goodbye audrey forbes-hamilton

And goodbye to you as well, charming Mr. DeVere. Today I was finally forced to part with my box set of the complete To The Manor Born dvds. Who knew I would develop such a strange affinity for the British upper class?

The basic premise of To The Manor Born is this: Mrs. Forbes-Hamilton's family has occupied the Grantliegh Estate for over 400 years, however, her late husband Martin ran it into financial ruin. She learns, on the happy occasion of his funeral, that the estate is bankrupt and she will have to sell Grantliegh Manor and leave her ancestral home. Poor thing.

A rich businessman named Richard DeVere buys the manor and moves in with his Czechoslovakian mother and lots of big plans to turn the estate into a real working farm, which he hopes will supply some of his grocery stores with produce. Audrey is effronted by his being a businessman and (gasp) a foreigner. She moves into the old Grantliegh Manor Lodge, a tiny cottage at the end of the drive, to keep an eye on Mr. DeVere and their love-hate relationship begins.

The characters are all so sweet and the stories are so simple and engaging, it's just a shame there were only three seasons. I was surprised to feel so much sympathy with Audrey's interest in maintaining old traditions and mores. There was a sense of everything having a place that really appealed to me, for some reason.

I was also surprised to get from her such a sense of stewardship of both the land and the community. The idea of noblesse oblige arises in at least one of the shows, although it runs as a theme throughout. The idea that those who were born with advantage owe something back to the world. I know this was just a television show and who knows what the real Audrey Forbes-Hamiltons of the world are/were like, but I still found it inspiring.

And I'm sad to have dropped it back at the library. It's like I've just lost the company of a friend. And it's also like I am a big nerd. Oh well. I guess that's not news.