Book Review of The Chronicles of Downton Abbey: A New Era

Rating: ★★★★★/★★★★★

Following the publication of last year's The World of Downton Abbey to accompany the release of the highly anticipated second series of Downton Abbey, the second companion book titled The Chronicles of Downton Abbey: A New Era was recently published in the UK to satiate viewers' appetite to learn more about the aspects of the successful and award-winning television drama series. I read this coffee table book between episodes of the UK airing of the show and it helps as it is free of spoilers except those already made available by ITV to promote the series.

This time Jessica Fellowes has teamed up with co-author Matthew Sturgis to focus on the eighteen principle characters plus a minor character that inhabit the story in the third series. The excellent foreword is written by series creator and writer, Lord Julian Fellowes, who mentioned that he drew inspiration from members of his family to populate the characters. Notable examples include his Great-aunt Isie who provided the basis for Violet, the Dowager Countess of Grantham, and his esteemed father who contributed some characteristics for Lord Grantham. Fellowes also speak about his reasons on why he thinks Downton Abbey is so popular, successful  and attracts millions of viewers in UK, USA and other countries.

Each character has their own dedicated chapter except for four characters who are paired together. They inform readers about the background, actions, social lives, motivations, dreams, hopes and aspirations for their future. Fans may have thought that they know everything there is to know about them but it is this book that truly transcends our understanding and help fill in the gaps of what the characters embody. For example, when Lady Sybil and her husband Tom return from Dublin for the marriage between the eldest Crawley daughter, Lady Mary, and heir presumptive to the Downton estate and earl-in-waiting, Matthew, there were talks of Irish Troubles and Home Rule. As someone who is not exposed to the events surrounding this important political milestone which affect the ordinary lives of Irish people, it is fascinating to learn about this conflict and add to my repository of knowledge.

Among the new characters introduced in the series, a special mention goes to Martha Levinson, mother of the current Countess of Grantham, played by Hollywood legend, Shirley MacLaine. We get to know that her husband's name is Isidore and he is a Jewish dry goods millionaire from Cincinnati. However Martha is non-Jewish and their two children, Harold and Cora, are raised as Episcopalians (American church for the Anglican community). It brings to mind an inquisitive question in the Levinson's family background because Jews are usually a close-knit community and the men would likely marry a Jewish girl and any children born of their union will also be Jewish. According to Violet and Isobel in the book, it is the usual practice in the Wall Street's nouveau riche community to mitigate the prejudices if they make this move. In a way the Levinsons's wealth can buy a certain amount of respect and they are welcomed into the upper class society though they are not among the wealthiest families in New York. It is also interesting for the Christian in me to note that Cora and Robert are members of the Church of England and there is no need to convert to the same Protestant faith but I digress.

The amount of research that the writers have comb through is tremendous and well organised and it gave the book a much needed depth without boring the readers at the same time. Some historical facts and quotes from people who lived during that time are deftly woven into the writing thus adding to the reality of the situation that the characters experience. In addition carefully selected quotations spoken by the characters throughout the third series and opinion by the actors who play their own roles are placed between the paragraphs which frames the context. Besides this costume designer Caroline McCall also supply her thoughts on the process of working on the clothes and actors to come up with a unique and flattering taste that fits their on-screen persona. The book is lavishly decorated with beautiful photography stills taken of Series Three and a few from Series Two's Christmas Special.

An extra behind-the-scenes chapter is included to give a sense of who did what. This is a superb way to close the book as it depicted how hard the crews collaborated to prepare for each scenes before it was shot. Surely it is a challenge to complete their work with the constraint of budget and time while maintaining the accuracy of the time period and yet the team managed to do it and build on this success and it has gone from strength to strength. They are certainly deserving of all the accolades that is awarded in their respective industry especially the costume, directing and writing department.

Basically, passionate fans of Downton Abbey should think of purchasing The Chronicles of Downton Abbey: A New Era if they haven't done so. It will make a fine addition to your library and you definitely will not be disappointed. I leave you now with the book trailer from US publisher of the book, St Martin's Press. Happy watching and reading!