DOWNTON ABBEY

I recently finished watching the first two seasons of Downton Abbey.  I was a bit late in catching on to the growing trend and did not see any of the show on television.  However, I checked out Season 1 and was instantly hooked.  Upon finishing Season 2, I was happy to learn that Season 3 will be airing in January.

This series is set in the early 1900s in England.  It follows the lives of the Crawley family and the servants who work for them.  The first two seasons take the viewer through the sinking of the Titanic and World War I.  This is a fascinating period in history as so much is changing politically and socially throughout the world.

If you haven't watched it yet, be sure to check out the first two seasons of Downton Abbey!

Downton Abbey, Season 1
Downton Abbey, Season 2

Books related to Downton Abbey:

The Chronicles of Downton Abbey: A New Era for Family, Friends, Lovers and Staff by Jessica Fellowes and Matthew Sturgis
The Unofficial Downton Abbey Cookbook by Emily Ansara Baines
The World of Downton Abbey by Jessica Fellowes
Lady Almina and the real Downton Abbey: the Lost Legacy of Highclere Castle by Fiona Carnarvon
Upstairs & Downstairs: the Illustrated Guide to the Real World of Downton Abbey by Sarah Warwick
Below Stairs: The Classic Kitchen Maid's Memoir That Inspired "Upstairs, Downstairs" and "Downton Abbey" by Margaret Powell

Books that take place during the same time period:

Fall of Giants by Ken Follett:  Follows the lives of five families of different backgrounds, American, German, Russian, English, and Welsh, as they move through the First World War, the Russian Revolution, and the struggle for women's suffrage.

The Dressmaker by Kate Alcott is a historical novel about a young seamstress who survives the sinking of the Titanic only to find herself embroiled in the media frenzy left in the wake of the disaster.

The Watch that Ends the Night: Voices From the Titanic by Allan Wolf  recreates the sinking of the Titanic as observed by John Jacob Astor, a young Lebanese refugee, the "Unsinkable" Molly Brown, Captain Smith, and others including the iceberg.

No Graves As Yet: A Novel of World War I by Anne Perry reminds the reader that love and hate, cowardice and courage, good and evil are always a part of life, in our own time as well as on the eve of the greatest war the world has ever known.

Private Peaceful by Michael Morpurgo follows Thomas Peaceful who, like many other English soldiers in World War I, is too young to fight, but he lies about his age. Now at the front in France with his older brother Charlie he stands a nighttime vigil for reasons that are not explained until the book's end.

All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque is narrated by Paul Baumer, a young man who fights in the German army on the French front in World War I.  Paul and several of his friends from school joined the army voluntarily after listening to the speeches of their teacher.  After experiencing weeks of training and the unimaginable brutality of life on the front, Paul and his friends have realized that the reasons for which they enlisted are simply empty clichés. They no longer believe that war is glorious and honorable, and they live in constant fear.

A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway is the story of a tragic romance set against the brutality and confusion of World War I.

To the Last Man: A Novel of the First World War by Jeff Shaara focuses on the experiences of four historical figures.  Although the story is told primarily from an American perspective, the narrative gives attention to the attitudes and aspirations of both ordinary and prominent German military figures as well.  Shaara presents the horror of trench warfare in gory but necessary detail.

All Our Worldly Goods by Irene Nemirovsky is a story of war, family life and star-crossed lovers. Pierre and Agnes marry for love against the wishes of his parents and his grandfather.  Their marriage provokes a family feud that carries down through the generations.

A Good Woman by Danielle Steel follows Annabelle Worthington amid the glamour of New York society.  However, everything changed on a April day in 1912, when the sinking of the Titanic shattered her family and her privileged world forever. After being betrayed, and pursued by a scandal she does not deserve, she leaves New York for war-ravaged France, hoping to lose herself in a life of service.  During World War I, she finds her true calling. When the war ends, Annabelle begins a new life in Paris until a  meeting opens her heart to the world she had left behind and she returns to New York one more time.

Maria Takes A Stand: The Battle for Women's Rights by Norma Jean Lutz is a children's book that takes place in 1914, in Minneapolis, Minnesota.  As the war in Europe increases general hostility towards German Americans, Maria Schmidt finds her calling in the women's suffrage movement.

World War I Nonfiction:

The First World War by Michael Eliot Howard
World War I by Simon Adams
World War I by Stewart Ross
Lusitania: An Epic Tragedy by Diana Preston
The War to End All Wars: World War I by Russell Freedman
Rites of Spring: The Great War and the Birth of the Modern Age by Modris Eksteins

Titanic Nonfiction:

Gilded Lives, Fatal Voyage: The Titanic's First-Class Passengers and Their World by Hugh Brewster
How to Survive the Titanic, Or the Sinking of J. Bruce Ismay by Frances Wilson
Last Dinner on the Titanic: Menus and Recipes from the Legendary Liner by Rick Archbold

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