Downton Abbey - ITV1

If the entail had started with Mary (blah blah I leave my property to my eldest daughter Mary and the eldest male of her body and the eldest male of his body in perpetuity blah blah) then her son would have inherited. But the entail does not include Mary so her eldest son will not inherit, unless, of course, she marries this doctor cousin and produces a son. This sort of thing often happened to keep an estate in a family. Landed families often married cousins to keep an estate in the family, hence the abundance of double-barrelled names or adoption of a surname allied to an estate.

It is almost easier to think of these estates as Big Business Conglomerates. Marriages were business arrangements. It was fortunate of the co-directors were actually in love with each other and tolerable if they liked each other. Often, they couldn't stand each other and looked elsewhere for love and sex, once the 'heir and a spare' had been achieved.

Until the Married Women's Property Act of 1882, married couples were seen as one person. Everything belonging to the woman, including her own body, belonged to her husband. Pre-nuptual agreemements are nothing new. Marriage Contracts specified in law what the woman would bring to the marriage and how it was to be used. Fathers often granted certain lanRAB or money to the wife for her life, which the husband couldn't touch. The married woman couldn't even write a will. Only a widow or an unmarried woman had any say in her own life. We have come a long way since then.
 
What a gorgeous interior and what a great thing John Langton-Downs did for people who were condemned to lunatic asylums until he came along.

I suppose if you are a) 'really posh' and b) have Downs syndrome you could use the double barrelled Langton-Downs?

I can't believe I said that. Anyhow, great snippet. I know a lot of people don't care for the Penelope Wilton character, but it is people like her who make improvements in other people's lives and not, on the whole, the Dowager, magnificent as she is.
 
Tonight's episode has made the butler a lot more likeable. We all have episodes in our past we would prefer to forget. Or in Thomas's case, perhaps, to remember. ;)
 
If I can be forgiven for nitpicking with the mistake-spotters ...

As far as I know 'boyfriend' was in use by 1912 to mean a woman's male friend in a romantic context - earliest published use about 1909. before that would have applied more to the Thomas's, I believe! From recently reading some of my great-grandmother's old letters, Edwardian language was more modern than we may think.

Professional women - well, there weren't many, but they were about from the late 1880's, when several ladies-only clubs were founded in London for ladies of rank and professional women. The first woman doctor in England qualified in 1870's (America was earlier) although in the teeth of disapproval from the men.

Anyway, back to Downton - I'm loving it. Especially Bates. The range of characters, & the clever plotting - just when you think you know what's going to happen, there's a bit of a twist.
 
"Boyfriend" according to Wiki

In the past it had implications of an illicit relationship (as sexual and romantic relationships outside marriage were generally frowned upon). It is now a generally accepted term, however, no longer having negative connotations. An earlier usage in print, dating from July 1889, is discussed in Neil Bartlett's, Who Was That Man? A Present for Mr Oscar Wilde. On pages 108-110, Bartlett quotes from an issue of The Artist and Journal of Home Culture, which refers to Alectryon as "a boyfriend of Mars."
 
Now, that's one good bit of detection. Makes perfect sense in a rather senseless drama! I was wondering how she'd stay a virgin...
 
The butler was slightly patronising him, telling him not to be too shy of the master but it turned out they fought in the army together (master and valet!) and obviously knew each other very well which makes them feel awkward now (I think!) and also he's lame which is not going to make life easy!
 
Laura, I am so sorry! I meant to put centuary I was born over half way through the last century and I think I must have had a senior moment:D Thanks for pointing it out... Now where's my reading glasses.....

Ps. I had to edit this because I spelled century wrong!
 
A trully excellent film:)

unlike her gaydar:o

An irish chappie interested in politics

For me Phyliis Logan and Jim Carter are the stars of this programme. They stand out in a very good cast.Totally believable:)
 
It may well be on the catch up service (unless STV has found some cunning way to block the signals to its Scottish viewers.....:rolleyes:) but I am not keen on watching anything longer than 30 minutes on the PC.
 
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