Supper at the Duchess of Bedford's

Supper at the Duchess of Bedford's. A familiar situation? When the hosts want a sumptuous table but have no wish to spend much on provisions, the richer service is brought out, and a few tomatoes and a mound of dried apricots are set in the middle of the table. I have personally been in such houses.

The history of the Russell family of Bedfordshire is somewhat reminiscent of the Crawleys of Downton Abbey. Real and cinematic aristocrats alike tried to survive in a changing world after the dispelling of the Victorian dreams. John Ian Robert Russell, 13th Duke of Bedford, opened Woburn Abbey, one of the nine finest estates of England, to the public for the first time since the sixteenth century, in order to earn a little money for the upkeep of the decaying property. In all this he was helped by his faithful wife and, in all likelihood, the inspirer of the undertaking, Nicole Russell, one of the first women television producers in France, who did everything to draw attention to the magnificent Woburn and, it must be said, succeeded in it. Naturally so: the Duke knew whom to choose for a wife, since Nicole was the creator of the popular British show Dick and the Duchess.