The Buzz...About Books

As most Downton Abbey fans know, the final episode of this popular series will be aired on PBS next Sunday, March 6th.  Will fans be happy with how writer Julian Fellowes has ended this popular series?  Most importantly, will poor Lady Edith finally find happiness??

If you enjoyed Downton Abbey and are impatiently waiting for the new series, The Gilded Age, by Fellowes, you can keep in the spirit of the times by picking up some novels set during the period of the Downton Abbey, from the years just before World War One through to the Roaring Twenties.

One highly anticipated book that is to be published very soon is Summer Before the War by Helen Simonson (author of the delightful Major Pettigrew's Last Stand):

Set in the small village of Rye, East Sussex in the summer of 1914, the novel starts with the arrival of Beatrice Nash, the new Latin teacher. Beatrice is soon to find that her job is not as secure as she thought, as some of the villagers are in an uproar at the idea of a woman teaching Latin.  While relatively young, Beatrice is very qualified for the position and has Agatha Kent, wife of an official in the Foreign Office, as her mentor and chief advocate.  Agatha's two grown nephews have also arrived for the summer. Daniel the poet and Hugh the medical student. They soon befriend Beatrice and help Beatrice to keep her position in the school.  As Beatrice settles into village life, she meets some of the other town residents and she gets a taste for teaching by tutoring three local boys. Yet, as the summer progresses, the upcoming war is looming. Daniel, Hugh and other young men in the village start talking of enlisting. After it begins, refugees from Belgium arrive and life in the village is to be changed forever. 

 Summer Before the War is currently on order. Go ahead and place a hold for a copy in regular print, or one these other formats:

• Large Print
• Audiobook
• Talking Book (Restricted to print disabled patrons)

While you are waiting for your hold on The Summer Before the War to arrive, check out the books by Toronto author, Jennifer Robson.    

In Somewhere in France: A Novel of the Great War, Lady Elizabeth "Lilly" Neville-Ashford is fighting her mother's expectation that she live the life of an aristocrat and marry someone 'suitable'.  Instead, Lilly is determined to have a life full of purpose and to marry for love.  When World War One starts, Lilly's battles with her paren'ts escalate and after a huge confrontation, she breaks with her family and leaves home for good.  With her title and everything that goes with it behind her, Lilly moves to London and gets her first job.  When she hears about the newly formed Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (W.A.A.C.), she immediately signs up. After a few weeks training to become an ambulance driver, she volunteers for a field hospital in France.  Yet, the call to duty is not Lilly's only reason for going to France. Already at this field hospital is the handsome Scottish surgeon, Robert Fraser, her brother Edward’s best friend and the man Lilly has dreamed about for years.  

 Somewhere in France is also available in:
• Audiobook
• eBook
• eAudiobook
• Talking Book (Restricted to print disabled patrons)

Robson's second book, After the War is Over is the story of Lilly's friend, Charlotte Brown, during her post-war life in Liverpool. Moonlight Over Paris, the third book in this series of interconnected stories, was just published.  If you are unfamiliar with this author, have a look at the recent article in The Globe and Mail, Jennifer Robson: The most successful Canadian author you’ve never heard of.  Ms Robson will be visiting Palmerston Branch for a talk about her new book in April.

Of course, if you truly are not ready to leave the Dowager Duchess and the rest of Downton Abbey residents behind, you could enjoy it all again by watching all six seasons in DVD. Enjoy once again Lady Violet ask"What is a weekend?"

 Related posts:

• Farewell to Downton Abbey!
• Downton Abbey Returns!
• Awaiting the Return of Downton Abbey
• The Cook Who Inspired Downton Abbey: Margaret Powell's Memoirs and Recipes