'Downton Abbey' Characters: Lady Sybil Quiz

Answer: Passionate, caring and political

Lady Sybil was particularly known for her strong opinions, especially on political issues such as women's suffrage and for her willingness to step outside the confines of her place in society and actively support the issues she believed in. Many of the women campaigning for the right to vote at the time came from middle and upper class families, so Sybil's support for the cause was definitely a feasible storyline for the show.

The first series of 'Downton Abbey' covered the period from the sinking of the Titanic in April 1912 (when Sybil was 17 years of age) to the outbreak of the First World War in August 1914. In British history, this period saw a significant rise in radicalism amongst those campaigning for women's suffrage. The movement changed tack from the peaceful tactics used by the 'suffragists' (such as organising meetings, printing leaflets and political campaigning) to the more militant approach of Emmeline Pankhurst's 'suffragettes'. In 1912 tactics such as vandalism, arson and hunger strikes were commonplace and in 1913 a suffragette named Emily Davison was killed when she ran in front of the King's horse at the Epsom Derby. Following the outbreak of war in 1914, the suffragettes focused their activity on supporting the war effort - a move that was probably instrumental in achieving the vote for women in 1918.

Answer: Trousers

Lady Sybil's interest in feminism manifested itself in her desire to dress according to her own wishes rather than follow the accepted rules set out by British upper-class society of the time. Her unexpected appearance at dinner wearing a form of trousers known as bloomers or harem pants caused mixed reactions from her family - some of them vocally negative! This wasn't Sybil's only attempt at modifying her wardrobe, she also appeared to be against the tradition of women wearing corsets, stating to her elder sister Mary that "I don't know why we bother with corsets. Men don't wear them, and they look perfectly normal in their clothes".

In Britain, the fashion for women wearing trousers developed during the 1920s and 1930s but became widespread during the Second World War, when women started wearing them due to their practicality for war work. Sybil's trousers were more in the style of those worn for centuries by women in the Far East, which the French fashion designer Paul Poiret attempted to popularise in 1913.

Answer: Her cousin, Matthew Crawley

'Downton Abbey' is set in the fictional of village of Downton in Yorkshire, England, close to the real towns of Ripon and Thirsk. In the British political system a by-election is called when the incumbent of the seat either dies, resigns or for some other reason becomes ineligible to continue to hold the position. Lady Sybil's growing political activism and support for the Liberal Party meant that she first attended a political rally - incurring her father's wrath in the process - and then lied to both him and the family chauffeur about her plan to attend the count. Predictably, this ended in disaster when a fight broke out and Sybil was knocked unconscious.

Luckily for Sybil, her cousin (and heir apparent to the title of Earl of Grantham) worked as a solicitor in Ripon and was present to rescue her from the situation, along with the unfortunate chauffeur whom the Earl swiftly blamed for the entire incident.

Answer: The telephone company

One of the storylines of the first series of 'Downton Abbey' featured a housemaid named Gwen secretly ordering a typewriter and teaching herself secretarial skills. When her secret was discovered, Lady Sybil provided both emotional and practical support, offering Gwen advice and encouragement. When an engineer arrived to install a new telephone system at Downton, Sybil took the opportunity to promote Gwen's interest and obtained an interview for her. Gwen succeeded in getting the job and left service behind her for a new life.

This storyline was also revisited in the sixth series when, eleven years after those events, Gwen (now Mrs Harding) was invited to dinner at the abbey and was able to reminisce with the family about Lady Sybil's kindness towards her. Gwen's journey from housemaid to dinner guest was a result of her work to set up a college offering young women the chance to gain education and a career and the fact that the Earl's sister, Lady Rosamund Painswick, was one of the trustees of the project. Her appearance also fitted with the historical theme of the sixth series - the decline of both the aristocratic way of life and the desirability of careers in domestic service.

Answer: Debutante ball

The final episode of the first series of 'Downton Abbey' deals with the events of the run-up to the outbreak of the First World War in the summer of 1914. The Crawley family had just returned to the abbey from their London home, where it was stated that they had attended Lady Sybil's society debut. This ritual, which developed in the 17th and 18th centuries, involved a young aristocratic lady being presented at to the King and Queen at St. James's Court; an act that allowed her to make her debut into society, attend balls and begin the process of finding a husband from amongst the aristocratic and rich single men. The tradition of the presentation at court was finally abolished by Queen Elizabeth II in 1958 and although debutante balls still take place, their importance in modern society is negligible.

This episode of the series also dealt with the British aristocracy's reaction to the political events of the time, including the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo and the announcement of the outbreak of war.

Answer: Hospital nurse

Lady Sybil was driven to take a more active role in the war effort when the danger of the war was brought home to the Crawley family with the death of several of their acquaintances on the front lines. As an aristocratic young lady with a houseful of servants at her command, she had not had to undertake any domestic tasks and was therefore woefully underprepared for her desire to become a nurse. Luckily, the same houseful of servants came to the rescue with the cook, Mrs Patmore, and the kitchen assistant, Daisy, teaching Sybil basic cooking skills and the housemaids instructing her in tasks such as making a bed!

Once fully trained, Sybil returned to Downton to nurse wounded servicemen at the local cottage hospital. Following the tragic suicide of a recovering army officer discharged from the overcrowded hospital, Downton Abbey itself was opened as a military convalescent home, giving Sybil the chance to carry out her career in her own home. During the First World War many of Britain's stately homes opened their door as convalescent homes for injured soldiers, including Highclere Castle, the home of the Earl of Carnarvon that was used to represent Downton Abbey in the series.

Answer: He was a member of Downton Abbey's staff

Branson first appeared in 'Downton Abbey' in the third episode of the show, set in 1913. He joined the household staff as the new chauffeur and it quickly became apparent that he was a staunch Irish Nationalist and political activist - making him a great match for the crusading Lady Sybil. However, the difference in their social status severely restricted their ability to get to know each other, although they eventually become close friends and finally made the decision to elope in 1919 (near the end of the second series).

Although both Sybil and Tom had assumed that her family would never accept their relationship, both of Sybil's sisters chased after the pair and persuaded them to return to Downton and give her parents the opportunity to support and attend the wedding. Predictably the Earl and Countess did not approve, with Sybil's father going as far as to threaten to disinherit her and attempt to bribe Branson into giving her up. Both ploys failed miserably as the couple were truly in love and eventually the Earl came around to the idea and granted his blessing to their union. The wedding took place off-screen - the audience only got to hear that it had taken place during the 2011 Christmas special episode.

Answer: He was on the run from the police

In the fourth episode of series three, the Crawley family were shocked when Tom Branson, former chauffeur turned son and brother-in-law, appeared on their doorstep unexpectedly. However, their concern was soon turned to the fact that he had not brought his heavily pregnant wife with him - instead leaving her to travel alone. Luckily, Lady Sybil soon turned up safe and unharmed - but unsurprisingly her husband wasn't terribly popular for a while.

It soon transpired that Tom had had good reasons for his actions - he had taken part in a nationalist arson attack on the home of a rich aristocrat and was wanted by the police. Surprisingly (given the fact that he himself was a rich aristocrat), the Earl of Grantham offered to plead Tom's case with the Home Secretary and succeeded in getting his son-in-law off the hook - a storyline which demonstrated the potential benefits of having well-connected and influential relatives in 1920s England!

Answer: Eclampsia

When Lady Sybil fell ill during labour, the local doctor, Richard Clarkson, diagnosed eclampsia - a disorder that causes seizures in some pregnant women suffering high blood pressure. However, the Earl of Grantham had employed the services of a specialist obstetrician named Sir Philip Tapsell, who disagreed with Dr Clarkson, declaring that there was nothing wrong with Sybil. The family, heavily influenced by the Earl, ignored Dr Clarkson's warnings and put their trust in the famous obstetrician's opinion. At first there appeared to be no problem and Sybil successfully delivered her baby daughter; however, just hours later she was seriously ill and, having realised that she was close to death, begged her mother to look after both her daughter (who was later named Sybil in her mother's honour) and her husband, Tom.

Aside from creating one of the saddest episodes of 'Downton Abbey', Sybil's death also highlighted the dangers of pregnancy and childbirth for women in the early years of the 20th century. In England and Wales, the rate of maternal deaths was around 40 per 1,000 births in 1920. It wasn't until the mid-1930s that improved medical practices started to result in a significant drop in the maternal death rate: by 1940 it was around 25 deaths per 1,000 births, by 1950 it had fallen to less than 10 per 1,000 births and by the turn of the 21st century there were only around 0.1 deaths per 1,000 births.

Answer: Jessica Brown Findlay

The worldwide success of 'Downton Abbey' significantly raised the profiles of all three actresses cast as the Crawley sisters - Michelle Dockery (Lady Mary), Laura Carmichael (Lady Edith) and Jessica Brown Findlay (Lady Sybil) - who were all relatively unknown prior to their appearance on the show. Jessica Brown Findlay originally trained as a ballet dancer, but, following injury, instead pursued a career in acting. In 2010 'Downton Abbey' became her first major television role; although she had previously been cast in the independent film 'Albatross', that was not released until 2011. Brown Findlay received a nomination for 'Most Promising Newcomer' at the British Independent Film Awards for her role as Emelia in 'Albatross'.

It was Brown Findlay's decision not to return for the fourth series of 'Downton Abbey' that pre-empted the tragic storyline of Lady Sybil's death at the age of just 24. However, she was not the only cast member to quit the show at that stage as Dan Stevens also had to film a dramatic departure following his decision to leave his role as Matthew Crawley.