Carol's Comments May 2020

Carol’s Comments May 2020

Hello Everyone! Welcome to another issue of Carol’s Comments. Since last November, I have been diligently watching Downton Abbey every Sunday afternoon on WNIT, my local PBS station. As Season 6’s final episodes quickly approached in late February, I wondered if I could ever find a book, movie or television series that could ever compare to this unforgettable program. One day about two weeks before I published my last blog, I decided to go to the River Park Branch Library and hopefully discover an appropriate substitute that could whisk me away to 1920’s aristocratic England.

While browsing the new fiction section, I glanced up toward the new mysteries and spotted Jessica Fellowes’ new mystery The Mitford Scandal on display and snatched it up immediately. Niece of Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes and author of the Downton Abbey companion books including my favorites The World of Downton Abbey and A Year in the Life of Downton Abbey, Jessica Fellowes recently started a fascinating new murder mystery series. The Mitford Scandal is the third and newest book in the Mitford Murders collection. 

This mystery begins in 1928 when a maid supposedly dies by accident during a lavish engagement party held at Asthall Manor, the Mitford family estate. Louisa Cannon, former nursery maid and chaperone to the six real-life Mitford sisters is working as a temporary maid at the gala and suspects the maid’s tragic death may be more nefarious than it appears. 

The novel then fast forwards to 1929 when 18 year old Diana Mitford marries Bryan Guinness. During the couple’s whirlwind tour of Europe, Louisa Cannon accompanies Diana as her lady’s maid. Unfortunately during their honeymoon in Paris, another murder happens among the newlyweds’ circle of acquaintances.

Then two years later when Diana and Bryan visit Venice with many of their avant-garde friends including author Evelyn Waugh, Dora Carrington and Lytton Strachey, American actress Clara Fischer dies of an apparent opium overdose. Louisa suspects that all these deaths may be linked to the maid’s mysterious “accident” back in 1928. She investigates with the aid of London detective Guy Sullivan who helped her solve a another mystery at the Mitford estate several years ago,

Despite being a bit convoluted and complicated at times, The Mitford Scandal is a delightfully luscious escapist treat for mystery and Downton Abbey fans alike. This wonderful novel successfully transports the reader back to the Downton Abbey era by vividly describing aristocratic society through the servant’s perspective.

Luckily in mid-March, I went to the library and checked out Fellowes’ two earlier mysteries, The Mitford Murders and Bright Young Dead before the St Joseph County Public Library system closed indefinitely due to the pandemic. Reading the novels in reverse chronological order, I started with Bright Young Dead first. 

Set in 1925, Bright Young Dead takes place during 18 year old Pamela Mitford’s birthday party where  a guest, haughty and charismatic 22 year old Adrian Curtis falls to his death from a bell tower near the Mitford home during an infamous “treasure hunt.” A maid Dulcie Long is arrested for his murder. Louisa Cannon suspects she didn’t commit the crime. Although very entertaining, this is the weakest mystery in the series because the plot, which also featured a female theft ring with connections to the murder, was mediocre and predictable.

Fortunately, Fellowes’ debut mystery The Mitford Murders was totally irresistible. Set in 1920, the novel centers on the senseless murder of retired nurse Florence Nightingale Shore and also introduces the reader to 18 year old Louisa Cannon, nursery maid and chaperone to the six Mitford sisters as well as aspiring crime solving sleuth.

While investigating who might have had a motive to kill Nurse Shore, Louisa meets young London police Sergeant Guy Sullivan who later becomes a love interest. I highly recommend The Mitford Murders and The Mitford Scandal because they both successfully blend Agatha Christie style mysteries with a touch of Downton Abbey. I can’t wait for Jessica Fellowes’ fourth book in this series. The Mitford Murders and The Mitford Scandal were definitely both very addictive and absorbing reads. 

After finishing the Mitford Murders mystery series, I became very intrigued with the real Mitford family especially author Nancy Mitford. I really wanted to read her two famous novels The Pursuit of Love and Love in a Cold Climate published in 1945 and 1949 respectively but they were only available as e-books at the library. Luckily, I discovered on Amazon Prime Video that the BBC had produced a miniseries of Love in a Cold Climate in 2001. Originally airing on PBS Masterpiece, this program directed by Tom Hooper and screenplay by Deborah Moggach skillfully combines Mitford’s two novels The Pursuit of Love and Love in a Cold Climate which focus on the eccentric Radlett family. Set from 1929-1940, the film centers on Linda Radlett, her cousin Fanny and their mutual friend Polly who grow into womanhood by pursuing love interests between the two World Wars. This very entertaining screen adaptation of Mitford’s semi-autobiographical novels authentically captures the fading grandeur of the British aristocracy before World War II. 

After watching Love in a Cold Climate, I still wanted to learn more about Nancy Mitford and her extremely unconventional family. While reading The Mitford Scandal, I discovered that Jessica Fellowes had consulted Laura Thompson’s revealing biography about Nancy Mitford, Life in a Cold Climate for background research. Unfortunately, the St Joseph County Public Library didn’t own it, not even in e-book format. Determined to review it for my blog, I succumbed and bought my first e-book on Amazon.

Since I don’t own a Kindle e-reader or a tablet, I had to read it on my iPhone which made it very challenging for me. I’m a very tactile person and enjoy holding a print book in my hands especially for recreational reading. So flipping pages on my phone screen and not being able to figure out how many chapters the book had beforehand without a table of contents was very frustrating.

Despite these initial setbacks, I’m still happy I got to read Thompson’s rather complicated and unorthodox biography.  Also watching the BBC miniseries before reading Thompson’s comprehensive book helped immensely because  the author uses detailed references to Mitford’s novels to chronicle Nancy Mitford’s life as well as profiling her family’s and especially her five younger sisters’ eccentricities and rather unusual lifestyles.

After I posted my last blog on March 6, Carol’s Comments along with the world turned a dramatic chapter. My blog which I’ve been writing since March 2011 has reached a notable milestone. This issue marks its 40^th post. After considerable thought, I’ve decided to take a break for a while. It has become extremely difficult in the last couple years finding good books and films to create interesting and unusual themes for my readers to enjoy; even more so now that this current crisis has closed the public library with further uncertainty when it will ever be open for full public use again. 

One thing I do know while enduring self-isolation is that books and movies became my treasured constant companions by nurturing, consoling and transporting me to places I might never visit physically. This blog especially during this very strange, surreal time was very therapeutic because it temporarily distracted me from the fear, anxiety and loneliness I and everyone else was experiencing. 

The books and film reviewed in this blog can be found at most local public libraries. My readers in St Joseph County, Indiana can visit the St Joseph Public Library’s web site at sjcpl.org for additional information, Thanks for reading! Until next time, stay safe and well my friends!