The Books, Movies, Video Games, and Podcasts to Check Out After Watching ‘Downton Abbey’[html]
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No one does early 20th-century English country house drama like Julian Fellowes. Before he adapted the form to America with HBO's current cult hit The Gilded Age, he wrote the script for the 2001 Oscar-winning film Godford Park, then rolled those vibes right into Downton Abbey, perhaps the highest peak the upstairs/downstairs subgenre will ever reach.
What started as a soapy show about the estate of a minor English aristocrat and the distant relatives set to inherit it blossomed into a warmhearted, richly detailed story of a family and their servants adjusting to changing times while trying to cling to the best parts of the past. If you need to replace that experience in your life, we’ve already suggested some great series to stream, so here are some books, games, movies, and podcasts to check out next.
The best books like Downton Abbey
There’s always been a literary vibe around Downton, so one of the best ways to dive into a similar fictional universe is to read a great novel. Here are some suggestions for perfect read-a-likes.
Remains of the Day, by Kazuo Ishiguro
This Nobel Prize-winning novel is narrated by Stevens, a butler in the Mr. Carson mold—dedicated to his employer and fanatical about dignity and service. In the 1950s, Stevens looks back on his life during the 1920s and 1930s, when his employer, Lord Darlington, flirted with fascism and Stevens felt a growing but forbidden attraction to Miss Kenton, the housekeeper. It’s a melancholy story about missed opportunities and the meaning of service—and a reminder that whatever lies in our past, the present is here right now. It’s the ideal book for Downton Abbey fans.
Belgravia, by Julian Fellowes
Downton Abbey wouldn’t exist without Julian Fellowes, so Belgravia is the perfect choice. It’s set in a different historical era—Victorian England, mainly the 1840s—but it offers the same trenchant examination of the ways class and money work among the highest levels of English society. It's set in the Belgravia district of London near Buckingham Palace, focused on two families—the aristocratic Bellasises and the new money Trenchards. The Trenchards are social climbers, and the Bellasises look down on them, and that sturdy plot engine delivers the same charms as Downton in a slightly different context.
The Summer Before the War, by Helen Simonson
Set just before World War I, this charming story follows teacher Beatrice Nash as she arrives in slightly scandalous fashion in the village of Rye, where she has taken work teaching Latin. The village isn’t sure it likes the idea of a single woman working, and Beatrice herself isn’t sure how to navigate being financially dependent on her sponsor in town, Agatha Kent, whose nephews, Hugh and Daniel, are pretty attractive. It’s a swirl of modernity-meets-stuffy-tradition in the same mold as Downton Abbey.
Howards End, by E.M. Forster
If you enjoyed the slow burn of social change explored on Downton Abbey, Forster’s celebrated 1910 novel will hit the spot. Focused on three families in Edwardian England—the wealthy, stuffy Wilcoxes, the poor and ambitious Basts, and the half-German Schlegels—the story revolves around Howard’s End, the Wilcox family’s country house. Written contemporaneously, it perfectly captures the positives and negatives of the time period.
The Sisters, by Mary S. Lovell
If you watched Downton Abbey mainly to see what the plucky, intelligent Crawley sisters were up to, you’ll love The Sisters, which tells the story of the six Mitford sisters, who dominated much of England’s society happenings for much of the 20th century. The women—Nancy, Deborah, Pamela, Diana, Unity, and Jessica—were born into an impoverished aristocratic family, and all went on to make their marks in varied ways, ranging from scandal to artistic achievement. If Lady Mary had been born a little later, she might have lived a life like the Mitford sisters.
The best movies like Downton Abbey
Half the fun of Downton Abbey lies in the sumptuous visuals—the majesty of the Abbey itself (the very real Highclere Castle) and its beautiful grounds, the fashions, the interior design. To get more of that in your life, check out these great movies.
Gosford Park (2001)
Written by Julian Fellowes and directed by the late, great Robert Altman, Gosford Park is similar to later seasons of Downton Abbey, especially the stories where American Hollywood invades. In 1932, Sir William McCordle (Michael Gambon) hosts a shooting party with a guest list that includes Hollywood producer Morris Weissman (Bob Balaban). There’s plenty of upstairs/downstairs gossiping and intrigue, a dead body, and silent class warfare—everything a Downton fan could want. Rent Gosford Park on Prime Video.
A Room with a View (1985)
Set in 1907, A Room with a View takes place in both Italy and England, following upper-class Lucy Honeychurch, who meets and falls in love with a young man while on vacation, upending her plans to marry into a family higher on the social pecking order than her own. The struggle around class expectations and the social constraints of the time are explored in dramatic fashion, and fans who loved Mary and Matthew’s rocky romance will swoon for this. Stream A Room with a View on HBO or rent it on Prime Video.
Brideshead Revisited (2008)
If you want more drama centered on an incredible, gorgeous English country manor, this film, based on Evelyn Waugh’s classic novel, is a good option. The story follows student Charles Ryder (Matthew Goode), who befriends the wild and alcoholic Lord Sebastian Flyte (Ben Whishaw). When Sebastian invites Charles to come home to his family’s estate, called Brideshead, Charles is immediately smitten both with the beautiful property and Sebastian’s sister, Julia (Hayley Atwell). Stream Brideshead Revisited on Kanopy or rent it on Prime Video.
The Go-Between (1971)
Another film that explores the simultaneously vast and narrow chasm between social classes in early 20th-century England, The Go-Between is about Leo Colston, a 12-year-old boy who is invited by his friend Marcus Maudsley to spend his summer at his family’s country estate, Brandham Hall. Feeling out of place among the aristocratic Maudlseys, Leo begins acting as a messenger between Lady Marian and a tenant farmer, Ted, as they carry on an extr
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July 19, 2025, 04:03:32 PM