nomadreader

The backstory: My obsession with love of Downton Abbey has inspired me to learn more about the period and customs of British country homes at that time. The basics: Upstairs & Downstairs: An Illustrated Guide to the Real World of Downton Abbey  is part nonfiction, part coffee table book about typical life in an Edwardian country home. My thoughts: Most of what I know about this time, I've learned from Downton Abbey . I was curious to learn more about the time, in part to better assess how true Downton  is to history. Upstairs & Downstairs  was an informative, engaging look into life at the time. Divided into sections based on a typical day. This structure allowed author Sarah Warwick to examine the roles of those upstairs and downstairs simultaneously. There was much that was familiar from Downton , but I also learned many things that added more nuance to my understanding of the servant's roles on the show. What I enjoyed most about this book, however, w...