Maggie Smith's Bacon number: 2

Linda Sappenfield — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 18:38:00 GMT

Did you know that the library's getting a new webpage? Watch for it this spring. We're already generating content ideas, including more "If you like.." features: additional reading options inspired by favorite authors or themes. Susan from Youth Services suggested a brilliant one--recommendations for Downton Abbey addicts. Done!

FICTION: Habits of the House by Fay Weldon; Summerset Abbey by T.J. Brown; The Buccaneers by Edith Wharton; The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro; The Shooting Party by Isabel Colegate; The House at Riverton by Kate Morton, Ashenden by Elizabeth Wilhide; The Uninvited Guests by Sadie Jones, The Golden Prince by Rebecca Dean.

MUSIC CD: Downton Abbey: the Essential Collection

NONFICTION: Below Stairs: The Classic Kitchen Maid's Memoir by Margaret Powell; The World of Downton Abbey by Jessica Fellowes; Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey by Fiona, Countess of Carnarvon; The Chronicles of Downton Abbey by Jessica Fellowes; The Perfect Summer: England 1911, Just Before the Storm by Juliet Nicolson; English Country House Interiors by Jeremy Munson; The Mitfords: Letters between Six Sisters

DVD: The House of Eliott series; both Upstairs, Downstairs series (original and recent); Gosford Park; Jeeves & Wooster

But a funny thing happened on the way to compiling this list--sort of a Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon experience, only with author Henry James.

Examples: Cora, Countess of Grantham, qualified as a "Buccaneer" (moneyed American beauty on the hunt for an English title to propel her into the upper echelons of society). Edith Wharton, who authored The Buccaneers, was a good friend and literary colleague of James and even campaigned for him to win the Nobel Prize. DA notables Dan Stevens and Michele Dockery appeared in a UK filming of James' haunting The Turn of the Screw. Dan Stevens currently stars (with Jessica Chastain) on Broadway in The Heiress, adapted from James' Washington Square.

Remember (regarding Edith's letter to the Times editor) the dinner-table allusion that "one of the Churchills" had ventured into journalism? Well, among numerous other celebrities of the age, Winston Churchill's mother, Lady Randolph, (AKA Mrs. George Cornwallis-West at that time) consulted James regarding the profitability of lecture tours.

Elements of DA that resonate with American viewers--class distinctions giving way; clashing American and European mores (American energy and spirit vs. hidebound tradition); social complexities, not to mention elegant living and circulating among the "best" circles--characterize HJ's work, too.

James' hallmark, psychological realism, may not be the primary draw for DA aficionados. But if you're engaged by the developing thread of the Earl's misfires in paternal influence or Isobel's awkward forays into social activisim (especially if you enjoy speculating on her motives) you might be a James reader and not know it.

If you could only try one James story, make it The Beast in the Jungle. Other wonderful introductory options are DVDs: The Golden Bowl (Kate Beckinsale); Wings of the Dove (Helena Bonham Carter), and The Heiress (Olivia de Havilland). The library has two excellent fiction books--Colm Toibin's The Master and David Lodge's Author, Author--starring Henry James at crucial junctures in his life.

James, whose reputation and work demonstrate remarkable staying power, was quite modern in some ways: membership in a famously dysfunctional family; cool, trendy friends (Mark Twain was a favorite correspondent); edgy writing schedule (creating serial installments for magazine publication from month to month). He was even a recycler of sorts, significantly revising and repackaging and translating storylines from stage to page and vice versa.

You may find yourself an HJ convert. If not, no problem. As James observed via a character in Portrait of a Lady: "I don't want everyone to like me; I should think less of myself if some people did."

Mad Men and Englishmen

Linda Sappenfield — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 19:19:00 GMT

Julian Fellowes has a lot to answer for. Why did he introduce us to the infuriatingly indecisive Lady Mary and Matthew and convince us of Sir Richard's capacity for revenge--let alone raise the question of who dispatched the evil Mrs. Bates--if he didn't intend to provide a new episode of Downton Abbey every single Sunday into perpetuity?

Following last Sunday's courtroom suspense and faux snowflake-enhanced marriage proposal, to what can we now look forward until DA3? The answer: MM5.

Mad Men, that is. You still have time to watch or re-view Seasons 1-4 (available from the library) before March 25. You should know why Pete and Peggy still exchange meaningful glances and how Don's shoebox full of photos and locked drawer of documents shed light on his brilliantly erratic behavior.

Also, don't overlook the historical content, whether you're already a Downton or Mad Men addict or a potential buyer-in. If you're not comfortable admitting to investment in the characters and the soap-opera storylines, you can legitimately claim appreciation for portrayals of America in the 60s and England during the trials that would forever alter its expectations and its role in the world.

With Mad Men, however, I'm also hoping for practical advice. Even more than the campy sets and costumes, the brainstorming sessions for ad campaigns fascinate me. Perhaps a Season Five discussion will offer the solution to the library's current advertising dilemma: the Database Snooze.

Here's what we'd tell Don and Peggy: Round Rock Public Library offers cardholders free access to dozens of databases, most of them available from home. And they're amazing! With Masterfile or Academic Search Complete, for example, you can find articles for your research paper or other pursuits--on a huge range of topics! With Heritage Quest, family history researchers can search thousands of genealogical sources--24/7! in the comfort of their own homes!

And that's just a sample! we'd enthuse; Reference USA allows you to customize searches: all the businesses of a certain type in a specified area--city, county, zip code, etc., and even get competitor listings! And there are children's databases, literature, hobbies and crafts!!!

At this point, our Mad Men friends might recommend that we switch to decaf and/or ask us to clarify the problem, which obviously is not product quality.

Declining the offered cigarette, we'd explain: It's the name. No matter how relevant we know the products to be or how fervently we promote them, we see patrons' eyes begin to glaze over when they hear "database". "Digital resources", "e-learning", "electronic research"--not exciting, either.

Will Season Five inspire a new brand for our wide array of fabulous online resources? Will we be the first library to invent a term that does justice to these wonderful tools? Stay tuned, or sample some of this great stuff yourself. Databases (there, I said it) will be there for you even when your favorite series goes on hiatus.

Reader's Exchange : Downton Abbey, Readers Exchange

Maggie Smith's Bacon number: 2

Mad Men and Englishmen