Waiting on Wednesday--For Downton Abbey Fans

    

The Waiting on Wednesday concept is a weekly feature of the Breaking the Spine blog.  I thought I'd give it a try today by mentioning a book that I am waiting for.  In fact, the description of this book so hooked me that I did something I've never done before--I preordered it for my Nook.

The book is The Passing Bells by Phillip Rock, and it will be available in paperback and ebook formats from HarperCollins Publishers on December 4.

 It's actually a reissue of an out of print title.  According to the database Books in Print, the book was originally published in hardcover by Penguin in 1979, and in paperback by Random House in 1982.  Here's what intrigued me about this book:

• it's first in a trilogy--my favorite book format
• it's set in early 20th century England--my favorite historical setting
• it's been compared to Downton Abbey--my favorite British television saga

From harpercollins.com:
Before Downton Abbey, there was Abingdon Pryory, the elegant country home of the Grevilles—a titled English family who, along with their servants, see their world turned upside down when England goes to war. Once their well-kept lawns and whirling social seasons give way to the horrors of World War I, no one, upstairs or downstairs, is left untouched. For fans of sweeping historical fiction, the reissue of Phillip Rock's New York Times bestseller The Passing Bells is a breathtaking family saga not to be missed.

Book Description

The guns of August are rumbling throughout Europe in the summer of 1914, but war has not yet touched Abingdon Pryory. Here, at the grand home of the Greville family, the parties, dances, and romances play on. Alexandra Greville embarks on her debutante season while brother Charles remains hopelessly in love with the beautiful, untitled Lydia Foxe, knowing that his father, the Earl of Stanmore, will never approve of the match. Downstairs the new servant, Ivy, struggles to adjust to the routines of the well-oiled household staff, as the arrival of American cousin Martin Rilke, a Chicago newspaperman, causes a stir.

But, ultimately, the Great War will not be denied, as what begins for the high-bred Grevilles as a glorious adventure soon takes its toll—shattering the household's tranquillity, crumbling class barriers, and bringing its myriad horrors home.

This book sounds like exactly what I need to help me pass the time until the start of Downton Abbey Season 3 in January.

Catherine

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Waiting on Wednesday--For Downton Abbey Fans was originally published by Catherine for bookclublibrarian.blogspot.com. This post cannot be republished without express written consent.