According to Julian Fellowes, the creator of Downton Abbey, his writing is very much influenced by author Edith Wharton, who lived and wrote in Lenox (I’m quite sure that most of you read Ethan Frome in school). Her restored home The Mount is at the top of my must-see in Lenox list I share with my guests.

Says Fellowes, “I think I was in my thirties when someone gave me a copy of The House of Mirth (which was written at The Mount) and I was instantly impressed by the extraordinarily contemporary feeling of Wharton’s writing. Her dialogue was so immediate, her understanding of emotional predicaments was so vital.”

Fellowes is the recipient of the 2012 Edith Wharton Lifetime Achievement Award. He suspects that the reason for the success of Downton Abbey is that he “is kind to them in their weaknesses, kind to them… in the error of their ways.” If he has achieved this, Fellowes went on to say, “It is a lesson I learned directly from Edith Wharton… I feel most fortunate to have made her acquaintance.”

You, too, can experience Wharton’s aura and era by visiting the home and gardens she designed when The Mount reopens in the spring on your next trip to our Lenox, MA bed and breakfast.

Our Inn in Lenox, MA offers 12 accommodations enjoy Berkshires, Bed & Breakfast,Inn in Lenox MA featuring private baths, cozy fireplaces and more. You can read the original blog post here Downton Abbey Was Inspire by Lenox Author.