The universe of Downton Abbey and The Gilded Age is separated by thirty years and a continent. Julian Fellowes used the same formula in both series and got us hooked twice! Now we always want more. For the biggest dreamers lies the question: could we consider a crossover between the two series?
There is nothing announced or planned, but it wouldn’t be impossible. After all, the HBO Max series was originally supposed to be a prequel to Downton Abbey, nothing stops them from still being able to recover some connection, right? Plus, many believe that Cora Crawley (Elizabeth McGovern) like Gladys Russell (Taissa Farmiga) is inspired by Consuelo Vanderbilt (not really), therefore close in age. Now that Bertha Russell (Carrie Coon) has apparently “sold” her daughter to the Duke of Buckingham (Ben Lamb), thus forcing Gladys to possibly move to England, wouldn’t she meet Cora once they are in the same country?
When single, Cora Levinson (Elizabeth McGovern) and her mother, Martha Levinson (Shirley MacLaine), are what Agnes Van Rijhn (Christine Baranski) would call “new money.” The difference is that the Levinsons didn’t move to New York. Although they have a home in Manhattan, they live in Newport, which means that, at some point, Cora and Gladys most likely attended the same parties.
As fans of Downton Abbey know, Cora’s mother, Martha Levinson (Shirley MacLaine), married Isidore Levinson, a dry goods millionaire from Cincinnati, in the mid-19th century. Cora was born in 1868 and has a brother, Harold (Paul Giamatti). By the time we are in The Gilded Age, Martha must still be married as Isidore died sometime before 1888, leaving her and Cora his fortune, which includes the houses in Rhode Island and New York.
Still, from what Downton Abbey revealed, in 1888, Martha took Cora to London to find a “suitable” husband. In other words, just 5 years after what we are following in The Gilded Age. Just as we will see happen with Gladys, Cora was considered a ‘dollar princess’, that is an American heiress who generates great interest in the British noble caste. Once in England, she is introduced to Lord Grantham, Robert Crawley (Hugh Bonneville), who has no romantic interest in her, but “needs” to marry for Cora’s dowry and thus save the Crawleys and Downton Abbey from bankruptcy.
The arranged marriage, according to Robert, turned into true love in less than 12 months. A rare case at that time, it must be highlighted.
It would be curious, now in the third season, if, at some point, the Levinsons would at least go through The Gilded Age, although Martha Levinson would be the kind of people that Agnes van Rhijn and Caroline Astor (Donna Murphy) dread. After all, like Bertha, she is socially ambitious and despised by New York society.
Born sometime in the 1840s or early 1850s, Martha did not convert to Judaism, even upon marriage. After being widowed, like Susan Blane (Laura Benanti), she preferred to live in Newport, so there is no doubt that Larry’s (Harry Richardson) ex-lover knows her.
Cora’s relationship with her mother also reflects how Gladys interacts with Bertha: at a certain distance. Not even time brought them closer together, Cora adapted to the British way of living and began to resent what she considered her mother’s interference in the most intimate family matters. I wonder if Gladys will do the same.
Here is the correction in MiscelAna. Apparently, the inspiration for the character of Cora, unlike Gladys, was not Consuelo Vanderbilt, but Mary Leiter, Baroness Curzon of Kedleston, and Vicereine of India, the daughter of a wealthy Chicago merchant, a character worth visiting in the near future.
With all these connections, there is still an opportunity to appearing in The Gilded Age. A first window could have been used in the second season in which everyone spent time in Newport, here is the hope of still creating this parallel universe. Cora and Gladys have so much in common! Who wouldn’t want to see them as friends?
miscelana.com 