"Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey: The Lost Legacy of Highclere Castle" by The Countess of Carnarvon (Broadway Paperbacks 2011)

After a very long hiatus, I am back with a new book review!

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I am a big fan of the TV show "Downton Abbey," a British period drama currently set in the 1920s and televised on PBS's "Masterpiece Theatre."  The fourth season (or series, as they say in Britain) has just concluded and I am already looking forward to the next.  Unfortunately, British television series  are very short so we won't get any new episodes until January 2015.

The show is set at the fictitious Downton Abbey, which is filmed in part in the real-life Highclere Castle.  Highclere Castle is currently occupied by the 8th Earl and Countess of Carnarvon.  The book that I am reviewing here is about Lady Almina, the 5th Countess of Carnarvon.  She occupied Highclere Castle during World War I.  Her husband, the 5th Earl of Carnarvon is famous, along with Howard Carter, for discovering King Tut's tomb in Egypt.  But Lady Almina's life was interesting in her own right.

Much like Lady Cora on "Downton Abbey,"  Lady Almina was a wealthy heiress who brought a large fortune to Highclere.  She proved to be adept at managing affairs at Highclere and hosting lavish parties.  However, she is best known for establishing a hospital at Highclere during WWI, which may have been the inspiration for Downton Abbey doing the same.  Lady Almina was an excellent hospital administrator and closely oversaw the workings of the hospital.  She was highly involved with patient care and spared no expense to make sure the hospital was successful.  The majority of the book focuses on this time period.

I admit I was skeptical when I picked up this book, which was part of a "Downton Abbey" display at Barnes & Noble.  I wondered if it might end up being a poorly written book meant to take advantage of the success of the TV show.   However, being a fan of the show and wanting to know more about its real-life setting, I figured it was worth a shot.  I'm glad I took that chance as I thoroughly enjoyed the book.  I don't know how much the current Countess of Carnarvon was actually involved in writing the book or if it is ghost-written.  Regardless, it's worth a read for anyone interested in "Downton Abbey" or WWI Britain.  In fact, there's a companion book that I have since purchased that covers the life of Lady Almina's daughter-in-law, the 6th Countess of Carnarvon.  I hope I enjoy that book as much as I did this one.