It is great news that Julian Fellowes, creator of the wonderful Downton Abbey, has been given a peerage. There is a delicious irony in this keenest observer of the aristocracy being elevated to their ranks – one I’m sure Mr Fellowes will enjoy.
No one could be better prepared for a life in ermine than the man who won an Oscar for Gosford Park and has entertained us so well every Sunday night this autumn.
Certainly, I miss the series since it ended. So, I understand, does much of the country. Which led me to wonder why, exactly, Downton has such a potent grip on our imaginations.
We all love a good costume drama, which is why the BBC is hastily resurrecting Upstairs, Downstairs this Christmas.
But I think there is more to it than that. Downton Abbey was set in the last glow of the Edwardian era, just before the First World War, when everything changed forever.
Most of us have grandparents or great grandparents who remember the last war. They, in turn remember the earlier, golden era when Britannia ruled the waves, most of the world map was imperial red and a Viceroy ruled India in our stead.
Life was more certain, then. We knew who we were on the world stage and we were confident. Highclere Castle, where Downton was filmed, was built in the early 19th century by House of Commons architect, Sir Charles Barry - as a potent symbol of England’s power and glory.
The certainty extended to the roles of those who lived in Edwardian society. One of the beauties of Downton has been the insight into the lives of those below, as well as above, stairs.
But I think it’s the way the house rolls on imperturbably, despite the huge external changes – aeroplanes, cars, sufragettes, the Titanic – which fascinates us.
We are nostalgic for what seems a perfect world because, we know now, it was not to last.
Three million of our young men were wounded or died in the 1914-1917 war and the lovely young women - of all classes - of Downton would probably never have married.
Today we are far more aware of the instability that surrounds us.
How clever of Mr Fellowes to create a story, which gave us a sense of everything being ordered and in its place, in these turbulent times.