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I've received mailings, too.

Really looking forward to Downton Abbey, so thanks for the reminder, Lauren! I'll have to watch for it on PBS. We'll see how long it takes to come across the pond. Soon, I hope!

Gabriele wrote: "I've received mailings, too.

Really looking forward to Downton Abbey, so thanks for the reminder, Lauren! I'll have to watch for it on PBS. We'll see how long it takes to come across the pond. Soo..."

I doubt it will be long since it's been well received over here and a second series has been commissioned :)

Yay!

Hello, all :)

I stumbled across this and thought it might be of interest:
"Between the Acts": British Writing Between the Wars


And I hear Upstairs Downstairs is returning around Christmas time. Knowing its popularity, I shouldn't think it will be long till it's available overseas.

Lauren wrote: "Hello, all :)

I stumbled across this and thought it might be of interest:
"Between the Acts": British Writing Between the Wars


And I hear U..."

Thanks for this great link, Lauren! And I'm looking forward to Upstairs Downstairs again. Let us know how it is!

A new Upstairs Downstairs for Christmas. What a nice thought!

But most of the original cast either died or were written out. :(

I'm still looking forward to it. Crossing my fingers on the reviews.

Rochelle wrote: "But most of the original cast either died or were written out. :("

Yeah, I can imagine that for fans of the original it will be hard to adjust to. I haven't seen it so I'm coming to it afresh.

Some of the old cast are back though - in different roles of course.

I just saw the wonderful Jean Marsh in a BBC4 film called "The Crooked House" - a ghost story in three parts (all tied together). Oh, I thought it was grand.

Was that film on cable? It hasn't been on PBS here yet.

Is this group not doing another book till after Christmas?

Rochelle wrote: "Was that film on cable? It hasn't been on PBS here yet.

Is this group not doing another book till after Christmas?"

Not as a group, but if you want to start a buddy read, please do, Rochelle.

Ivan, that program sounds wonderful! Hope it comes across the pond.

Lauren wrote: "Yeah, I can imagine that for fans of the original it will be hard to adjust to. I haven't seen it so I'm comi..."

What made it wonderful was the ensemble performance, but it was also one of the first mini-series of the time, and we're different people now. Sometimes I re-read a book that I had read 30 or 40 years ago, and it does nothing for me. You folks across the Pond will let us know what you think.

Now, for something completely different, as Monty Python used to say....

I'm doing a book giveaway of my first two Muskoka Novels - The Summer Before The Storm and ELUSIVE DAWN - on . The books will be shipped anywhere in the world.

Rochelle wrote: "Was that film on cable? It hasn't been on PBS here yet.

Is this group not doing another book till after Christmas?"

I do not know why this has never crossed the pond. One of my favorite writers/actors is Mark Gatiss. He wrote and starred in "Crooked House," as well as "The Worst Journey in the World" and "The First Man on the Moon" for BBC4 - none have played here. He is one of "The League of Gentlemen" (a sketch comedy troup popular in the UK - they had a show for a number of years - very funny, but dark and disturbing), he writes episodes for "Doctor Who," "Agatha Christie's Poirot" and created and wrote some of (and starred as Mycroft) in the recent "Sherlock" (all shown in US). This year he wrote and hosted a program called "The History of Horror" which I hopes gets picked up by American Movie Classics (I've only caught clips on YouTube) - as I really want to see it as I'm also a big fan of Hammer Horror and classic horror films. He also wrote the Lucifer Box books, and a biography of film director James Whale. [I am not employed by Mark Gatiss, nor do I work for his representatives ;O)].

Gabriele wrote: "Now, for something completely different, as Monty Python used to say....

I'm doing a book giveaway of my first two Muskoka Novels - The Summer Before The Storm and [book:ELUSIVE DA..."

I'm heading over right now, Gabrielle!

Jeannette wrote: "Gabriele wrote: "Now, for something completely different, as Monty Python used to say....

I'm doing a book giveaway of my first two Muskoka Novels - The Summer Before The Storm and..."

Good luck, Jeannette! I'd love one of my GR friends to win.

Here's the BBC trailer for the new Upstairs, Downstairs:

I think it looks great. Downton Abbey was good fun but this looks more grown up, less soap opera-ish. And very sexy cinematography!

Lauren wrote: "Here's the BBC trailer for the new Upstairs, Downstairs:

I think it looks great. Downton Abbey was good fun but this looks more grown up, less soap oper..."

Woohoo! I'm looking forward to it. Thanks, for the link, Lauren!

I noticed that Downton Abbey is coming to PBS in January, so that will be a treat as well.

I like your warm hat, Lauren, LOL.

Did I see a fast flicker of Kristin Scott Thomas and Maggie Smith there?

It might be a fine series, but except for Marsh, the old cast is gone. That perfection of their ensemble performance can't be duplicated.

And Downton Abbey is ...?

Rochelle wrote: "Did I see a fast flicker of Kristin Scott Thomas and Maggie Smith there?

It might be a fine series, but except for Marsh, the old cast is gone. That perfection of their ensemble performance can't ..."

Hmm, I don't know about Kristen Scott Thomas - maybe you mean Keeley Hawes, who looks a bit like her. Regarding Maggie Smith, that's probably Eileen Atkins. Smith's in Downton Abbey though.

Downton Abbey was a drama on a couple of months ago, set in 1912 and created by Julian Fellows. I've been going on about it for ages now :P

I think the series will be good so long as you're able to see it as separate to the old series. In fact, with so much changed, it would appear only to be riding on the original's coat-tails for inevitable success?

Great news, Gabriele!

Lauren wrote: "I think the series will be good so long as you're able to see it as separate to the old series. In fact, with so much changed, it would appear only to be riding on the original's coat-tails for inevitable success? "

Exactly. A new series with a different cast, different writers, different director and different story line in a new time period is not the same series at all. It's like saying the NY Yankees of 1940 is the same team as the NY Yankees of 2010.

And I'm not the same me who watched U,D in the '70's either.

Gabriele, Wyndwood Island in 1914 sounds very much like Long Island here in NY during that same period, through the '20's. That was also the setting of The Great Gatsby.

Rochelle wrote: "Gabriele, Wyndwood Island in 1914 sounds very much like Long Island here in NY during that same period, through the '20's. That was also the setting of The Great Gatsby."

You mean with lots of rich Americans and Canadians spending their summers having fun? Except that Wyndwood is one of hundreds of islands, many private, in the Muskoka Lakes. It's based on my friend's island cottage, which her great-grandfather built in 1879. Woodrow Wilson owned a small island on the same lake. I wonder how often he got to spend time there.

BTW, I love your ear muffs, Rochelle!

They're Santa hats. At one of my computer forums, every regular gets hatted in December, but I do my own in Paint Shop Pro.


Not many Canadians on Long Island, but fabulous mansions on the North Shore, many of which are museums today.

I look forward to visiting those some day, Rochelle. I have been to Newport a couple of times, and marvel at the opulence of the mansions of people like the Vanderbilts. Although Muskoka had some very wealthy Americans, like the Mellons, summering on the lakes, the "cottages" were more modest/rustic, even if large. Many of those are still in the family. Newer cottagers include Goldie Hawn and Stephen Spielberg.

Yes, that section of L.I. resembles Newport, and they're both on L.I. Sound, where the wealthy kept their yachts. Fitzgerald caught the atmosphere perfectly in Gatsby.

So has your book just been published?

Rochelle wrote: "Yes, that section of L.I. resembles Newport, and they're both on L.I. Sound, where the wealthy kept their yachts. Fitzgerald caught the atmosphere perfectly in Gatsby.

So has your book just bee..."
The Summer Before The Storm has been out for a few years, and actually won an award this year. It's the first in a series, and I'm working on Book 3, which is set in the 1920s. Hence my interest in this period. I love to immerse myself in an era. : )

Rochelle wrote: "Yes, that section of L.I. resembles Newport, and they're both on L.I. Sound, where the wealthy kept their yachts. Fitzgerald caught the atmosphere perfectly in Gatsby.

So has your book just bee..."

Nope, sorry but Newport is NOT on Long Island Sound. It is an island in Narragansett Bay which empties into Rhode Island Sound. I lived on the coast of Connecticut and visited Rhode Island often to get the feeling of the "ocean" compared to Long Island Sound. There is a huge difference and everyone can tell the difference.

I recall Susan Isaac in one of her books from the 80's or 90's saying that Long Island should be considered an additional New England state. I always believed that to be oddly appropriate.

Theophilus North: A Novel by Thornton Wilder takes place in the 1920s in Newport and is a wonderful, charming slice of Americana.

Sorry, Lori, re:Newport, mea culpa.

But only a part of L.I. is or ever was wealthy, the so-called "Gold Coast" in Nassau County.

Here's something I just pulled up.



and



Yes, Ivan, I read TN when it came out and once since.

Ivan wrote: "Theophilus North: A Novel by Thornton Wilder takes place in the 1920s in Newport and is a wonderful, charming slice of Ameri..."

I agree, Ivan. I read it many years ago.

I would like to add Wilder to the list of great writers of that period. Our Town and The Bridge of San Luis Rey are masterpieces, with really the same theme as TN: the importance of every life and the importance of simple things within those lives.

Rochelle wrote: "I would like to add Wilder to the list of great writers of that period. Our Town and The Bridge of San Luis Rey are masterpieces, with really the same theme as TN: the importance of every life and ..."

Yes, I read and enjoyed Our Town as well.

Please do add books of the period that you enjoyed to our book shelf!

My favourite Christmas story and movie is Dylan Thomas's A Child's Christmas in Wales. Please see my blog about this at

I wish you all a very Merry Christmas!

Gabriele, I will read your blog. That is such an extraordinary book. We have it sitting here ready to read the rest of the week. It is the most lovely of lovely -- can't remember how many years I have read it. Merry Christmas to you also!

Gabriele, I have some German children's series where at least some of the later books were written between the wars. I would be willing to add these (and other German children's books from that era) to the bookshelves if there is any interest in them (most of them are no longer in print, but a few of the series are).

By all means, Gundula. Thanks!

Gabriele wrote: "By all means, Gundula. Thanks!"

I will probably not get to this today, because I think that some of the books will have to actually be imported into the system, but look for it sometime next week. I will start with those books that are already on the database.

Gundula wrote: "Gabriele wrote: "By all means, Gundula. Thanks!"

I will probably not get to this today, because I think that some of the books will have to actually be imported into the system, but look for it so..."

Great! Nice to have a repository of relevant titles, even for books that are not readily available.

I'm looking forward to the second episode of Downton Abbey tonight on PBS! What great fun!

It is, isn't it? But do you see what I mean about it being quite soap opera-ish? If it all seems a bit rushed, that's because Fellowes didn't know if he'd get commissioned a second series - but thankfully he did!

Lauren wrote: "It is, isn't it? But do you see what I mean about it being quite soap opera-ish? If it all seems a bit rushed, that's because Fellowes didn't know if he'd get commissioned a second series - but tha..."

Yay, another series! Yes, it's certainly predictable in many ways, but I love the attention to detail and the evocation of the era.

It does have a soap opera feel, and some of the stories were resolved too quickly. I love the large cast of characters and I think it might be a lot of fun. They certainly are portraying the new heir in a bad light, even though the members of Downton Abbey aren't all that nice, either.

The characters are wonderfully acted. And I love the counterpoint between the middle-class heir and the upper class conventions. I think it quite cleverly portrays the flaws and strengths of each, and certainly makes for a good laugh at times.

I was struck by the fact that the daughter wouldn't consider marrying the heir, he's in trade! But, they would marry her off to that disgusting duke, without a thought. That's pretty sad, isn't it?

"Business mergers". No wonder there was so much adultery among the upper class.

Michelle Dockery (Lady Mary) is a wonderful actress imo. I hope she goes far. She was in The Turn of the Screw last year I think.