For the past few weeks, my husband and I have been taken back to a time on the cusp of change before the Great War was declared.
We have lived vicariously through the lives of the characters of British television series Downton Abbey.
Granted we are a bit slow on the uptake as we have only just finished watching the first series whereas the second series has recently begun in the U.K.
But when the first series was screened in England, I knew I would love it as practically all my friends were glued to television channel ITV at 9 p.m. every Sunday.
The drama follows the lives of the Crawley family of Downton Abbey and the servants who work for them.
Viewers not only witness the secrets of the aristocracy but follow the dramas happening below stairs.
Written by award-winning writer Julian Fellowes, the drama is captivating - it is entertaining, emotional and gripping set against a back drop where the viewer knows the outbreak of war will soon be declared and all the characters' lives will change forever.
The series begins with the Earl of Grantham, played by Hugh Bonneville, receiving a letter that his two heirs have died during the tragedy of the "unsinkable" ship the Titanic in 1912.
This causes great upheaval in the house as the Earl only has three daughters and now his only heir is a distance relative working as a solicitor. The period drama has had us in stitches thanks to some of the hilarious comments made by Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham, played by Maggie Smith. She recently won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress.
It has also made us, well, me really, cry thanks to all the high emotion surrounding Lady Mary and her need to find a husband and the love interest between head housemaid Anna Smith and Lord Grantham's valet John Bates.
I also think every episode I have said that O'Brien, Lady Grantham's maid, is a "nasty piece of work."
We finished watching the first series this week, which ended with the declaration of war with Germany.
We were left with many questions, particularly, in my case, what is going to happen to Lady Mary and Matthew Crawley?
I can't wait to get my hands on the second series and will have to be careful my friends in England don't give anything away.
I do know it starts two years on from where the first series left off in 1914.
I've always been a fan of period dramas and will watch any series from Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice to one I remember watching as a teenager called Nancherrow, a movie sequel to Rosamunde Pilcher's Coming Home.
But I have to say Downton Abbey is definitely one of the best I've ever seen.
The fact my husband is enjoying watching it really says something as he's not usually one for watching people traipse around in beautiful costumes.
But there's something different about Downton Abbey.
Perhaps it's the fact that dramas set in that time frame usually focus directly on the First World War.
They rarely start before then and the early 1900s are often ignored.
During history lessons at school you certainly move rapidly from Queen Victoria's death in 1901 to the Great War.
Downton Abbey lets you know some of what happened in between.
It is the point where the call for women's rights was growing, when the aristocracy's precarious hold over their slowly deteriorating houses was in danger of falling, and the working class were calling for social change.
While you might think, "Oh no, not another period drama," Downton Abbey is a refreshing change but comes with a warning.
Once you start watching, you will be hooked.
