Teatime!
So I hear that this Downton Abbey show is getting to be a pretty big deal. People at work are talking about it. People on Facebook are talking about it. (I’ve even seen pictures of people in funny hats who have tea parties during the show.) People on the Internet in general are talking about it. I get it. People like this show. They really, really like it. But hey, there are only so many episodes shown only so often. You’re going to have some down time to fill in between. May I recommend a book for you to read while you wait for the next juicy installment?
I figure those who enjoy Downton Abbey are attracted by the themes—the inner lives of the rich in their grand English country estates, the behind-the-scenes lives of their servants, the subjects of love and war. So with this understanding, I offer these suggestions…
The Tregenza Girls by Rosemary Aitken – WWI changes a blind young woman and her vain sister for both good and bad.
Falling Angels by Tracy Chevalier – A fateful meeting in a cemetery brings together three people from very different backgrounds and changes their lives in unexpected ways.
Kate Hannigan by Catherine Cookson – Classic tale of love between the classes against the backdrop of northern England and the Great War.
Howard’s End by E.M. Forster – This masterpiece of English novels examines the connections made between friends and family and the consequences of those connections.
Love Is Not Enough
Love and War
Forbidden Love by Anne Herries – Saga of the Trentwith family and their personal conflicts and relationships with peers and staff.
The House at Riverton by Kate Morton – A novel of secrets kept between servants and the family members they serve.
Fateful Voyage by Pamela Oldfield – Romance on board the Mauretania’s maiden voyage sets into motion a series of nasty events.
No Graves As Yet
Shoulder the Sky
Angels in the Gloom
At Some Disputed Barricade
We Shall Not Sleep by Anne Perry – Brother and sister team of sleuths solve mysteries during World War I in various locations on the European front.
Ask Alice by D.J. Taylor – An American marries up, becomes a famous actress, and is the toast of London society, but a secret from her past threatens to shatter her new life.
I’m thinking you should wear fancy hats and drink tea while reading these books too.
-Melissa M.
Eleventh Stack 
If you please, refrain from referring to our lovingly crafted headwear as “funny.” We much prefer “fancy.” Many thanks, m’lady, and pass the clotted cream.
Might I also suggest the excellent Maisie Dobbs series by Jacqueline Winspear, Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh and, of course, Atonement by Ian McEwan? All excellent and all set in this time period.