In the world of the late-Victorian and Edwardian country house the mistress and her daughters had many social duties and responsibilities to carry out both in their home community and in London, where they spent the Season and where the girls officially entered Society by being presented at Court. Pamela Horn's book examines the lives of these real 'Downton Abbey' ladies from their childhood and marriage to their role as a 'Lady Bountiful'. It covers their leisure pursuits, sporting activities, country-house weekends, and much more besides, up to the life-transforming years of the First World War.