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    Ten Top Fictional Country Houses (Blog Excerpt) Archived Message

    Posted by Joan aka HazelP on August 2, 2011, 7:53 am

    http://countryhouselane.wordpress.com/2011/08/02/top-ten-fictional-country-houses/

    Top Ten Fictional Country Houses
    Posted on August 2, 2011 by melaniemcgurr

    I’ve been thinking about this list for months, but never wrote my thoughts down. So, now I need to start all over again. Thinking of my favorite country houses from books or movies is a wonderful topic on a hot summer day.

    8. Gosford Park

    I must admit that Jeremy Northam makes me swoon, but he is not the only reason Gosford Park is on the list. If you have seen the movie, you understand why. A weekend at this house has everything–a good shooting party, murder, adultery, Hollywood, tragedy, a butler with a severe drinking problem, an obnoxious inspector, and, sorry, Jeremy Northam as Ivor Novello.

    The movie is a complete story of the weekend too–you learn just as much about those downstairs as you do those upstairs. The quiet desperation of both sets of people is what makes Gosford Park the real deal–an almost a complete picture of country house life during a memorable weekend house party.

    7. Seal Court from Possession

    When I first read this book, I literally could not put it down. I’m not sure why exactly, but I was semi-possessed by the novel. I’m not sure if A.S. Byatt meant us to become so engrossed by her work, but the novel itself tells many stories of the struggle of love and possession. Some of the best bits of the novel hinge on a country house, Seal Court. Sir George Bailey is currently the owner of Seal Court, and a far-flung relation of Dr. Maud Bailey, our 20th century heroine, but it was another Sir George Bailey who connected the house to Christabel LaMotte, the Victorian poet.

    The story of these two women intertwine even though one is from the 20th century and another is from the 19th. Seal Court is a connection and a place that holds many secrets. We see the house during the Victorian era when it is a bustling hive of family activity–many children, servants and extended family. We also see the house in the modern parts of the novel–is it quickly deteriorating with the current Sir George and his ill wife living in a few rooms with the rest of the house shut up. Although I am not sure it was Byatt’s intention, Seal Court becomes part of the intertwined narrative. The past informs the present.

    And….ok, Jeremy Northam is in the movie version, and he is dreamy as Robert Henry Ash, the fictional Victorian poet. The movie is not great–the best parts are the Victorian scenes between Northam and a luminous Jennifer Ehle. Their story breaks my heart every time. Keep reading and you will spy another Ash who is kind of dreamy himself.

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