While my husband was at home studying Marlon Brando in Last Tango in Paris, I was at a friend's taking in Downton Abbey and I'm not sure you can get two more contrasting movie experiences. Although Downton Abbey, written by British upper class guy Julian Fellowes, has its charms that include a slow pace, beautiful costumes and a few interesting characters, it is with fiction that Fellowes really gets going. As you know, British writers of past and present can really write, presenting strong characters, unique plots, and a good style. They are educated and competent. Some examples include VS Pritchett, Winston Graham, Ian MacEwan, Graham Swift, and for me, Julian Fellowes. His three astonishing novels, Snobs, Past Imperfect, and Belgravia, perfectly present the foibles and failures of the upper class life, with skewering and trenchant insight. I especially like Snobs, the story of Edith Lavery who moves heaven and earth to marry an upper class Englishman, to the dismay of his family, who see her as a social climber. Sure enough, she soon gets bored with the life that isn't as she imagined it, and takes a lover, which turns out to be another problem. What next? Fellowes' insights are pure Jane Austen satire, with the same touches of humanity and observation that humane values are more important in the long run than riches, status or fame. He thoroughly knows his social class and presents it with the great combination of humour and viciousness that makes such a good novel.
Perhaps I should give Downton Abbey another try. I watched a couple of episodes and felt I could predict who was good and bad and what was going to happen as a result. Perhaps predictability is the hallmark of upper class life in the U K?
ReplyDeleteJust to clarify, I am not recommending Downtown Abbey the TV show, but the novels of Julian Fellowes.
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