Published 2013.
This book follows the same format as the first season scripts,
offering asides and insights from the author Julian Fellowes, plus text that
had to be cut for various reasons, usually overrunning time.
These pages are very useful for budding writers of fiction,
students of film, and the many fans of
the TV series itself. This series, then, as Fellowes states in his Foreword, ‘sees
our characters face the ultimate test of war. Some are strengthened by the
ordeal, a couple are defeated, but all of them are changed.’
In one of the footnotes Fellowes reveals that he borrows ‘my
friends’ names relentlessly.’ The
intended of Matthew is Lavinia Swire, for example. He used a Northamptonshire
friend’s name Lavinia in her memory. The surname Swire is filched from his
friend Hugo, MP, whose wife recently gained notoriety from her memoires!
So many of the footnotes hark to Fellowes’s memories of
family and friends, for example his great-aunt Isie commented at the end of the
war ‘Sometimes it feels as if all the men I ever danced with are dead.’ A
poignant vignette (p21).
On reading the scripts it is evident that all of the actors
involved add richness and depth to Fellowes’s script. And he is unstinting in
praise in several footnotes. And it’s not only the main actors, either. ‘The
hall boys and those maids who have no lines take their contribution very
seriously and we are lucky that they do. In fact they do a superb job. These
parts may not have much in the way of lines, but they are very important to the
show.’ (p452) In one case he was sorry that a hall boy’s line had to be cut.
As mentioned in my review of Season One’s scripts, the
footnotes also cover historical and sociological issues, all of them of
interest. An aside regarding the use of the Marcel waver, regarding long hair
being ‘a sign of bondage’ – a statement of femininity but also impracticality: ‘in
the Forties so many women were imitating Veronica Lake’s hairstyle and their
hair was getting caught up in machines. So ‘she cut off her long seductive
locks and with them, I’m afraid, her career.’ (p144)
There’s an amusing aside about working with dogs and
children. Not because they will steal the scene. The actor has to be perfect in
each take, in the hope that in one of them the dog or child will perform
correctly, and only that take will be used. (p163) Another instance is that it
is ‘bred into an actor’s bones that when some potential employer asks you if
you can do something, you must always say yes
and then go off and try to learn to do it…’ (p239)
What is also fascinating is how Fellowes views his
characters, ascribing motivation: ‘I don’t blame Mary for failing to see that
straight away.’ (p207)
There are a great number of sad scenes, and again some are
inspired by the tales from Fellowes’s relatives. One poignant story is about a
female relative being coerced into a marriage with a shell-shocked survivor,
doing the honourable thing,, and in effect tragically wasting her life. (p285)
When writing about the Titanic incident (which actually
started the first season), Fellowes is critical of the trendy modern
perspective of viewing the past through the distorted prism of today’s
sensitivities: saying of the people on the ‘unsinkable ship’, ‘they were so
unbelievably brave. The modern historian is usually a miserabilist and is only
happy when reporting how badly everyone behaved, but if he tries this with the
Titanic he will be disappointed. I’m not saying nobody behaved badly, but very
few did. And in all three classes there were so many examples of staggering
courage.’ (p329)
Inevitably, Fellowes regrets some cuts that had to be made.
Yet, to be fair, which he always is, he can also appreciate that in many cases
they were valid: ‘I think I was wrong and they were right.’ (p359)
The Spanish ‘flu epidemic of 1918-19 tragically figures in
the storyline. Bearing in mind this was written in 2012/2013, Fellowes says: that
epidemic is ‘almost forgotten today.’ (p435) How times change; since Covid-19
was unleashed from China in 2019 there have been dozens of articles and TV
programmes about its more serious precursor!
What shines through these scripts is the author’s empathy
for all the characters. Sometimes people are petty, but then they surprise with
an act of kindness; others are generous with their time; while some rail
against change but have to face its inevitability. And virtually all of these
character drawings are conveyed through dialogue (enlivened by flesh and blood
actors). These scripts are a masterclass
in drama – and history, in fact.
Again, there are stills from this season (in black and
white) and cast and production lists.
Highly recommended.