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Making Masterpiece: 25 Years Behind the Scenes at Masterpiece Theatre and Mystery! on PBS

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For more than twenty-five years, Rebecca Eaton has presided over PBS's Masterpiece Theatre, the longest running weekly prime-time drama series in American history. In Making Masterpiece Eaton interviews many of the writers, directors, producers, and other contributors and shares personal anecdotes about her decades-long career. She reveals what went on behind the scenes during such triumphs as Cranford and the highly rated programs made from Jane Austen's novels, as well as her aggressive campaign to attract younger viewers via social media and online streaming. Along the way she shares stories about actors and other luminaries.

320 pages, Hardcover

First published October 29, 2013

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Rebecca Eaton

1 book1 follower
Rebecca Eaton, OBE

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Displaying 1 - 30 of 184 reviews
Profile Image for Hannah.
798 reviews
January 5, 2014
Interesting trivia for fans of Masterpiece Theatre and Mystery!. Who knew Rebecca turned down the 1995 Pride & Prejudice with Colin Firth and almost turned down Downton Abbey?

Enjoyable.
Profile Image for Jean.
1,745 reviews761 followers
September 3, 2016
This is a combination memoir of Rebecca Eaton and of Masterpiece Theatre. I have long been a fan of Masterpiece theatre and love the theme music. It was fun to learn where and how the theme music came about and how the program began. Eaton weaves an absorbing story of her own life with that of the Masterpiece Theatre. Eaton tells of her early life as the daughter of a famous actress and a father who was a Shakespeare professor.

She tells of her apprenticeship with the BBC living in England and working for WGBH, the Boston affiliate of PBS. She tells about Downton Abbey and all the other famous mini-series presented over the years; she also includes her failures. Eaton tells of the establishment of Mystery and in 2010 obtaining Sherlock. Throughout the book Eaton comes off as a woman who is remarkable and unskeptical for a veteran TV executive; her love of her work comes through.

The book is well written and a delight to read. The book was well organized and the pace was perfect. The book is written in the first person. Eaton has actors and fellow staffers tell their personal anecdotes in the first person. For example: Diana Riggs discussed how she became the host of Mystery; various staff people and actors talked about what key roles they played and shared comments on Eaton. Made the memoir different and more interesting.

I read this as an audiobook downloaded from Audible. Meredith Mitchell does a good job narrating the book. Mitchell is a stage, film, television actress and audiobook narrator.

Profile Image for Lorna.
6 reviews
July 1, 2013
Really enjoyed this as a lifelong Masterpiece fan (courtesy of my British mum), but also as a television news producer. Rebecca Eaton wrote the best two paragraph description of what television producers do that I have ever read. And, as before I read the book, I think Eaton has one of the best jobs in television!
Profile Image for Barbara Backus.
287 reviews14 followers
August 6, 2016
All the logistics of putting together a television series, all the problems of finding and maintaining funding as well as the tidbits behind the scenes fills the pages. Interesting if you like to learn about Alistair Cooke's quirks and how "Downton Abbey" found its place on PBS. But the book would have benefited from some additional editing.
Profile Image for Marcie.
459 reviews
April 19, 2014
As a Masterpiece Theatre junkie, you would think this book is right up my alley. However, the thing I like about Masterpiece (especially the Masterpiece of the last few years) is that it’s usually very well done, from the writing to the scenery, the filming to the acting. The British accents might help with this a little. While this book is about how all of that gets put together, this book felt very much like a rough draft. There were large portions that felt like they were cut and pasted directly from lengthy email conversations with different Masterpiece employees. In all, I liked the tidbits I learned about one of my favorite shows. I just wish the book was as polished as the show is.
Profile Image for Melody Schwarting.
1,719 reviews79 followers
August 23, 2020
Making Masterpiece tells the stories behind the favorite costume dramas and mysteries that come to life on PBS on Sunday nights (...I have to catch up on Endeavour). We never had cable in my house, so PBS was our primary channel of choice. I recall distinctly when I began to watch Masterpiece, in January 2008, with the Jane Austen suite. It was my introduction to her stories, which immediately appealed to my 13-year-old, 7th-grade self. Since then, I’ve paid attention to everything Masterpiece screens, from Cranford (my all-time favorite) to Sherlock to Victoria. Eaton mentions wanting a production of Victoria’s early years as queen. We now have Victoria.

Memoirs about show biz, especially from those who are not stars themselves, can read like endless rounds of name-dropping. Eaton somehow brings the famous folks she worked with to life, describing her delight in them as artists and as people. There are also lengthy quotations from her family, friends, and stars, not all of which paint her in the best light; this helps add a realism to the memoir. Her life was really not that glamorous, nor does she try to embellish.

Of course, the little story nuggets about Dame Judi Dench eating ice cream in her Miss Matty costume and the way in which Downton Abbey was born make up much of the book. Yet, a hefty portion is about the business of acquisition and funding and audiences and awards, the nuts and bolts that constitute Eaton’s job. My favorite parts were about the audiences and re-branding, probably because I am a member of that audience, and the re-branding was rolled out in 2008 when I started watching Masterpiece.

It’s interesting to see how things have developed in the 7 years since this book was published. Masterpiece has established itself with a streaming service, to which I’ve subscribed since its beginning, because I’m a millennial who doesn’t own a TV, and streams everything or watches DVDs because commercials are the worst and who wants to orient an entire room around a big black box. Masterpiece continues to have hit shows, though none have quite catapulted to Downton Abbey fame. The period drama cycle, with resurrections every 10-15 years for new audiences with new adaptations, is perhaps at or just passing one of its peaks now, with blockbuster period films (Little Women, Harriet, Radioactive, Emma) capitalizing on the audience (me) who watches Masterpiece Classic.

She has some interesting things to say about why an American version of Masterpiece hasn’t happened yet, and might never occur. Many American classics are not quite out of copyright yet, like The Great Gatsby’s which is due to expire soon. Besides Westerns (including prairie shows like Little House on the Prairie) and loosely “historical” shows like Reign, American TV stations haven’t always welcomed the period drama format into their repertoires, unless it’s Dark™ like Mad Men. However, I have the benefit of hindsight, which Eaton did not have in 2013. Streaming services are starting to wake up to the audience for period dramas in limited series, or just very short seasons. The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and Alias Grace come to mind. There’s a subscription out there just for British TV that’s an add-on to another streaming service. Willow and Thatch is a blog solely about period dramas, doing everything from exhaustively listing each season of Masterpiece to giving advice for in-the-works productions. The period drama heyday ushered in by Downton Abbey is nowhere near over. Hopefully, someone will option a sumptuous feast of Florence Nightingale’s life, which has all the ingredients of a good period drama: a wealthy family, a headstrong daughter who flouts societal conventions and spurns proposals, a fleet of nurses, a foreign war. She’s even a redhead. PBS, get on that.

This book is really for fans of PBS and Masterpiece more than it is for fans of its particular shows. Sure, it was published at the height of Downton Abbey’s success and includes lots of details about that show in particular, but most of it is about public television and the challenges of sponsorship and Eaton’s particular involvement with essentially British productions.
Profile Image for Carol.
838 reviews542 followers
January 14, 2014
I come late to the plate of Masterpiece Theatre, so late in fact that the Theatre piece had been dropped from the title by the time I tuned in. Perhaps I wasn't quite a woman of a certain age or time was at a premium or I watched something else on Sunday nights. I do remember a time when my family did not get any PBS stations so maybe that was the reason. At any rate I'm now making up for lost time.

When the opportunity rose to learn a bit of the background of Masterpiece (as it is now known) and to hear the inside scoop from its producer, Rebecca Eaton I was on board in a minute. Going on this life journey with Eaton made me sorely aware of just what I had missed all these years.

Eaton tells lots of stories and even a few tales out of school. She shares her hopes, her dreams, her fears and the politics of making one of the longest running, most popular programs of all time. Imagine working with Alistair Cooke, flying back and forth across the ocean, making decisions that can make or break this institution.

I always thought Masterpiece was sponsored by different corporate entities, some wealthy benefactors and viewers like you. Though this may be true today I didn't realize the long run of sponsorship by Mobile Oil.

I didn't know that Alistair Cooke had been the host of Masterpiece for twenty-one years. Quite a run. Eaton outlined what a professional he was and how hard he was to replace. She gave credit to Russell Baker who was the next long term host. He had big shoes to fill and did so for eleven good years of his own. It was sad for me and must have been truly devastating for Eaton when in 2004 they could no longer afford a host.

Eaton not only cheers the awards Masterpiece has won but has owned up to mistakes made, letting us in on her successes and failures. She gives us a glimpse of the differences of the reception, likes and dislikes, the mores so to speak of our British neighbors versus the American viewing public. She asks "How long can Masterpiece last" Eaton states that the series "is so utterly connected to the judgment and good taste" that she sees no end in sight. This to our benefit.

Other changes that Eaton weathered was the eventual blending of three series, Masterpiece, Mystery and Contemporary into the present day Sunday nine o'clock spot once held only by Masterpiece. Giving up something has allowed a continuance of much fine programing and what could have been the demise of all is once again a successful venture.

There is renewed fervor for Masterpiece and its mission with the new generation of viewers of programs like Downton Abbey, Sherlock, and Endeavor. It is evident from this memoir of Eaton's time producing Masterpiece how much she loves what she does and how we, the viewers benefit from this.

I have much catching up to do before I can truly claim title as fan. I'm glad I read Making Masterpiece as I have a much better understanding of how it came to be.
Profile Image for Mary Ronan Drew.
872 reviews109 followers
January 17, 2014
Many of us remember that first Masterpiece Theatre production, back in 1969, of the Forsyte Saga. It went on for 26 weeks and since there were no commercial tapes let alone DVDs we had to watch it every single week for half a year on Sunday night at 9 PM. Who could forget?

But it turns out The Forsyte Saga was not a Masterpiece Theatre production. In her delightfully gossipy book, Making Masterpiece: 25 Years, Rebecca Eaton, the executive producer of the show for the past 28 years, clears up a lot of such mistakes.

I borrowed this book from the library because I assumed it was a coffee-table book with lots of photos and very little text. I was wrong, although there are many photos. There is one of the author with Sherlock Holmes, Morse, Campion, and Poirot that I particularly like.

The book is a memoir of the life of Rebecca Eaton, who turns out to be an interesting person with a rich family background in show biz. When she graduated from Vassar she took a year-long job in London working for the BBC. She was entirely new to broadcasting. When she asked her boss where she could get tapes so she could watch the show she was going to be working on she was shocked to discover it was not television but radio. Oops.

That job led to her later getting a position at WGBH in Boston. It's now a PBS station but when she joined it was part of National Educational Television (Bergan Evans and Sunrise Semester - Julia Child's first cooking show.) In those early days Masterpiece Theatre had no competition from other television stations (there were only three other television stations for one thing) and there were shelves of BBC productions to choose from when she went to England to acquire costume dramas.

And there was rock solid financing. Mobile Oil sponsored the program for many long years until the leadership at Mobile changed, the company was acquired by Exxon, and eventually it was felt Exxon-Mobile was not getting its money's worth from what it increasingly saw as musty old programming.

Now that Downton Abbey is the most viewed television drama in broadcast history I wonder if Mobile is second-guessing their decision to drop the show. For years I bought gas at Mobile stations because of Masterpiece Theatre, now re-branded (ugh) simply as Masterpiece.

Eaton takes us through the wonderful years when dinner party invitations were declined and phones were left off the hook on Sunday nights at nine as we all watched Alistair Cooke (or Russell Baker or Diana Rigg) introduce I, Claudius or Upstairs, Downstairs or The Jewel in the Crown. And of course some of us remember Monsterpiece Theatre with Alistaire Cookie.
Profile Image for Ann.
957 reviews79 followers
May 29, 2014
It's not a good sign when reading a memoir makes you like the person who wrote it less. I had thought that I'd find a kindred spirit in Rebecca Eaton since she's produced so much television that I've adored, but there was something about how she wrote about it that made me feel like we weren't on the same page. I really liked learning background details of how Masterpiece Theater came to be, but I was disappointed that she wrote so disparagingly of films she produced in the 90s, since that was when I started watching and have the happiest memories of Sunday night viewing with my mom. And I felt that she gave way too much space to Downton Abbey (three whole chapters!) at the expense of many other (more) worthy shows.

If you're a fan of Masterpiece, there's enough here to make it worth reading, but the writing isn't terribly coherent and there's a lot of repetition. Don't expect too much.
Profile Image for Tara .
455 reviews54 followers
June 10, 2022
I've adored Masterpiece, particularly Mystery! since I was a young kid watching it on PBS. Even the spoof of the urbane host, Alaistair Cooke, played on Sesame Street by Cookie Monster, was a staple of my childhood. Needless to say, when I found this book in my library's catalog, I was excited to read it. Sadly, this book did not live up to the hype in my own head. The behind the scenes look into the making of the shows (technically Masterpiece doesn't produce its own content but buys it from companies such as the BBC and ITV) didn't provide any interesting tidbits, and the personal revelations felt very surface level. Rebecca talked about the big events in her life: being a working mother, suffering through multiple miscarriages, including the loss of twin boys, but you don't ever feel as though you get to know who she really is. What would have made a good magazine article feels stretched thin in book format. Not the worst book I've read, but one that I would recommend skipping for a waste of time.
Profile Image for Kristine Berg.
212 reviews2 followers
October 3, 2019
As a lifetime fan of Masterpiece Theatre, I happily read memoirs of the producer who oversaw 25years of the show from its inception. My love of things British was born from this show, and led to my eventual marriage to a man who combines the high cheekbone gorgeousness I fell for with thE peculiar good mannered reserve that I came to love while watching all those period dramas. One gets the sense that Rebecca Eaton has put her foot in her mouth many times, and has been as awed by British acting brilliance as any viewer, and may have been a challenge to work with. she had her own sorrows and sacrificed much for her job, and I respect her self awareness. And humanity.
Profile Image for Kend.
1,249 reviews72 followers
May 3, 2015

So you like Downton Abbey or Sherlock.  Maybe even Call the Midwife, if you’re a bit sleepy and don’t mind the pacing.  But what about Rebecca Eaton?  Do you know who she is, or what her relationship is to these new but instant classics for anglophiles in America?  If you’re like me and enjoy figuring out how things work––after all, I did watch every single extra feature in my boxed set extended edition Lord of the Rings  DVDs––then there’s a dash of built-in appeal to a book like Eaton’s Making Masterpiece, ostensibly a book about how she, as executive producer for both Masterpiece Classic and Mystery! somehow ... well ... made the shows happen.  And let’s face it, who doesn’t want to read about real-life interactions with stars like Benedict Cumberbatch, Martin Freeman, Kenneth Brannagh, Emma Thompson, and Maggie Smith?

The truth of the matter, as revealed in Eaton’s book, is far less glamorous.  I might even add, with a touch of hesitation, that it’s far more boring than it should be.

Eaton’s book suffers from two fatal flaws, both of which stem from one gargantuan root cause: a misunderstanding of what a good nonfiction book actually is.  The flaws, as I see them, are actually clumps of finer problems, gathered loosely into the categories of ‘jumbled content’ and ‘slapdash framing.’  It doesn’t particularly help that Eaton knows of these flaws, and actually draws attention to them in her introduction and repeatedly throughout the book itself.  

It’s not as though the book doesn’t have potential.  I love a good snippet of green-room gossip and hand-wringing over money troubles as much as the next romantic sap, but I don’t find that there’s much more going on here.  The book never pulls together, so to speak.  I found it impossible to know what was coming next, chronologically, or even to look back and understand what had happened in the previous chapter.  Information, tidbits of stories––they just come at the reader from all angles, launched willy-nilly into the unknown in some sort of continuous stream-of-consciousness infodump.  Is this a book about Eaton’s difficulties juggling work and family?  Or is it about her difficulties raising money for Masterpiece?  And where will we find any sort of reflection on the actual shows that have launched Masterpiece’s ratings in the last few years?  Eaton surely doesn’t seem to know.  

It’s unforgivable, in my mind, that someone so conscious of a book’s organizational difficulties should not seek out a stronger editorial hand.  That’s what editors are for.  I do get a sense that Eaton is one of those micromanaging control freaks, which seems from several stories to have contributed to her many other woes.  Put simply, the book lacks focus, both in form and content

Maybe I’m just upset because I picked up this book wanting to read about Downton Abbey and Sherlock––and I don’t particularly care about the hazy technical details of when this or that no-longer-famous actor swapped out introductory comments with this or that slightly-more-famous actor.  There’s so much meat to the background of the show that doesn’t get any sort of deliberation at all: Where’s the inquiry into the dubious relationship between art and economy as prompted by Masterpiece’s longstanding funding partner, that monstrous soul-sucking environmental tragedy known as Mobil Oil?!  Eaton never once questions it.  (Maybe she’s afraid of a legal suit?)  The fact that Mobil pulled Masterpiece’s funding when it no longer deemed the program to be lending the company a veneer of credibility says something awesomely interesting about our world.  And yet it’s never once engaged.  

My general response to this book was one of equal parts boredom and eye-rolling distaste.  As a writer myself, I look for a story with rock-solid architecture that holds together under scrutiny.  Strike one.  As a reader, I look for readability and likable characters.  Strike two.  And lastly, as a feminist and social justice advocate, I look for a book that engages with the deep questions about why things happen, and how the world we live in comes to exist the way it does.  Strike three.  If Rebecca Eaton had written this book as a series of blog posts, it would have struck a different chord, and perhaps a more fitting one.  As it is, she delivers a book only partially-formed, and moth-eaten along the binding, to a readership that hungers for substance.  I can’t help but feel this was an opportunity missed.


[ for more of my reviews, visit Fatal Shore Reviews ]

Profile Image for Barry Hammond.
611 reviews28 followers
November 30, 2021
Rebecca Eaton's journey from eastern seaboard, Vassar College English-major to becoming the Executive Producer of Masterpiece Theatre for twenty-five years is a colourful and interesting tale, full of stories about all the British actors, directors, and co-producers she met along the way and all the American television personalities, too. A unique view of a unique series that changed American television forever. - BH.
Profile Image for Susan.
34 reviews
July 9, 2020
As a longtime fan of Masterpiece Theater and Mystery, I really enjoyed reading about all the behind the scenes info and actor name-dropping. She writes in such a conversational way that it was easy to zip right through it.
211 reviews
January 19, 2014
This Goodreads first-reads is both Rebecca Eaton's autobiography and the 25 yr. history of the PBS Masterpiece and Mystery series. It is also a fascinating look at the people involved with PBS productions and what it takes to bring a successful program such as Downton Abbey into our homes.

Beginning with the ground-breaking "Forsythe Saga", which aired on National Educational Television (NET), the inspiration for the future Masterpiece Theatre series,and the ending with the production of "Sherlock" and "Downton Abbey", this history is told through interviews with the important players, the writers, producers, and actors, and is peppered with personal anecdotes.

I read this book in short "breaks" with a cup of coffee and a plate of "biscuits", and savored every moment, much as I do when I go out for coffee with a dear friend or family member. I loved "hearing" about Eaton's background and experiences, challenges, highs and lows; the delicious tidbits such as how Emma Thompson and Kenneth Branaugh were so in love; and the image of beautiful, elegant Diana Riggs with a chaotic house full of children and pets during an important telephone call, as well as how Eaton passed on Pride and Prejudice and regretted it for years afterward; how social media is affecting the way we watch tv; and about Julian Fellowes' writing process.

Definitely a read again and as my copy is an advance uncorrected proofs, I am looking forward to the recently published version with photos.

Thank you Goodreads and Viking!
Profile Image for Kristine.
3,245 reviews
January 17, 2016
Making Masterpiece by Rebecca Eaton is a free Goodreads advance reader copy of a book I began reading on Halloween 2013 while on the city bus to school. Having already whet my whistle with a biography on English domestic service between the 1910s-1940s with Rose: My Life in Service to Lady Astor, I was looking forward to reading about British lit drama on television, as told by an American producer.

When Rebecca Eaton states at the very beginning of this book that she's writing this book sporatically and with a certain amount of anxiety/reluctance before she retires in a cottage in Maine, it's very easy to see the flaws in the hasty, storyboard-style, jotted on the Post-It note or cocktail napkin way that she writes. The thread of the book runs erratically back and forth through time, her personal life, her time on the set of Masterpiece productions, actor and production team interviews that alternatingly praise her and toot their own horn, and a whole lot of could've/would'ves. Overall, it's a good read for people who have a tie with the subject material, but be aware of Eaton's stop and start tone being as jarring as someone in the passenger seat with a student driver learning stick-shift.
Profile Image for MasterGamgee.
1,423 reviews22 followers
April 8, 2014
Very interesting book inside the Masterpiece workings. There is so much behind-the-scenes stuff that goes into a production it is mind boggling. The author gives a pretty good picture of how all this works, and the outcome would either be good for the station, or reflect a poor choice.

When Masterpiece switched over to a more contemporary feel, it wasn't just a whim. Apparently those costume dramas were 'out of style', hence a new approach and look was needed to keep it alive. Unfortunately, they lost me at that point but that move saved the show. I can't imagine Masterpiece Theatre NOT being broadcast anymore!

I watched this show almost from the get-go and am so glad that I read this book. While I enjoyed most, I found some of the financial stuff a bit on the dry side.

And, yes I do remember The Blue Boy (if you've read this book, you'll know what I'm talking about)!

Profile Image for Sarah.
533 reviews
July 19, 2016
Really enjoyed this book! Rebecca Eaton is a Vassar Alum, and when she came in to sign her books, I couldn't have been *more* of a fangirl! It was great to chat with her and I was more excited than if a movie start had shown up. I most enjoyed reading about the Masterpiece shows that I know best, and how the different hosts found their way into the roles. I was also shocked to realize that there are so many hit shows of which I've never even heard. I have a lot of work to do! The only part of the book I didn't enjoy was the bit about Downton Abbey. I like the show, but it is not my favorite in the Masterpiece catalogue, and I would have liked more time spent on the Mystery titles. Obviously I have to own this!
Profile Image for Robin.
52 reviews2 followers
July 4, 2014
I loved this book so much I am sorry I've finished it! I loved the backstage feel of it...the insider's look at one of my all-time favorite forms of entertainment, Masterpiece Theatre...and I learned a lot about the challenges of producing high quality public television, too. Reading this book brought back many happy memories of watching Sunday night TV with my late mom. Mom introduced me to Masterpiece as a kid and I have been a fan ever since. I also learned of many shows I either didn't know about or had simply breezed past over the years. I've watched two of them since picking up this book and appreciate learning of them. If you are a fan of Masterpiece and/or you are a committed lifelong Anglophile like I am, pretty sure you will enjoy this book!
Profile Image for Sue.
9 reviews3 followers
October 6, 2013
Thank you very much to Goodreads and Penguin Canada for this giveaway - I loved it! As soon as I saw the listing for this book I couldn't wait to read it. I've enjoyed Masterpiece (Theatre) since I was a teenager and knew this would be a great read. I had very little idea what a tv producer actually did and I found it very interesting to learn about the many facets of Ms. Eaton's job. Loved the parts about Alistair Cooke, Cranford and of course, Downton Abbey. A must read for every Masterpiece (and Mystery) fan.
Profile Image for Kathryn.
3,232 reviews32 followers
April 27, 2014
This was so interesting. Only in the last five years or so have my husband and I become avid Masterpiece watchers, now rarely missing an episode. Oh how I wish I had been interested in the 1990s and early 2000s as there some wonderful shows then as well. Rebecca Easton's focus was on the making of Masterpiece and only lightly touches on her personal life throughout the book. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book.
Profile Image for Armelle.
278 reviews
April 16, 2016
I was a loyal Masterpiece fan for many years. I haven't found most of their recent presentations very compelling - not even Downtown Abbey - but this book is full of interesting anecdotes about many of my old favorites.

If you're a fan, then I'd say that this is worth reading. It's a pretty easy read.
Profile Image for Lisa Gemert.
Author 5 books46 followers
February 1, 2023
If you're a fan of Masterpiece, you'll love it. Look, it's essentially a robust ad in book format. Does it gloss over things? Yes. Is there a lot of cheerleading? Yes. Will you want to whip out your credit card and make a donation to your local PBS station? Yes. All of these things are yes, but the book is still a yes for me.

I love a good backstory, and you get this here - right down to a facsimile of a handwritten thank you note from a pre-Harry Potter Daniel Radcliffe.

My husband and I like PBS shows (just finished "Annika" - highly recommend), and it was rewarding to learn some backstory of favorites. If you're a Downton fan, well, it's a must-read book.

One thing I've noticed is that when I'm watching now, I have a greater appreciation for the production itself, and that enriches the experience for me. I understand what things mean and are.

I loved learning about the theme song, which has always given me the feels.

This book was a lucky find at the Dollar Tree! Ours used to have books (not really anymore, but it was lovely while it lasted).
October 18, 2018
If you enjoy Masterpiece and if you are the type who watches all the behind the scenes features, this is a great book for you! This book felt like sitting down and having coffee on a regular basis with Rebecca Eaton - she shares much of her background and many entertaining stories about her experiences and what it takes to make a successful Masterpiece production. I find myself using what I learned from this book to give me more context and appreciation as I enjoy other media- there is a tremendous amount of work and faith that goes into these productions. Rebecca Eaton's book gives your a glimpse into her world - warts and all. A casual and informative read!
Profile Image for Monica.
572 reviews4 followers
March 19, 2019
This was a fine memoir. I enjoyed the overlay of Eaton's personal stories with that of the programs and opportunities of Masterpiece. I learned some fun facts about Downton Abbey, which was my original interest in the book. I found through reading though that I was familiar with and/or own many of the programs that Masterpiece has produced through the years. I'm a much more enthusiastic supporter of Masterpiece after reading this book.
Profile Image for Guusje.
296 reviews4 followers
March 5, 2020
Delightful trip down memory lane! I have happy recollections of watching the original Forsyth Saga with my mother. The book is full of behinds the scenes stories and antidotes about the various actresses and actors who have appeared on the series over the years. The stories about Allistar Cooke are delightful - makes me wish all his "introductions" were available!
This is a most enjoyable read for anyone who grew up on Masterpiece Theater.
Profile Image for Kayleen Reusser.
Author 39 books16 followers
April 13, 2022
I was hoping for more info about the actors of MT shows over the years. There was much personal info about the author -- her marriage, pregnancy, loss of babies, divorce -- all while putting together MT shows.
The chapters on Downton Abbey of which I was a fan as a show were interesting, as were comments made by Julian Fellowes about his process of writing episodes.
I appreciated how the author confessed to turning down some shows that later became big hits on other channels.
Profile Image for Jennifer.
20 reviews2 followers
August 23, 2021
Interesting read for longtime fans of Masterpiece, nestled in a perhaps accidental case study of 2nd Wave Feminism. Through the life, career, and attitude of Rebecca Eaton you see all the doors that were opened by this generation, and where they (especially the successful white women of this movement) have more work to do.
58 reviews2 followers
October 15, 2017
I greatly enjoyed this book - having grown up watching PBS. My sister and I loved the Mystery intro. created by Edward Gorey! Rebecca Eaton's backstory on Masterpiece Theatre and Mystery was a quick, engaging read.
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