Countdown to Upstairs Costume Envy - Downton Abbey Season 2 Starts This Sunday

Watch Downton Abbey, Season 1: The Costumes on PBS. See more from Masterpiece.

Oh I can hardly wait! Julian Fellowes fabulous Downtown Abbey Season 2 returns to Masterpiece Classics here in the States, this Sunday, January 8th, 2012.

To all our friends and family over the pond who have already oohed, aahed and gripped sofa cushions over costume changes and perils of impending war, don't spoil our fun by telling us how it turns out for servants and socialites upstairs and downstairs or anywhere in between!

I thoroughly enjoyed being gifted the current Countess of Carnavon's Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey - The Lost Legacy of Highclere Castle, and found it an absorbing account of the illegitimate daughter of banking tycoon Alfred de Rothschild, who, with an enormous dowry as well as great beauty and charm, became the 5th Countess of Carnavon at aged 19.

Lady Almina and her staff at Highclere (where Downton Abbey was filmed) turned the castle into one of Britain's most outstanding hospitals for seriously injured military officers during World War I. Well worth a read if you are an ardent Downton Abbey fan and would like to go beyond the television drama with the house's rich, layered history.

And by the way, according to the latest Guinness Book of Records, the first season of Downton Abbey was the most watched television series in the world during 2011.

Comments

[Lindsey]

I did a crazy 'Eco-challenge' outward bound competition for The Discovery Channel around the grounds of the castle many years ago. Well worth a visit, not necessarily involving abseiling, though.

[Frances]

I remember that, though I didn't know it was at Highclere - a completely different sort of outfitting required for that endeavor!