The Shooting Party
By (Author) Isabel Colegate
Introduction by Julian Fellowes
Penguin Books Ltd
Penguin Classics
30th November 2021
4th January 2007
United Kingdom
General
Fiction
823.914
Paperback
224
Width 129mm, Height 197mm, Spine 13mm
172g
A masterpiece of historical fiction, and the inspiration behind Downton Abbey It is 1913 - a breath away from the Great War - and Edwardian England is about to vanish into history. An assorted group of men and women gather at Sir Randolph Nettleby's estate for a shooting party. Opulent, adulterous, moving assuredly through the rituals of eating and slaughter, they are an era's dazzlingly obtuse and brilliantly decorative finale. A quiet, elegant meditation on class frustration and the transience of human concern, The Shooting Party is also the inspiration behind one of the great landmarks of popular culture - Downtown Abbey.
Threads of romance, social comment, country lore and intrigue both above and below stairs are cunningly worked together to create a brilliant tapestry... I have seldom enjoyed a book so much * Sunday Telegraph *
Colegate has found a perfect metaphor for the passing of a way of life * Spectator *
A modern classic * The Times *
A minor masterpiece * Daily Mail *
Isabel Colegate is the acclaimed author of many bestselling books including The Shooting Party, The Orlando Trilogy, The Summer of the Royal Visit and Winter Journey.