Past Imperfect: A Novel (2009 original; edició 2012)

Fabulously wealthy Damian Baxter, once a social climber, is dying without family or heir. He contacts the narrator, the best friend of his youth before they crossed swords, to task him with finding the mother of a child he believes he fathered in the sixties. Armed with the names of possible mothers, the narrator sets out to meet and interview them. The situation is tricky because they were all one-time friends, aristocrats and debutants hobnobbing at Britain's grand houses. Naturally, memories and frictions of the past are rekindled for the narrator, the potential mothers, as well as for Damian.

As a social historian Fellowes is unmatched. He is remarkably astute when examining changing generational attitudes and trends and his attention to detail is flawless.

This is neither a lament for times past, nor a criticism of the culture but a sociological study in the style of Downton Abbey, illustrating the cultural changes for the British upper classes (Fellowes calls them "toffs") in the second half of the 20th century. Very well done, beautifully written. ( )

If you liked Downton Abbey - you'll like this book. Julian Fellowes knows his tribe and has a way with a story. I really enjoyed this... ( )

A dying millionaire seeks to leave his fortune to a child he never knew, bringing him to recall his life in swinging Sixties London.

Superb! Even though the bloom has fallen off the rose as far as my love of Downton Abbey is concerned, I still feel Fellowes is by far the best at setting the scene and fleshing out the characters that inhabit the posh world of which he is a part.

This book is fantastic and I'm surprised I had never picked it up previously. I'm glad I saw it peeking out at me from my library's shelves! ( )

The narrator of Past Imperfect accepts an unexpected invitation from Damian Baxter, a one-time friend and Cambridge classmate that he now considers an enemy. Back in the 1960s, the narrator, who had lived on the fringe of posh society, opened the door for Damian, who was of an even lower social status, but something pushed them apart. Damian is now filthy rich, alone, and dying. He had received an unsigned note telling him that he had fathered a child back in the day but never bothered to pursue the claim. Now, he asks the narrator to find out which of the seven women he had bedded back in the debutante season of 1968 had borne his child. The chance to see how his old companions had turned out is too much to resist.

Fellowes moves us back and forth from the swinging 60s to the present day, exploring the complexities of class, friendship, and love along the way. Two events are pivotal: a debutante ball where someone serves hashish brownies, and the picnic that blew apart the narrator’s friendship with Damian and left them both expelled from their social circle. The narrator’s quest is sometimes amusing, often bittersweet. ( )