Downton in 3D

The Daily Mail has a fascinating article on creating a 3D floor plan of Downton.  Of course, thanks to the wonders of Google, one can look at Highclere Castle's floor plan (the location used for filming), but this one is so interesting to examine.

Link:  http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2528645/Revealed-Downtons-intimate-secrets-3D.html

Well It's About Time

Finally Season 4 is premiering tonight in America. 

Having spent the weekend curled up inside away from the -60 degree wind chill, I would highly recommend reading Margaret Powell's book Below Stairs.  If you are a fan of Mrs. Patmore or Daisy, this very truthful account of being a kitchen maid will grant you plenty of insight, and a new gratitude towards modern marvels such as electric kitchen beaters and dish washers (of course my dish washer hasn't worked in years, so I go Victorian and do them all by hand).

I would also highly recommend watching Downton Abbey tonight.  Perhaps urge would be a better term. 

The American Brother

Paul Giamatti on-set with the crew of Downton Abbey.

Paul Giamatti will appear in one episode of Season 4 of Downton Abbey as Cora's American brother.  It would appear either the casting directors or Julian Fellowes enjoy this Conneticut native's style as he was also filming Romeo and Juliet Fellowes' style earlier this year.  Giamatti has a rather lengthy acting career behind him, totally 83 credits alone on IMDB.  I personally am excited to see him in Saving Mr. Banks, which will be coming to America before Downton Abbey.  Saving Mr. Banks is a behind-the-scenes look at making the beloved Mary Poppins books into the Disney film.  To be perfectly frank, I am just excited to see Pamela Travers (performed by Emma Thompson) become peevish over made up lyrics and tossing papers out the window.

For a full look at the new cast of Season 4, check out Masterpiece's website.

Innovation verses Tradition

Although we have much in common, one must admit that there is a different strain of culture that makes America and England unique countries.  The example for the day is the end of the Upstairs/Downstairs Era.  Technology advances such as vacuums (which became popular when they added a motor in the early 20th century; Hoover created his in 1908) began replacing maid’s jobs in America.  It became quite fashionable to have less staff and more house cleaning devices.  However, while the same technology was available in England, they preferred to keep the maid’s job.  It looked better for the family to maintain a large household staff rather than invest in new gadgets.  Innovation verses tradition; rather a theme of Downton Abbey.

Will Mrs. Patmore Find Love?

Lesley Nicol as Mrs. Patmore

Mrs. Patmore is just as plucky in real life as she is on screen; apparently, she has put in a word with Julian Fellowes that she would like to see Mrs. Patmore find love.  After all, so many have found love both upstairs and downstairs in the show, I suppose it could be her turn.  But what sort of person will they have to send in to get Mrs. Patmore's heart to skip a beat? This just means season three will have to come out soon.

To read the full article, please follow this link:
http://www.news1130.com/entertainment/article/332349--downton-romance-for-mrs-patmore-actress-hopes-it-s-in-cards-for-character

On a side note, I would love it, if, in a "it could only happen because it is a movie" sort of way, Mrs. Patmore and Emma Allen from White Christmas sat down one day for a cup of tea and some  busy body gossip.  Emma Allen says in the movie "it took 15,000 men to take my place."  Sound like anyone we know from Downton Abbey?

Alastair Bruce, Historical Advisor

While there were many particularly thrilling moments of the Christmas Episode of Downton Abbey, I was pleased as punch to see Alastair Bruce show up on camera.  Unless I am mistaken, he can be spotted enjoying lunch across the table from Penelope Wilton and Hugh Bonneville after the hunt.  Alastair Bruce is the historical advisor for Downton Abbey.

A historical advisor is a loose term for the person on set who makes sure all of the vast many details (and it is a vast many- looking out for conduct, clothing, props, titles, and speech to name a few) are all in proper order. If something is out of place, for example a loaf of bread is caught on camera while it is still in its plastic wrapping from the store or a character uses the word 'boyfriend' before it came into popular conversation (both are example of minor errors in past period drama films), then everyone swoops down on the mistake and criticizes it. The goal of a historical advisor is to make sure nothing is out of line take after take, one of the many jobs that go unnoticed by the audience if done perfectly because we are completely drawn into the era of the film.

Alastair Bruce discussing details with Michelle Dockery in between takes.

Alastair Bruce is a man who wears many hats, both literally and figuratively.  He is a professor as well as an English National Events Commentator, filling in the public about the details behind grand events such as the Royal Wedding and the funerals of the Queen Mother and Princess Di.  He has been a soldier, a lecturer and a published author.  The Queen has appointed Alastair as a herald (appointed to the Fitzalan Pursuivant of Arms Extraordinary).  I have also heard rumors that he designs coats of arms (yes, they still exist) and that he recently designed one for the Middletons.

In his spare time, he seems to have recently taken up the role of being a historical advisor.  He has over seen The King's Speech (technically his title for this movie was Military and Ceremonial Advisor) and another recent work of Julian Fellowes' The Young Victoria as well as every episode of Downton Abbey.

Predicting Season Three

Masterpiece Online released a short video on what Hugh Bonneville, Elizabeth McGovern, Joanne Froggatt and Dan Stevens want to see in Season 3 of Downton Abbey.  Bonneville plainly talks about the enigma of the character's future, stating "that is the great thing about Julian's [Fellowes] scripts; each time you open them you have no idea what is going to be coming up next".  I am cheering for Joanne Froggatt's wish for some dancing, and possibly some new haircuts for the cast.

To watch the full interview, please select the link below. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/watch/downtonabbey2_cast_twenties.html

Mary Curzon, Baroness Curzon of Kedleston

Meet Mary Victoria Curzon, the American lady who rose in British social ranks.  She is the inspiration for the character of Cora in Downton Abbey.

Mary had a father who worked for Marshall Fields in Chicago and a mother who saw opportunity in her striking, six-foot tall daughter.  In 1894, she was introduced by way of the American Ambassador to British society, and was ignored until the Prince of Wales asked her to dance.  Suddenly everyone became interested in Mary, but she settled on George Curzon, a man without a penny but with a title.  She brought the money and he brought the title to the marriage, and together they moved to Bombay after accepting the position of Viceroy of India. She always insisted on looking the part, wearing extravagant dresses that to this day are commemorated in museums.

This is the very shortened story of a young lady from Chicago became one of the highest ranking Americans in British history to date.

Downton Abbey at Play

created by Kyle Hilton

Paper dolls.  If you no longer love the sight of them, then I am sorry to inform you that you have grown up too quickly.  I suggest you sign up immediately for the next Neverland retreat.

Should you wish to have your very own Mary and Matthew Crawley, Lady Sybil, O'Brien and Thomas or the Dowager Countess (complete with different expressions) paper dolls to have to play with, follow the link below.  Kyle Hilton added his own flair, and if you are feeling daring, attach magnets to the back of your paper dolls and hang them up on the refrigerator so that you can change their outfits and expressions rather than fix dinner.  I may have to make room on my own refrigerator for them- my Wills & Kate paper dolls may have to take a small vacation.

http://www.vulture.com/2012/02/print-out-vultures-downton-abbey-paper-dolls.html

Gretna Green

Lady Sybil Crawley (performed by Jessica Brown Findlay)
and Tom Branson (performed by Alan Leech)
using logic on the family before eloping

"They've gone to Gretna Green..."


Those who have watched enough period drama, or if you've done the hard work and actually have researched Scotland, know that the words Gretna Green can cause gasps from audience members.  "Oh no, she didn't!  Not Gretna Green!" one thinks, or perhaps that is just me.  Gretna Green, none the less, has developed quite a reputation in the world of English elopements.  Think of it as the Vegas of the U.K., in a much classier sense of the whole idea.  What happens in Gretna Green, stays in Gretna Green.

Gretna Green is the "runaway hub" of Scotland.  It is right on the border of England and Scotland, the first town outside the jurisdiction of England.  1753's Lord Hardwicke's Marriage Act started all of the scandal; if a couple couldn't wait until the age of 21 (legal age to marry without family consent) and they could not get the parents' permission, then one hoped on a carriage and ran away to Gretna Green.  For anyone who is thinking, "you couldn't wait until 21 to marry?", just remember Romeo and Juliet.  Both in their mid-teens and yet one of the greatest love stories in our culture to this day. 

Scotland didn't abide by England's rules and in fact, in Scotland way back when, as long as there were two witnesses, anyone could conduct a marriage.  Many of the blacksmiths moonlighted as marriage officials, getting the nickname of "anvil priests". 

In 1856, Scotland changed its laws and required all runaway couples to take up residence for three weeks (I suppose it helped bolster the economy).  Lydia, in Pride and Prejudice, is thought to have eloped with Wickham to Gretna Green, but she was living before this restriction was passed.  Lady Sybil Crawley, however, is subject to these laws.  This is why it is mentioned in season two of Downton Abbey that she will live with Branson's mother until they can have the wedding. 

Gretna Green today hosts approximately 5,000 weddings each year, only 1/6 of them being Scottish.  Apparently it is still in vogue to run away to Gretna Green.

With the Chauffeur?

I looked it up.  As scandalous as the potential union of Lady Sybil with the chauffeur, Mr. Branson, would be, it was possible.  Once in a while, high-born ladies married their gentlemen servants, after all, one would know them better than an upper class man who one met at tea, was proposed to at dinner and married the next season.  However, it goes without saying that if one did marry down in rank, it provided great amounts of gossip.  If a lady married outside of her class, then she joined him, not the other way around.  Lady Henrietta Wentworth had plans to marry her footman, John William Sturgeon in 1764.  She planned to become simply Mrs. Sturgeon, give up her fancy clothes and move with him to Ireland to be with his family.  Sound familiar, non? 

The reality though was as Lady Mary expresses to Lady Sybil, "Oh darling, darling, don't be such a baby.  This isn't fairyland.  What did you think? You'd marry the chauffeur and we'd all come to tea?". Sybil would have to be prepared to give up everything: all money, family, status, everything she has and knows to marry a man.  Can you blame her for stalling in her decision?

Thanks to E. S. Turner for publishing What the Butler Saw: Two Hundred and Fifty Years of the Servant Problem by Penguin Books, 1962, and for helping me expand my knowledge of this area.

Dismissed without Reference

Amy Nuttall as Ethel, a maid with her precious baby

What to say about Ethel? Feisty and red-haired, as much as her ambitions caused her to stick out like a sore thumb amongst the other servants, one couldn't help but root for as she dreamed of a future.  And then she went and had a baby.  And in Victorian times, there went all of your dreams, hopes, respectability, and basically your life.

Handbooks used to be distributed to maids, warning them to be wary of masters and young masters, often forgetting to mention that a maid might catch a fellow servant's or handyman's eye.  If anything, "improper" shall we call it, occurred, the maid was immediately dismissed without reference.  This is a very nice way of saying fired without any chance of someone hiring you again. 

It wasn't all bad back then.  After all, if a maid remained virtuous and saved all of her earnings (seeing as that food and lodging were all ready provided for as well as the two spiffy uniforms- one for morning and a formal one for evening), she might marry a fellow servant who wants to retire by opening up a public house, or a shop in the case of Albert Nobbs, or a hotel in the case of Anna Smith and John Bates in Downton Abbey.  Then you could live happily, ever after.

Thanks to E. S. Turner for publishing What the Butler Saw: Two Hundred and Fifty Years of the Servant Problem by Penguin Books, 1962, for helping me expand my knowledge of this area.

Greek Myths

The family trees of the British aristocracy are almost as muddled and difficult to memorize as the ancient Greek lineages.  Therefore, it seems rather natural that the characters of Downton Abbey, who would have been educated in the classic stories of Greek heros, would reference these characters.  Here is the Sparknotes version of two such Greek characters chucked around at the dinner table.

Season One:

Mary: I've been studying the story of Andromeda; do you know it?

Matthew: Why?

Mary: Her father was King Cepheus, whose country was being ravaged by storms. And, in the end, he decided the only way to appease the gods was to sacrifice his eldest daughter to a hideous sea monster. So they chained her, naked, to a rock--

Dowager Countess: Really! Mary! We'll all need our smelling salts in a minute!

Matthew: But the sea monster didn't get her, did he?

Mary: No. Just when it seemed he was the only solution to her father's problems, she was rescued.

Matthew: By Perseus.

Mary: That's right. Perseus. Son of a god. Rather more fitting, wouldn't you say?

Matthew: That depends. I'd have to know more about the princess and the sea monster in question.

Perseus is the son of Danae and Zeus; having a god's DNA in one means that you are destined to a life of adventure and will rarely get to sit at home to watch your kids grow up, catch the Superbowl game, etc.  Perseus' life included being tossed into the ocean with his mum as a baby (his grandfather was a bit superstitious), visiting the Graeae (3 old women with one eye to share), and slaying Medusa (yes, the one with snakes for hair and a killer stare).  Makes me wonder what I've been doing with my life in comparison to Perseus' checklist.

Anyways, the story referenced in Downton Abbey is that of Perseus and Andromeda.  Andromeda had a boastful mother, never a good thing in ancient times.  She got Poseidon just a bit upset, resulting in Cepheus and Cassiopeia having to tie their daughter to a rock.  When one gets the Greek gods mad, someone has to die.  So Poseidon sent in a sea monster to do the evil deed.  Luckily, Perseus happened to be in town.  Now, whether he saved her with the help of winged shoes or by riding Pegasus is up for debate.  None the less, Andromeda was saved by Perseus, and they get married despite Andromeda being engaged to another man.  End of story.

Fun Fact of the Day: Clash of the Titans (2010), loosely based on the story of Perseus, has Elizabeth McGovern (Cora in Downton Abbey) in it as Marmara.  Watch for her closely cause once she is gone, she is gone.

Season Two:

Cora: Before you scold me, it's no good pretending Mary is not a good deal too attached to Matthew.

Lord Grantham: So you summon Lavinia?  To be sacrificed like some later-day Iphigenia, doomed to push his chair through all eternity?

Iphigenia is the daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra in ancient Greece. Her name translates as "born to strength".  On his way to fight the Trojan War, Iphigenia's daddy got Artemis (a goddess) rather mad because he shot a deer in a sacred grove, and on top of all that, decided to boast how he was a better hunter than Artemis.  Once again, bad decision on the parent's part.  Agamemnon's ship gets stuck in the doldrums, and the only way to end it is for somebody to die (namely, his daughter).  So he writes home, telling his wife that he has found a husband for Iphigenia and to please send her ASAP.  Iphigenia shows up, and the earliest accounts say that was the last day she lived.  Later accounts try to make it happier, for instance she was replaced by a goat during the sacrifice or she gets to marry Achilles after she is dead.  Whether she died willingly or not is up for debate in more modern interpretations of the story.  None the less, she portrays the dutiful woman, rather like Lavinia.

Good Neighbors

Lord and Lady Carnarvon in their library

Fact for the day: Lord and Lady Carnarvon, the owners of Highclere Castle, are neighbors with Broadway and West End superstar Andrew Lloyd Webber.  In fact, before Downton Abbey showed up to film, Lord and Lady Carnarvon considered selling some of the estate's land to help pay the bills and Webber offered to take the whole place off their hands.  He thought it would be a lovely place to  hang his pre-Raphaelite art collection.  Needless to say, Lord and Lady Carnarvon were not amused.  Webber is part of the self-made rich, being able to afford his estate by writing musicals such as Evita, Phantom of the Opera, Cats, Love Never Dies, Jesus Christ Superstar, etc. Very different from his neighbors.  Anyways, the real question is whether Downton Abbey will become a musical.  "Don't Cry for me Downton Abbey"...  On second thought, I truly hope not.

An Abbey

Highclere Castle, alias: Downton Abbey

A person who is very close to me started watching Downton Abbey in the middle of season two.  One of the most pressing questions they had was, "Why is it called an abbey?  Why is it Downton Abbey or why did Jane Austen call the book/estate in the book Northanger Abbey?"

Good Question.

First off, the grand building used for the series is titled Highclere Castle, therefore the name of Abbey has nothing to do with the history of the real building.  And Julian Fellowes has yet to give us any vast history of the building itself in the series.  However, the most logical explanation is because frankly, at one time there was probably an abbey on the estate.  Many great estates are on previously ecclesiastical sites; land was often given to people who were faithful to the king, particularly in acts of war.  Needless to say, not many monks were getting estates as a gift for valor in battle.  Often these estates have a "monks' garden" to commemorate its past.

The Tuxedo

Hugh Bonneville as Lord Grantham in Season Two.

Be it a gentleman or a penguin, the tuxedo is the ultimate in dressing for an occasion in today's society.  Ironic then, that it was considered second to a tail coat when the fashion was introduced in Victorian times.  It wasn't until after WWI that it became a fashionable option to be spotted in, and did not become the go-to accessory for formal events as it is today until the 1940s.  Pre-WWII, the tuxedo was considered semi-formal, but apparently when all of the men came home from that war it became the formal wear it is today instead of standard evening wear.

Fascinating that Lord Grantham believes that he will only be able to wear his tuxedo around the house for family dinners (rather the equivalent of today's sweat pant fashion, non?).  I would say it was a smart investment.

Bowled Over

Lavinia Swire, played by Zoe Boyle

"When I was last here, I was so bowled over that I let you send me away" Lavinia Swire, Season two

Bowled over is a very informal way of saying, "I was shocked speechless by the huge misfortunes that just got chucked at me".  If you are planning on adding the term bowled over to your language repertoire, consider the classics: flabbergasted, stupified or gobsmacked (a relatively new term being recorded in print only 20-some odd years ago).

Chuck and Downton Abbey

John Casey gets talked into movie night in Chuck

I'll admit it, I am very behind on watching American tv shows.  I keep up through conversations with my room mates; I glean just enough to always be a part of the conversation and then go off to watch my own British television shows.

One of my room mates was getting caught up on the tv show Chuck the other day when she stumbled upon the scenes where John Casey gets talked into watching Downton Abbey as a movie night.  Best lines from this episode:

John Casey: Downton Abbey.  An Upstairs/Downstairs costume drama in early 1900s England.  Yeah, something tells me not going to be a lot of explosions in that one.
Alex (his daughter): Are you kidding?  What about the bombs they drop on Edwardian convention?

[later when watching the Downton Abbey]

John Casey: Oh no.
Alex: What?
John Casey: The house maid is laying out coffee spoons with the dinner service. Yeah, it's going to be hell to pay at Downton Abbey tonight.

Thanks to the writers of Chuck for taking a moment to pause from saving the world and reference Downton Abbey instead.  Oh goodness...

Why? What is a Weekend?

Dame Maggie Smith in Season One of Downton Abbey

I'll admit it, I couldn't keep a stiff upper lip when Dame Maggie Smith asked the question: What is a weekend?  Was it her superb acting, or just the absolutely ridiculous sense of the question from the modern viewer's standpoint?  After all, here in America, we can't wait for Friday, and the instant it turns to Monday, we start counting down the days till the weekend.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary (which from here on out I shall refer to as the OED simply because it is quite overwhelming to read such an striking title repeatedly), the word weekend, which literally meant end of week, has been documented to be around since 1638.  However, OED documents that it got its start in print around the 1910s, the era of Downton Abbey and often referred to a holiday (American term: vacation) at the end of the work week.  The term did not make it into dictionaries until 1926 though it was being tossed about before that date.

In 1972, the OED states that apparently Monty Python turned the term into a euphemism. I won't tell you any more here. If you must know, go do some research.  With that knowledge in mind, I am sure the British couldn't keep a straight face when the Dowager Countess asked her simple question.

week-end, n.
Third edition, October 2011; online version December 2011. <http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/226788>; accessed 05 February 2012. An entry for this word was first included in New English Dictionary, 1926.

Downton verses the Super Bowl

          Last year's Super Bowl was watched by an estimated 111 million people in America.  I will admit, I stuck around for the ads and watched through the half-time show.  This year, there is a choice to be made- watch the Super Bowl or watch Downton Abbey.  Episode five of season two will be aired on PBS' Masterpiece hour this week despite the draw that the sports channels will have.  And to be honest, with the plot lines of this season brewing like a tempest in a tea pot, I am hoping that Madonna will finish her half-time show before the show starts or I shall have to watch it on YouTube.  I highly doubt anyone will notice if one less person watches football on Sunday night.

Links to the episode previews on Masterpiece Online to aid you in your decision:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/watch/downtonabbey2_ep5_scene.html

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/watch/downtonabbey2_ep5_preview.html

Note: Do not let this decision lead to a rift in any of the relationships in your life.  There are plenty of televisions in America. Just find the ones that are nearby the tea and not the football goodies.