Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey
Books | Biography & Autobiography / Historical
3.8
The Countess of Carnarvon
The real-life inspiration and setting for the Emmy Award-winning Downton Abbey, Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey tells the story behind Highclere Castle and the life of one of its most famous inhabitants, Lady Almina, the 5th Countess of Carnarvon.Drawing on a rich store of materials from the archives of Highclere Castle, including diaries, letters, and photographs, the current Lady Carnarvon has written a transporting story of this fabled home on the brink of war. Much like her Masterpiece Classic counterpart, Lady Cora Crawley, Lady Almina was the daughter of a wealthy industrialist, Alfred de Rothschild, who married his daughter off at a young age, her dowry serving as the crucial link in the effort to preserve the Earl of Carnarvon's ancestral home. Throwing open the doors of Highclere Castle to tend to the wounded of World War I, Lady Almina distinguished herself as a brave and remarkable woman.This rich tale contrasts the splendor of Edwardian life in a great house against the backdrop of the First World War and offers an inspiring and revealing picture of the woman at the center of the history of Highclere Castle.
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More Details:
Author
The Countess of Carnarvon
Pages
320
Publisher
Crown
Published Date
2011-12-27
ISBN
0770435637 9780770435639
Ratings
Google: 4.5
Community ReviewsSee all
"Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey: The Lost Legacy of Highclere Castle by Fiona Carnarvon was a wonderful listening experience. The audiobook was narrated by Wanda McCaddon who also played the role of Matthew Crawley's mother Isobel Crawley in the hit BBC TV show Downton Abbey. Lady Almina was a loving, caring and wonderfully generous woman living in Victorian era England. She was the illegitimate child of Marie Wombwell, a French woman unhappily married to a captain in the British Army, and the wealthy banker Alfred de Rothschild. She was married to the 5th Earl of Carnarvon, George Herbert whose primary home was Highclere Castle or better known as Downton Abbey. The couple had a two children Henry Herbert, 6th Earl of Carnarvon and Lady Evelyn Herbert. The most interesting facts learned from this book was that George Herbert and his partner Howard Carter discovered the tomb of King Tut in the Valley of the Kings in Egypt. It was also great to hear about how Highclere Castle became a hospital during WWI and Lady Almina found her true calling. Throughout listening to this book many of the nobility, people downstairs and many of the people introduced in this book helped to mold the many colorful and wonderful characters in the show Downton Abbey; either by name or in the personalities of real people that lived actually lived in Highclere Castle during the Victorian and Edwardian eras. Fans of Downton Abbey will find Lady Almina's story to be captivating and enthralling from start to finish."
A F
Allison Freeman
