BOOK CLUB FRIDAY--GUEST AUTHOR GINGER MONETTE

Award-winning author Ginger Monette enjoys dancing on the treadmill, watching period dramas, public speaking, and reading—a full-length novel every Sunday afternoon. Learn more about her and her books at her website.

Is Downton Abbey a Copycat of Pride & Prejudice?

One Sunday night while watching season 2 of Downton Abbey, it dawned on me: Downton Abbey is a copycat of Pride & Prejudice! Now, whether Julian Fellowes really did look to Jane Austen's classic as inspiration, I cannot say, but let's look at some of the similarities.

A houseful of daughters with no heir

Both storylines are built on the premise of impending doom due to the family's misgivings about the unfamiliar heir. In Pride & Prejudice, Austen placed a cast of five daughters at risk of being “thrown to the hedgerows” should their father die before they are wed. Julian Fellowes chose three sisters for Downton Abbey's cast, although they seem more concerned for the future of their physical home and the general uncertainty brought about by the new heir rather than their personal futures.

Similar characters

Both Austen and Fellowes chose a heroine who is an “obstinate, headstrong girl.” Downton Abbey's Lady Mary Crawley was never one to hold her tongue. And certainly Austen's Elizabeth Bennet never hesitated to voice her opinion on everyone and everything!

Perhaps the most similar characters in the two stories is a domineering matriarch. The outspoken dowager Lady Grantham is one of Downton Abbey's most colorful characters. But I believe Fitzwilliam Darcy's imperious aunt, Lady Catherine de Bourgh, could have given even Violet Crawley a run for her money!

An attempted elopement

Both dramas include an attempted elopement that spawns uproar in the respective families. Readers are aghast when Austen's rogue, George Wickham, runs off with Elizabeth's younger sister, nearly ruining the Bennet family's reputation. Conversely, Downton Abbey fans cheered when daughter-of-the-manor Lady Sybil and chauffeur-servant Branson finally kissed. But their pairing and attempted elopement was scandalous nonetheless, and sent Sybil's sisters hurrying after her and their father into a thunderous outage.

Both Austen and Fellowes used the scandalous union as a clever plot device to not only create drama, but to keep audiences on the edge of their seats. Would the scandalous pair remain together? How would the scandal drive future storylines and affect the other characters?

A grand estate

In both Pride & Prejudice and Downton Abbey, a grand house is a silent, yet central character. For nearly 200 years women have been swooning over Pemberley, the estate of Austen's heartthrob Fitzwilliam Darcy. And Highclere Castle's gold rectangular structure topped with corner towers and spires is instantly recognizable as the Crawley's beloved family home on Downton Abbey.

These lavish homes set our hearts to dreaming and become a beloved character in and of themselves. But the Austen/Fellowes parallels don't stop there. It is worth noting that the name Downton Abbey is suspiciously similar to Donwell Abbey, the name Austen chose for George Knightley's estate in her classic work, Emma.

An entailed estate with an “unsuitable” heir

In Pride & Prejudice, the unsuitable heir is the obnoxious rector William Collins, whose marriage proposal to Elizabeth Bennet is flatly refused. In Downton Abbey, Matthew Crawley is a dashing, but lowly solicitor. And although both “unsuitable heirs” go on to propose to other women, in the case of Downton Abbey, viewers are thrilled when the love struck hero and heroine eventually marry.

High society characters falling in love with, well, those not so high society

Fitzwilliam Darcy is downright disgusted with himself for falling in love with Elizabeth Bennet, a woman so decidedly beneath him. And in Downton Abbey, Lady Mary Crawley is incensed that a man in trade will inherit her family home. But in the end, fans are delighted when love wins out for both couples.

We may never know if Julian Fellowes was inspired by Jane Austen, but certainly in both cases, the premise has enchanted millions and proven to be a blockbuster success in both literature and film.

Darcy's Hope ~ Beauty from Ashes

A Pride & Prejudice Great War Romance (Volume 1)

Escape to the era of Downton Abbey and experience all the drama of World War 1 alongside literature's iconic Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy. You'll watch their tender love unfold as they learn to work together and reconcile their differences at a field hospital only miles from the Front.

1916. World War 1 has turned French chateaux into bloody field hospitals, British gentlemen into lice-infested soldiers, and left Elizabeth Bennet's life in tatters. Her father is dead and her home destroyed. Never again will Elizabeth depend on a man to secure her future! But when an opportunity arises to advance her dreams of becoming a doctor, she is elated--until HE arrives....

Heartbroken. Devastated. Captain Fitzwilliam Darcy is left rejected by the woman he loved and reeling from the slaughter of his men on the battlefield. "Enough!" Darcy vows. "No more sentimental attachments!" But arriving at a field hospital to pursue a covert investigation, Darcy discovers his beloved Elizabeth training with a dashing American doctor and embroiled in an espionage conspiracy. With only a few months to expose the plot, Darcy is forced to grapple with his feelings for Elizabeth while uncovering the truth. Is she indeed innocent? Darcy can only hope....

Note: Darcy's Hope has a happy ending but continues in Darcy's Hope at Donwell Abbey.  In the sequel, readers will experience the full resolution of the mystery, and our beloved couple's love will face a new, tragic test.

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#CRAFTS WITH ANASTASIA--CRAFTING HUMOR

I thought a little craft humor might be in order today. Enjoy!

COOKING WITH CLORIS--SPONGE CAKE WITH GUEST AUTHOR TJ BROWN

Today we’re joined by TJ Brown, the author of the Summerset Abbey series. TJ also writes young adult novels as Teri Brown. You can read more about her at her website. 

Even though she was the governess’s daughter, Prudence Tate was raised to be a free thinking independent woman by her guardian, Sir Philip Buxton, a man far ahead of the Edwardian time period in which they lived. When Sir Buxton dies, Prudence is compelled to move with his daughters to Summerset Abbey, where she is relegated to the servant’s quarters. One marriage and one book later, Prudence is a Camden Town housewife, completely unprepared for the cooking and cleaning involved in her new role.

Fortunately, Prudence gets cooking lessons from a friend and is soon learning to cook basic English dishes such as bangers and mash and Kippers. She tries her hand (more or less successfully) at traditional English treats from the era. Sponge cake was an English favorite and often served with afternoon tea.

When I decided to tackle a sponge cake, I wanted one fit for a queen. The first one didn’t cut it and instead turned out flat and rather eggy. After reading the reviews (which I SHOULD have done first,) I learned there had been a typo and it should have read 3 eggs and not 8! Big difference. Big, big difference.

This recipe turned out like a dream, light and airy. I spread strawberry jam between the two layers and topped it off with homemade whipped cream and though I admit to preferring my cake with coffee over tea, I have to say it was delicious.

Sponge Cake with Jam and Whipped Cream

4 eggs, room temperature
1-3/4 cups sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup milk (whole or 2 %)
1/4 cup butter (salted or unsalted, whatever you have on hand)
2 cups pastry flour, (though all-purpose flour can be substituted)
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

1 cup of good quality jam. (I prefer homemade strawberry.)

Preheat oven to 325

This recipe works best with a stand mixer, using the paddle attachment. Beat eggs for five minutes. Add one cup of sugar. Mix until just combined then add the 3/4 cups of sugar and continue mixing for another 4-5 minutes until light and pale yellow.  Add vanilla and stir on low.

Sift together dry ingredients in a separate bowl, then add to the egg mixture until combined.

Heat the milk and butter in a small saucepan on low heat until the butter is melted. Don’t allow mixture to get too hot.  Mix into the batter until combined. Pour the batter into two greased and floured 8" round cake pans.

Bake until the cake is light golden brown and the middle springs back when touched.  Remove from oven and place pans on wire racks for ten minutes. Turn out onto the cooling racks and cool completely.  Stand in pans for 10 minutes. Then turn out onto wire cooling racks and cool completely.

Add about a cup of jam to the top of one of the cakes and place the other on top. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve with freshly whipped cream.

Summerset Abbey

Reminiscent of Downton Abbey, this first novel in a new series follows two sisters and their maid as they are suddenly separated by the rigid class divisions within a sprawling aristocratic estate and thrust into an uncertain world on the brink of WWI...

Rowena and Victoria, daughters to the second son of the Earl of Summerset, have always treated their governess’s daughter, Prudence, like a sister. But when their father dies and they move in with their uncle’s family in a much more traditional household, Prudence is relegated to the maids’ quarters, much to the girls’ shock and dismay. The impending war offers each girl hope for a more modern future, but the ever-present specter of class expectations makes it difficult for Prudence to maintain a foot in both worlds.

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