I picked up this book at the library and wasn't sure if I'd get around to reading it. I'm glad I did. The house where Downton Abbey is set (Highclere Castle) has a real-live lord and lady living there (when they cameras are gone). The lady, Lady Fiona Carnarvon, the Countess of Carnarvon, wrote this book that gives a peek at the real Lady of the house during the time when Downton Abbey is set.
Her name was Almina Carnarvon, and like Elizabeth McGovern's character, Lady Cora Grantham, she brought an influx of cash to the struggling manor and estate.
This book sets up Almina's life before she married the 5th Earl of Carnarvon and then delves into the hospitals she set up during World War I. If you like history at all, I think you'd enjoy this book. It has just enough personal bits to keep it interesting and plenty of historical facts that I never knew about as well. Did you know the British royalty changed their last name from Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to Windsor during the Great War (1917) because of the German connotations? I didn't!
Book Read: Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey
Author: The Countess of Carnarvon
ISBN: 978-0-7704-3562-2
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