Project Downton! (A Downton Abbey Inspired Book Scavenger Hunt)

I am on a Downton Abbey scavenger hunt and I need your help!

Downton Abbey is sweeping the telly cables not to mention the hashtag is blowing up my Twitter feed….the public has gone deliriously mad for PBS’s latest masterpiece. Normally I blog strictly about books (with the rare exception of my travels), but I am totally making an exception with Downton Abbey (DA).

And here is why….today my sister sent me a link about to an article in the NY Times about DA and its growing popularity, and she was asking me if I had watched the show. Ironically I just finished watching Season I last night and am over-the-moon in love with it!

Since I have had a number of people on Twitter and fellow bloggers recommend the series, I decided to see what the fuss was all about and I instantly fell in love with it!! It doesn’t have all the sexiness as the HBO series Game of Thrones and True Blood do but it doesn’t make it any less addicting to watch. I am in love with Ana and I think Sybil might be my fav sister…though for a strange reason Mary is growing on me!! But I digress…back to the Project.

Apparently fans of DA are highly ‘bookish’ types according to the article:

Publishers are convinced that viewers who obsessively tune in to follow the war-torn travails of an aristocratic family and its meddling but loyal servants are also literary types, likely to devour books on subjects the series touches.

Spot on NY Times!!

The Times listed a few books that have a ‘Downton-ish’ feel to them but I found the list rather wanting in fiction books! Most of the books were WWI era poetry or non-fiction. I was a TA for a class on WWI Literature/War Literature while I was getting my BA which I loved, but to be honest I prefer more ‘upbeat’ Edwardian era lit. The Times article said that many publishers are ‘riding the Downton wave’ but truth be told, it struck me odd that I struggled to come up with a single Edwardian inspired fiction book title!

So now I am calling on all my fellow historical fiction and Downton Abbey fans….help me with Project Downton! I am hoping to compile a book list of Edwardian era inspired fiction books, not just for my own TBR list, but for everyone enjoyment.

Edwardian era lit seems to be a rather obscure time period for most literary buffs….for me personally I love the Edwardian era historically but sadly I know little of the literature in this period save classics like A Room with a View and Mrs Dalloway….I feel fairly certain I am NOT the only one out there dying for more Downton Abbey and Edwardian inspired books. Since I couldn’t find a good list, I decided to take matters into my own hands 🙂

Heres how you can help…I will create a page and Linky so you can link book titles and reviews. They can be any genre: YA, sci-fi, romance, mystery, fantasy, historic fiction, classics…anything. It would be great to see as many fiction books as possible but non-fiction will do was well–give us a variety at least :).

This is not a ‘reading challenge’ by any means….we are simply trying to find Downton-inspired books. If you don’t know what to look for here are some suggested criteria:

• Book must be set in the Edwardian era.
• Edwardian era  usually  begins with the reign of King Edward VII (1901 to 1910)  but for the purposes of this Project we will extend the end of the period through the Treaty of Versailles in 1919, that way it includes the Titanic sinking etc.
• What books can you think of that were previously published or are new that serve as good companion pieces to the popular show?

This is a very casual and fun Project…..if you see interesting articles, video clips, discussions, or news about Downton you please post them in the comments field…we want to save the Linky for book recommendations only.

There is no timeline on this and no requirement or goals….no blog? No problem, just email me (thelitbitch@me.com) or post a comment to participate! Check back here frequently to check on our list :).

If you have further questions/comments or suggestions to improve our little hunt please email me (thelitbitch@me.com) So there you have it…..

Project Downton has begun!

For more information please visit our Project Downton page for details and link posts to the Linky! 

Happy hunting!