50 Years of Masterpiece

DEBORAH CROMBIE: This month PBS is celebrating fifty years of Masterpiece Theatre. FIFTY YEARS! 

I'm pretty sure that I can blame a good deal of my abiding passion for mysteries, and my desire to be a writer, on Masterpiece. The very first season in January 1971 began with  the broadcast of the 1967 BBC adaptation of John Galsworthy's Forsyte Saga. I remember being absolutely glued to the TV (okay, I was a weird teenager...) I then read all NINE Forsyte novels! (Even weirder teenager...) Then the wonderful Alastair Cooke became host, and we were off to the races. Here are just a few of my highlights from the first ten years (after which the mystery programs were shunted into Masterpiece Mystery.)

Cold Comfort Farm, Elizabeth R, the first adaptations of Dorothy Sayers' Peter Wimsey novels, I, Claudius, Poldark, The Duchess of Duke Street, Our Mutual Friend, Testament of Youth--and of course, Upstairs, Downstairs! Those are just a smattering.

 And then there was MYSTERY. 

 

How much do we love the Edward Gorey opening sequence?? I even have a signed and numbered Gorey print.) 

 And the shows! Foyle's War, 

Poirot, Morse, Rumpole of the Bailey, Cadfael, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, and Prime Suspect are among the early broadcasts.

There is so much more--far too many shows to list. But some of my standouts for the last few years of both Masterpiece and Masterpiece Mystery have been Sherlock, Endeavour, 

 

and, of course, the one we cannot leave out, DOWNTON ABBEY.

Going back to that first decade, one of the defining shows for me was the original series of James Herriott's All Creatures Great and Small. I even set my first book, A SHARE IN DEATH, in the Yorkshire town where Herriott practiced. So I think it's entirely fitting that PBS is celebrating the beginning of its fifty year anniversary with  a new version of All Creatures!

REDs and READERS, are you fans of Masterpiece (in all its permutations?) What are some of programs you've loved most?

And who will be glued to the screen tonight watching All Creatures, and the new mystery, Miss Scarlett and the Duke?

Do you Binge?

RHYS BOWEN: A couple of weeks ago we decided to watch the third season of The Crown. Actually we binge-watched it. Several episodes a night until I was falling asleep. In a way it was satisfying to see it one episode after another as one could follow the continuity of the story. But then I regretted it was over so quickly. I remember how much I enjoyed Downton Abbey when it first came out, waiting impatiently for the next Sunday night to find out what happened next and when Mary would finally get together with Matthew. And then the awful wait for another whole year and the next season of the story.

                Actually I loved the anticipation. It gave us something to talk about, to discuss with friends. Who would Mary pick? Did I think this suitor was a good choice? What would happen to Edith?  I’m not quite so invested in Queen Victoria as I know what happened to her in real life, but I’m still looking forward to the continuation of her story, unfolding week by week. (Anyone know when this might happen?)
                In England most series come out with a six week run, even the sit-coms, and then you have to wait until the next year to continue. This is annoying but…
                I love anticipation, don’t you? Do you remember counting off the days until your birthday or the end of school as a child? Even now I find myself saying “Three weeks until Christmas” or lying in bed planning our next vacation.
                So I’m interested to know what the rest of you think? Do you binge-watch? Binge-read? I get letters from fans who say “I’ve just discovered your series and I have read non-stop until I’m up to date.”  I suppose when you look at it, reading a series is just like one long extended novel so it might make sense to read it through without stopping. But as a reader I would love the tension of not knowing whether Georgie and Darcy would finally get together.
                So confession time: any binge-watchers/binge-readers out there?

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN:  I am so used to binge-watching now that I’m baffled when I have to wait for the next episode. We completely binged The Crown, and  Unbelievable, and The Jury, and all kinds of other things that I forget. So we started watching The Outsider, and it’s fabulous, but--oh! I have to wait? So I can see both methods of watching--I do love to be able to see it all, but then, as you say,  it’s so over.


And psychologically? I am not so hot on anticipation, I have to say. Just show me. Just tell me. Just do it. Let’s just--go. But that’s me.


Binge reading? Huh. I’d think I’ve ever done that. I think it would be--diminishing returns.


LUCY BURDETTE: this is a great question Rhys! We are just home from a fabulous trip to Africa--all was great fun except for the actual getting there and getting home part. Luckily on the way home (one of the flights was 16 hours!), the airline offered Season 2 of BIG LITTLE LIES. I had already watched this and loved it so much that I was happy to watch again. I made it through all 7 episodes and this helped the time go by so well! I was finishing the denouement as our wheels touched down. (By the way, Reese Witherspoon is an absolute genius. How can one woman be such a brilliant actor and writer and incredible supporter of books, authors, and reading??)


Usually with TV shows though, we like to spread things out. And this is true for book series for me too. I’ve been slowly making my way through VERA by Ann Cleeves, and I should finish the last installment, THE MOTH CATCHER, by the time her newest book comes out next fall.


JENN McKINLAY: Binge reader/watcher here. I am a binger. When I find an author I enjoy, I double back and read everything they’ve written, especially if it’s a series. I like to do a complete immersion into the author’s world. I read the first five Harry Potter books (I came late to the party) in three weeks. Usually, I generally only read for pleasure at night, so it takes me a while to finish a big series. I am the same with TV. I will gobble up a show (curse you, Netflix, for looping one episode after another) until I run out and am left bereft. Shows that have hooked me in lately are Dead To Me (so good) and Fleabag (fabulous).
     Weirdly, I do love a cliff hanger and if a show or a book ends on a wicked twist and I have to wait, I am thrilled with the anticipation.

DEBORAH CROMBIE: I actually like a bit of both. It’s certainly nice to be able to stream a whole series, but when we were watching The Mandalorian, looking forward to Friday nights and a new episode was really fun.  Now we are doing that with the new Star Trek Picard (which I’m not sure I’m following at all…) When Rick and I are watching something together it’s usually just on weekends, so it can take us several weeks to get through a series. If it’s just me, however, I tend to get distracted. Too many choices!! I’m still trying to finish the third season of Broadchurch, and have watched Vera totally sporadically. (Lucy, did you know there is a new series out?)


Series books I do binge read, and I think that is one of the biggest treats of reading. But then you eventually get to the end and have to wait for a new book to come out!


JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: Can I, like Debs, say both? The girls and I watched the entire run of The Mandalorian in one loooong evening, and I don’t think I could have survived seeing what happened next if I had to wait for a week. On the other hand, I love the painfully delicious sensation of waiting for the next book in a beloved series to come out, and like Jenn, I LOVE cliffhangers (this will not be a surprise to anyone who reads my own novels.)


Because we have a history of buying CD collections of or streaming older TV shows, I’ve noticed that the structure and pacing of the stories seem to have changed to fit the binging era. If I watch all however-many episodes of Russian Doll in one night, it doesn’t feel as if the story has been rushed. But, as an example, when I shared my beloved Babylon 5 with the kids, seeing one episode after another made it feel like all the events and character changes were on fast forward. I think B5 is a good example because it was the first TV show that I know of to have a genuinely novelistic approach to a season - unlike everything that came before, which was pretty much strictly episodic. But it was written for viewers who would have a week between chapters, as it were, and so the actual time passing helped fix the time unfolding in the show. We had to go back to watching it with a few days between episodes to make it feel right.

RHYS: So who out there likes to binge? Who likes the anticipation of waiting and spreading the satisfaction?

Please Send Mrs Patmore

DEBORAH CROMBIE: The Instant Pot is everywhere these days! 

But while I'm reading that this miraculous gadget can do anything and everything, I don't actually know anyone who has one, so I thought I would ask the REDS. 

Do I want one? Is it worth giving up an appliance that I love, say, my slow cooker, or heaven forbid, my Zojirushi Neuro Fuzzy rice cooker (which I absolutely could not live without) because the appliance space in my kitchen is limited and something would have to go. One friend who is a gourmet cook says the instant pots are only for people who don't cook, or don't know how to cook.

But nevertheless I am tempted by all the literature that says they can cook rice, make yogurt, steam, saute, and do a hundred other things. (Making yogurt is easy in the slow cooker, but fiddly, with constant checking of temperature, then leaving the slow cooker swaddled in a towel overnight.)

And the cookbooks! There are hundreds of Instant Pot cookbooks, for everything from Italian to Mexican to Indian to French--and that was the one that really tempted me. Ann Mah, author of the novel THE LOST VINTAGE, and of the wonderful memoir MASTERING THE ART OF FRENCH EATING, has just come out with an Instant Pot cookbook, INSTANTLY FRENCH. 

This woman knows her cooking, especially French cooking, and the recipes sound fabulous. Would it be crazy to buy an appliance in order to try a cookbook?

REDS, has anyone tried the Instant Pot? If not, are you tempted?

JENN McKINLAY: I have a few friends who swear by them. I'm not sold yet mostly because I am fixated on getting a Roomba. Any appliance that comes into this house has to be able to suck up the ridonkulous amount of pet hair that seems to accumulate overnight -- every night. Anyone have a Roomba? How do you like it?

DEBS: Jenn, we had an older version, which we did not love. (LOTS of pet hair in this house!) I hear the Roombas are much smarter now, but I swear by my Dyson V6. I don't know how I ever lived without it. I use it every single day.


HALLIE EPHRON: I'm so behind the times, I don't even have a crockpot. I remember reading somewhere that despite the hype, the Instant Pot's not all it's cracked up to be. It's a pressure cooker/slow cooker, right? My counter space is limited so I'm unlikely to buy anything that needs a spot on the counter. The one kitchen gadget I bought this year was a digital instant read meat thermometer. I LOVE IT! And it takes up as much room as a paring knife. Win win. 

RHYS BOWEN: Please do not tell my husband about this! In our house we have the graveyard of dead appliances in a corner cupboard.. He has bought, over the years, a sausage maker, bread maker, meat slicer, veggie juicer, etc etc. So he'd just run out and buy an instant pot. I use the slow cooker occasionally. It does lamb shanks really well. But apart from my pressure cooker, I would rather just cook in regular pans. In fact, I've been so busy recently that I'd like to borrow Mrs. Patmore from Downton Abbey to do all my cooking for me!

LUCY BURDETTE: Let's all share Mrs. Patmore this month! No instant pot for me either. I have on the counters two toasters, coffee pot, large crockpot, Cuisinart, and Kitchenaid mixer. We had to put the ice cream maker in storage that I bought a couple of years ago after your post here Debs:). There's just no room! Although the Ann Mah is very tempting. Could the recipes be made in a slow cooker?

DEBS: LOL, Lucy, the ice cream maker lives in our hall closet, which is just fine. No room at the kitchen inn! Maybe we should do a post on what we keep out on our kitchen counters... Eeek!


HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: What's a instant pot? But I could not live without my meat thermometer--my meal-saving go-to forever. My favorite thing recently? Silly, but an apple corer. It's just a sharp cylinder that you jab through the apple. It is PERFECT.  P.S. Please send Patmore.

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: Rhys, I started laughing at "sausage maker" and haven't stopped. Does John actually USE any of those gadgets? or does he get them as "labor saving" devices for you?

No Instant Pot for me. At this stage in my life, an appliance has to do many things well, or one thing that I need every day. So for instance, I have on my counter a well-loved toaster oven (several things), a toaster (everyday), an instant kettle (everyday, and necessary because I've burned out THREE (3) teakettle bottoms on the stove over the years), a Sony under-cabinet radio/cd player (daily NPR fix) and Alexa. I LOVE YOU, ALEXA.
 
I also have a slow cooker, which is the best thing ever, and it lives inside a cabinet.

But maybe I need a sausage maker?


DEBS: Wah! No one else is even tempted? Does this mean I have to be the one to put an Instant Pot on my Christmas wish list so that I can share the results? 


Or maybe I'll just ask for Mrs. Patmore...

What about you, readers? Anyone tempted by the gadget that does everything? (Except write books...)

In Celebration of In Farleigh Field--Rhys Bowen is Number One!

“Rhys Bowen is one of the very best fiction writers of the day. With a deep understanding of the wounded human heart, and an uncanny ability to capture the quiet emotions and the grand scale of war, she rises above her contemporaries. This is magnificently written and a must read.”
                             —Louise Penny


HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN:   If it's rites of passage week--and it may be--today's is one any author would want to experience.

Our own Rhys, with her--no exaggeration--blockbuster novel IN FARLEIGH FIELD is number one, number one! on Amazon. NUMBER ONE.  And has been for like, a month. And Rhys herself is NUMBER ONE in author ranking.  And the pub date is today! 

This is difficult even to comprehend. This is--the pinnacle of success. This is what every author hopes for. Rhys, if I may say is the real authentic deal. This is her--how many books? I can't even count. She works non-stop, she's a dear and generous friend, she's brilliantly talented, and incredibly funny. 

Well,  this is bringing tears to my eyes.


Here's my favorite photo of us--taken by the amazing Barbara Peters. I love the connection it shows.

Rhys, all of us, coast to coast, are cheering. Standing ovation.  And all of us have questions. And all of us are hoping your fairy dust will rub off. But mostly--we are thrilled. I remember having dinner at your house--three years ago? And you told me about this. But  truly, how long have you been wanting to write this book? Why?

RHYS: I came up with the idea for this book about the year 2000. I wrote a couple of chapters and approached my then-agent about it. She told me that nobody was interested in WW2, that it was an insult to write about upper class English people when such terrible things were happening in Europe. So I put the idea aside (also waved bye-bye to the agent soon after). But it kept haunting me. And when I felt that I had reached a stage in my career when I could branch out a little I wrote a little more of the book and showed it to my current agent, who, being brilliant, loved it.

I wanted to write about WW2 for several reasons: one was that I was born toward the end of the war and remember the austere times in the post war years. My father and uncles were all fighting abroad. My family talked a lot of scares and excitements of war time. So it was personal to relive this. Also it was the last time that there was a clear case of good versus evil. Everyone in England felt that if they didn't stop evil, it would swallow the world and they were willing to make any number of sacrifices to achieve this.

HANK: The story feels so authentic--the setting, and the motivations, and the relationships, and loyalties and conflicts--is that research? Or where did that come from?  Is that research-or experience? 

RHYS: Some of the material is personal. I was born toward the end of the war. I don't remember anything except having to sleep under the dining table and hide behind a door when I heard planes approaching. And searchlights still freak me out! But I do remember the austere times in the post war years. My father and uncles returning from fighting abroad. My family talked a lot of what they went through. So it was personal to relive this. But I did a lot of research. I read biographies of those who had worked at Bletchley Park and in MI5. I read Churchill's war books. And then I visited Bletchley Park, The Imperial War museum, Churchill's war rooms.

HALLIE EPHRON: I confess, one of the things I loved about this book is it's about sisters (since I'm one of four). Please, tell us about the sisters, and how you made all of them such distinct creatures.

RHYS: I think this started as a homage to the Mitford girls, all so very different. My family, Lord Westerham's daughters all display characteristics of an upper class background but have turned out to be different in temperament. Livvy, the oldest, is the good child who has married well and produced an heir. I suspect she isn't the brightest of them! The next sister, Margot, has gone to Paris to study fashion design with someone a lot like Coco Chanel, has fallen in love with a French count and stayed on to be with him. As we find out more about her it seems that she might be living a dangerous life in Paris! (no spoilers here). 

Pamela is the daughter we focus on: she's highly intelligent but not been allowed to go to university. Now she has found an outlet for her talents working at Bletchley Park as part of the decoding. She's also in love with a glamorous flying-ace. A little naive and a hopeless romantic.  

The fourth daughter, Dido, is angry and frustrated at being denied her season because of the war. She also is smart, inquisitive and wants to do something useful. Instead she is stuck at home in the country, which could be a dangerous thing.

  I think my favorite was twelve year old Phoebe. She's the afterthought (an accident, Dido tells her). She's also smart, inquisitive and into detective novels. I loved writing about her and the evacuated Cockney boy Alfie as they help to put pieces of the puzzle together.

JENN: The librarian in me has to know, what primary resources did you use for your research? Old newspapers? Museum visits? How much did you have to learn about code breaking? What was the one thing you learned that you didn't know before that fascinated you the most?

RHYS: I read a lot of personal experiences of the war, diaries that housewives and soldiers kept. I assembled books that were handed out on making-do, cooking with limited war-time ingredients, using old clothes and turning them into new ones. I have a war-time ration book and patterns for making dresses. Then I did go to the exhibit on WW2 on the homefront at the Imperial War Museum. I spent a couple of days wandering around Bletchley Park. I visited Churchill's war rooms.  And I read a lot about code-breaking. In fact the messages in my book were actual decoded messages from Bletchley.

The one thing that surprised me the most was that debutantes, upper class girls like Pamela, were actively recruited to work at Bletchley, because it was supposed that they were brought up to "do the right thing" and not divulge what work they were doing. Everyone at Bletchley had to sign the official secrets act, promising not to say anything to anyone of their work. So the other thing that surprised me was that this act was not lifted until the 1990s. That meant that parents died never knowing their child had done something brilliant and vital to the war effort, which I thought was so sad. And I was excited to read that Kate Middleton's grandmother was one of the Bletchley girls. I'm sending her a copy of the book!

DEBS: Did you visit Bletchley Park? And is Farleigh based on a real place? I so loved the atmosphere and the sense of authenticity of the settings.

RHYS: I did visit it. I spent two days there, getting a feeling for what it was like to work in those uncomfortable huts. The first impression is the elegant country house, which would have seemed familiar to my girls, but then the huts were so spartan and poorly lit. It took guts to work there.

I have placed Farleigh in Kent, near to my childhood home. So it's an area I know well and suits my story as it is really close to Biggin Hill RAF station and to Churchill's country home, Chertwell. There are two real stately homes in the area, Penshurst Place and Knole Park, both of which we had to visit on numerous occasions with the school and Farleigh is a combination of both.

LUCY: Rhys, I remember you saying that when you sit in front of the computer to write a book in either one of your series, you don't have trouble getting back into the minds of Molly and Georgie. So I wondered how writing this one felt different, with a whole set of new characters to imagine? And how in the world did you have time to do this??

RHYS: I think because it's not written in the first person like Molly and Georgie it's not quite as intimate, but I could certainly identify strongly with Pamela, Ben and Margot. Also with little Phoebe because she is the sort of lonely child that I was.

As for time... I'm a crazy person, I admit. I wrote the first part of the book a couple of years ago and showed it to my agent. She loved it and urged me to write more. So I wrote a little more. Then it was accepted and I was given the go ahead. So the book wasn't all written at once. And I found it went really easily and quickly because I was enjoying it so much and it was fun to jump from one setting to another, setting up clues and building suspense.

INGRID: If you were a Westerham sister (which one?!) in England during WWII, what job would you have chosen to perform to contribute to the war effort?  

RHYS: I wouldn't be Margot, that's for sure. I'm not the intrepid type hiding out in German-occupied Paris. I think I identify most with Pamela. I'd have enjoyed working in code-breaking at Bletchley Park. And I am bilingual in German so I would have been able to help with translation.

INGRID: Also, did you start writing the book with a complete cast of characters in mind or did that evolve as the story unfolded?

RHYS: When I started it I knew I wanted a family of sisters who were very different from each other. Also I wanted the triangle of Pamela, Jeremy and Ben, all former childhood best friends. I have to say that both Margot and Dido took on characters of their own that I hadn't planned at the beginning. It's exciting when that happens.

HANK: So, Rhys? How does it feel?  

RHYS: I think the word is Gobsmacked! The irony is that the moment this book hit #1 on Kindle I was sitting on a hard chair in a hospital waiting room while my husband was undergoing major surgery. So the book was the last thing on my mind. I came home that night to an empty house, opened a can of soup and had to laugh that this was my celebration meal!

Now John is gradually improving and I have to laugh when I check my author rank and see I'm above J.K. Rowling, George Orwell. Quite surreal.

Hank, Lucy, Hallie, Rhys

And dear Hank and dear Reds, thank you so much for giving me this chance to celebrate pub day when the book is finally available in hardcover, paperback and audio. If you live in Arizona, I'll be having a launch party this evening at the Poisoned Pen. Champagne and chocolates! Do come.

HANK: Oh, Rhys! SO fabulous!  HURRAY! And we are giving away one copy of IN FARLEIGH FIELD today--in whatever format the winner chooses.  Just give our dear Rhys a pat on the back in the comments.

(And you can read more--and buy the book-- here.)

Downton on my Mind

RHYS BOWEN: I was planning to write something deep and erudite today about New Years, New Beginnings, but all I can think of is DOWNTON ABBEY tonight. I have never been a great fan of soap operas. When I first came to America and got my first TV set (yes, dear children, we lived for our first year without one, and miraculously we survived with no major psychiatric problems) I watched soap operas while I nursed my new baby. Watched them all for about a week and that was enough.

Then about ten years later John was recovering from a serious burn accident, so I sat on the sofa and watched them with him. And the interesting thing was that all the same characters were in the story but.... they were all married to different people. And all had secrets from each other.

So I've never watched another soap until Downton came along. I know it's a period drama. I know it's British television and therefore high class and erudite, but let's face it, it's a soap opera with lovely clothes. And I'm hooked. Some the story lines are ridiculous. No court would ever have found Anna Bates guilty on such flimsy circumstantial evidence. Remember when Matthew was paralyzed from the waist down and then miraculously gets a little twinge when he's near Mary? And walks again.

But in spite of any silly plot twists we care, don't we? SPOILER ALERT!!!!

We feel for poor Edith, left alone and pregnant and then having to visit her child being raised by someone else. We longed for Mary and Matthew to get together and then felt for Mary after his death. And we cried when Sibyl died.

So now it's the last season and we can't wait to see if all turns out well for the Bates, if Edith and Mary will find happiness, if Daisy will help Mr. Mason to keep his farm (another strange plot twist as I think that under English tenancy law he could not be turned out).  I hope Carson and Mrs. Hughes ride off happily into the sunset together.

Do you think Violet will die? She must be over 100 by now, surely? Whatever happens I know I'll be glued to the edge of my chair. Julian Fellowes has written some silly plot developments and hasn't always executed them well, but his dialog is brilliant and above all he has made us care about these people. What will we do next year.  I might be able to help out a little on that front, but more later....

Missing Downton Abbey, or are we?

RHYS BOWEN: How did you survive Sunday evening with no Downton Abbey? It was hard for me and my daughter and we didn't see how we could survive a year without Downton. And now Maggie Smith has said she'll only do one more season, whatever happens. She commented that her character has to be at least one hundred and ten by now! (that poor dog Isis was also older than any dog I've known)

So it's a good time to reflect what we love so much about Downton. The story is pure soap opera, isn't it? Man with mad wife. Illegitimate children. Returning Russian prince. Evil servants. Good and long suffering servants. It's all over the top and if it were in a contemporary setting it would be relegated to daytime TV.  One of the things we love about it is that it is Downton Abbey, fictitious home of the Crawley famly. We are fascinated by a lifestyle we can hardly imagine. Oodles of servants. A maid waking you with morning tea. Elaborate meals. Hunts and balls and shoots. And gorgeous clothes.  I think we love the clothes best of all.

It seems we can't get enough of the lifestyle of the rich and famous a century ago. A few days ago I enjoyed meeting a new writer called Tessa Arlen who has written a mystery called Death of a Dishonorable Gentleman that takes place at a costume ball at a stately home. It's terrific reading, giving the reader a glimpse into the lifestyle above and below stairs. Tessa herself is the daughter of a British diplomat and has lived in various parts of the world, including India where I'm sure she had servants to wait on her, like Downton girls.

So maybe it's time for a reality check: I grew up in a big English house. Not nearly as stately as Downton but with long drafty hallways down which the wind whistled. And one thing I can tell you about it: It was cold. All the time. There was no central heating. If a fire was lit at one end of a forty foot roon the other end still remained glacial. The bedrooms on my parent's floor had fireplaces, but there were none on the floor where my brother and I slept. Hence the windows would ice up in winter, the wind would rattle the window frames and I would snuggle into a tiny ball, clutching my hot water bottle to keep warm.

When I see the Downton people in their elegant silk dresses I always think "You were freezing cold, remember?"

And life seems so easy to us, but was really so difficult. It needed a maid to do up the forty buttons at the back of a dress. And that dress was never washed if it was silk. The marks were sponges off it. But in Edwardian times mud would cake onto the skirts. And people weren't so keen on bathing as they are now. Most people would have a good wash once a day and maybe a bath once a week (bathrooms were also freezing.  My father would light an oil stove in ours and we'd all take baths on the same evening.)

Quite possibly everybody smelled bad. Lower class people only had one dress for weekdays and one for Sundays. They covered them with an apron. Men didn't change their shirts every day. They changed their collars (hence the need for collar studs).

And we call them the good old days, but were they? It seems that at Downton they enjoyed a succession of lovely meals and house parties, but in reality the life of an upper class woman was one of boredom. Meals punctuated long dreary days writing letters, wandering through the gardens, reading and playing the piano. Houses were a good distance from each other so it was often a life of loneliness with the husband busy with running the estate or with his business and the wife with nothing much to do except entertain on rare occasions. The only chances to meet young men were those deemed suitable and introduced by the family, and then there was no real chance of getting to know them beyond a brief stroll in the gardens. No wonder Lady Mary wanted to test out Lord Dillingham's prowess before she married him. No wonder there was bed-hopping when they had company!

And those good old days came with no concept of modern medicine. If your cold turned into pneumonia you would probably die. Even upper class women died in childbirth (as we know from Lady Sybil). My grandmother lost a child to scarlet fever and one to meningitis. 

So would you really have wanted to live then? Or are you content to enjoy their life vicariously through our books?  My next Lady Georgie is called Malice at the Palace and will give you a chance to live like a royal!

Dishing on Downton!

RHYS BOWEN: My friends and family know not to call me on Sunday evenings during January. That is because I'll be watching Downton Abbey, of course. I've never actually watched any soap opera in my life (except for the odd episode of Days of our Lives when I was visiting my parents) but I have to confess that I find Downton completely addictive.  When I analyze the ;plot I can see that it's over-the-top and full of holes. The bad characters are so evil, the good so noble. Poor Anna and Edith. They endure one bout of suffering after another, rather like the suffering women in Telenovelas in Central and South America.

And yet I am hooked. I have to keep watching. Will Edith ever find out what happened to Michael? Will Bates be accused of pushing Green under a bus? Will Mary find happiness and with whom? Will Thomas ever become sweet and lovable and abandon his evil ways? (And is he on drugs or trying to cure himself of his homosexuality?)

When I had a personal blog a couple of years ago we used to dish on Downton every Monday morning and a couple of thousand people joined in the dishing. They were the most popular posts ever on my blog. Everyone had an opinion. Everyone cared!

So I'm wondering, Reds, are you addicted to Downton? And why do you think we find it so fascinating? Is it because we are fascinated by lives in such a different time and place? Or are the story lines so emotionally compelling? Has Julian Fellowes raised the emotional bar so high by killing off two favorite characters that we cannot be sure of the safety of anyone?

So let's hear what you think? Who do you think Mary should marry? Please not Charles Blake! What should Edith do about little Marigold? (If I were her I'd buy a little cottage and hire a nanny for her daughter and go to visit her when I wanted). And if I were Bates I wouldn't come across as so guilty. I'd say "Yes, that man annoyed me the one time I saw him, but I don't run around killing everyone who doesn't behave as I would. More offence and less defense). And poor Anna--will she finally have to reveal the rape?
And does everyone else loathe Miss Bunting. She's just plain rude and if she cared about Tom she wouldn't embarrass him.

And who absolutely does not like Downton?  Even if you don't,you have to watch this wonderful Downton Christmas spoof..


HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN:  Oh. SO much to say. But briefly: Gillingham, no. Creepy.  Marigold? PROBLEM.  Bates? Boring. And still I am beyond hooked. Miss Bunting? Predictable. I'd love to have Mary swept off her feet--that'd be fun, right? And Edith;s what's-his=name  should come home and they get Marigold. And change her name.  (Hmm. But that wouldn't work, would it?)

HALLIE EPHRON: First, yes, I love Downton. And I will be watching.

Isn't Edith's lover (whats-his-name) dead, and didn't she inherit a newspaper that she's supposed to be running? Or is that a plot in MY head? And she's gotten so pathetically needy after having a nice spurt stiffening backbone.

I am tired of he Bates/Green murder story. And of course someone's going to find  that missing diaphragm(?) Mary asked Anna to get rid of for her ("No one looks there..." Yeah, right.) Mary and Gillingham? Obviously not. But that other guy that's sniffing around doesn't seem right, either. We'll surely find out why Thomas nipped off to see his "dying father"-- poor conflicted soul.

I think thematically everyone is going to marry UP or DOWN. Because how many times can you get hit in the head with that theme? So that means Mary might marry Branson (even if there's no chemistry, at least he appreciates her smarts). And Isobel's got to end up with Sir Whatshisface.

And of course, someone's got to die...

DEBORAH CROMBIE:  I swore off Downton after Season 2, and didn't watch but a few episodes of 3 and 4. But I have found myself strangely hooked again--really against my will! I love the music, and the setting, and the clothes! Although the plot is over the top, and I think Rhys is right--the plot lines are suitable for a Telenovela... I like Branson better than any of them, Upstairs or Down... and don't understand why he doesn't just bugger off to America:-) Maybe someone will murder Miss Bunting???? (She certainly deserves it!)

RHYS: So did you like the ways things were going last night? I think Isobel should marry Lord Whatsit. He's nice AND he's rich. What more does she want? AND she could be superior to Violet.

And in case you want a good laugh, take a look at the Downton Christmas spoof! it's priceless.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryo7fqdmcGQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dO4UMQIsCW0

And all our friends in the path of the blizzard, stay safe and warm!

If it's Sunday, It Must Be--oh, Wait. It's Monday.

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN:  Was it one of you who told me she had a stack of index cards in her bathroom, each one with a day of the week ? And she’d flip it every night before she went to bed so the next morning she’d know what day it is? I have to say –although I thought it was funny, I secretly thought it was brilliant.

So—however you figured it out. Happy Monday! And how did you spend your Sunday?

There’s a song from Flower Drum Song, remember ? “Sunday, Sweet Sunday, with nothing to do. Lazy, and lovely, my one day with you. HAH. Sunday? Do nothing?

Of course we read all the newspapers  Sunday mornings, the Times, the Globe, the Herald.  And we have a million cops of coffee, and a lovely breakfast. That is SUCH a treat.

But then—often after realizing that we have nothing for dinner—we go to the grocery. I do the laundry.  I work work work.

Funny how as working people we have feelings for each day, and those indicators are what make it easy to remember what day it is.  Monday is oh, dear, work day, gotta get up and GO. Tuesday is: okay, getting stuff done. Wednesday is: Wednesday! Oh, my gosh, switch into very high gear. Thursday, a good day. I like Thursday. Things get accomplished. Friday—fun! No matter what, it’s only a day til the weekend. And whatever is not done on Friday...won’t be done til Monday.

But as any author knows, there’s no such thing as “do-nothing” weekends. As someone who’d trying to juggle jobs, weekends mean trying to fast-forward on writing—not resting.  But I love it, you know? Sitting at my desk ,working on the book, it’s transportingly wonderful.

And I am constantly amused by the Dowager Duchess on Downton Abbey, who once said--and you have to imagine that plummy voice:  “What is a weekend?”  Because of course, upstairs, there’s nothing that makes Saturday or Sunday different from any other day. Right? It’s all just keeping up the estate and well, whatever else they do.

She meant it to indicate one day of gracious living simply and elegantly runs into the next.  We mean it like—work work work.

And at least it used to be you could tell the days with TV—Sunday was Ed Sullivan, and Thursday was ER. Now you can watch whatever you want, whenever you want.

But Sunday is now a night for viewing decisions--and I bet those of us who watch TV on Sunday will instantly choose a side:  Football? Downton? Good Wife/MadameSecretary? Other?

Which do you choose, Reds? And then tell us: How do you spend your Sunday days—and evenings?  

RHYS BOWEN: I'm hooked on Downton Abbey (naturally). I know it's soap opera, but I have to watch. I'm not sure what will happen on the evening of the superbowl because Downton is on at 8 p.m. in Arizona where I am at the moment. One of us will have to retreat to the bedroom.

I bought John a smart TV for his birthday and hope he'll get Acorn so we can watch all the British TV shows. But unless I set it up for him, it's not going to happen. And I need time...

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: I hear you, Rhys. I'm having a problem with my regular mail program (will receive but not send) that I KNOW is fixable if I can just find a couple hours to spend dealing with it, but I can't, so I've reverted to my gmail address for the foreseeable future.

Which means I could theoretically spend Sunday evenings upgrading my computer stuff, but do I? No! I love Sunday evenings, because the first half of the day is usually so busy for my family (church and youth group after, and then we always seem to have to stop at the grocery store on the way home...) What I like to do during these winter Sundays is put something into the crock pot at two (or better still, have Ross put something into the crock pot!) to be ready at six or seven - stew, or pulled pork on egg noodles, or a pair of soups. Then we all sit down in front of the woodstove in the family room and watch a movie together. When the kids were younger, Friday night was family movie night. Strangely, people in their teens and twenties seem to have other things to do on a Friday than watch THE INCREDIBLES with Mom and Dad.

Sunday TV shows? I catch them on Hulu.

HALLIE EPHRON: We watch Downton Abbey, too, if there's a new episode. The Good Wife? Didn't know it was on Sunday because I usually stream new episodes off their web site during the week... and regular TV shows seem to forever be on hiatus.

Mostly Sunday isn't much different from any other day since EVERY day is a writing 'work' day and what's available on TV is pretty much the same, too, since we got ROKU. The one extra: the Sunday papers. We get the NY Times and the Boston Globe and I usually save the Times book review and both magazines for Sunday night.


DEBORAH CROMBIE: For years we've had homemade (except for the crust) pizza on Sunday nights. We do deviate occasionally, but it's nice to have a routine. And I imagine you can guess that I've watched PBS on Sunday nights as long 
as I can remember! (Although there were years when PBS
had competition from the X-Files...)

SUSAN ELIA MACNEAL: For us, Sunday night is about getting Kiddo ready for school. Why is he seemingly allergic to showers? Why do I have to say "Wash your hair" and "WITH SHAMPOO!"? Then there's the gather-up of the homework, library books, etc. for the following morning — because I'm not a morning person and can't leave it until then. So generally we DVR shows and watch them later... Downton Abbey, of course. And Hallie has got me hooked on The Good Wife. And there's actually another show on Sundays we watched, but I'm too embarrassed to admit in a public forum.... However, if you guess, I'll come clean.

HANK: Tell us, tell us, Susan! “Watched” means—it isn’t on any more? Or you don’t watch it anymore?  

And how about you all? Guess what Susan watched…. And how do you spend your Sundays?

And this week some fabulous people and blogs: an author who is going ot be even bigger than she already is, how one author’s books got made into Amazon TV! And we’ll introduce you to a new little critter—and you’ll want one of your own.

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Congratulations “Candidly Susan,” the winner of the audiobook There Was an Old Woman. Susan, please email Hallie “at” HallieEphron dot com with your mailing address!