former fans of which I must now count myself) of Downton Abbey, sob!
    • 2/5
      If you must read all things "Downton Abbey," save your money and borrow this from a library, especially if you are tempted to believe the cover line, "The Rivalry and Romance Revealed." Not much is revealed other than that this is a rather obvious attempt to capitalize on the popular TV drama.This glossy volume has a mix of television series stills and historic photographs, scrapbooked with mostly irrelevant quotes from actors/characters. The captions are frustratingly vague, or nonexistent. The text, by Julian Fellowes's niece, offers some interesting facts for anyone who has never had a European history course in his/her life, and a very few for those who have, notably the section about the Buccaneers, American heiresses who married a title and gave big bucks to maintain their husbands' estates.The series' plot is barely alluded to, so no spoilers, or revelations for those who want to learn more of Bates's backstory. And where is Branson in the cover shot? And how about some pictures of Highclere without all the TV folk milling about?The present Countess of Carnavon's book on her predecessor Lady Almina is far meatier. I hope she earns enough from it to save the castle for the next series.
    • 3/5
      A nice companion to the Wonderful TV series...informative about the time, actors and the sets and props...
    • 5/5
      This absolutely beautiful book isn’t just some decorative item to keep on your cocktail table to tell the world that you’re familiar with a popular television series. It is a collection of stunning stills from the show and historical pictures from people who have a connection to this moment in history or the venue itself, Highclere Castle.The book offers comments from cast members, behind the scenes information from everyone involved in the production of the series including hairstylist to costume designer to writers and consultants. By all means it is a complete depiction of the making of an extraordinary production.Would I recommend it?.........................Did you really have to ask? If you know of and enjoy the series you must, by all means, add this book to your collection. If you are not familiar with Downton Abbey, well for goodness sake, what’s taking you so long?!
    • 4/5
      *Warning: spoilers follow for the first two seasons of Downton Abbey*So I don't know about you, but in my library the availability of the DVD of the first season of Downton Abbey meant a flurry of holds and a lot of conversation about the Masterpiece Theatre presentation. I put it on hold to see what all the fuss was about, and the first time I got the DVD I didn't even watch it before I had to return it to the library. Second try was the charm, though, and I not only watched the first season in - ahem - one day, I promptly looked up when the second season was going to be on PBS, and watched that all over the same holiday weekend. I found myself fascinated, loving the picture of a world one hundred years ago, at once familiar (cars, telephones) and strange (servants, class, World War 1). I picked up some of the class differences and societal tensions, but as an American in the 21st century, I know there's a lot going on that I didn't understand, or just wasn't sure about (how normal would it be, for example, if a young woman had run off and married the chauffeur in that era, for her mother to stay in contact with her and want her to visit?).That, ultimately, is why I decided to read this book. In all fairness, in a book like this covering everything from family life to style to World War 1 to a servants' life, none of my questions are going to be answered in depth. But, if you enjoyed the show, a little bit of everything is explored through its lens, through what we saw the characters experience, plus giving us more period detail from diaries and books about people who really lived then. And then there's the photography. Wow! You can really appreciate the attention to detail when looking at photographs of the sets, of the actors, and of Highclere Castle. There are lots of quotes from the actors and the show sprinkled throughout the text and photographs. The final chapter is more a "making of" than the historical background, and it really made me appreciate all the work that went into making Downton Abbey as good as it is. Finally, the recommended reads at the end (unfortunately for me, since I want to read everything and I have to figure out which books were mentioned more than once) is organized by chapter, so if you are most interested in any one particular aspect of the Downton Abbey world, it's quite easy to follow up on just what you're looking for. Highly recommended to any fan of the show.
    • 5/5
      Less behind-the-scenes (though there is a section devoted to behind-the-scenes information and some more tidbits scattered throughout the book) and more a guide to historical and social context for the show. Even as someone fairly well-versed in the period in which Downton Abbey is set, I learned new things from the book and found snippets here and there which enriched my understanding of the history I did already know. And the pictures! The book is just chock full of beautiful full-color photographs which show off the show's costumes, sets, and locations wonderfully. In addition to these stills from the show and the production, there are many historical photographs of events, people, and ephemera relevant to the show. Enthusiastically recommended to any fans of Downton Abbey.