The SONG of HARTGROVE HALL-A Rather Shabby Downton Abbey

British novelist & screenwriter, Natasha Solomons' The SONG of HARTGROVE (2015) is a family saga set in the soggy British countryside in a delapitated manor with all manner of feigned decorum.  As in Downton, there is the British aristocracy with their pomposity.  The story begins in 1946 and centers around a family of 3 brothers; Harry "Fox" was too young or to remember their mother.  Jack the eldest oozes captivating charm and George is the diffident, hard worker & Edie is the damsel that dazzles all 3.  Edie became a celebrity singer during the war (still looked down upon amongst the elite.)  Edie's Russian/Jewish lineage is also kept discreet.  George's homosexuality is also quite a private matter.  Fox becomes a budding composer/conductor who collects indigenous folksongs.  He lusts for Edie; Jack's betrothed.  Edie & Fox share a love for music. Music plays a repititve note in this adagio book.  Edie & Fox orchestrate an illicit rendezvous. The book is written with time changes between present & past.  The crescendo of betrayal builds & putters.  Edie, pregnant confesses their affair to Jack.  Jack demands she must choose.  She chooses Fox with whom she has a family (perhaps the eldest daughter is Jack's) and a long, happy life together.  Bro - where's the band of brothers.  How about guy code?  Sleeping with your brother's wife is simply not acceptable in society or in general.  The curmudgeon father of the brothers is referred to as General.  Meanwhile, Hartgrove Hall ain't what she used to be and General wants to sell.  The brother's plead to salvage the estate.  The frivilous plot contains a musical concert that saves the old place.  I found the novel dry as day old scones.  (Even Downton is becoming tired.)  I'd pass on this soapy melodrama that aims to be grand.  Dame Maggie Smith would turn her nose on this declasse' drivel.