READ THIS: While We Were Watching Downton Abbey by Wendy Wax Our Coverage Sponsored by Paul Mayer Attitudes
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When you get so involved with characters that you want to know more about their lives, it's a successful book, I'd say. In "While We Were Watching Downton Abbey", several of the main characters have side plots that would be wonderful spin-offs. By Wendy Wax, "While We were Watching…" is a clever little story that revolves around the ultra-popular BBC series "Downton Abbey". The novel picks up at the end of season 2, with the residents of a well-heeled residential building in Atlanta being cajoled into Sunday evening gatherings to watch/catch up with the television series, complete with British refreshments. As it happens, the concierge of the building hatches the perfect plan for Downton fans, and I suspect some other clubs may spring up after this book hits it big. With gifts always a question mark for many friends, and even relatives, this little book may solve that problem. It's the perfect read for lazy afternoons, but a must for any diehard Downton fan. Although some of the characters in the novel did not know about Downton, the series, at the inception of the plot, by the end they were well entrenched, and eager to continue their Sunday evening get-togethers. Their lives are varied, and once they have establish a common ground with the "club", they become fast friends. "While We were Watching Downton Abbey" is a great read, and will make you feel as if you've already been to Atlanta. Pick up an extra copy, because this is one novel you'll want to give again and again. By Jove.
Downton Abbey, the delightfully addictive British period drama, has become an obsession for many Americans, and we here at Whom You Know are no exception! Happily for us, author Wendy Wax has turned her own love for the show into a touching and engaging novel, While We Were Watching Downton Abbey. The story centers around three women, Claire, Brooke, and Samantha, all of whom are residents at an upscale Atlanta building, but lead distinctly different lives. Claire, a published author working on her third novel, has just moved into the building after sending her daughter, Hailey, off to college, and is adjusting to life on her own in a foreign setting, away from the comfort of her longtime friends in the suburbs. Brooke, a divorced mother of two, is struggling with taking care of her two girls while also coping with the fact that her ex-husband and his glossy, glamorous new girlfriend have decided to move into the same building, a mere two floors away. And Samantha, to outsiders, appears to have the perfect life - a rich, handsome husband, society luncheons, the entire top floor of the posh building for an apartment...but she, too, has her own personal struggles. Married to her husband at the age of 21, after both of her parents were killed in a car accident, she has always felt that her husband only married her our of pity, and has terrible guilt about the way her younger brother and sister have continually taken advantage of his generosity over the years. When Edward, the charming, polished (and very British!) concierge of the building begins weekly screenings of Downton Abbey, Claire, Brooke, and Samantha are brought together and begin to form a strong bond with each other. Though there are plenty of Downton Abbey references that fans will appreciate, the book is less about the show and more about the friendship formed among the three women. Beautifully written and a page-turner from the get-go, While We Were Watching Downton Abbey is every bit as addictive as the series that inspired it. Thought-provoking, touching, and heartwarming, this book is highly recommended!
It was so entertaining to read a book about a television show that is a part of today’s pop culture and how it affected three random neighbors in an Atlanta apartment building. I am sure that Downton Abbey which has brought such enjoyment to millions of fans really has brought people together as is portrayed in the book. Wendy Wax has a delicate yet amusing way in her writing that connects you to the three women characters. These characters embody something that every women can relate to and sympathize with. Having grown up on the upper east side in a building with interesting doormen, I am truly enlightened by this incredibly considerate and lovable building concierge that unites these women through TV screenings in the building. (I think my doormen from the 80’s would have died laughing if they knew someday they would be called concierges…) The relationships formed between these three neighbors is almost a god send which helps them get through some dark days. So if you have fallen in love with Downton Abbey or just have a plain old obsession, this is a great story that runs perpendicular by using the show to unite soon-to-be friends. So download it now or run right out and grab the book to get you through these ridiculous cold weekends. Then ite over a good friend and have a marathon run on the show.
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The fervor surrounding the British television drama Downton Abbey is at an all-time high in the U.S. following the incredibly successful third season of the show. Readers fascinated by the class divide and drawing room dramas of early 20th century Britain will be captivated by popular author Wendy Wax’s new novel, WHILE WE WERE WATCHING DOWNTON ABBEY (Jove Mass Market; December 31, 2013; $7.99). This is a funny, smart and heartwarming book in the tradition of Karen Joy Fowler’s The Jane Austen Book Club about unlikely friends with a shared passion for watching Downton Abbey.
In WHILE WE WERE WATCHING DOWNTON ABBEY, Edward Parker, concierge of the Alexander, a historic apartment building in midtown Atlanta, invites his fellow residents to attend weekly screenings of Downton Abbey. During the weekly gatherings, four very different people find themselves unexpectedly connecting with the show—and each other.
Samantha Davis married into old Atlanta money in order to secure a future for herself and her orphaned brother and sister, but finds herself struggling to feel secure in her marriage and cope with her destructive siblings. Claire Walker, an empty-nester, moved to the Alexander to start a new life and write her dream novel. And Brooke MacKenzie is a disillusioned divorcee constantly battling her faithless ex over their two children. For Samantha, Claire, Brooke and Edward it’s a season of surprises as they forge a bond that will sustain them through life’s most difficult moments—all of it reflected in the unfolding drama and convergent lives of Downton Abbey.
Wax’s trademark “breezy wit” (Atlanta Journal-Constitution) and roots as a southern women’s fiction novelist shine in this warm and witty novel about four people, all struggling to redefine their future, who find themselves drawn together by friendship, adversity and hope.
About the Author:
Wendy Wax is the author of eight previous novels, including Ocean Beach and Ten Beach Road. Her books have been highly praised and featured in national publications such as USA Today, Cosmopolitan, FIRST for Women, and Woman’s World. A Florida native, Wax lives in Atlanta. Visit her online at www.authorwendywax.com, www.facebook/AuthorWendyWax, or www.twitter.com/Wendy_Wax.
WHILE WE WERE WATCHING DOWNTON ABBEY
Wendy Wax
Jove Mass Market
Publication Date: December 31, 2013
ISBN: 978-0515154696
Penguin Group (USA) Inc. is the U.S. member of the internationally renowned Penguin Group. Penguin Group (USA) is one of the leading U.S. adult and children’s trade book publishers, owning a wide range of imprints and trademarks, including Berkley Books, Dutton, Frederick Warne, G.P. Putnam’s Sons, Grosset & Dunlap, New American Library, Penguin, Philomel, Riverhead Books and Viking, among others. The Penguin Group is part of Pearson plc, the international media company.
