Downton Abbey Culture in 90 Minutes!

Woodside Library is hosting Professor DiAnn Ellis (Emerita – San Francisco State University) on Saturday, January 12 at 1 PM for a special Downton Abbey event. In 90 minutes with wonderful illustrations and photographs, Professor Ellis will clue us in on the historical and social background to the well-loved PBS series of Downton Abbey. She’ll make time for questions, and even have tea and cookies at the close of the program.

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know...

To whet your appetite, Professor Ellis has compiled an extensive listing of both the books and DVDs she used for verification of details. Most titles are available in our San Mateo County Library system, and a few through the LINK + catalog for those with County library cards.

Here is the list of books…stay tuned for the DVDs!

From Professor DiAnn Ellis, “Selected Books for 'Historical, Cultural and Social Links to Downton Abbey'"

Note from Profesor Ellis: Numerous internet sources and the following materials have contributed to my knowledge of history between 1850 and 1920, and which I have used in this Powerpoint presentation. © DiAnn Ellis 2012

How to Entertain Your Guests (Originally published in 1911), Copperbeach Publishing Ltd., Sussex, England. 1993

Inside the Victorian Home: A Portrait of Domestic Life in Victorian England, Judith Flanders

Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey: The Lost Legacy of Highclere Castle, Fiona Carnarvon

Newport Mansions: The Guilded Age, Richard Cheek (available through LINK+)
See also: www.NewportMansions.org

The Age of Innocence, Edith Wharton

The American Heiress, Daisy Goodwin

The Buccaneers, Edith Wharton

The Chronicles of Downton Abbey: A New Era, Jessica Fellowes & Matthew Sturgis (available through LINK+)

The Decline and Fall of the British Aristocracy, David Cannadine

The Duties of Servants  (Originally published in 1894), Copper Beach Publishing Ltd., Sussex England. 1993

The Essential Handbook of Victorian Entertaining, Bluewood Books. San Mateo, CA. 2005

The Essential Handbook of Victorian Etiquette, Bluewood Books, San Mateo, CA. 1994

The World of Downton Abbey, Jessica Fellowes

To Marry an English Lord, Gail MacColl and Carol McD. Wallace (Available through LINK+)

What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew: From Fox Hunting to Whist: The Facts of Daily Life in Nineteenth-century England

And Don’t Miss…

The Heiress, playing on Broadway, starring Dan Stevens.

Author Bio:

Karen Y. is a Downton Abbey fan, but her friend DiAnn Ellis is way more involved. However, Karen Y. will be wearing lace and gloves and a hat on January 12 in the spirit of Downton Abbey.