Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey: The Lost Legacy of Highclere Castle Paperback – December 27, 2011

Lady Almina and the Real Downtown Abbey is a very interesting book. It is easy to read, and the pages fly by like nothing.According to the author, the current Countess of Carnarvon (at least, when the book was written), the book is not properly either history or biography, but the story of Highclere Castle during the period when Lady Almina, wife of the fifth Earl of Carnarvon was in charge. It includes the story of the house, the story of Lady Almina, her husband’s story, and bits of the stories of some of the more notable servants at Highclere Castle during this time.The woman known as Almina Carnarvon was the illegitimate daughter of Alfred de Rothschild, an immensely wealthy banker. We meet her at the point of her wedding to the fifth Earl of Carnarvon. We see Almina giving parties at Highclere Castle during her younger days. Together with the Earl, we explore travel by motorcar during an era when roads fit to drive on barely existed, and the concept of Rules of the Road had yet to be invented.Of course, the Earl eventually got into trouble, being severely injured in an automobile crash. He was fortunate, however, in that Almina took the time and trouble to nurse him back to health, and so discovered she had a talent for nursing.When World War I came along, a need for hospitals for the war wounded became evident. Almina rose to the challenge and turned Highclere Castle into a hospital. She worked tirelessly nursing soldiers back to health and supervising the staff of the hospital. Later on, she bought another house in town and set up a hospital there as well, allowing Highclere Castle to return to something like its original role as a country house.We also share another of the Earl’s passions – one for Egyptian Archaeology. He provided much of the financing for Howard Carter’s successful search for the tomb of Tutankhamun. When the tomb was finally opened, Lord Carnarvon and his daughter Evelyn were there with Carter.The stresses of the war and the last days of the archaeological dig were too much for the Earl. Lady Almina, who had herself been too ill to accompany him on his final trip to Egypt, as well as his son and several other relatives, traveled to Egypt to be with him, but it was too late to save him.The Carnarvons had other adventures during their relatively long lives and left Highclere Castle to their son, with whom it was to undergo more adventures. In more modern times, Highclere Castle has become the model for the television show Downtown Abbey.

I picked up this book because I'm a fan of Downton Abbey, although I knew before I bought the book that it had little to do with the fictional world of those characters. If you are looking for information on the Downton Abbey television show, there is a marvelous book by Jessica Fellowes which will probably better suit your needs. This is the story of Lady Almina Carnarvon who lived at Highclere Castle which is the real world setting for the fictional television program. If you want to know more about the lives of the real people who inhabited that world during that same era, keep reading.Any biography is a story being told, and each story has a unique voice. In this case, the voice is a member of the Carnarvon family. She seems to draw from source documents such as journals, letters, and other historical references to create a picture of Almina Wombwell who became the wife of the Fifth Earl of Carnarvon. (Yes, this was the same Lord Carnarvon who worked with Howard Carter and discovered King Tut's tomb in Egypt.) This book is told primarily as Lady Almina's story after her marriage, although it can't help but touch on the story lines of many of the other principle players.While the book is historical in nature, that doesn't make it dry reading. There is scandal (Almina was most likely the illegitimate daughter of the wealthy Alfred de Rothschild), wildly fabulous wealth (Almina lived a lavish and luxurious lifestyle prior to WWI), Egyptian adventures, and ultimately heartbreak as WWI touched almost every family in Britain. There is also the inspiring story of how Lady Almina used her connections and wealth during the war to create a hospital first at her home and then in London to help wounded British soldiers receive much needed treatment if they were lucky enough to make it back to England.The book also does one more thing which I appreciate as a US reader of this period of history. This book helps set many of the individual events which are taking place into their larger historical context. I think that's important for reading this particular narrative While it is very much the story of one woman, it also a description of a lifestyle which has slipped into the pages of history in less than a hundred years.Since the book is written by a member of the Carnarvon family, I had expected that the portrait which the book painted to be flattering to the family. I felt that the author did a good job of balancing the good and the bad. The book depicts the wealth, privilege and connections of the family, but it also describes many of their individual faults. It's not the ultimate resource to that time period, but I don't feel that it's intended to teach that kind of history. It's one woman's powerful story in an era when women held little power. Fans of Downton Abbey will come away with a new respect for the real life inspirations of the characters and the period which the program depicts.

Respectfully told and enjoyable biography of Almira and the family. I enjoyed learning about the house and people who lived and worked there and their times. Included is a detailed account of The Great War and Almira turning the house into a hospital; the new tax laws that changed the way of life of the great country houses; and the Egyptian expeditions that included the finding of King Tut's tomb. This is a fascinating biography of an interesting woman, her family and times, and is a real page-turner.

After watching all of Downtown Abbey, this book was a wonderful delicacy! It's amazing how people fit into different roles in this life.

Excellent story well told. Nicely written, easy to understand.I really recommend it.I enjoyed it a lot. Great book.

Hyper fan de la série, je me suis plongée dedans avec délectation. Très souvent je me suis retrouvée à Downton en lisant ce livre et je n'ai pas été déçue. Bien écrit, simple mais avec une multitude de détails passionnants où des vies réelles ont été déployées en parallèle de grands événements historiques. Se lit aisément. J'aurais juste aimé en savoir un peu plus sur la vie des employés, comme avec Downton...

Provides an early history of Highclere . Gives some insight of social life before detailing the marriage of Lord Carnarvon to a Rothchild banking heiress Almina, at the height of aristocracy power and social influence, resulting in what must have been the nearest thing to utopia ever.Details Lord Carnarvons passion for Egyptology and the social gatherings held at the time.Takes you through the great war. Introduces you to people and how the war affected them . Gives you a greater insight than a film clip.I wondered how this lifestyle was going to survive. Amazingly the wealth and energies of the Carnarvon ladies were channelled into providing hospitality facilities for the war. Who knows destiny may have brought this combination together for such a time.(Like many people I don't have high expectations from people born in privilege as their position is based on what others have achieved not themselves. It may challenge your stereotypes. )Post war returns to all the social balls and gatherings.They lived life to the full. If you are going to have this type of wealth this is the way to do it, not like some recluse billionaire.People who were given God's ten talents and don't disappoint in the end.( Read the book in two halves due to Covid so may not have given sufficient credit to the early history).Looking forward to the next one in the series.

A must read for Downton Abbey fans with a wealth of interesting information. Her second book: Lady Catherine and the real Downton Abbey is a great read too.

ottimo libro, per gli appassionati di Downton Abbey ma non solo. Molto ricco di dettagli storici e vicende famigliari, intrighi nobiliari, etc. Consiglio vivamente, molto accurato.