Books of the Times - Inspired by Downton Abbey

Downton Abbey has made me curious.

I am curious about this time, moving quickly from Queen Victoria to King Edward in 1901 and from King Edward to King George V in 1910. I am curious about the explosions of technology, and the coming of World War I. Consider electricity was being installed, the telephone was coming into wider use, the typewriter was also gaining ground which meant girls who previously had to live their lives in service as house maids could now become secretaries and have a better life. How similar is this to the explosion in technology today? Why does this matter? How are jobs being morphed into technology? Where will the jobs of the future be? How do you create jobs?

The New York Times printed an excellent piece by William Boyd in the Sunday Review on WHY WORLD WAR I RESONATES.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/22/opinion/sunday/why-world-war-i-resonates.html

"A conflict between 19th-century armies equipped with 20th-century weapons..."

It matters because there is still the great divide between the master and servant, between the 1 and the 99 percent, because technology has exploded into our lives in such a way that if I am without my screen for a morning I feel out of touch. And now in an instant I can google when the typewriter was invented (1860's), just as America was going into Civil War. The secrets of the Manor House are not just facts like the 45 gallons of water that had to be carried up flights of stairs for one person's bath before plumbing, the secrets of the Manor House are the secrets of today.

Here are some titles that are interesting further reading, available at Book Soup, linked below.

*  Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey by Lady Almina.

*  Below Stairs: The Classic Kitchen Maid's Memoir That Inspired "Upstairs, Downstairs" and "Downton Abbey" by Margaret Powell.

*  Rose: My Life In Service to Lady Astor.

*  Manor House: Life in an Edwardian Country House by Juliet Gardiner.

*  The Life and Secrets of Almina Carnatvon: 5th Countess of Carnarvon of Tutankhamun Fame by William Patterson Cross.

*  What the Butler Winked At: Being the Life and Adventures of Eric Horne, Butler by Eric Horne.

And of course Edith Wharton, THE BUCCANEERS.


http://www.booksoup.com/