If You Liked Downton Abbey...

During the summer I dived head-first into Downton Abbey. However, season three left me a wreck and I felt I could not go on. Recently I've started watching it from the beginning and realized my favourite part of the show was during the Great War. What triggered me into rewatching Downton was a book my mother had recommended to me ages ago and I felt that I ought to make some Canadian recommendations to those like my mother and I, who love a good wartime romance.


Somewhere In France - Jennifer Robson 
If your favourite character was Sybil you will love this novel. It's not a literary masterpiece but it is an adorable love story. It's predictable and cute and I could not put it down. The main character is the youngest daughter of a Lord Cumberland who feels that it is her duty to assist in the war effort with or without her families permission and like Sybil she also find herself falling for a man far below her rank, a doctor who boarded with her brother in University.

Passchendaele (film) - Paul Gross
First I would like to say that I am deeply offended that Google Chrome's spell check seems to think Passchendaele should be Chippendales. Secondly, this is a darker take than both Downton and Somewhere In France on the Great War. It was written, directed, and starring Paul Gross, possibly the most Canadian actor ever. The story was inspired by his grandfather and revolves around a soldier returned to Calgary with shellshock and the nurse who treated him, of German decent. It takes place in both Calgary and Passchedaele and while it is a love story it is also a story about the destruction caused by war. Rotten Tomatoes rates it very low, with many critics saying it can't make up its mind between whether war is bad or war is good. I think this is intentional and I think it is meant to show that war is both tragic and devastating but is also heroic and glorious. It is both bad and good at the same time.

I hope you enjoy these two Canadian picks for wartime romances.
xx jenn