Cheers to 'House of Guinness,' which feels like an 1860s, Irish 'Succession'

"Let's begin by noting the way Knight begins House of Guinness: He starts with a very unusual, and very freeing, disclaimer. "This fiction," it says in a message superimposed on the screen, "is inspired by true stories." Right up front, that gives Knight the creative license to do just about anything he wants with his story and his characters, even though it's taking its inspiration from actual events, locations and personalities."

"House of Guinness has been described as a sort of 1860s Succession, with the adult children of a very wealthy and powerful man jockeying to gain control of his empire. And there were, indeed, four grown children of Sir Benjamin Lee Guinness, all of whom had their own ideas about what to do with his fortune and his beer-producing empire. But in House of Guinness, Sir Benjamin Lord Mayor of Dublin, member of Parliament, owner of the dominant Irish brewery dies almost immediately."

"At the reading of the will, the parcels of the father's kingdom are handed out but unevenly, and with a purpose. The eldest son, Arthur, is forced to work with the youngest son, Edward, to run the brewery. The black sheep of the family, the wild child Ben, is severely restricted as to funds and influence and so is the daughter, Anne, because ... well, because it's the 1860s, and she's the daughter."

House of Guinness opens with a prominent disclaimer reading 'This fiction...is inspired by true stories,' granting broad creative license to reshape events and characters. The plot centers on the 1860s struggle among Sir Benjamin Lee Guinness's four adult children after his sudden death, with inheritance parcels allocated unevenly and strategically. Arthur and Edward are compelled to run the brewery together, Ben is financially constrained as the family's black sheep, and Anne is sidelined because of her gender. Sibling scheming for wealth and influence unfolds alongside Ireland's recent independence, ongoing rebellion, and the brewery's expansion into New York markets.

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