Julian Fellowes's Belgravia

What a joy it is to hand the reins to the superb Juliet Stevenson and say, "Take my carriage to Belgravia in 1841." The story is filled with the clattering of horses' hooves, the swish of ladies' fans and gowns, the shuffle of calling cards, and "the young queen," Victoria, on the throne. Add illicit love, secret heirs, crumbling dynasties, the struggle of upstairs versus downstairs amid a changing society, and you have a deliciously fun novel by "Downton Abbey" creator Julian Fellowes. Originally presented as a serial audiobook, the story is expertly narrated by Stevenson, who paces it expertly in her highly listenable voice. Her delicious characterizations include some aggrieved and unctuous younger sons, a breathtakingly crisp countess, a good-hearted hero, a spirited heroine, shiver-inducing cardsharps, and oh so many more. A.C.S. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine

Starred review from October 3, 2016
Fellowes, the creator of the hit TV series Downton Abbey, develops another rich cast of (mostly rich) characters, this time set in 19th-century London. Introducing the cast at a fancy ball on the day of the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, the story quickly moves to the 1840s, when fate brings them together again in all sorts of class-conscious episodes as varied, complex, and addictive as Fellowes’s other period drama. Actor Stevenson is superb as narrator and as each and every one of the characters is given special treatment. Her British accent is entirely appropriate and perfectly clear to American listeners. She artfully distinguishes upper-, middle-, and lower-class men and women, providing each with telling vocal characteristics and tone. Together Fellowes and Stevenson hook readers from the start. A Grand Central hardcover.

February 1, 2016

As Downton Abbey takes its final bows this spring, its creator is readying another juicy tale of the British classes, intriguingly in two formats: a page-turning novel to be released in July and a serialization launching in April that will arrive via app. The story opens in 1815, as events at the Duchess of Richmond's outsize ball change the fate of one family; most of the novel unfolds in the 1840s, when newly rich industrialists began mingling with the upper classes. Given the serialized structure, the plot will have the feel of the TV series, a form Fellowes seems rather to have mastered.

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