The New Countess

Download The New Countess full books in PDF, epub, and Kindle. Read online The New Countess ebook anywhere anytime directly on your device. Fast Download speed and no annoying ads. We cannot guarantee that every ebooks is available!

The New Countess

Author : Fay Weldon
Publisher : Macmillan
ISBN 13 : 1250028027
Total Pages : 334 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (5 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis The New Countess by : Fay Weldon

Download or read book The New Countess written by Fay Weldon and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 2013-12-17 with total page 334 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "England, 1903. Lord Robert and Lady Isobel Dilberne and the entire grand estate, with its hundred rooms, are 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"--Provided by publisher.

The New Countess

Author : Fay Weldon
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN 13 : 1781851662
Total Pages : 316 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (818 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis The New Countess by : Fay Weldon

Download or read book The New Countess written by Fay Weldon and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2013-11-01 with total page 316 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The year is 1905 and King Edward VII has invited himself and his mistress to a shooting weekend with the Dilbernes. Now Isobel, the Countess, must turn a run-down mansion into a palace fit for a king. Just as well the family fortunes have been restored, but money can't solve everything... not even a kidnapping. The servants refuse to condone the King's morals; Isobel's daughter, Lady Rosina – now widowed and wealthy – insists on publishing a scandalous book, and the mis-spent pasts of Viscount Arthur and his Irish-American wife Minnie rear up to blacken the family name. When fate deals a hand in the middle of the shooting party, Isobel must consider not only her leading position in Society, but her entire future. Fay Weldon brings an aristocratic Edwardian household to fabulous, vibrant life in this gorgeously witty tale of manners and morals, commoners and countesses, from one of Britain's best loved authors.

An Unlikely Countess

Author : Jo Beverley
Publisher : Penguin
ISBN 13 : 1101477334
Total Pages : 328 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (14 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis An Unlikely Countess by : Jo Beverley

Download or read book An Unlikely Countess written by Jo Beverley and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2011-03-01 with total page 328 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: After leaving the army and falling out with his family, the Honorable Catesby Burgoyne is drowning his sorrows when he comes across a woman being attacked by thugs. A fight is just what he needs, but little does he realize the lady he rescues will change his life. For Prudence Youlgrave is not just the victim of ruffians. Her life has been made a shambles by her selfish brother and brutish fiancé. But she has a bold and courageous spirit Catesby can’t resist, and before he knows it, he finds he has rescued her again by marrying her himself. A reckless adventurer may be forgiven for such an impulse. But when Catesby’s older brother suddenly dies, he finds himself Earl of Malzard, and Prudence is suddenly a most unlikely countess. Neither she nor Catesby are prepared to face the shock of his family. Still almost strangers, they have no one to turn to but each other, and it is in each other’s arms that they find a love neither ever expected. "Another jewel in Beverley’s heavily decorated crown."—The Romance Reader "A delightful blend of wit, intrigue, and emotional victories."—The State (Columbia, SC)

The Tattooed Countess

Author : Carl Van Vechten
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 298 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (239 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis The Tattooed Countess by : Carl Van Vechten

Download or read book The Tattooed Countess written by Carl Van Vechten and published by . This book was released on 2020-03-11 with total page 298 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Mr. Van Vechten has hitherto, often and with justice, been compared to Mr. Aldous Huxley, by reason of the insouciant flippancy of his fiction. But now he has gone beyond Huxley through the production of a story which, without ever losing wit, dexterity, an instinct for civilized charm, yet presents full-length and solidly the portraits not only of the gay countess but of the lugubrious persons whom she is fated to meet, to court, to hurt so pitifully, so inevitably. There are, one hears, accounts these days in the public prints of a banker named Dawes, of a biochemist named Brother Charlie or possibly Charley. But now the fifty or sixty thousand amiable citizens among our hundred and ten million Nordics who do not feel fulfilled in Brother Charlie or Charley, nor even in Brother Charlie's brother, may find civilized delight in a real book-"The Tattooed Countess."--The Saturday Review, Volume 1

The Countess and the King

Author : Susan Holloway Scott
Publisher : Penguin
ISBN 13 : 1101443162
Total Pages : 367 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (14 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis The Countess and the King by : Susan Holloway Scott

Download or read book The Countess and the King written by Susan Holloway Scott and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2010-09-07 with total page 367 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Katherine Sedley lived by her own rules and loved who she pleased- until she became the infamous mistress of King James II... London, 1675: Born to wealth and privilege, Katherine is introduced to the decadent court of King Charles II, and quickly becomes a favorite from the palace to the bawdy playhouses. She gleefully snubs respectable marriage to become the Duke of York's mistress. But Katherine's life of carefree pleasure ends when Charles II dies, and her lover becomes King James II. Suddenly she is cast into a tangle of political intrigue, religious dissent, and ever-shifting alliances, where a wrong step can mean treason, exile, or death at the executioner's block. As the risks rise, Katherine is forced to make the most perilous of choices: to remain loyal to the king, or to England.

A Scandalous Countess

Author : Jo Beverley
Publisher : Penguin
ISBN 13 : 1101574860
Total Pages : 284 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (15 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis A Scandalous Countess by : Jo Beverley

Download or read book A Scandalous Countess written by Jo Beverley and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2012-02-07 with total page 284 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Lady May is back. And so is the scandal that sent her tumbling from her position as the toast of London, when her husband, the Earl of Maybury, was killed in a duel. Even a year of mourning hasn't quieted the rumors of her infidelity. Georgia Maybury is determined to regain her position in the beau monde, but a scarred ex-naval officer threatens her plans...

The Other Countess

Author : Eve Edwards
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9780385740906
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (49 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis The Other Countess by : Eve Edwards

Download or read book The Other Countess written by Eve Edwards and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the court of Queen Elizabeth I in 1582, Eleanor Hutton, an alchemist's daughter, and William Lacy, the financially ruined Earl of Dorset, fall in love just as Will is supposed to be courting a rich and socially acceptable heiress.

The Duchess Countess

Author : Catherine Ostler
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
ISBN 13 : 1471172570
Total Pages : 376 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (711 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis The Duchess Countess by : Catherine Ostler

Download or read book The Duchess Countess written by Catherine Ostler and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2021-04-15 with total page 376 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'A scintillating story superbly told... [Ostler] packs every paragraph with eye-opening detail' The Times 'A rollicking read... [Ostler] tells Elizabeth's story with admirable style and gusto' Sunday Times 'Terrifically entertaining: if you liked Bridgerton, you’ll love this...and her research is impeccable' Evening Standard 'Fascinating. Magnificent. Sensitively told' Hallie Rubenhold, author of The Five 'Catherine Ostler’s superb, gripping, decadent biography brings an extraordinary woman and a whole world blazingly to life' Simon Sebag Montefiore When the glamorous Elizabeth Chudleigh, Duchess of Kingston, Countess of Bristol, went on trial at Westminster Hall for bigamy in April 1776, the story drew more attention in society than the American War of Independence. A clandestine, candlelit wedding to the young heir to an earldom, a second marriage to a Duke, a lust for diamonds and an electrifying appearance at a masquerade ball in a diaphanous dress: no wonder the trial was a sensation. However, Elizabeth refused to submit to public humiliation and retire quietly. Rather than backing gracefully out of the limelight, she embarked on a Grand Tour of Europe, being welcomed by the Pope and Catherine the Great among others. As maid of honour to Augusta, Princess of Wales, Elizabeth led her life in the inner circle of the Hanoverian court and her exploits delighted and scandalised the press and the people. She made headlines, and was a constant feature in penny prints and gossip columns. Writers were intrigued by her. Thackeray drew on Elizabeth as inspiration for his calculating, alluring Becky Sharp. But her behaviour, often depicted as attention-seeking and manipulative, hid a more complex tale – that of Elizabeth’s fight to overcome personal tragedy and loss. Now, in this brilliantly told and evocative biography, Catherine Ostler takes a fresh look at Elizabeth’s story and seeks to understand and reappraise a woman who refused to be defined by society’s expectations of her. A woman who was by turns, brave, loving and generous but also reckless, greedy and insecure; a woman totally unwilling to accept the female status of underdog or to hand over all the power, the glory and the adventures of life to men.

Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey

Author : The Countess of Carnarvon
Publisher : Crown
ISBN 13 : 0770435637
Total Pages : 322 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (74 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey by : The Countess of Carnarvon

Download or read book Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey written by The Countess of Carnarvon and published by Crown. This book was released on 2011-12-27 with total page 322 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The real-life inspiration and setting for the Emmy Award-winning Downton Abbey, Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey tells the story behind Highclere Castle and the life of one of its most famous inhabitants, Lady Almina, the 5th Countess of Carnarvon. Drawing on a rich store of materials from the archives of Highclere Castle, including diaries, letters, and photographs, the current Lady Carnarvon has written a transporting story of this fabled home on the brink of war. Much like her Masterpiece Classic counterpart, Lady Cora Crawley, Lady Almina was the daughter of a wealthy industrialist, Alfred de Rothschild, who married his daughter off at a young age, her dowry serving as the crucial link in the effort to preserve the Earl of Carnarvon's ancestral home. Throwing open the doors of Highclere Castle to tend to the wounded of World War I, Lady Almina distinguished herself as a brave and remarkable woman. This rich tale contrasts the splendor of Edwardian life in a great house against the backdrop of the First World War and offers an inspiring and revealing picture of the woman at the center of the history of Highclere Castle.

The Countess

Author : Rebecca Johns
Publisher : Crown
ISBN 13 : 0307588467
Total Pages : 306 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (75 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis The Countess by : Rebecca Johns

Download or read book The Countess written by Rebecca Johns and published by Crown. This book was released on 2011-09-27 with total page 306 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Was the “Blood Countess” history’s first and perhaps worst female serial killer? Or did her accusers create a violent fiction in order to remove this beautiful, intelligent, ambitious foe from the male-dominated world of Hungarian politics? In 1611, Countess Erzsébet Báthory, a powerful Hungarian noblewoman, stood helpless as masons walled her inside her castle tower, dooming her to spend her final years in solitary confinement. Her crime: the gruesome murders of dozens of female servants, mostly young girls tortured to death for displeasing their ruthless mistress. Her opponents painted her as a bloodthirsty škrata—a witch—a portrayal that would expand to grotesque proportions through the centuries. In this riveting dramatization of Erzsébet Báthory’s life, the countess tells her story in her own words, writing to her only son—a final reckoning from his mother in an attempt to reveal the truth behind her downfall. Countess Báthory describes her upbringing in one of the most powerful noble houses in Hungary, recounting in loving detail her devotion to her parents and siblings as well as the heartbreak of losing her father at a young age. She soon discovers the price of being a woman in sixteenth-century Hungary as her mother arranges her marriage to Ferenc Nádasdy, a union made with the cold calculation of a financial transaction. Young Erzsébet knows she has no choice but to accept this marriage even as she laments its loveless nature and ultimately turns to the illicit affections of another man. Seemingly resigned to a marriage of convenience and a life of surreptitious pleasure, the countess surprises even herself as she ignites a marital spark with Ferenc through the most unromantic of acts: the violent punishment of an insolent female servant. The event shows Ferenc that his wife is no trophy but a strong, determined woman more than capable of managing their vast estates during Ferenc’s extensive military campaigns against the Turks. Her naked assertion of power accomplishes what her famed beauty could not: capturing the love of her husband. The countess embraces this new role of loving wife and mother, doing everything she can to expand her husband’s power and secure her family’s future. But a darker side surfaces as Countess Báthory’s demand for virtue, obedience, and, above all, respect from her servants takes a sinister turn. What emerges is not only a disturbing, unflinching portrait of the deeds that gave Báthory the moniker “Blood Countess,” but an intimate look at the woman who became a monster.

Courting the Countess

Author : Donna Hatch
Publisher : The Wild Rose Press Inc
ISBN 13 : 1509209492
Total Pages : 306 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (92 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Courting the Countess by : Donna Hatch

Download or read book Courting the Countess written by Donna Hatch and published by The Wild Rose Press Inc. This book was released on 2016-10-05 with total page 306 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When charming rake Tristan Barrett sweeps Lady Elizabeth off her feet, stealing both her heart and a kiss in a secluded garden, her brother challenges Tristan to a duel. The only way to save her brother and Tristan from harm—not to mention preserve her reputation—is to get married. But her father, the Duke of Pemberton, refuses to allow his daughter to marry anyone but a titled lord. The duke demands that Elizabeth marry Tristan’s older brother, Richard, the Earl of Averston. Now Elizabeth must give up Tristan to marry a man who despises her, a man who loves another, a man she’ll never love. Richard fears Elizabeth is as untrustworthy as his mother, who ran off with another man. However, to protect his brother from a duel and their family name from further scandal, he agrees to the wedding, certain his new bride will betray him. Yet when Elizabeth turns his house upside down and worms her way into his reluctant heart, Richard suspects he can’t live without his new countess. Will she stay with him or is it too little, too late?

The Blood Countess

Author : Andrei Codrescu
Publisher : Open Road Media
ISBN 13 : 1504015266
Total Pages : 342 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (4 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis The Blood Countess by : Andrei Codrescu

Download or read book The Blood Countess written by Andrei Codrescu and published by Open Road Media. This book was released on 2015-07-21 with total page 342 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A “brilliant” novel of Elizabeth Bathory, the notorious sixteenth-century Hungarian aristocrat who bathed in the blood of virgins (St. Petersburg Times). Turmoil reigns in post-Soviet Hungary when journalist Drake Bathory-Kereshtur returns from America to grapple with his family history. He’s haunted by the legacy of his ancestor, the notorious sixteenth-century Countess Elizabeth Bathory, who is said to have murdered more than 650 young virgins and bathed in their blood to preserve her youth. Interweaving past and present, The Blood Countess tells the stories of Elizabeth’s debauched and murderous reign and Drake’s fascination with the eternal clashes of faith and power, violence and beauty. Codrescu traces the captivating origins of the countess’s obsessions in tandem with the emerging political fervor of the reporter, building the narratives into an unforgettable, bloody crescendo. Taut and intense, The Blood Countess is a riveting novel that deftly straddles the genres of historical fiction, thriller, horror, and family drama.

My Favorite Countess

Author : Vanessa Kelly
Publisher : Kensington Publishing Corp.
ISBN 13 : 1420124234
Total Pages : 383 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (21 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis My Favorite Countess by : Vanessa Kelly

Download or read book My Favorite Countess written by Vanessa Kelly and published by Kensington Publishing Corp.. This book was released on 2011-01-28 with total page 383 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This “sublimely sensual Regency [romance] delivers wit, a tightly knit plot, a refreshingly different hero, and a realistically complicated heroine” (Booklist, starred review). She is difficult, demanding, and at times, quite fierce. And Dr. John Blackmore can’t take his eyes off her. The Countess of Randolph is the most striking woman he has ever seen . . . and the most infuriating patient he has ever tended. Mired in responsibility, Bathsheba doesn't have time to convalesce in the country. She should be in London, hunting for a wealthy new lover to pay off her late husband's vast debts, not dallying with a devastatingly handsome doctor. But it is only a matter of time until the good doctor and the obstinate countess will have to contend with the sparks that fly between them. And once their bodies surrender, their hearts may follow . . .

Blood Countess

Author : Lana Popovic
Publisher : Abrams
ISBN 13 : 1683356438
Total Pages : 252 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (833 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Blood Countess by : Lana Popovic

Download or read book Blood Countess written by Lana Popovic and published by Abrams. This book was released on 2020-01-28 with total page 252 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “A lush and bloody historical thriller” based on the infamous real-life inspiration for Countess Dracula, a Hungarian noblewoman turned serial killer.(Kirkus Reviews) In sixteenth-century Hungary, Anna Darvulia has just begun working as a scullery maid for the young and glamorous Countess Elizabeth Báthory. When Elizabeth takes a liking to Anna, she’s vaulted to the dream role of chambermaid, a far cry from the filthy servants’ quarters below. She receives wages generous enough to provide for her family, and the Countess begins to groom Anna as her friend, confident and lover. It’s not long before Anna falls completely under the Countess’s spell—and the Countess t”akes full advantage. Isolated from her former friends, family, and fiancé, Anna realizes she’s not a friend but a prisoner of the increasingly cruel Elizabeth. Then come the murders, and Anna knows it’s only a matter of time before the Blood Countess turns on her, too. “Popovic balances lush, romantic language with gruesome imagery in this tale of innocence lost. Readers will likely be inspired to do actual research into Lady Bathory’s murderous misdeeds.” —Booklist “Popovic also touches on how a patriarchal society can drive women to extremes without letting the truly terrifying Bathory, or Anna, off the hook for their own actions.” —Kirkus Reviews “Hand to fans of dark historical fiction and powerful female characters.” —School Library Journal

Report of the New York State College of Agriculture at Cornell University, Ithaca, and of the Cornell University Agricultural Experiment Station

Download Report of the New York State College of Agriculture at Cornell University, Ithaca, and of the Cornell University Agricultural Experiment Station PDF Online Free

Author : New York State College of Agriculture
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 998 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (91 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Report of the New York State College of Agriculture at Cornell University, Ithaca, and of the Cornell University Agricultural Experiment Station by : New York State College of Agriculture

Download or read book Report of the New York State College of Agriculture at Cornell University, Ithaca, and of the Cornell University Agricultural Experiment Station written by New York State College of Agriculture and published by . This book was released on 1913 with total page 998 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Vols. issued in Albany include reports on both experimental and extension work, as well as research and extension publications issued during the year. Vols issued in Ithaca contain some of these reports and publications but are not as inclusive.

The Princess Spy

Author : Larry Loftis
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
ISBN 13 : 1982143886
Total Pages : 400 pages
Book Rating : 4.9/5 (821 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis The Princess Spy by : Larry Loftis

Download or read book The Princess Spy written by Larry Loftis and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2021-02-09 with total page 400 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES, WALL STREET JOURNAL, AND USA TODAY BESTSELLER “As exciting as any spy novel” (Daily News, New York), The Princess Spy follows the hidden history of an ordinary American girl who became one of the OSS’s most daring World War II spies before marrying into European nobility. Perfect for fans of A Woman of No Importance and Code Girls. When Aline Griffith was born in a quiet suburban New York hamlet, no one had any idea that she would go on to live “a life of glamour and danger that Ingrid Bergman only played at in Notorious” (Time). As the United States enters the Second World War, the young college graduate is desperate to aid in the war effort, but no one is interested in a bright-eyed young woman whose only career experience is modeling clothes. Aline’s life changes when, at a dinner party, she meets a man named Frank Ryan and reveals how desperately she wants to do her part for her country. Within a few weeks, he helps her join the Office of Strategic Services—forerunner of the CIA. With a code name and expert training under her belt, she is sent to Spain to be a coder, but is soon given the additional assignment of infiltrating the upper echelons of society, mingling with high-ranking officials, diplomats, and titled Europeans. Against this glamorous backdrop of galas and dinner parties, she recruits sub-agents and engages in deep-cover espionage. Even after marrying the Count of Romanones, one of the wealthiest men in Spain, Aline secretly continues her covert activities, being given special assignments when abroad that would benefit from her impeccable pedigree and social connections. “[A] meticulously researched, beautifully crafted work of nonfiction that reads like a James Bond thriller” (Bookreporter), The Princess Spy brings to vivid life the dazzling adventures of a spirited American woman who risked everything to serve her country.

Lady Catherine and the Real Downton Abbey

Author : The Countess Of Carnarvon
Publisher : Hodder & Stoughton
ISBN 13 : 1444762141
Total Pages : 392 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (447 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Lady Catherine and the Real Downton Abbey by : The Countess Of Carnarvon

Download or read book Lady Catherine and the Real Downton Abbey written by The Countess Of Carnarvon and published by Hodder & Stoughton. This book was released on 2013-09-12 with total page 392 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: **Explore the fascinating history of the real Downton Abbey as the Crawley family saga makes its way on to the big screen with Downton Abbey, the major motion picture** 'An excellent depiction of English aristocratic life ... a compelling portrait' Publisher's Weekly * * * * * * The follow-up to the international bestseller Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey, this book moves the story into the 1920s, and focuses on the remarkable American heiress who came to reign at Highclere Castle. Sometimes the facts are even more extraordinary than the fiction ... This book tells the story of Lady Catherine, a beautiful American girl who became the chatelaine of Highclere Castle, the setting for Julian Fellowes' award-winning drama Downton Abbey. Charming and charismatic, Catherine caught the eye of Lord Porchester (or 'Porchey', as he was known) when she was just 20 years old, and wearing a pale yellow dress at a ball. She had already turned down 14 proposals before she eventually married Porchey in 1922. But less than a year later Porchey's father died suddenly, and he became the 6th Earl of Carnarvon, inheriting a title and a Castle that changed both their lives forever. Catherine found herself suddenly in charge of a small army of household staff, and hosting lavish banquets and weekend house parties. Although the couple were very much in love, considerable challenges lay ahead for Catherine. They were immediately faced with the task of saving Highclere when debts threatened to destroy the estate. As the 1920s moved to a close, Catherine's adored brother died and she began to lose her husband to the distractions London had to offer. When the Second World War broke out, life at the Castle would never be the same again. Drawing on rich material from the private archives at Highclere, including beautiful period photographs, the current Countess of Carnarvon transports us back to the thrilling and alluring world of the 'real Downton Abbey' and its inhabitants.