From the back cover: Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey tells the story behind Highclere Castle, the real-life inspiration and setting for Julian Fellowes’ award-winning drama, and the life of one of its most famous inhabitants, Lady Almina, the 5th Countess of Carnarvon. Almina expected a life of sumptuous banquets and expensive dresses when she married the Earl of Carnarvon at 19. But when the First World War broke out, life at Highclere changed forever and Almina and her staff were forced to draw on their deepest reserves of courage. Drawing on a rich store of materials from the archives at Highclere, the current Lady Carnarvon has written a remarkable and transporting tale of a lost time.

This book was quite interesting and I really enjoyed it! Occasionally it was a little bit repetitive but that was understandable, I guess. In 2015, on our way to the BC Convention in Oxford, I visited the gardens of Highclere Castle with my friends. It truly is quite the place!

Synttäriryhmä 2022. Belated birthday wishes and happy reading!

Thank you for this book, as I, too, have been to Highclere Castle! I also went to a tour inside the house and to see the Egyptian exhibition, leftovers from the grave of Tutankhamun. And I hadn't even seen Downton Abbey then (in 2018), I only saw the reruns quite resently. Loved it!