lady almina Archives

What Do King Tut and Downton Abbey Have in Common?

File that under “sentences I never thought I would type.” Last weekend I went to the King Tut exhibit (currently at Seattle’s Pacific Science Center). Whether it was worth $32 is a debate for another time, but I had an extra reason for being curious about the Egyptian jewelry and artifacts. In Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey, I learned that back in 1922, the 5th Earl of Carnarvon — whose castle, Highclere, is the estate better known as “Downton Abbey” — funded Howard Carter’s archaeological expedition that unearthed King Tut’s tomb. The Egypt-crazed and cash-poor earl could afford [...]

Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey

Uptown, Downton Author: Countess Carnarvon My reading habits are all over the map. On a scale of “bleak environmental science” to “time-traveling magical romance,” I could be anywhere, or maybe two or three different places at the same time, thanks to the ever-changing potpourri of books that come to me from the library (and not always when I’m in the mood for them). On the other hand, I’m pretty much always in the mood for “breezy historical biography with pictures of gowns and jewels,” so I was excited to finally get my hands on Lady Almina and the Real Downton [...]