As the sixth and final season of Masterpiece Classic hit “Downton Abbey” comes to a close, we can’t help but dread missing the drama and heartbreak play out in the domestic quarters, the Edwardian garb and decor of the Yorkshire elite—and of course the Dowager Countess’s unfailing quick wit. But the Crawley family isn’t the only one with intriguing secrets and awe-inspiring family drama. Here are eleven books that will ease your approaching “Downton Abbey” withdrawal.
Evelyn Waugh’s delicious coming-of-age tale of star-crossed lovers and sexually ambiguous pretty boys drinking their way through guilt trips over religion and lost love provided an admittedly romantic backdrop to my own rocky adolescent journey to adulthood.
During a snowstorm in 1910, a baby is born. She dies before she can draw her first breath. During a snowstorm in 1910, the same baby is born and lives. What if there were an infinite number of chances to live your life? Would you be able to save the world from its own destiny? What power can one woman exert over the fate of civilization as she lives through the turbulent events of the twentieth century again and again?
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A saga, indeed. The Mitford sisters, one of whom was a bestselling novelist, were a close and loving family, until conflicting ideologies between the two World Wars divided them. Touring around the great cities of Europe and interacting with some of the most influential people of the day, the story of these talented and headstrong sisters would make the perfect period drama.
Creator of the sensational ”Downton Abbey,” Julian Fellowes establishes himself as an irresistible storyteller and a deliciously witty chronicler of modern manners. In this wickedly astute portrait of the intersecting worlds of aristocrats and actors, the characters of “Downton Abbey” we’ve come to love so dearly come to life in modern-day England.
Creator of the sensational ”Downton Abbey,” Julian Fellowes establishes himself as an irresistible storyteller and a deliciously witty chronicler of modern manners. In this wickedly astute portrait of the intersecting worlds of aristocrats and actors, the characters of “Downton Abbey” we’ve come to love so dearly come to life in modern-day England.
Set in interwar Britain, this gorgeous debut novel is the story of a decades-old suicide at an aristocratic manor home, relived through the eyes of the ninety-eight-year-old former housemaid. In a classic case of the servant knowing all, her memories of that long-ago night are the key to shocking secrets and heartbreaking truths.
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In this novel, biographer Margaret Lea is approached by a well-loved but gravely ill author with a surprising request: she wants Margaret to capture her life story before it’s too late. Although Margaret has never read the author’s work, she’s intrigued, and soon gets immersed in her strange and troubling history. Now both women will have to confront their pasts—and grapple with the ghosts that still haunt them.
Set in a magnificent estate in interwar Britain, this sweeping novel tells the tale of the prominent Crawford family, whose shocking secrets lead to devastating consequences for generations to come.
Welcome to Downton Tabby, where the aristocrats of the animal kingdom dwell in stately splendor. Sleeping, grooming, sleeping some more, and being fed by their downstairs cats, they are unaware that their way of life—providing work for others—is about to be swept away by the tides of history . . . and runaway cars.