Downton Abbey: The London Season (Christmas Special 2013) [DVD]

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Elsie May Carson (née Hughes) (played by Phyllis Logan) (b. 1862) is the housekeeper at Downton Abbey. The female servants report to her. Though unmarried, she is referred to as Mrs Hughes according to traditional titles for servants during the time period. She is originally from Argyll, Scotland, where her father was a farmer. Elsie worked as a maid at Duneagle Castle for an unknown period of time. She has one sibling, a sister who lives in Lytham St Annes. Mrs Hughes has described her sister as being born "not quite right in the head" and has been privately caring for her since their mother died. Before she came to Downton in 1895 as head housemaid, she was courted by a farmer, Joe Burns. But she refused him and he married a woman named Ivy and had a son, Peter. In 1913, three years after Ivy dies and his son joins the army, Joe comes to Downton and asks Elsie to marry him, but once again she refuses him, even though she has previously expressed doubts about choosing a life of service over having a husband and family.

Fellowes, Jessica (6 December 2011). The World of Downton Abbey. The World of Downton Abbey. St. Martin's Press. ISBN 978-1-250-01620-1. Finneran stated that the character "is a thoroughly despicable human being", [16] and that "People actually love that she’s a nasty piece of work. They love to dislike her." [17] Finneran stated her belief that O'Brien's negative attitudes originated from how the character "has basically sacrificed her entire life to somebody else, for the good of their life and their home — it’s no wonder that she would get frustrated or angry about things." [17] Finneran believed that O'Brien "was great to play." [16] In the second Christmas special, she accompanies Lady Grantham to Scotland to visit Duneagle Castle. While there, she apparently comes to like Lady Flintshire and manages to arrange to become her lady's maid. She leaves Downton at the very beginning of the fourth series in the middle of the night to take her new position, leaving only a letter to explain her actions. In series five, Mrs Hughes tells Mr Carson that O'Brien has left Lady Flintshire to serve as lady's maid to the wife of the new governor of the Bombay Presidency in British India.Weekly Top 10 Programmes: ITV1+1 w/e 16 September 2012". Broadcasters' Audience Research Board. Archived from the original on 13 January 2013 . Retrieved 24 September 2012. Weekly Top 30 Programmes: ITV1 w/e 30 October 2011". Broadcasters' Audience Research Board . Retrieved 7 November 2011. Weekly Top 10 Programmes: ITV1 HD w/e 7 October 2012". Broadcasters' Audience Research Board. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016 . Retrieved 15 October 2012. Edith Pelham, Marchioness of Hexham (née Lady Edith Crawley; b. 1892) (played by Laura Carmichael) is the middle daughter of Lord and Lady Grantham. [2] Edith is often the "forgotten" one as she is not considered as pretty and smooth-talking as her older sister, Mary, or as daring and passionate as her younger sister, Sybil. She experiences multiple disappointments in her romantic relationships: she is jilted at the altar by Sir Anthony Strallan in the third series, and her second fiancé Michael Gregson is killed by Nazis while staying in Germany. Further, Edith discovers she is pregnant with Gregson's illegitimate child. However, Edith also experiences success when she pursues a career in journalism and takes charge of Gregson's magazine publishing company. In series six, after Mary arranges for the couple to reunite, Edith marries Bertie Pelham, becoming a marchioness, and he and her family come to accept her daughter Marigold. Weekly Top 10 Programmes: ITV1+1 w/e 28 October 2012". Broadcasters' Audience Research Board. Archived from the original on 13 January 2013 . Retrieved 14 December 2012.

Editors of LIFE (2016). LIFE Downton Abbey: Behind the Scenes of the Iconic TV Show. Time Inc. Books. ISBN 978-1-61893-450-5. Weekly Top 10 Programmes: ITV1+1 w/e 23 October 2011". Broadcasters' Audience Research Board . Retrieved 31 October 2011. Barkman, Adam; Arp, Robert (2015). Downton Abbey and Philosophy: Thinking in That Manor. Popular Culture and Philosophy. Open Court. ISBN 978-0-8126-9912-8.Mary tells the Bateses that their newborn son is welcome to stay at Downton's nursery during the day, as Anna wants to continue working at Downton, and that soon their son will be joined by a child of her own, as Mary is now pregnant. Weekly Top 10 Programmes: ITV+1 w/e 29 September 2013". Broadcasters' Audience Research Board. Archived from the original on 13 January 2013 . Retrieved 13 October 2013.