Summary and Analysis of Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey: The Lost Legacy of Highclere Castle: Based on the Book by the Countess of Carnarvon

By Worth Books

So much to read, so little time? This brief overview of Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey tells you what you need to know—before or after you read the Countess of Carnarvon’s book.

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This short summary and analysis of Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey: The Lost Legacy of Highclere Castle includes:
 

• Historical context
• Chapter-by-chapter overviews
• Profiles of the main characters
• Detailed timeline of key events
• Important quotes
• Fascinating trivia
• Glossary of terms
• Supporting material to enhance your understanding of the original work

 
About Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey by the Countess of Carnarvon:
 
Lady Almina, the 5th Countess of Carnarvon, was known for throwing fabulous parties at Highclere Castle during the Edwardian era and for turning her home into a hospital for wounded soldiers during World War I. Her biography provides a view of what it was like to live during a time of great joy and of immense sorrow, all in the place that inspired the Emmy Award–winning period drama Downton Abbey.
 
Lady Fiona Carnarvon, the 8th Countess of Carnarvon, knows Highclere Castle—her current residence, which has been in her husband’s family since 1679—better than just about anyone. Drawing from the family’s personal archives of photographs, letters, household records, and journals, Lady Fiona give readers an inside view of the famous English country home and the remarkable woman at the center of it all.
 
The summary and analysis in this ebook are intended to complement your reading experience and bring you closer to a great work of nonfiction.
 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: May 16, 2017
• ISBN: 9781504046442

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Book preview

Contents

Context

Overview

Summary

Timeline

Cast of Characters

Direct Quotes and Analysis

Trivia

What’s That Word?

Critical Response

About The Countess of Carnarvon

For Your Information

Bibliography

Copyright

Context

Lady Fiona Carnarvon knows Highclere Castle—the inspiration for Downton Abbey and the location where some of the famous TV show was filmed—better than almost anyone. She is the current Countess of Carnarvon, and the Castle has belonged to her husband’s family since 1679. While writing Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey, Lady Fiona drew on photos, letters, household records, and journals from the family archives. Her book gives the inside information on what it was like behind the scenes of a place almost exactly like the fictional Downton Abbey.

Julian Fellowes, creator of the period drama Downton Abbey, is a good friend of the Carnarvons and has visited the Castle many times. It’s clear he found ideas for his show not only in the Castle and its grounds, but also in the Carnarvon family history. The character of Lady Cora Crawley, played by Elizabeth McGovern, has several similarities to Lady Almina, the 5th Countess of Carnarvon, who lived in the time period during which Downtown Abbey is set. Most notably, each woman married a man considered above her social standing and each brought money vital for the upkeep of her husband’s estate to the marriage. Furthermore, Lady Almina threw lavish parties and balls at the Castle until World War I began, and then she turned her home into a hospital for wounded soldiers. Downton Abbey went through the same transition.

While the Crawleys, their estate, and their story are fictional, Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey paints a detailed picture of what life was like before, during, and after the war for a real family similar to one of televisions most intriguing aristocratic clans.

Overview

Almina Carnarvon was the illegitimate daughter of Alfred de Rothschild—of international banking fame—and Mrs. Marie Wombwell. Her lineage was an open secret in society, but when Almina was a debutante, Rothschild made it known that he would be settling a fortune on her when she wed. George Herbert, the 5th Earl of Carnarvon, had the responsibility of caring for Highclere Castle, but not the money with which to do it. He made an offer for Almina, who was pretty and charming as well as enormously rich, and they married in 1895.

Almina quickly proved herself to be a wife and hostess equal to any society lady. Within the first year of her marriage, she and the Earl entertained the Prince of Wales at the Castle, and Almina made the event a huge success. She poured money into modernizing the Castle, releasing the servants from some of their backbreaking work. In 1898, she gave birth to a boy nicknamed Porchy, the heir to the Castle.

In 1901, the Earl, who was often ill, was involved in a bad car accident from which he never fully recovered. Following a doctor’s advice, the couple began spending winters in Egypt so the Earl could avoid the cold. While there, the Earl continued to explore a passion of his own—Egyptian antiquities. Years later, this led to his discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb, which made him a national