A historical fiction family drama written by the creator of Downton Abbey, set in an earlier era but sharing many of that show's themes. The opening chapter takes place just before the battle of Waterloo, when a pair of lovers of differing social classes are divided by the conflict. Then the narrative jumps forward 25 years to the fashionable London neighborhood, Belgravia, recently transformed by a series of ambitious building projects. I listened to this as an audiobook and was completely engaged by the first 1/3 of the story. Then the pace of the plot slowed to a crawl, and meandered through an unbelievable boring middle section that seemed to last for hours. I came close to giving up, but stuck with it, and it did regain some of its momentum at the end. I wouldn't recommend it though.