Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey: The Lost Legacy of Highclere Castle
(By Fiona Carnarvon) Read EbookSize | 22 MB (22,081 KB) |
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Author | Fiona Carnarvon |
One person particularly captured Fiona's imagination - Lady Almina, the 5th Countess of Carnarvon.
Almina was the illegitimate daughter of banking tycoon Alfred de Rothschild. She was his only daughter and he doted on her. She married George, the Earl of Carnarvon, at 19 with an enormous dowry.
At first, life at Highclere was a dizzying mix of sumptuous banquets for 500 and even the occasional royal visitor. Almina oversaw 80 members of staff - many of whom came from families who had worked at Highclere for generations.
But when the First World War broke out, life at Highclere changed forever.
History intervened and Almina and the staff of Highclere were thrown into one of the most turbulent times of the last century. Almina was forced to draw on her deepest reserves of courage in order to ensure her family, the staff and the castle survived.
This is the remarkable story of a lost time. But Highclere remains and in this book, Fiona weaves Almina's journey into the heritage and history of one of England's most exquisite Victorian castles.”