Book description
This richly illustrated short, extracted from the official book The
Chronicles of Downton Abbey, focuses on the characters individually,
examining their motivations, their actions and the inspirations behind
them. Forwarded by Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes.
When Cora's mother, Martha Levinson, comes to stay, it's clear that she
is more than a match for Violet. Equally confident in their age, status
and belief that their way is the right way, the two could easily quarrel.
Intransigent, intractable Violet is the definitive dowager. Largely
based on Julian Fellowes's own great-aunt, Isie Stephenson, 'in whom
there was a mix of severity and a kind heart', Violet represents the
last of an era; one of the few remaining Victorians who believed
absolutely in the necessity of moral exactitude, the importance of
family and the oblige of the noblesse.
Martha may have once been awed by the English upper classes (this, after
all, was why she brought her daughter over to be presented at the London
Season), but she welcomes the post-war changes that are being brought to
England, even if they seem slower in coming to Downton Abbey.
Shirley MacLaine, the actress who plays Martha, believes that her
character's attitude comes not so much from her money as her politics:
'Her confidence comes from being a democratic American - she is so
centred in her fairness and considers America to be fair, and tradition
is not fair.'
Purchase this ebook short and the others in the series to get closer
still to the characters at Downton Abbey and to understand more about
their social context - from the changing role of the aristocracy to
fashion and beauty, American Anglophiles, the Suffragette movement and
life below stairs in a big country house like Downton.
Search for The Chronicles of Downton Abbey to purchase all shorts
combined. Jessica Fellowes is the No. 1 bestselling author of The
World of Downton Abbey. Formerly the Deputy Editor of Country Life, she
has also been a columnist for the London Paper - her columns formed the
basis of her book Mud & the City: Dos and Don'ts for Townies in the
Country. Jessica also writes for the Daily Telegraph, Telegraph Weekend,
The Lady and Sunday Times Style, and lives with her family in London.
Matthew Sturgis is a freelance writer and critic who has written art
criticism for Harpers & Queen, travel pieces for the Sunday
Telegraph and football reports for the Independent on Sunday. He is the
author of Passionate Attitudes: the English Decadence of the 1890s and
the highly-praised Aubrey Beardsley. He lives in London.
