Article - 8 Books to Read If You Love ‘Downton Abbey’

[Pauline]

@artnbarb posted this on Facebook. It is a good list of British historic novels, set in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

BookBub Blog - 8 Books to Read If You Love ‘Downton Abbey’, December 30, 2014

The list of books in the article:
Habits of the House by Fay Weldon
The House at Riverton by Kate Morton
The Last Summer by Judith Kinghorn
The Glitter and the Gold by Consuelo Vanderbilt Balsan
The Buccaneers by Edith Wharton
The American Heiress by Daisy Goodwin
Summerset Abbey by T.J. Brown
The Secret Rooms by Catherine Bailey

In the comments people added:
Fall of Giants by Ken Follett
The Forsyte Saga
A Woman of Substance by Barbara Taylor Bradford
The Cazalet Chronicles by Elizabeth Jane Howard

From the original list I have only read the Wharton (years ago). I read "My Last Duchess" by Daisy Goodwin but not the one listed. I have been meaning to read The Cazalet Chronicles. BBC Radio 4 did a series based on them and I heard part of it and liked it.

Has anyone read these? Any others to recommend?

 

[Roz]

I have read and very much enjoyed everything Kate Morton has written.

The American Heiress by Daisy Goodwin was the US title for the book published in the UK under the title My Last Duchess. She has a new book out, called The Fortune Hunter. I liked both of them.

I've read all three of the Ken Follett books in the Century Trilogy that started with Fall of Giants. Just finished Edge of Eternity this week. Not great writing, but interesting historical fiction.

I also enjoyed the PBS series of the Cazelet Chronicles, although the TV series ended before the last of the books. I did read all the books and liked them.

But my all-time favorite is The Forsyte Saga -- probably because we got totally hooked on the BBC TV series that was broadcast here in the US in the 1960s. It was black and white, and might not appeal too much to modern viewers, but the acting is fantastic. After watching it I bought all the books, and also the audio versions, which I think I have listened to at least 3 times. Then when it came out on DVD, I bought all of those too. Don't get the DVDs confused with the recent version, very much abbreviated and in color, that came out a few years ago. The original 1960s series is the real thing.

Thanks for the list, Pauline. I'll have to look up the ones I haven't read.

 

[Pauline]

The American Heiress by Daisy Goodwin was the US title for the book published in the UK under the title My Last Duchess.

Then I did read this one - I bought it in the UK. I liked it.

I am going to add a bunch of these to my reading list!