The world of Downton Abbey is, of course, not the real world. And yet — and yet — we all love Downton. Want more Downton Abbey? Check out my conversation with Classically Abby about the Downton Abbey movie! View all posts by Faith Moore. Like Like. But from what I hear, it might be good. Close to old Disney, if I may say. Though I may end up soon as my mom and sisters are getting more into this era of movies. You are commenting using your WordPress. You are commenting using your Google account.
Yet, via Downton , we did exactly that. Lord and Lady Grantham, their family, and their social equals were sometimes clueless or foolish or drowning in so much white privilege that they turned moments of drama into comedy. But the show invited us to empathize with them to the same degree we were asked to empathize with the working-class characters who toiled away downstairs. Who does? And while there was never any question that there was a difference in stature between, say, Mrs.
Hughes and Lady Edith, the relationships across classes slowly morphed into emotional bonds between equals. This was an unapologetically soapy soap opera, filled with behind-closed-door romantic entanglements, rampant blackmail, murder mysteries, betrayals, brides jilted at altars, and tragic, shocking deaths.
If its plotlines sometimes descended to basement level, the overall experience of the show remained pure black tie and tails; even when its pleasures were basic, they were not guilty. Matthew returns to Downton on leave to visit everyone — and to introduce them to his new fiancee, Lavinia Swire.
But though Mary's romantic dreams are dashed, Anna's are poised to come true, after Bates proposes to her. However, the elation is short-lived because his ex, Vera, shows up. Meanwhile, Sir Richard Carlisle, a rich newspaperman, has his eye on Mary, but she doesn't return his fawning.
But when she learns that Bates's ex is planning on leaking a story of a great Downton scandal, Mary offers Richard her hand in exchange for his help in silencing Vera. Matthew, meanwhile, returns to war with William, and the two are badly wounded in battle: William dies, and Matthew is crippled from the waist down, rendering him unable to produce any children for Lavinia.
He calls off the engagement. But this being Downton Abbey , Matthew ends up getting back his mobility and falling in love with Mary, just as Lavinia dies of the Spanish flu. Sybil decides she's in love with Tom, the chauffeur, and Bates's wife curiously dies in an alleged suicide. Mary breaks up with Richard. Matthew proposes to her. It snows. They kiss. It's perfect. The war is over, but Downton's troubles are just beginning.
Robert discovers a major investment has failed, and his family is now close to bankruptcy. Mary and Matthew's wedding will be the last hurrah at Downton.
But happily, Matthew has been left a fortune from Lavinia's father, and uses it to save Downton from financial ruin. He then becomes a co-master of the estate. Sybil and Tom Branson come back from Ireland, even more politically vocal than they were before they left. Branson helps run the house, and Sybil becomes pregnant, eventually dying in childbirth.
Edith finally thinks she's found marital love, only to become stranded at the altar. This season isn't a total bust for her, as she becomes a newspaper columnist and writes about women's rights.
The servants, too, continue to find themselves in dramatic situations: Bates goes to jail and is released; Thomas and Daisy crush on the same new servant; O'Brien is bitchy to everyone. The season ends with Mary giving birth to Matthew's child. They're one big happy family. Until Matthew dies suddenly in a car accident. Merry Christmas. Season four begins six months after Matthew's tragic crash. Mary, of course, is mourning her late husband, and to raise their child, George, as best she can.
After realizing she's "spent too long in the land of the dead," she decides to pick herself up, and is ready to move on. As Matthew's widow, Robert informs her she owns half of Downton, and so she begins to involve herself in the financial goings-on of the estate.
She has two new suitors — Lord Gillingham and Charles Blake. Edith becomes smitten with a married man, Gregson, and ends up having his child, but not before he flees the country, which results in Edith giving up her child, Marigold, to be raised by farmers. Downstairs, servants are affected by Matthew's death, as well. His valet, Molesley, takes a demotion to footman.
Anna is raped, and Bates vows to avenge her. Curiously, Anna's rapist winds up dead, but the jury's still out on whether or not Bates killed him. Other servants crush on each other. Many of the set decorations have been bought or hired and are used repeatedly to provide continuity.
Others are created in-house by the art department: these include period product labels, menus, newspapers, and everything that the Crawley family and its servants eat. News items are inserted to suit the needs of the plot, including news stories or announcements. Period menus are used from such restaurants as the Criterion in London or from the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford. The tins of boot polish in the boot room have in-house labels based on original ones that have been scanned and duplicated.
The letters which the actors read are written on authentic-style paper and in a distinctive script to suit each character. Special envelopes were produced for the series because those used in the s were much smaller than envelopes today. Alastair Bruce ensures that the addresses are correctly laid out. Each envelope has a one-penny stamp and is franked.
Authentic clothing is particularly important for a series such as Downton Abbey. Under the supervision of the Emmy-Award-winning costume designer Caroline McCall, authentic costumes are either bought up or made from scratch. Where dresses are tailor-made, they usually include authentic items in the form of pieces of fabric and decorations from the period.
As in real life, clothes are chosen to match the personality and preferences of the characters. At the end of World War One, color came into fashion. This is reflected in the dresses that Lady Edith Crawley wears in London her clothing is more somber at the Abbey, where the taste is more subdued and conventional. Mourning clothes must also be produced for the Crawley family and its guests. The series shows that the relentless mourning of the Victorians, who always dressed in black, was going out of fashion as people began to move into half-mourning where grey and deep red were worn and then into normal clothes.
In the early 20th century it was not considered respectable for women to wear make-up. The color created is a pale pink that gives the appearance of a natural blush. Servants at the time would have been completely bare-faced. For this reason, Vaughan uses very light air brushing without any coloring for the Downton servants. In season four, for example, Downton Abbey is still in the era of long hair for women.
The hairstyles of the various actors are described by Emma Rowley The Marcel wave, which gives natural-looking curly hair, was introduced at the end of the War Edith wears the Marcel wave. See Rowley for a picture. While in reality women would have used curling tongs that they put in the oven with the obvious risk of burning , the Downton Abbey crew use electric tongs, which produce the same effect if applied correctly.
Wigs are also used to save time. Formal hairstyles are created for important occasions such as dances and dinners. The bandeau is used as well as tiaras, which are set not just in the hair but, more fashionably, lower on the forehead. Tiaras are often worn by visitors to Downton Abbey dinners and dances.
Even the posture of the actors must correspond to the period; for this reason, Alastair Bruce makes characters practice carrying things on their head to force their shoulders back. Table manners at Downton Abbey are also authentic: no hands are permitted on the table; a woman only removes her gloves when seated at the table; no item is selected from a plate and replaced in favor of another; cutlery is handled gently and placed on the plate when not in use Warwick The rules were equally strict for the serving staff.
Downton Abbey shows that it was the butler and footmen who served at table. Like their counterparts in real life, they wear thin-soled shoes to avoid sound, wear gloves at all times, pick up bowls with two hands to prevent spilling, and fill and remove plates from the left but serve wine and water from the right Warwick Formalities are similarly strictly observed below stairs. The servants sit at table in order of rank, the most senior sitting closest to Mr Carson and Mrs Hughes.
Relations between the servants themselves and between the servants and the Crawley family at Downton Abbey have changed little since Victorian times. Typically, the Dowager Countess, as a representative of the older generation, is suspicious of all innovations, and particularly of the telephone and electricity. Not all welcomed telephones with open arms, however. Listen to that.
A banshee is a female spirit in Irish and Scottish mythology; usually regarded as an omen of death, its defining characteristic is its piercing wail. Downton Abbey thus represents a typical modern country home of its time. The other great modern invention to reach Downton Abbey is the motor car. Lady Edith Crawley is quick to recognize its uses and advantages, and even the Dowager Countess learns to appreciate the comfort and convenience of the car.
Unlike many large houses in the real world, which could employ up to five chauffeurs, Downton has only one, Tom Branson. The Downton Abbey cars are vintage originals. Cars mark progress, so much so that for the episodes after World War One it was necessary for the producers of the series to choose a new model, a maroon and black Sunbeam.
The changes brought about by technical innovations are compounded by the events and consequences of World War One. And we must be in it together! High and low, rich and poor! He is in the thick of the fighting with those who have previously served him at Downton Abbey. Bullets wound rich and poor alike, with equal ferocity and with the same disastrous consequences.
World War One brings about important changes in attitude at Downton Abbey, especially among the members of the Crawley family: all three of the Crawley daughters are involved in war work. The Abbey itself is turned into a hospital which, while it is for officers and not soldiers, is forced to open its doors to doctors and nurses of all social classes.
Highclere Castle was itself converted into a hospital during World War One. Both at Downton Abbey and in the village, the women worry about their loved ones at the front.
They are deliberately kept ignorant of the conditions under which their men live and fight. In real life, letters and postcards arrived only intermittently, and they were deliberately uninformative soldiers could only cross out certain options on official postcards and could not include any extra information Booth Sentences not required may be erased. If anything else is added the postcard will be destroyed. In Downton Abbey , as in the real world, the War also, however, presents new opportunities.
For the poor of early 20th century Britain, it provided new alternatives to a life of servitude. Many of those who survived the War did not return to service as the hours were too long, there was too little freedom, and the pay was poor. This ushered in a new era of progress for those who recognized and accepted the world that had emerged after As the Downton Abbey series progresses, we see that change is not only possible but even has positive consequences, even if it is resisted both above and below stairs.
It remains to be seen whether season five will demonstrate that the occupants of the Abbey are both willing and able to embrace further changes as Britain approaches a second world war.
The seven features of Downton Abbey detailed in this article have ensured the popularity of what has become the most highly acclaimed television series of all time — a series that, according to Julian Fellowes, has carved out a niche in the collective memory:. As established at the beginning of this article, Downton Abbey is both a literary and media success. It is an important part of English heritage and English collective memory. Downton Abbey is personalized history, characterized by intimacy and immediacy.
The books cited here greatly add to the enjoyment, understanding and appreciation of the television series. Julian Fellowes continues to edit the official scripts, and it seems likely that new books on the series will be published as Downton Abbey has begun its fifth season. Downton Abbey has become not just a British but an international phenomenon of considerable dimensions — and, fortunately for us, it shows no signs of coming to an end.
Anderson, Steve. Technologies of History , n. Booth, Allyson. Postcards from the Trenches. Delingpole, James. Mail Online. Daily Mail, 9 April Doane, Mary Ann.
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