To Marry An English Lord, by Gail MacColl: A Step By Step Guide for Downton Fangirls

To Marry An English Lord
by Gail MacColl and Carol McD. Wallace
Workman’s Publishing Company, Inc.: New York, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-7611-7195-9


If we hold these truths to be self-evident, it is evident that this self does not read nearly enough books that are true.   I mean…I’m rocking a one-a-year ratio.  Which is better than a none-a-year ratio, but it’s not like my brain is on a truth-avoiding diet, avec Fox News.  There’s just so many books, so little time to read them all.   Am I right or am I right, you guys?

Another reason I don’t have nearly enough time to read truthy things is because I’m busy watching them.  You’ve probably heard of a show called Downton Abbey.  It is TOTALLY truthy, you guys.  Everyone got Pamuked all the time, changed outfits with the help of the help seventeen times a day, and all lived in giant Abbeys in ye olde Eduardian England, right?   Anyways, I digress from my mission of truth.  My point here?  I totally dig Downton Abbey.

Naturally, I was filled with glee when I stumbled upon the book that claims to be the inspirational reading for Downton Abbey architect creator Julian Fellowes.  I was doubly filled with glee when I realized it both is filled with history AND reads kind of like an extensive gossip column, filled with turn of the century posed celebrity photos (the more things change, the more they stay the same, huh?).  History? Fashion?  Drama? Gossip?  Lady nerd red alert!

Guys.  Let’s just say I know it’s a bad idea, but I kind of would like to spend an afternoon prancing around in Charles Worth dress as my parents sell me into a loveless marriage with a very old and very gouty British Lord/Prince/Knight for a title and drafty castle.*   I’ll even grin and let them tighten my corset!

But in all seriousness, while the book was a little chatty Cathy in regards to history, it does have a lot of interesting, historical, human stories and the upper crust social history of New York, London, and Newport.  It took me a surprisingly long time to read, given that a solid quarter is pictures or page long foot-notey anecdotes about things like indoor plumbing, King Alfred’s fashions, Newport, and home redesign (obvi, I was hooked).  I mean…this book is not hard, and it had me at hello.  And while I questioned the chatty factuality of it throughout, the doubts of my inner high school librarian were assuaged by the extensive bibliography at the end.  In short, I am a fan of this book.  And Downton Abbey.  Together as a gift (big tip here dudes), they will make a lady in your life who is a nerd very happy this holiday season.  If you're looking for YA double fan points?  Throw in the super high-brow (sarcasm, but seriously, fun) The Luxe.

 Doubleplusgood (so I just read 1984, what of it?)…Julian Fellowes is allegedly creating a Guilded Age costume drama series in America, aka Newport – which I’ve been longing for since attending a conference in Newport when Season 2 of DA was airing last year.  It’s a no brainer.  The audience for it is Vander-built.  Annnnd I’m out.


*But if Prince Harry is available…

The Dark Unwinding, by Sharon Cameron: You sort of got (steam)Punked!

Excuse me miss.
Is that Downton Abbey you are posing
in front of?The Dark Unwinding

The Dark Unwinding by Sharon Cameron
Scholastic Press: New York, 2012
ARC copy via NetGalley

Left to the mercy and care of her aunt in high-society Victorian England, Katherine Tulman has had the sense to make herself invaluable as a right-hand woman and bookkeeper.  When her aunt orders her to visit her reculsive uncle on the Tulman family estate in the country, 17-year-old Katherina has no choice but to go.  Stanwyth Keep, as she find it, is horribly unkempt, gothic, and terrifying.  Her Uncle Tully, as she finds him, is a raving lunatic, with a talent for inventing mechanical and earily life-like gadgets, and to make matters worse, the estate is inhabited by nearly 2000 villagers it employs to run it, all rescued from the workhouse.  If Aunt Tulman discovers this, she will shut the operation down and send Uncle Tully to the lunatic home.  Though she makes a poor first impression, Katherine finds the people and the estate growing on her, and agrees, against her better judgment, to the plea for more time to save the estate made by her uncles handsome apprentice.  However, as she struggles to find a way to save the estate, she begins to wonder if the estate is robbing her of her own sanity too.  Bits of steampunk and historical fiction give this title appeal to fans of the genres, though the plot is a bit overwrought at times.  It is recommended to readers aged 12-15.  

I’m a bit...so-so on this title.  I wanted to like it a lot more than I found myself actually liking it, and wonder if that disappointment has colored my whole perception and reading experience.  I’m not usually able to put down a book and come back to it a few weeks later if I like it a lot - and I did exactly that with this one.  That said, many other people have loved this book, so maybe you ought to listen to them!  Katherine rubbed me the wrong way, and aspects of the plot made me roll my eyes.  While I appreciated that Uncle Tully’s mental illness wasn’t totally vilified as it very well may have been in Victorian England, I did find it a bit cartoonish at times, and that cheapened it for me.  The whole thing was at times a little too fast-paced in a way that may leave others gasping and ripping through the pages, but really just had me feeling confused, and then annoyed with predictable plot twists.  I was also kind of bummed that this is a sequel.  Come on, YA.  PLEASE.  Give me more stand-alones!  I think some of you will love this, especially if you like costume dramas (which I do), and others will not.  It’s worth a try though!  Check it out at your local public library, and enjoy it with a cup of tea (sugar free, after you read this!).  

Finally, I have to ask.  On page 13, when Cousin Robert is in the potting shed, is this a straight up Cold Comfort Farm shout out?   If so, well played.