I'm as obsessed as everybody else with DA and so I was trolling YouTube for interviews from the DA stars when I found the adorable Dan Stevens giving an interview in London and he talked about this book that had just come out.
http://www.amazon.com/World-Downton-Abbey-Jessica-Fellowes/dp/1250006341/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1326758458&sr=1-1 So I sent a hardback copy to my 89-year old mother (who also adores the show) and uploaded the ebook version to my Kindle and OMG it's awesome. Now, true, it's not fiction, but it does tell you everything you ever wanted to know about the characters and why they do the things they do. So when it's talking about the kitchen maid, Daisy, for example, it will tell you how the typical maid in 1912 gets up at 4 a.m. and scurries about the house lighting all the fires and isn't supposed to be seen by the Upstairs people, etc. And the production of DA stays v true to what all the servants really did in those days. It's just great to read the book (chocked full of photos too, of the actors and of Highclere Castle (Downton)) so when you're watching the action, there's more depth to what you're seeing.
Anyway, as I say, it's not fiction, but there are quotes from all the actors about how it feels to be walking through history, and the producer and Julian Fellowes (who wrote Gosford Park BTW).