Sleepbound (free)

Downton Abbey: The Young Countess – Episode 1
By Hugo Ashcombe

Tonight's reading is free. Over 500 more — and every new one first — are on Sleepbound Premium. Free for 7 days, cancel any time.
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Our other two shows, if tonight's isn't quite what you were after:
→ Sleepbound Nights — original cosy bedtime stories for grown-ups: Apple Podcasts
→ Sleepbound Soundscapes — ambient sleep music, no narration: Apple Podcasts

Welcome, dear listeners — and a warm welcome to those settling in with Sleepbound for the very first time tonight.

We begin something new this evening: an original fan fiction audiobook set in the world of Downton Abbey, following seventeen-year-old Violet Pembury through her second London Season. Clever and quietly aware of every penny her family doesn't have, Violet surveys the marriage market at Lady Whitmore's glittering ball — until a quiet viscount with steady brown eyes and working hands catches her attention rather more than she'd planned.

This is an original fan fiction work — not affiliated with the official Downton Abbey franchise — written and produced with deep affection for that world.

As a Patreon supporter, the complete audiobook is yours to download and keep. Thank you, truly, for being here.
Beauty, wit, blood — and no money. The mathematics of the Season were brutal, and Violet had learned them early.
Follow the channel and leave a like if you're enjoying the story — it makes a real difference. If you love the world of Downton, our sister channel Sleepbound Nights carries an original sequel series set after the show — well worth a listen. Next episode, Violet finds herself seated beside Lord Downton at supper, and the conversation takes a turn neither of them quite anticipated.

Sleep well tonight.

Includes mentions of: Beverages, Gaslit settings, Romance, Financial pressures, Period social customs.

  • (01:30) - Quite Sufficient

What is Sleepbound (free)?

Bedtime audiobooks for grown-ups — read slowly enough to fall asleep to.

Classic literature, read softly through the long quiet hours: Austen and Wilde, Grimm and Le Guin, ghost stories and country houses and long sea voyages. No music. No drama. Just the page, the voice, and somewhere warm to lie down. Nothing bad happens. That's deliberate.

Episodes run long on purpose — an hour, four hours, sometimes a whole book in one sitting — so the thing doesn't end and wake you.

Want the rest of it? Over 500 readings across our three shows, ad-free, with new members-only episodes every week:

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https://sleepboundstudios.supercast.com
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Just me and Ian and the writers. Recorded gently, for sleep.