My mother, in particular, is practically up at arms that she has to wait for season three, and has even proposed a trip to England so we can watch it before everyone else. No joke. So, to make sure she and I do not go stir crazy during our Downton Abbey-less downtime, I've come up with a list of things that we (and you guys reading at home!) can do to tide yourselves over until season three.
1. Read a good book.
If you're me, you've been doing this all season long, but since most people don't voraciously research their costume dramas, our hiatus between seasons is a perfect time to catch up on the historical nuances that inform this show. You could read more about the Buccaneers, the generation of young american women who went over to England, like Cora, to marry the English for their titles, by picking up Edith Wharton's book of the same name, or by checking out Marion Fowler's In A Gilded Cage: From Heiress to Duchess, which details the lives of 5 American women who married dukes. (It comes highly recommended by me!)
If you're interested in learning a little bit more about the real life events inspiring the shenanigans of the Crawley Sisters and women like them, try reading Fruits of Victory: The Women's Land Army of America in the Great War (for Edith fans especially) American Women in World War One (Which I am in the middle of reading for the second time right now, it is so good) or a more general book like Juliet Nicolson's The Great Silence: Britain from the Shadow of the First World War to the Dawn of the Jazz Age.
I'm really excited about the next season because we're heading into the 20s! Yes, the Decade that Roared will be coming full force to Downton, and it should be fantastic. You could read about the new direction of high society by delving into Bright Young People, a biography of the jazz babies and flappers that really made the older generation role their eyes in the late twenties. (I really liked Bright Young People, and I recommend it highly.) If you're not one for nonfiction, try Evelyn Waugh's Vile Bodies, the novel that inspired Stephen Fry's 2004 movie about the Bright Young Things. I myself will be reading Anything Goes: A Biography of the Roaring Twenties in the next couple of days, which looks like it will be a real treat.2. Make something.
Do Mrs. Patmore proud and try your hand at baking a period recipe or hosting a teaparty for all your nearest and dearest fellow Downton fans. There are a number of articles (like this one from the Huffington Post) and blogs like Downton Cooks which would help a fan find a recipe or menu to serve.
I myself will be spending time making a teacake stand for my viewing parties next season. What's a teacake stand, you ask? Well, here's Molesley holding a very sculptural example in season one --
Mine will not look nearly as nice (I'm taking the DIY approach suggested in this tutorial and using sherry glasses and plates from Goodwill) but it will be a conversation piece, I hope.
3. Revamp your closet.
You know your favorite TV show is a big deal when Ralph Lauren rolls out a collection inspired by it at New York Fashion Week.
Maybe we all don't have an RL compatible budget, but we can certainly take some design elements out of the DA book as easily as Mr. Lauren does. Cloche hats, wide legged pants, oxford shoes or french/spool heels, opera length gloves and long necklaces are all fairly easy to find in stores today. Indulge your inner Sybil and go find a frock that flatters and makes a bold statement. Polyvore is great for seeing what others have in mind when they think of Downton. There's a great tumblr out there, too -- Downton Abbey Fashion.
Oh, and if you're feeling really ambitions, the folks over at Reconstructing History have a number of patterns for you.
4. Watch another show in the meantime.
Sacrilege, some of you cry! Don't worry, it's just until next season.
The House of Eliott -- two sisters whose father has just died become couturiers and deal with the crazy world of fashion design in the twenties. Lots of beautiful dresses.
The Grand -- follows the life of the rich and famous living at a hotel in Manchester. Contains more drama than a busload of high school girls, but interesting to watch.
Birdsong -- Based on a novel by Sebastian Faulks, is going to be on Masterpiece Contemporary in the near future.
Titanic -- It's the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic in April. Where will you be? (I'd hate to be trying to fill a cruiseship in April of this year. Such bad press, that is.)
Casulty 1900 -- It's like Gray's Anatomy without the comforting idea that science will prevail by the end of the episode. I wasn't able to watch this show on account of period medicine being beyond my comfort zone, but I hear good things about it.
The Forsyte Saga -- I reread the book recently, but Soames isn't quite the same as when Damien Lewis is brooding over Irene's departure on my television screen.
Iron-Jawed Angels -- Go make Sybil proud and learn about Alice Paul and the women's movement.
5. Go read some fanfic.
There's some really great pieces of fic out there on the internets, and fanfiction.net is as good a place to start as any. If you are thinking there are plot points you would like to tie up, if you think all of Thomas' problems will be solved if he meets a nice boy, if you think you'd just like to read a little fluffy story where Robert and Cora muse some more about their children, or grandchildren, go make some fanfiction writer happy and read (and review!) their story. If my mother were a writer, this is totally where she would be.
Well, Downton Fans, there are your marching orders. Scamper off and invade tumblr. Lend out your DVDs to your coworkers. Make #downtonabbey and #downtonPBS the trending hashtags on Twitter. Go be the crazy, outrageous people we know you are. And have fun with it! See you for Season Three!
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