Book Review: Belgravia

Belgravia is a book by Julian Fellowes (Downton Abbey) published in 2016. 

The story is primarily set in the 1840s in the Belgravia neighborhood of London and results from events that take place just before the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. It weaves various storylines to connect characters despite the separations superimposed by society, including family ties, social connections, generational wealth, money, career, gender, and privilege. 

The story begins with Sophia Trenchard and the events in 1815, specifically, the romance between Sophia, an 18-year-old daughter of a wartime foodstuffs supplier, and a young Lord Bellasis, the heir to a title and a decently-sized inheritance. It is a seemingly cliche romance, except that Lord Bellasis dies before the end of the first 30 pages, and not long after, Sophia does as well– just after the birth of her and Lord Bellasis's son. It's hardly a spoiler and the only one this review will contain! Though both individuals appear to have been greatly beloved by their families, the story of Belgravia does not live in the past. 

At 402 pages, Belgravia's length enables the reader to create a comfortable, temporary existence within the world in which it takes place. The pace of the plotline lends itself to a very captivating story. The story's progress is quite artful, given that in every conflict, no matter how small, many of the relevant perspectives of the characters are shared through third-person narration. The stories and perspectives are multifaceted in their delivery, tinted differently by each character. However, the degree to which each perspective is warped by privilege, circumstance, etc., is subtly made clear to the reader. 

Additionally, characters we feel connected to are abundant regardless of whether they are easily despised or found delightful and inspiring. Even some of the more drastic and detestable actions are framed with empathy and circumstance. In other words, the villain's story is not revealed after the fact; we are invited to see the character behind the villainy or moment of unkindness and interpret their actions as those of an individual. It contrasts the practice of cultivating poorly formed judgments based solely upon 'jejune interpretations of actions. Despite this gentle approach to revealing the inadequacies of particular personages, one character is almost enjoyable to dislike; it is also interesting to see the extent to which actions carried out in selfishness can lead to moral outcomes. 

The newly-released second season of Belgravia on Amazon Prime served as a primary motivation for delving into this story. Reading the book considerably enhanced the experience of viewing the Prime Series. I recommend reading before viewing the series – the actions, dialogue, and mood are much more easily interpreted and understood as intended after reading the book. Independent of the series, Belgravia is an excellent story - the ending is beautiful, tactful, and a welcomed release from the major conflicts the reader finds themselves caught up in. It's a great read to start the year!