The Great War is over and a long-awaited engagement is on, but all is not tranquil at Downton Abbey as wrenching social changes, romantic intrigues, and personal crises grip the majestic English country estate. As other great houses are crippled psychologically and financially in the wake of World War I, Robert, Earl of Grantham, sticks to his duty to maintain Downton more firmly than ever. But in this changing landscape nothing is assured, and could it be that even the war-weary Crawleys must fight a new battle to safeguard their beloved Downton? 

Set in 1922, the fourth series sees Lady Mary mourning her loss as the Crawley family and the servants who work for them remain inseparably interlinked.

这是一部自传体文学的作品，原书六卷，已逸其二，现仅存四卷（有所谓“足本”者，后二记系伪作。书中记叙了作者夫妇间平凡的家居生活，坎坷际遇，和各地浪游闻见。文辞朴素，情感真挚，前人曾有“幽芳凄三角，读之心醉”的评语。本书文字不长，但向为文学爱好者和研究者所重视，影响广泛。