Downton Abbey, A Taste Of Historical Drama
Hello Hivers! Do we have period drama lovers in the house like me? I am an avid period drama fan and have watched a lot of this series.
Period dramas are movies or television series set in a particular historical period and characterized by the use of costumes, sets, and props that are typical or evocative of the era.
I love this kind of films because I get to live (in my imagination of course) in the era, watch how their lifestyle was and some of the challenges they faced at that time vis-a-vis our present time. I have no idea why I like them, maybe because of my love for literature classics.
Downton Abbey is a British period drama television series created and written by Julian Fellows and directed by Michael Engler. Julian Fellows is a brilliant screenwriter and I try not to miss any of his movies or series.
This particular series ran for close to seven years with extra Christmas episodes. I love this series so much that I have binge-watched it four times. I make it a yearly ritual and hopefully will watch it again sometime later this year.
Downton Abbey, a drama/romance, focused on the aristocratic Crawley family in the early 20th century from 1912 to 1926. The Crawley family consisted of the lord of the Estate, Earl Robert Crawley, his wife, Countess Grantham, his mother, Dowager Countess, and his three daughters. They are the ones who stayed 'upstairs' in the Estate while their servants stayed 'downstairs'.
The series revolved around these characters and on the challenges the British people faced which is based on their status or class in the society.
I enjoy living in the fantasy of how life seemed easy and fun for those of the upper class then but I must admit that I am glad things have changed a lot in our time. Though class segregation still abounds in our present society, it's however based on the economy.
Another issue predominant in that time and dwelt upon in the series is inheritance. The wealth of the family goes to the surviving eldest male child. In this series, the lord of the house, Robert Crawley, Earl of Grantham had three daughters but no son. The issue of who the heir would be brought up a lot of drama within the family.
The Grantham family sought to marry off the daughters to wealthy, upper class citizens but did not completely succeed. The first daughter, Lady Mary had different suitors but eventually settled for a country solicitor who became the heir to the Grantham Estate until his death.
Another of the daughters settled down with the family chauffeur and you can imagine how that went with the family!
The series further dwelt on how the Grantham family survived the first world War, Spanish flu and other issues.
Keep in mind that the characters in this series were real and the script was slightly tailored to their life. So is the Grantham estate located in St. James's Square and built in 1849.
I could go on and on but I would recommend you watch this series to get an idea of how life was starting 1912 in Britain. There is also a lot of humor in the series to make it a fun watch.
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