Taking Liberties with Miss Burnett

No self respecting Anglophile could possibly be less enthusiastic about season two of Downton Abbey than I. And it seems that Downton-o-philia is everywhere these days. Reviewers all over the Internets are gushing over the escapades of the Grantham-Crawley-Carson family saga (Carson, the butler, being the stand-in for head of household among the downstairs servant family).

But I have a bit of a revelation about Downton that I've being suppressing for several months now. And it's time I tell you all about it.

Two years ago I discovered Persephone Press, a small independent publisher devoted to reissuing long lost late nineteeth and twentieth century authors - mostly British and nearly all women. The first (and so far, only) Persephone book I purchased is The Shuttle by Francis Hodgson Burnett, the same Ms. Burnett who wrote The Secret Garden. I selected the title mostly because of my familiarity with the author, but also because of the enticing plot description:

"The Shuttle, Persephone book no.71, is about American heiresses marrying English aristocrats; by extension it is about the effect of American energy, dynamism and affluence on an effete and impoverished English ruling class." But beyond this, the publisher says, "It is mainly about American energy and initiative and get-up-and-go; this is symbolised by G Selden, the typewriter salesman on a bicycling tour of England, who meets, and charms, Bettina [Van der Poel] and her sister and, back in New York, their father."

Sound familiar? Remember Downton's season one housemaid Gwen, who longed to break free from servitude by enrolling in a mail-order typewriter course? And plucky Gwen does eventually manage to succeed with the help of the youngest Grantham daughter, Lady Sibyl. Gwen's typewriter, along with electrified lamps and the telephone, are early markers in the series of modernity overtaking the Abbey.

The Shuttle, published in 1907, mainly concerns the lifeline provided by young American heiresses to the destitute English landed gentry. Their fortunes were essential to maintaining the great baronial estates.

But what's really interesting to me is the number of similarities between the Burnett novel and Sir Julian Fellowes' version. I wonder whether Mr. Fellowes had wandered into Persephone's shop on Lamb's Conduit Street and picked up a copy of The Shuttle, cocked his head, and thought, "Now here's an idea that I can work with."

So, while I wait for a reply to my question, please take a look at the beautiful piece of machinery above, which is more or less contemporary to The Shuttle and Downton Abbey.

The typewriter shown is The Empire 1 by Williams Mfg. Co., Montreal, Canada. 1892. This model originally sold for $75.00.

And how just modern was this turn of the century iPad? Here, the American G Selden describes the many features of the "Delkoff" typerwriter:

"It's the most up-to-date machine on the market. It has all the latest improved mechanical appliances. You will see from the cut in the catalogue that the platen roller is easily removed without a long mechanical operation. All you do is to slip two pins back and off comes the roller. There is also another point worth mentioning—the ribbon switch. By using this ribbon switch you can write in either red or blue ink while you are using only one ribbon. By throwing the switch on this side, you can use thirteen yards on the upper edge of the ribbon, by reversing it, you use thirteen yards on the lower edge—thus getting practically twenty-six yards of good, serviceable ribbon out of one that is only thirteen yards long—making a saving of fifty per cent. in your ribbon expenditure alone, which you will see is quite an item to any enterprising firm."

If only it was still that easy to save money on printer ink.

Sure, Sir Julian may claim that the structure of Downton was inspired by NYPD Blues and any number of other fast-paced American dramas. But the story line? Plenty of inspiration from other sources, including an obscure novel from one of Britain's best-loved authors.

In the meantime, it's only fair to give Ms. Burnett credit where it is due. Were she alive today, I believe she would be a first-rate and very successful television dramatist.