Book Review: Snobs

I've certainly heard all the buzz about "Downton Abbey."  Many of my friends on Facebook are addicted to the show.  Several bloggers I follow write their reactions to the show.  I have never watched a single episode.  There are several reasons for this.  Primarily, it is because I don't watch television.  Moreover, we have Dish Network and our plan doesn't provide for regular television channels.  In order to access the normal channels, like PBS, I would have to manually switch something on the television controls and I don't ever bother.  I do think I would enjoy the show, since it is British, but I still don't feel like making time to sit around and watch it.

It was all the buzz over "Downton Abbey" that caused me to pick up this book, Snobs, by Julian Fellowes, the creator of "Downton Abbey."  Plus, it is about British culture and that always appeals to me.  However, I wasn't entirely thrilled with this book.

Not surprisingly, the book is about British snobbery.  The key sentences pitching the book are: "The English, of all classes as it happens, are addicted to exclusivity.  Leave three Englishmen in a room and they will invent a rule that prevents a fourth joining them."  I'm sure Fellowes' portrait of the English upper classes is quite accurate, but I didn't find it terribly entertaining.

The story revolves around a middle-class girl, Edith Lavery, who seeks to raise her position in life by accepting the proposal of an earl.  She doesn't really love him, but is, instead, in love with the idea of being an earl's wife.  Of course, once the deed is done, she quickly grows bored with her new husband.  Enter a dashing, handsome young actor who has come onto the estate property for the filming of a period drama.  Edith is swept away by her lust for this individual and leaves her husband to live with the aspiring actor, assuming that she will rise to another level of popularity as his mistress.  She discovers that life is no more interesting in these new circles and offers less esteem than she had expected.

I'm not really sure why I kept reading.  Several times, I contemplated just putting the book aside.  I suppose I got so far into it (the book is fairly short) that I felt it would be a shame not to just go ahead and finish.  The writing is good and it is about England (a love of mine), but other than that, I can't find much to say about it. It got good reviews, so it might be your cup of tea, but it wasn't mine.