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Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey (edition 2011)

by Lady Almina

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3682326,677 (3.66)36
Member:mainefan
Title:Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey
Authors:Lady Almina
Info:Hodder (2011), Hardcover, 320 pages
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Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey: The Lost Legacy of Highclere Castle by The Countess of Carnarvon

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Showing 1-5 of 23 (next | show all)
Excellent narration and interesting history. I prefer my non-fiction to read like fiction and while the chapters are each like mini-stories it just didn't hold my attention that way I'd hoped it would until the author got to the King Tut connection. I'd love to hear more about Lord Carnarvon and his hunt for King Tut's tomb with Carter.
( )
  StefanieGeeks | Apr 5, 2013 |
I didn't expect this to be a riveting book, but it was. I was expecting a puff piece tying the history of Highclere to the Downton Abbey series. I am not the least bit disappointed to have been utterly wrong. The true story (one assumes sanitized at least a little, of course) is many times more interesting than the soap opera television series. The real people who lived at Highclere during the end of the 19th & beginning of the 20th century were larger-than-life and so terribly interesting to read about. Highly recommended for Anglophiles, history buffs, nurses, Egyptophiles and fans of Downtown Abbey. ( )
  satyridae | Apr 5, 2013 |
Not phenomenal, but worth reading if you're interested in Downton Abbey/Highclere Castle, Almina herself, WWI history, or Egyptology. The research seems sound, but the writing is competent rather than expert; the "epilogue" is more of a summary than a true epilogue.

It is England's "national habit to be defeated at the beginning of every war and to win at the end." -5th Earl of Carnarvon's brother, Aubrey (p. 179)

After her beloved son died, she established hospitals, schools and anti-malaria clinics in Albania, as well as a village for refugees called Herbert, after her son. (p. 283) The punctuation and sentence structure here indicate that the refugees are all called Herbert, though common sense would indicate that the village itself is called Herbert. Clumsy. ( )
  JennyArch | Apr 3, 2013 |
The book was interesting, although there were various grammar and spelling usages which threw me out of the narrative. These may just result from a difference between British and American English, so I didn't deduct any mental points. Almina, Countess Carnarvon, was certainly an interesting woman, but I did deduct a point for the marketing strategy of linking her life with a popular television show. The book could have stood on its own merits. ( )
  Jammies | Mar 31, 2013 |
3.5 stars ( )
  Irishcontessa | Mar 30, 2013 |
Showing 1-5 of 23 (next | show all)
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For my husband and son, who I adore, and my beloved sisters
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Book description
Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey tells the story behind Highclere Castle, the real-life inspiration for the hit PBS show Downton Abbey, and the life of one of its most famous inhabitants, Lady Almina, the 5th Countess of Carnarvon and the basis of the fictional character Lady Cora Crawley. 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 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.

[retrieved 9/27/2012 from Amazon.com]
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Tells the story behind Highclere Castle, the real-life inspiration and setting for Julian Fellowes's Emmy Award-winning PBS show, and the life of one of its most famous inhabitants, Lady Almina, the 5th Countess of Carnarvon.

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