De nieuwe gravin

Love & Inheritance Trilogy #3

by Fay Weldon

England, 1905. Lord Robert and Lady Isobel Dilberne, as well as their entire regal estate, with its hundred rooms, are busy planning for a lavish visit from King Edward VII and his mistress just a few months away. Preparations are elaborate and exhaustive: the menus and fashions must be just so. But even amidst the excitement, not everyone is happy.

Lady Rosina—now widowed and wealthy— insists on publishing a scandalous book despite her mother’s objections. Arthur Dilberne and Chicago Heiress Minnie O’Brien’s two young sons—the eldest of whom is heir to the estate—are being reared to Lady Isobel's tastes, not Minnie's. After making a shocking discovery, Minnie will take drastic measures for the sake of her children. And when fate deals a hand in the middle of the royal shooting party, the entire Dilberne estate will face upheaval once again.

The New Countess is the final novel in Fay Weldon's outstanding trilogy that began with Habits of the House and Long Live the King. As the bestselling novelist and award-winning writer for the pilot episode of the original Upstairs Downstairs, Weldon magnificently lifts the curtain on early twentieth-century British society, upstairs and downstairs, under one stately roof.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical, Edwardian, Audiobook, Adult, British Literature

300 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2013

About the author

Fay Weldon CBE was an English author, essayist and playwright, whose work has been associated with feminism. In her fiction, Weldon typically portrayed contemporary women who find themselves trapped in oppressive situations caused by the patriarchal structure of British society.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fay_Weldon

Reviews

[Ruth Soz · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm starting this out with a mini rant. The summary on the inside cover was so blatantly wrong, it's offensive. The entire book takes place in 1905-06; the summary tells us the book is set in England 1903. Then the summary goes on to make reference to 'little James' and how he is being raised to fall in line with his aristocratic grandmother's tastes rather than his mother's. The problem is that there is no 'little James.' There is a 'little Edgar' and a 'little Connor,' but no 'little James.' I wouldn't normally be all bee-in-my-bonnet, but I'm frustrated that people are asked to spend upwards of $30 for something so poorly edited. If I were the author I would be seriously PO'd! But I digress.

As for the actual book; I feel bad saying this as Fay Weldon wrote the first episode of the original Upstairs, Downstairs, but this final installment of the Love & Inheritance trilogy feels like a thinly disguised ploy to get to lovers of Downton Abbey. Out of a whole slew of primary and secondary characters, not one is very likable. Add to that some boring plot lines and it leaves a lot to be desired.

[Roderick · Rating 3 out of 5]

The second book in this trilogy almost stopped me from reading this, the third and final of the series. I am glad I didn't. This installment in the series got back to the juicy tales of the goings-on of the Dilberne family that drew me into the first book. I enjoyed reading it and I think Mrs. Weldon did an okay job of tying up the series.

Overall, though, I must say that I am not truly satisfied with this series. I must find fault with in this regard, however. I was expecting a wharton-esque type of novel in line with the likes of Goodwin and Koen; but what I got was something completely different. Not bad, but certainy different

I am; however, sad to be seeing the end of it. I quite enjoyed this little series. I look forward to hopefully seeing more from this author.

[Candice · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the last in her trilogy and it was hilarious!! I could only get an audio version of it which I normally don't like because I read at night and listening puts me to sleep as if Mommy is reading me a book to get me to go to bed with my teddy bear, so it took a while to get through despite the lively charm. But the narrator, Katherine Kellbren (?) was absolutely perfect and actually got the inflections so perfect that she highlighted the wry humor of the story which I might have missed reading in my own voice in my head. Weldon is a seriously keen observer of behavior and manners which is deftly presented with amusing irony.

[Joyce · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable series for anyone who appreciates a more satirical look at the Downton Abbey lifestyle. Kellgren reads, and she makes the most of Weldon's sometimes over-the-top prose. Perfectly delightful and amusingly snarky.

[Jon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Somehow this final installment in the trilogy wasn't as much fun as the first two. A main character is suddenly killed, and the satire here seems a bit less amused and more dyspeptic than in the earlier books. The over-all sourness wasn't eased by the final chapter describing the obligatory wedding (of the kind that Bertie Wooster managed always to avoid) complete with parrot. The parrot had spent the book squawking its two phrases "Too right, mate" and "Votes for women!" at the most inappropriate moments. For the wedding it was taught a new one: "Bless you all!" But it was too little, too late. The reader for all three books was absolutely first rate, doing men, women, young, old, upper class, lower class, American, Australian, and parrot to perfection. Her name is Katherine Kellgren.

[Victoria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable, but with an abrupt conclusion. All the misunderstandings were all wrapped up too quickly IMO. I preferred the second book to this one, as this left me a bit wanting at the end. A good series, started way back by winning a Goodreads Giveaway, but I wanted a bit more to the conclusion!

[Tracey · Rating 2 out of 5]

a fair read

[Stevie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good way to wrap up the series. Weldon did a nice job wrapping up the storylines and you can easily see where their lives are headed beyond the end of the book.

[Ruth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the final book in Weldon's trilogy. I did like it the best because of some unexpected events in the plot. As in the previous books Weldon has done an outstanding job depicting England and the "upstairs/downstairs" characters. In this story the King has invited himself to the Dilberne country estate for a shooting party in December and intends to bring his mistress and her husband with him. This throws Isobel into a tizzy as she tries to update and redecorate the family country house which is in disrepair. The story, by the way has a lot more to offer than just the redecoration of the house!

[Kristin Georgy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Erm...did St. Martin’s Press even bother to read the blatantly false representation of the plot on the inner cover?

[Darlene]

i am in a reading rut. nothing is grabbing me.

[Jill Meyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fay Weldon's new novel, "The New Countess", is the third in her Dilberne family trilogy. The first book, "Habits of the House" was an excellent story of a London family in transition, both in the family quarters upstairs and the staff quarters below stairs. The time was the turn of the 20th century where fortunes were being made - and lost - as the British Empire was facing the modernisation of the world economies and the mores and society were changing with the death of Victoria and the new rule of Edward VII. Weldon did a fine job of introducing her characters and the times they lives in. Unfortunately, her second book, "Long Live the King" was sort of a stinker. She abandoned many in her original characters and added others - nieces and foreigners - and the story was just not well written. And now Fay Weldon returns in her third and final book. With it, she has returned to the Dilberne family and set her story in the second half of 1905, with the King and his mistress - Mrs Keppel - coming for a weekend shooting visit to Dilberne Court in December. Much preparation must be done for the royal visit. This third book is almost - but not quite - as good as the first.

This third book has the same cast as the first and the same sort of continuing problems of the family and staff. Certainly Weldon is wittier in this book; the staff seems to have taken on quite cheeky relationships with their "betters". Lord Robert's valet advises him to go to a brothel to "relieve" himself when he's worried about affairs of state...and the affairs of his household. The head footman, Reginald, regularly steams open missives meant for the family to read them and report to the staff below stairs. This is truly a modern approach for the staff to take, but it is matched equally by behavior of the family members. Lady Rosina returns from Australia as a widow and accompanied by a parrot called "Pappagallo" who has a most undignified vocabulary. She settles in with a group of friends who are publishing a literary magazine. She's also trying to sell her book on the sex-life of the Aborigines. Rosina has been banned from both family homes. But the other family members are also at sixes-and-sevens. The heir, Lord Arthur, has been neglecting his American-born wife, Minnie, and their sons, for his automotive development business. And Lord Robert, busy with affairs of state, is displeased with his wife, who is busy changing everything around for the King's visit.

If there is a problem between the characters, it can be summed up by there being a failure to communicate with one another. However, as things progress, things work out.

I'm not sure why Fay Weldon decided to write a series of three books, all published in the same year. In hindsight - and if anyone asked me - I'd have advised her to write one large book, and include only the material in the first and third books. The print is large in all the books but certainly by use of smaller print, quite a nice, single book could have been produced. But, no one asked me. For those readers who enjoyed Weldon's first book in the trilogy, I think you'll find this last one a good followup. Just skip the stinker in between!

[Emily Mae Dilley · Rating 1 out of 5]

This entire series was so frustrating to me. The author wrote literal "squirrel!" moments into the book. Except those moments were the most important events that the entire book was leading up to!

She writes characters that seem to become important, and then they are just as quickly abandoned; their stories completed with some weird way of writing them off. Other characters are gone for a while and then come back for an equally strange reason. Sometimes characters completely change their mind and outlook on their world in what feels like just a couple of paragraphs. I feel like the author brainstormed great characters with interesting, half-formed backstories and just never bothered to finish them. Instead, she decided she was bored with them and wanted to go write about something else instead...leading to another character that would have the same fate.

Story lines that seem to be converging just never do. Or if they do, the actual climax point is told as an epilogue, or afterthought from a character looking back on an event. Babies are born ten minutes after lab or starts, and everything just works out fine even though the characters were so naive they didn't even know how a baby would get out of a body! Ladies turn into hardened criminals in days and then are randomly accepted into the family again. The farther into this series I read, the more confused I became.

The first book was bad. The next two were much worse. Get your Downton Abbey fix elsewhere.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The conclusion to this trilogy was as irresistibly readable as the previous volumes. The hijinx of the high-born continue as Arthur and Minnie’s happy marriage settles in and devolves into a morass as the husband and wife are frustrated by their cultural expectations and limitations, and their lack of communication culminates in a dramatic act that nearly tears the family apart. The Earl and Countess prepare for a visit from royalty, with all the fuss and bother that can be expected of such an honour. And Rosina returns from Australia and steps right back into her life of intellect, verging on the bohemian. As with the previous books, the title only hints at the substance, and its significance is only revealed toward the very end, in which the climax and denouement occur in rapid succession after such a long, slow buildup, I didn’t even realize that’s what I was reading. It is a smart and charming story.

[Theresa Jehlik · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the final volume of Weldon's Love & Inheritance trilogy, it's 1903 and Lady Isobel is in a frenzied dither because the King and his mistress are coming to Dilberne Hall for a shooting weekend in mid-December. While trying to convert a Jacobean manor into a modern-day weekend house, Lady Isobel's life is complicated by her family. Rosina, who ran off to Australia to get married, has suddenly returned home a widow. Arthur and Minnie are on the outs over a reporter who resembles Arthur's former lover and the raising of their two sons by their grandmother and Nanny. Although Lord Robert's political career is on the upswing, their finances are in a downward spiral. A fatal accident during the royal hunting weekend and an unexpected wedding tie up many loose ends in the trilogy.

[Marisa Wright · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoyed the first two books of this trilogy (which I read in the wrong order). I'm in two minds about this one - although I liked the depictions of that period of history, I almost wish I hadn't read it, as nothing turned out for the characters the way I hoped it would.

Disappointingly, the major new character from Book 2 (Adela) is no longer with the family in Chapter 1, and is never heard from again. The other characters have all become less likeable, particularly the Earl and his wife.

All the loose ends are tied up at the end of the novel but it all felt a bit cardboard.

[Bookworm · Rating 2 out of 5]

Third in the series and thank heaven it is over. The last book droned on in a boring way, with a ridiculous kidnapping attempt and the solution unrealistic. I hate it when women are portrayed as vapid airheads, like this one does to Minnie. Overall, a series with promise, trips over its own stupid storylines, each book less interesting than the one before. A little too neat and tidy at the end, wrapping up years of angst with a sham marriage tying it all up in a nice little package with a bow. Meh.

[Zhenia R · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sadly, it just falls flat. This is the third book in a trilogy about an Edwardian household on the brink of the 20th c.

I haven’t read two previous novels, but this one is rather boring. None of the characters in this one is interesting enough. The only noticeable twist in the plot happens 4/5 in the novel. The nobles are all stuck up and the aspiring bourgeoise despicable in their plotting against the young mother.

I’ve great respect to Fay Weldon; probably, this sort of stories is just not for me.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the final book in Fay Weldon's Love & Inheritance Trilogy. With all the reading behind me now, I would have liked it better as one large volume. All the pieces of the plot come together in this final book in a pleasing way. Weldon is a terrific author. She is witty and she trusts that her readers can handle unusual words, plot twists, and a society unlike our own but certainly with common threads.

[Stephen Paul Chase, Jr. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this audiobook on CD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[CJ · Rating 2 out of 5]

I tried to like this third installment, I really did, but I can't. The energy was off-kilter from the previous books, and I flat-out despised one of the side characters shoved into prominence this time. The first of the series is enjoyable, and I'll probably reread it at some point, but I'll stop there.

[Jo · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't find this third book in the Love & Inheritance Trilogy particularly scintillating. It was very repetitive and the characters felt flat. Again, this novel was too plot driven. One of the more exciting storylines of the novel was brushed over and we're told about significant events through the mouthpiece of Inspector Strachan. Lazy writing!

[Krystle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this series!! The Dilburns are hilarious and remind me of my in-laws - as much as they try to act like they fit in with the upper class and are above it all, they're still pretty much a train wreck just like everyone else.

[Cathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyed the trilogy.

[Jan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Slow start and then ended very quickly.

[Norma · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

[Andrea Kauffman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great triology. Interesting characters.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Third in a very Downton Abbey-like trilogy. I have enjoyed listening to these as audiobooks, this one is not so suitable for younger kids who may overhear 😆

[Ronnie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good wrap up. Minnie and Arthur reunite. Rosina marries Brown as a cover. The Earl is shot by the King and Isobel ends up with the Inspector.

[Jeanne E. McWilliams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good period piece

I liked this book. It kept my interest. It had a good story line and had a surprise ending to it.