Who is really the boss of Downton Abbey?
Ever wonder why Cora Crawley, the American, is simpering around as the Countess of Downton? Personally, she has always gotten on my nerves a little bit, especially because I have read my Edith Wharton, and I know perfectly well that Cora owns the whole lot of them, lock, stock, and barrel. I enjoy Downton Abbey as much as anyone else, but come on, even at the beginning of the series, their lifestyle is already hopelessly out of style. The family is all so pompous and full of themselves, when the fact is that they would all have to have gone off to work long ago if Coraâs VERY NEW AMERICAN money had not saved the day. And for that she has to teeter around that palace and act pleased as punch not to be English? Please.
Well, I guess the fact is that women didnât have that much to do in the 19th century, even if they were rich. Maybe especially if they were rich. Certainly there were quite a few wealthy American women in the late 19th century who thought that Cora Crawleyâs life in England was better than anything they could find to do in the United States. Food for thought, no?
Where did Cora Crawley come from?
Cora Crawley is based on real American women who married into the royal family in the second half of the 19th century. It was a time when industry brought a lot of ânew moneyâ into American families, and British aristocratic families were having the opposite problemâŠtheir traditional means of making money no longer supported their properties, and in most cases they were limited in ways through which they could generate income; inheritance laws were designed to keep the properties intact.
Back in the US, new opportunities in industry meant that there were suddenly a lot of ânouveau richeâ families that seemed trashy to more established families, so the wives and daughters were shut out of the social life that they might expect to have. As their daughters came of age, they couldnât make good matches, which at the time, was the womanâs main job.
The daughters were taken off to England for a London season, perhaps in hopes of giving them an entree into New York society or, in hopes of marrying them off to English aristocracy. Well, you know, obviously American women are AWESOME, so of course the guys were interested, but marriage is serious business among the aristocracy. So the men were attracted to the women (of course), but the men married the women for their money. Then, depending on the marriage I guess, sometimes the women were made to feel bad about it for the rest of their lives.
Who was Edith Wharton, and what does she have to do with Downton Abbey?
Edith Wharton, the author, was part of the âOld New Yorkâ society, and during her lifetime, she wrote and published many novels, stories, and novellas about this lifestyle. Her very last book, The Buccaneers, was written about this phenomena. Wharton traveled to Europe quite a bit and spent her later life living in France, so she must have known some of the people who actually lived this lifestyle.
Note that to the modern reader, it might seem like âhistorical fictionâ, but when it was written, it was contemporary fiction, and it was by an insider, so Edith Whartonâs work is an authentic portrayal of the lifestyle. Also, since she was American, her style is easier for the modern reader to follow than some of her British contemporaries. So donât be intimidated. If youâve been wanting to read more âclassicsâ, Wharton is a good place to start.
Go Beyond What You Read in School
You might have read one of Edith Wharton’s short stories or even her novels in school. Ethan Frome is the most common of her novels to be taught in school: partly because itâs short and partly because itâs fairly easy for students to understand and analyze. I donât mind Ethan Frome, but itâs sad, and itâs not set in New York society, which I find more entertaining. Another one that might be taught is The House of Mirth. Itâs longer, but also fairly easy for students to understand. This novel about a woman who just canât make it in the system, and finally she runs out of options.
To me, itâs just a bit cheesy because it is tragic: I think when you ârun out of optionsâ you choose to run out of options. So I donât feel too sorry for the protagonist. My favorites are The Age of Innocence and The Buccaneers. The Age of Innocence was made into a great Hollywood movie with Michelle Pfeiffer, Winona Ryder, and Daniel Day-Lewis. Iâve read and enjoyed the book too. I like it because there really are no easy answers for the characters in this book. As in real life, they figure it out and do the best they can. I can get behind that attitude. I consider it very American, at least the best of being American.
The Buccaneers
The Buccaneers is Edith Whartonâs last book. I find it frustrating because she died before it was finished, so it was finished after her death. When I recently reread it, and I felt I could almost pinpoint the page where the ghostwriter took over, and the book ends on a much different note than I suspect it would have if Edith Wharton had written it herself. She would have been able to reconcile the conflict between the New World (and new money) and the Old (and old money) in a more subtle but more satisfying manner.
Having said that, itâs a highly enjoyable book. Although the central character is Nan St. George, the novel also follows the different paths her sister and friendsâ lives take as they marry into English families.
When I first watched Downton Abbey, I realized right away that Cora Crawley represents the life that one of the characters in The Buccaneers might have had 20 years after the end of this book.
A Word of Warning
Marrying a foreign national of any country is a serious endeavor. When you do it, you suddenly find yourself a citizen of a country that may or may not recognize you as an American. If you have children with that person, and live in his or her country, eventually your citizenship is going to become a moot point if your children grow up seeing themselves as another nationality. I know quite a few women and men who have done this. Sometimes it goes well, sometimes it doesnât, but what is true is that especially once they have children, âyou canât go home againâ (Thomas Wolfe). I guess because I have always been fascinated with understanding people from different parts of the world, enough so that I eventually lived overseas for more than a decade, so The Buccaneers was a natural starting place for me.
Regardless, between my interest in the subject and the popularity of Downton Abbey, I have quite a few reading options for you!
Books Related to other âBuccaneersâ and the Edith Wharton life
If you read Consuelo Vanderbiltâs true story, you will see the relationship between her life and the fictionalized story in The Buccaneers. She is from the same family as fashion designer Gloria Vanderbilt and her son, Anderson Cooper, from CNN.
The Caton sisters beat the rush and were some of the first BuccaneersâŠwhen people could still remember the Revolution!
Same pictureâŠdifferent book. Weird, huh? This one is a light, readable account of several of the real âBuccaneersâ.
And hereâs yet another optionâŠ.Edith Wharton wrote about it first, but she definitely wasn’t the only!
Another real-life basis for Downton Abbey from a different perspective.
More from The Lois Level about life in upper crust England:
For a light hearted look from Nancy Mitford and her sistersâ varying points of view check out It’s all OK…take it from England’s Mitford Sisters
And for possibly an even more entertaining point of view: Dodie Smith’s “I Capture the Castle”: What Jane Austen would have written in the 20th Century
As mentioned above, this painting is important in The Buccaneers. You can see how hard it would be to have this hanging on your wall, especially if you are sexually unfulfilled!
âLeda and the Swanâ is a story and subject in art from Greek mythology in which the god Zeus, in the form of a swan, seduces, or rapes, Leda.
The famous Renaissance painting of the subject is Correggio’s elaborate composition of c. 1530. This painting was damaged whilst in the collection of Philippe II, Duke of OrlĂ©ans, the Regent of France in the minority of Louis XV. His son Louis, though a great lover of painting, had periodic crises of conscience about his way of life, in one of which he attacked the figure of Leda with a knife. The damage has been repaired, though full restoration to the original condition was not possible.
Photo credit: Tim Gage
Note and Warning:
The detail above is from Coreggioâs âLeda and the Swanâ, which is significant in The Buccaneers. The full painting is extremely sexy, so itâs at the end of this post for the benefit of those who might be reading this in public.
âClassic novelsâ versus âhistorical novelsâ
If you like to read âhistorical novelsâ, try to give some âclassic novelsâ a try. They are so much better because the authors were there and know what life was really like. Getting used to the style can be a challenge, but once you are, you will find so much more depth in âclassic novelsâ that âhistorical novelsâ will start to seem cheesy in comparison.
A âclassic novelâ was actually written in the time period in which it was set, while a âhistorical novelâ was written about a different time period than the one in which it was written.
âClassic novels’â written by Americans are best to start with because the American writing style is usually more straightforward than the British.
Itâs a good idea to watch some film clips or google some photos of the setting before you start.
The BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) and PBS (Public Broadcasting System) have been making wonderful miniseries of these books for years, which can also be helpful.
A Selection of Edith Whartonâs most well known books and related films.
Note: The Buccaneers is also available on Amazon Prime.
Summer is not as well known as some of Edith Whartonâs other novels. Because this novel was controversial for its subject matter when it was published, it’s pretty interesting now!
Most of Edith Whartonâs books are in the public domain. You can find free downloads here, at Project Gutenbergâs Edith Wharton page. The Buccaneers is an exception because it was unfinished at Whartonâs death and was completed by a different author, but you should be able to find that at your library. Because there are several pages of Whartonâs works, click on the bottom right to see more.
Anthony Trollope: Similar to Edith Wharton
The Way We Live Now shows the other side: British âNew Moneyâ trying to invade the âOldâ. Trollopeâs style is more intricate than Whartonâs. He was a prolific writer who had some great stories to tell.
If you like historical fiction, you really owe it to yourself to read fiction from authors who were there; itâs really much better.
You have to be ready to look up any references you donât understand; remember, things change.
Download free copies of Anthony Trollope’s books from Project Gutenberg here.
The Way We Live Now is also available on Amazon Prime. There are several BBC versions of Trollopeâs novels.