Season 2 of Downton Abbey has come and gone—what next?
We recommend Elizabeth Bowen’s The Last September. Set in 1920 (so right where DA left off), it chronicles the looming end of British rule in the south of Ireland and, with it, the demise of a way of life that had survived for centuries. The old guard, represented by Sir Richard Naylor and his wife, Lady Myra, vainly defend their dying class, while their ward Lois Farquar attempts to live her own life and gain her freedom. Just what Dr. Clarkson ordered, IOHO.
BONUS: Once you’ve been good and read the book, there’s a film adaptation waiting for you, starring none other than Maggie Smith as Lady Myra.
