Mr Carson and Mrs Hughes

This richly illustrated short, extracted from the official book “The Chronicles of Downton Abbey,” focuses on the characters individually, examining their motivations, their actions and the inspirations behind them. Forwarded by “Downton Abbey” creator Julian Fellowes. It is a strange life for the likes of Carson and Mrs. Hughes, sitting between the family and the servants and never completely belonging to either group. It's easy to understand why the two of them seek refuge in each other, even in their own rather stilted fashion. 'Carson comes from a family of soldiers and servants,' says Julian Fellowes. 'His grandfather was a head groom and so he's middle-middle class—they certainly weren't scrabbling in the gutter for food.' Mrs. Hughes gave up the idea of marriage and a family for her career as Downton's housekeeper. This does not mean she was without ambition: a career in service was something to be proud of; the job was steady, she had respect from her colleagues, and she could look forward to a reasonably comfortable retirement provided by the Downton Abbey estate, if she served the family for many years.