Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey: The Lost Legacy of Highclere Castle

The true-life inspiration and setting for Downton Abbey tells the story behind Highclere Castle and the life of one of its most famous inhabitants, Lady Almina, the 5th Countess of Carnarvon.
Using the rich store of materials from the archives of Highclere Castle, including diaries, letters, and photographs, the current Lady Carnarvon herself has written the story of this fabled home on the brink of war. Much like her Masterpiece Classic counterpart, Lady Cora Crawley, Lady Almina was the daughter of a wealthy industrialist, Alfred de Rothschild, who married his daughter off at a young age. With dowry money to seal the deal, Lady Almina distinguished herself as a brave and remarkable woman when she threw open the doors of Highclere Castle to tend to the wounded of World War I.
Contrasting the splendour of Edwardian life in a great house against the backdrop of the First World War this book offers the inspiring and revealing picture of the real woman at the centre of the history of Highclere Castle.