Downton fan warns Morristown support group of ‘very rough ride’

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Spoiler alert: Intrepid fans of the PBS melodrama Downton Abbey can get a jump on the upcoming fourth season if they really want to; it’s already aired in England.

We’d prefer to wait until the series returns here in January. But Lorraine Rosenberg of Rockaway couldn’t help herself.

“It’s a very rough ride,” she cautioned, while dressed as character Lady Edith for Wednesday’s meeting of the Downton Abbey Support Group at the Morristown & Township Library.

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The gathering featured a talk by George Robb, an author and professor from William Paterson University, about British elections circa 1912, when the Downton Abbey saga begins.

Curiously, neither the servants nor the fictional Earl of Grantham could have voted under the restrictive system in place at that time.

'Downton Abbey' fans Lorraine Rosenberg (portraying Lady Edith), Kathleen Mandaglio (Lady Mary) and Beverly DeFabiis (Anna, wife of Bates) at Downton Abbey Support Group meeting, at the Morristown & Township Library. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
‘Downton Abbey’ fans Lorraine Rosenberg (portraying Lady Edith), Kathleen Mandaglio (Lady Mary) and Beverly DeFabiis (Anna, wife of Bates) at Downton Abbey Support Group meeting, at the Morristown & Township Library. Photo by Kevin Coughlin

The Earl would have been a member of the largely ceremonial House of Lords, and thus he could not have cast a ballot for candidates for the House of Commons, George explained.

And Robert Crawley’s servants did not own enough land or pay enough rent to qualify for voting rights under rules of the day. Women could not vote at all.

Lorraine Rosenberg, a nurse in real life, acknowledged being unhappy with D.A.’s  last season.

The deaths of several key characters rankled her, and she is troubled by developments in the upcoming season.

“It really upsets me to watch it,” she said. But “the quality is high each week. That makes it quite addictive.”

Lorraine follows twists and turns of the show online, in addition to dressing up for the library’s occasional D.A. sessions, which will resume in December.  She hopes producers of the series opt to continue beyond Season Five, when the show is expected to end.

But that’s down the road. Lorraine said she will keep a stiff upper lip, in proper British fashion, to get through Season Four…again.

“Keep calm,” she counseled. “Carry on.”

 

 

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