Adult

Welcome to Downton Abbey, the splendid ancestral home of the Earl and Countess of Grantham (Hugh Bonneville and Elizabeth McGovern) and their daughters, who live there under the watchful eye of the Dowager Countess (Dame Maggie Smith). The household is a complicated community, with the servants below stairs as fiercely jealous of their ranks as anyone above. From the sinking of the Titanic to the First World War, the secure and ordered world of Downton is rocked as the lives of the inhabitants are shaped by romance, ambition, and heartbreak.

Season 2 of the Emmy Award-winning Downton Abbey returns as The Great War rages across Europe, and not even the serene Yorkshire countryside is free from its effects. The men and women of Downton are doing their part both on the front lines and the home front, but the intensity of war only serves to inflame the more familiar passions love, loss, blackmail, and betrayal.

Downton Abbey --- a sprawling, lavish Edwardian mansion nestled in the Yorkshire landscape --- needs an heir. Dame Maggy Smith stars as Violet, the stubborn Dowager Countess of Grantham matriarch of Downton. Hugh Bonneville stars as her son, the stoic, unflappable Lord Crawley. Elizabeth McGovern is his far-sighted American wife, Cora. From Academy Award-winner Julian Fellowes comes the original un-edited UK version of the program.

In 1928, Rosina Harrison, a no-nonsense, whip-smart girl from the country, arrived at the illustrious Astor family household to take up her new position as personal maid to the infamously temperamental Lady Nancy Astor. What no one expected was that Rosina's new job would result in a decades-long friendship. For 35 years, from the parties thrown for royalty and trips across the globe, to the air raids during WWII, Rose was by Lady Astor's side and behind the scenes, keeping everything running smoothly. Like Downton Abbey, ROSE is a captivating insight into the great wealth "upstairs" and the endless work "downstairs."

The current Countess of Carnarvon tells the story behind Highclere Castle, the real-life inspiration for the hit PBS show, Downton Abbey, and the life of one of its most famous inhabitants, Lady Almina, the basis of the fictional character, Lady Cora Crawley. Lady Almina was the daughter of a wealthy industrialist, Alfred de Rothschild, who married his daughter off at a young age, her dowry serving as the crucial link in the effort to preserve the Earl of Carnarvon's ancestral home.  Throwing open the doors of Highclere Castle to tend to the wounded of World War I, Lady Almina distinguished herself as a brave and remarkable woman.

Original music from the British TV series, Downton Abbey, featuring songs by Emmy-award winning composer John Lunn as well as Rebecca Ferguson's "I'll Count the Days" and Scala and Kolacny Brothers' covers of "Every Breath You Take" and "With or Without You",  which were used in promotional trailers for seasons one and two.

 This collectible wall calendar- the first American license for Downton Abbey- features images of stars Maggie Smith, Elizabeth McGovern, Hugh Bonneville, Michelle Dockery, Dan Stevens, Brendan Coyle, and Joanne Froggatt in unforgettable scenes from the show's first two seasons spanning the years 1912 through 1917.

This elegant, week-at-a-glance datebook celebrates the series - the aristocratic Crawley family and its household staff, the sumptuous interiors, the incredible, historically precise costumes - with dozens of full-color photographs and memorable quotes and dialogues. The perfect gift - and just in time to mark the premiere of Season Three in January 2013.