maybeitis

Wow, it's been months since I've posted! I'm popping in to say that I have a headcanon in which Mary is visiting the Branksome estate (for whatever reason) and it's beautiful and classy -- and she has this moment in which she realizes: "Oh my, I could see myself as lady of this house" a la Lizzy Bennet re: Pemberly in 'Pride and Prejudice'.

To keep with the Jane Austen storyline (Lizzy/Darcy is the ultimate OTP, after all), perhaps Evelyn returns early from his travels and crosses paths with Mary whilst on the property. She's terribly embarrassed, but of course she's pleased to see him. Evelyn asks here, "Do you approve?" and she earnestly responds, "I do, very much." *flail*

lassothemoon

Hey, missed seeing you post here! welcome back!

I love love love this idea--may I have your permission to write a little drabble about it?

maybeitis

pleeeease write this -- i can't wait to read it!

lassothemoon

I'll get to work on it! I have a few others in the pipeline as well

Here's one I finally got around to posting--how Mary and Evelyn very well might have met. With a healthy helping of Rodgers and Hammerstein's inspiration: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10819743/1/Ten-Minutes-Ago

L i N d $ @ y

I love that Digital Spy likes them.

Welcome back!

Thanks for sharing this.

lassothemoon

I actually do have a headcanon that Evelyn's house looks like Chatsworth ( the house they used for Pemberly. It's quite beautiful.

L i N d $ @ y

What does it look like? I'd have to take a peek at my copy to see.

tvlover92

This is Chatsworth


I don't know much about British nobility or whether they were most likely to have their main estate located in the land to which they are titled.
Also trying to look for locations that are possibly more realistic like in the Branksome area. Couldn't find anything specifically in Branksome yet but this is a nice estate somewhere in Dorset known as Kingston Lacy House

tvlover92

This is from a 2005 post in which Julian Fellowes discusses a movie he directed

- Secrets and wives - Telegraph

Excuse me but this screams EVELYN!!!

Also, many of us have a theory that Julian models Evelyn Napier after himself considering Julian's mother-in-law likes to call him Evelyn, and Evelyn in Downton comes from the same county that Fellowes lives in. To add to that I remember Julian saying how he felt rather un-confident and self conscious before he married his wife. We all know Evelyn might be these things considering his shyness. I found a quote in which Fellowes discusses his wife and mother as such To me this screams Evelyn and Mary.

carrie.suze

I've visited it, and the house and grounds are truly beautiful, I know they used that to represent Pemberley in the movie version of Pride and Prejudice, with the gorgeous Matthew MacFadyen as Mr Darcy, and Keira Knightley as Elizabeth.

I liked it, but for me the tv version with Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle was the best

lassothemoon

That is so sweet and it totally is them!

I'm pretty sure I read too his mother-in-law calls him Evelyn . Makes me think of Evelyn and Cora.

I like that other house too! It's definitely on my bucket list to visit Chatsworth.

Another cool connection is Julian's favorite writer is Trollope and Evelyn is fond of him too.

L i N d $ @ y

Thanks for those pictures, they both look beautiful actually. I do love that Chatsworth has that water in-front.

And thanks for posting that quote tvlover92! I agree that it's so them!

lassothemoon

I think it's really cool how much of himself he put into Evelyn as a character, the more I read about Fellowes.

L i N d $ @ y

Blushing Cora approves of this ship!


x

lassothemoon

I was rewatching the first season and I just love Mary's "Who wants an old sea monster when they can have Perseus?"