Uncover the Fascinating History of Highclere Castle with Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey

louise kia,louise kia: Such a great read , if u like downton abby this is a must

United Kingdom on Jul 03, 2023

C. B. Archer: Purchase this as a gift!

United Kingdom on Jun 23, 2023

Lally: This book gives a wonderful insight into the history of Highclere Castle and the people who lived there, both the family and staff.

United Kingdom on May 09, 2023

Geoff Charnley: 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...

United Kingdom on Feb 28, 2022

Lora S.: 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...

United States on Aug 28, 2021

Jill Clardy: It was interesting to get a glimpse into the lives of the Carnarvon dynasty in the late 1800's / early 1900's. It is clear that Julian Fellowes integrated some of the history of the castle and its inhabitants into the hit series "Downton Abbey". Unfortunately, the true personalities of the early inhabitants of Highclere Castle seem to have been somewhat obscured, or perhaps whitewashed. On the other hand, it's probably not possible for the author, the current Countess of Carnarvon, to truly know people who lived over a hundred years ago. She is no doubt relying on journals, logs, business records, etc. to piece together the historical events.

I highlighted a few interesting facts throughout the book (which are also enforced throughout the Downton Abbey scripts):

"Adultery was definitely a lesser evil than divorce. Disgrace came in exposure, not in the act, even for a woman."
"Everyone who lived and worked there ws caught up in the last spectacular flourishing of a secure existence. The rules were understood by everybody: upstairs and downstairs worlds interacted only in very specific and controlled ways."
"A house such as Highclere, not to mention the other...

United States on Apr 07, 2015

William Cross: This book is slick and has many glossy images. But as a comprehensive biography of Almina, the 5th Countess of Carnarvon it's lacking in substance, facts seem to fall from the wind. Among the nice pictures about a dozen images are repeated from a previous Highclere hack entited " Carnarvon and Carter". Sadly, several of the Almina images aren't of Almina at all.

What irks is that it hardly amounts to Almina's half-life - and much of it is only half- told. And as the cut off point in time is 1924, the rest of Almina's life, of almost fifty years is abandoned. Almina's financial skulduggery, her offences against her own children and her carnal affairs (outlined in another recently published biography of the Countess) are, of course, not mentioned. Her relationship with Lord Carnarvon in this portrait lacks any kind of sure grasp of either personality. Both were complicated human beings. The Highclere ghost writer obviously could find nothing to say, and could not expose the truth that the parties were not in love or lovers and that they simply despised each other. Their near thirty-year marriage was the ultimate sham marriage.

There are some good elements to praise,...

United Kingdom on Nov 05, 2011