LAPL Reads's Reviews > A Year in the Life of Downton Abbey: Seasonal Celebrations, Traditions, and Recipes

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.

Reviewed by Sheryn Morris, Librarian, Central Library