READ THIS: BELGRAVIA By Julian Fellowes Our Coverage Sponsored by Hallak Cleaners the Couture Cleaner
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Calling all others that are suffering from Downton Abbey withdrawl!
Symptoms can now be cured!
And scandals that trump Pamuk are possible...Belgravia is simply ablaze with storyline that will kill all competition on the book market right now. We review far fewer books today than at our inception because books of this caliber are rare.
No one is going to do more for the British pound this week than Julian Fellowes because this book is going to sell, sell, sell! We'd go long Fellowes if he could be traded.
In the history of Whom You Know, one of the brightest moments, period, came when Peachy Deegan was forced to slow down in life because she had a bad cold in the winter, so she turned on the television and discovered Downton Abbey early in Season Two. We've also reviewed Mover and Shaker Carol Wallace and her book that inspired Downton Abbey, so said Julian himself. And you know THE BRITISH ARE COMING from the pitter patter of Peachy's Lotus shoes...which are recolonizing America in a fashion sense (badly needed we must say! Come on America wear Lotus). Warning: Do not start this minutes before you need to sleep. Give yourself about five hours if you read at a Peachy pace.
How we love a good story!
And nobody does it better than Julian Fellowes.
This is among our most favorite books we've read in total, right up there with Regis's and Rod Stewart's and you see how often we retweet each of them (Julian where are you on Twitter?).
Though it is a romantic thought to be brought back to an era of yesteryear where you listen to installments on a periodic basis of Belgravia, we are far too addicted to Fellowes to practice patience and we prefer the hardcover book format.
Here's what the world has been waiting for, and we'd really be worried about you if you are able to close this book at all. To be completely honest, Peachy Deegan began it one evening when she was not at a restaurant (!) and started it at the park. She read half of it that night, and tried to go to sleep. Peachy could not sleep because she wanted to know what happened next, so she got up and read the next hundred pages. There were very important things she had to do the next day so sleep was of primary concern...so after the first 300 pages she went to bed. But not really. She tossed and turned for 20 more minutes and then read until the end.
Yes, it's that fantastic, and we tell you the story because 1. It's the truth and 2. Actions speak louder than words. The plot is so brilliantly weaved with complex characters of various motivations that will put you in an absolute trance.
We hesitate to go into the plot because we don't want to ruin it for you, but remember Fellowes is master of the plot weave and character actions that are complexly stunning. Riveting pages will suck you in and make you forget about checking your phone constantly. Not that anyone here does that...
How we love a good story!
And nobody does it better than Julian Fellowes.
This is among our most favorite books we've read in total, right up there with Regis's and Rod Stewart's and you see how often we retweet each of them (Julian where are you on Twitter?).
Though it is a romantic thought to be brought back to an era of yesteryear where you listen to installments on a periodic basis of Belgravia, we are far too addicted to Fellowes to practice patience and we prefer the hardcover book format.
Here's what the world has been waiting for, and we'd really be worried about you if you are able to close this book at all. To be completely honest, Peachy Deegan began it one evening when she was not at a restaurant (!) and started it at the park. She read half of it that night, and tried to go to sleep. Peachy could not sleep because she wanted to know what happened next, so she got up and read the next hundred pages. There were very important things she had to do the next day so sleep was of primary concern...so after the first 300 pages she went to bed. But not really. She tossed and turned for 20 more minutes and then read until the end.
Yes, it's that fantastic, and we tell you the story because 1. It's the truth and 2. Actions speak louder than words. The plot is so brilliantly weaved with complex characters of various motivations that will put you in an absolute trance.
We hesitate to go into the plot because we don't want to ruin it for you, but remember Fellowes is master of the plot weave and character actions that are complexly stunning. Riveting pages will suck you in and make you forget about checking your phone constantly. Not that anyone here does that...
British Aristocracy, gaslight history, upstairs downstairs treatment.....sound familiar? It should, because Julian Fellowes is at it again. Indulge in teatime, enjoy a stroll in the gardens, or thrill to the preparations of a grand ball in this sweeping novel that takes us there...again. Beginning with the historic ball given by the Dutchess of Richmond that starts a series of never-to-be-forgotten incidents in battle lore, Mr. Fellowes lets us fall in love. He takes us through generations of mis-guided behaviour and wraps us into a ....well, we can't tell can we? The ending of this novel will be a stunning exclamation point, but to reveal it would be a terrible spoiler. As we are all still reeling from the ending of our dear Downton, his new work strokes us a bit, embroidering upon a significant time in London's history.
BELGRAVIA - ONE SECRET,TWO FAMILIES, THREE DECADES OF LIES...and our secret weapon across the pond, a native of England, tells Peachy:
As always, Julian Fellowes encapsulates social history like no other author, drawing us from one decade to another on the turn of a page.
He has the enviable skill to hurl you full throttle into an era of class boundaries where lies and deceit are the necessary tools of survival.
Quintessentially British, Belgravia will impress Americans and our people equally!
Unexpected twists, excellent characters, what better way to spend your evening than reading this delightful book. A fantastic read! Prepare to be transported to the distant but oh so familiar story of family life.
Belgravia has everything except the Dowager Countess. It would have been even better if Maggie herself was sitting here sipping PG Tips with us as we read.
Belgravia has earned Whom You Know's Highest Recommendation.
Julian please email peachydeegan@gmail.com for a direct interview!
Julian please email peachydeegan@gmail.com for a direct interview!
Julian Fellowes’s BELGRAVIA (Grand Central Publishing; Hardcover;
ISBN: 978-1-4555-4116-4) is the story of a secret that unravels behind the
porticoed doors of London’s grandest postcode. The novel was originally
released in digital serial form, with the hardcover edition available on July
5, 2016; a full e-book edition will also be available then (ISBN: 9781455541195).
On the evening of June 15, 1815, the great and the good of British
Society have gathered in Brussels at what is to become one of the most tragic
parties in history—the Duchess of Richmond’s ball. For this is the eve of the
Battle of Waterloo, and many of the handsome young men attending the ball will
find themselves, the very next day, on the battlefield.
For Sophia Trenchard, the young and beautiful daughter of Wellington’s
chief supplier, this night will change everything. But it is only twenty-five
years later, when the upwardly mobile Trenchards move into the fashionable new
area of Belgravia, that the true repercussions of that moment will be felt. For
in this new world, where the aristocracy rub shoulders with the emerging nouveau
riche, there are those who would prefer the secrets of the past to remain
buried…
About the Author:
Julian
Fellowes received the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for Gosford Park (2002), his first produced
film. His work was also honored by the Writer’s Guild of America, The New York
Film Critics’ Circle and the National Society of Film Critics for Best
Screenplay. As creator, sole writer and executive producer of the smash hit series
Downton Abbey, Fellowes has been
nominated for eight Emmy Awards. He received Emmy Awards for writing and
Outstanding Miniseries or Movie in the first season and a Special International
Emmy after the last was shown in the UK. Downton
Abbey, the highest rated drama in PBS’s history, is produced by Carnival
Films & Television, a division of NBC Universal. MASTERPIECE is a
co-producer of the series. Season 6 is the final season of the worldwide hit TV
drama and premiered on ITV in the UK on September 20, 2015 and concluded on
Christmas Day and will premiere on MASTERPIECE on PBS in the US on January 3,
2016.
In 2005, Fellowes made his directorial
debut with the critically acclaimed Separate
Lies, and received the Best Directorial Debut award from the National Board
of Review. His second feature as both writer and director was From Time to Time, starring Maggie
Smith, which won Best Picture at the Chicago Children’s Film Festival and the
Fiuggi Family Festival in Rome.
Other writing
credits for film include Piccadilly Jim
(2004), Vanity Fair (2004), The Young Victoria (2009), The Tourist (2010), Romeo & Juliet (2013), and for television the four-hour
mini-series Titanic (2012), and the
upcoming three-part drama Doctor Thorne,
both for ITV. Fellowes has also entered into a deal with NBC and Universal
Television to create, write and produce the dramatic television series The Gilded Age.
Fellowes also wrote the “book” for the
Tony nominated stage production of Mary
Poppins. A co-production between Disney and Cameron Mackintosh, Mary Poppins ran for three years in the
West End and was also a hit on Broadway for more than six years, playing to
record-breaking audiences on its national and international tour. In addition,
he wrote the book for School of Rock –
The Musical which had its world premiere on Broadway, opening on December
6, 2015, and is written and produced by Andrew Lloyd Webber.
Fellowes has authored two novels: the
international bestsellers Snobs
(2005) and Past Imperfect
(2008/2009), and the children’s book The
Curious Adventures of the Abandoned Toys (2007). Scripts of the first three seasons of Downton Abbey that include notes by
Fellowes have also been published.
Educated at Ampleforth College in
Yorkshire and Magdalene College, Cambridge, Fellowes studied at the Webber
Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art. He completed his training in repertory theatre
at Northampton and Harrogate before making his West End début in A TOUCH OF
SPRING.
Prior to his writing and directing
career, Fellowes was known for his portrayal of the incorrigible Lord Kilwillie
in the BBC’s Monarch of the Glen.
Other acting credits include the BBC’s For
the Greater Good and Aristocrats,
and for the films Shadowlands, Damage, Place Vendome, and Tomorrow
Never Dies.
In January 2011, Fellowes was given a
peerage and entered the House of Lords as the Lord
Fellowes of West Stafford. Fellowes lives
with his wife, Emma, and their son, Peregrine, in London and Dorset, England.
