Synopses & Reviews
From the award-winning novelist and writer of Upstairs Downstairs, the third book in a brilliant trilogy about what life was really like for masters and servants before the world of Downton Abbey.
England, 1903. Lord Robert and Lady Isobel Dilberne and the entire grand estate, with its hundred rooms, is busy planning for a visit from Edward VII and Queen Alexandra just a few months a way. Preparations are elaborate and exhaustive: the menus and fashions must be just so, and so must James, the new heir and son of Arthur Dilberne and Chicago heiress, Minnie O'Brien. But there are problems. Little James is being reared to Lady Isobel's tastes, not Minnie's. And Mrs. O'Brien is visiting from America and causing trouble. Meanwhile, the Dilbernes' niece, Adela is back and stirring up hysteria in the servants hall by claiming the house is cursed. The royal visit is imperiled, but so are the Dilberne finances once more. His Lordship is under tremendous stress, and the pecking order will soon be upset as everything at Dilberne Court changes.
The New Countess is the final novel in Fay Weldon's exciting trilogy that began with Habits of the House and Long Live the King. The bestselling novelist and award-winning writer of the pilot episode of the original Upstairs Downstairs lifts the curtain on British society, upstairs and downstairs, under one roof.
Review
"Before there was DOWNTON ABBEY, there was UPSTAIRS, DOWNSTAIRS and, having written the first episode of that iconic television series, it is only fitting that Weldon now returns to the scene of the crime to further explore the disparate worlds of “them that has and those what serve em.”... Always a ripe target for mockery and disdain, the British aristocracy comes in for a thorough drubbing in Weldons snarky send-up" -Booklist
"My favorite part of the original series is the first episode because it was written by a great English novelist, Fay Weldon. Everybody was introduced so cleverly . . . so beautifully established." —Jean Marsh, co-creator of Upstairs, Downstairs
"There is simply no touching Weldon as a writer." —The Observer (UK)
"Fay Weldon has always examined the scary parts of what lies beneath the silk cushions and behind the closed gates." —The Chronicle of Higher Education
"I was a girl from Downstairs. When I was 16, my bedroom was in the basement of a posh house in London, where my mother was the housekeeper. . . . Odd, this class business. Here's Upstairs Downstairs back again, Downton Abbey so popular." —Fay Weldon
Review
Praise for Fay Weldon and Habits of the House
"Before there was DOWNTON ABBEY, there was UPSTAIRS, DOWNSTAIRS and, having written the first episode of that iconic television series, it is only fitting that Weldon now returns to the scene of the crime to further explore the disparate worlds of 'them that has and those what serve em.'" —Booklist
“Good fun from start to finish, thanks to breezy storytelling and witty social observations.” —The Washington Post
"Weldon brilliantly captures the rituals above stairs and the gossip below stairs...Habits of the House is an absorbing and worthwhile read." —Star Tribune
"My favorite part of the original series is the first episode because it was written by a great English novelist, Fay Weldon. Everybody was introduced so cleverly . . . so beautifully established." —Jean Marsh, co-creator of Upstairs, Downstairs
"There is simply no touching Weldon as a writer." —The Observer (UK)
"Fay Weldon has always examined the scary parts of what lies beneath the silk cushions and behind the closed gates." —The Chronicle of Higher Education
"I was a girl from Downstairs. When I was 16, my bedroom was in the basement of a posh house in London, where my mother was the housekeeper. . . . Odd, this class business. Here's Upstairs Downstairs back again, Downton Abbey so popular." —Fay Weldon
Review
Praise for Fay Weldon and Habits of the House
"Before there was DOWNTON ABBEY, there was UPSTAIRS, DOWNSTAIRS and, having written the first episode of that iconic television series, it is only fitting that Weldon now returns to the scene of the crime to further explore the disparate worlds of 'them that has and those what serve em.'" —Booklist
“Good fun from start to finish, thanks to breezy storytelling and witty social observations.” —The Washington Post
"Weldon brilliantly captures the rituals above stairs and the gossip below stairs...Habits of the House is an absorbing and worthwhile read." —Star Tribune
"My favorite part of the original series is the first episode because it was written by a great English novelist, Fay Weldon. Everybody was introduced so cleverly . . . so beautifully established." —Jean Marsh, co-creator of Upstairs, Downstairs
"There is simply no touching Weldon as a writer." —The Observer (UK)
"Fay Weldon has always examined the scary parts of what lies beneath the silk cushions and behind the closed gates." —The Chronicle of Higher Education
"I was a girl from Downstairs. When I was 16, my bedroom was in the basement of a posh house in London, where my mother was the housekeeper. . . . Odd, this class business. Here's Upstairs Downstairs back again, Downton Abbey so popular." —Fay Weldon
Review
THE NEW COUNTESS
A USA Today New and Noteworthy book
“Readers will be eager to plunge in…Weldon has deftly capitalized on the Downton Abbey momentum.” —Booklist
“Funnier and nastier than the two earlier volumes.” —Kirkus Reviews
“The novels conclusion is surprising. With remarkable skill, Weldon reverses the readers expectations in such a way that the astonishment is followed by an immediate recognition of inevitability.” —The Star Tribune
“Weldon knows her subject and era well, and the last book [The New Countess] in her trilogy is perhaps her best.” —RT Book Reviews
“Weldon amuses with her usual mix of courtly language undercut by snark.” —The Boston Globe
LONG LIVE THE KING
"Weldon remains at the top of her game with [Long Live the King]…Fans of Downton Abbey will relish this rich and witty comedy of manners." —Star Tribune
"Teeming with tasty tidbits about royals great and small, Weldons second installment in her Dilberne Court trilogy gives devoted Anglophiles a whirlwind tour upstairs, downstairs, and all around the castle." —Booklist on Long Live the King
“Weldons second installment in her Dilberne Court trilogy, following Habits of the
House (2013), gives devoted Anglophiles a whirlwind tour upstairs, downstairs, and all around the castle.” — Booklist on Long Live the King
HABITS OF THE HOUSE
“Weldons flair for capturing the grudging envy shared by the British and their colonial counterparts is worth more than its market value in fools gold.” —The New York Times
“Before there was Downton Abbey, there was Upstairs, Downstairs, and, having written the first episode of that iconic television series, it is only fitting that Weldon now returns to the scene of the crime to further explore the disparate worlds of ‘them that has and those what serve em.…Always a ripe target for mockery and disdain, the British aristocracy comes in for a thorough drubbing in Weldons snarky send-up.” —Booklist
"[Habits of the House] succeeds as an opening to a new series." —Publishers Weekly
“Habits of the House is good fun from start to finish, thanks to its breezy storytelling and witty social observations.” —The Washington Post
"There is simply no touching Weldon as a writer." —The Observer (UK) on Habits of the House
"Fay Weldon has always examined the scary parts of what lies beneath the silk cushions and behind the closed gates." —The Chronicle of Higher Education
"I was a girl from Downstairs. When I was 16, my bedroom was in the basement of a posh house in London, where my mother was the housekeeper. . . . Odd, this class business. Here's Upstairs Downstairs back again, Downton Abbey so popular." —Fay Weldon
Review
“Kellgren is the perfect narrator to capture the underlying sarcastic tone of Weldons story, ably switching between accents for the upper-class British, the Americans, and the servants. The pacing is excellent and the overall effect is a humorously snarky look at a slowly vanishing way of life.” - Booklist
Synopsis
From the award-winning novelist and writer of Upstairs Downstairs, the third book in a brilliant trilogy about what life was really like for masters and servants before the world of Downton Abbey.
England, 1903. Lord Robert and Lady Isobel Dilberne and the entire grand estate, with its hundred rooms, is busy planning for a visit from Edward VII and Queen Alexandra just a few months a way. Preparations are elaborate and exhaustive: the menus and fashions must be just so, and so must James, the new heir and son of Arthur Dilberne and Chicago heiress, Minnie O'Brien. But there are problems. Little James is being reared to Lady Isobel's tastes, not Minnie's. And Mrs. O'Brien is visiting from America and causing trouble. Meanwhile, the Dilbernes' niece, Adela is back and stirring up hysteria in the servants hall by claiming the house is cursed. The royal visit is imperiled, but so are the Dilberne finances once more. His Lordship is under tremendous stress, and the pecking order will soon be upset as everything at Dilberne Court changes.
The New Countess is the final novel in Fay Weldon's exciting trilogy that began with Habits of the House and Long Live the King. The bestselling novelist and award-winning writer of the pilot episode of the original Upstairs Downstairs lifts the curtain on British society, upstairs and downstairs, under one roof.
Synopsis
England, 1905. Lord Robert and Lady Isobel Dilberne, as well as their entire regal estate, with its hundred rooms, are busy planning for a lavish visit from King Edward VII and his mistress just a few months away. Preparations are elaborate and exhaustive: the menus and fashions must be just so. But even amidst the excitement, not everyone is happy.
Lady Rosina—now widowed and wealthy— insists on publishing a scandalous book despite her mothers objections. Arthur Dilberne and Chicago Heiress Minnie OBriens two young sons—the eldest of whom is heir to the estate—are being reared to Lady Isobel's tastes, not Minnie's. After making a shocking discovery, Minnie will take drastic measures for the sake of her children. And when fate deals a hand in the middle of the royal shooting party, the entire Dilberne estate will face upheaval once again.
The New Countess is the final novel in Fay Weldon's outstanding trilogy that began with Habits of the House and Long Live the King. As the bestselling novelist and award-winning writer for the pilot episode of the original Upstairs Downstairs, Weldon magnificently lifts the curtain on early twentieth-century British society, upstairs and downstairs, under one stately roof.
About the Author
FAY WELDON is a novelist, playwright, and screenwriter who, at the age of 16, lived in a grand London townhouse as the daughter of the housekeeper. In addition to winning a Writers' Guild Award for the pilot of Upstairs Downstairs, she is a Commander of the British Empire whose books include Praxis, shortlisted for the Booker Prize for Fiction; The Heart of the Country, winner of the Los Angeles Times Fiction Prize; Worst Fears, shortlisted for the Whitbread Novel Award; and Wicked Women, which won the PEN/Macmillan Silver Pen Award. She lives in England. Katherine Kellgren has recorded over 200 audiobooks and won four Audie Awards, three ALA Odyssey Honors, and eight AudioFile Earphones Awards. In 2011, Kellgren was named the Best Voice in Young Adult & Fantasy, and she won the Audie award for Best Female Narrator in both 2013 and 2014. Kellgren has also appeared onstage in London, New York and Frankfurt. She has recorded numerous plays and dramatizations of novels for the radio, including winners of the Peabody Award. She is a graduate of The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.