By Neela Debnath

Copyright irishmirror

House of Guinness has arrived on Netflix now , with the entire season available to subscribers to binge. The show follows the children of Benjamin Lee Guinness, Arthur (played by Anthony Boyle), Edward (Louis Partridge) and Anne Plunket (Emily Fairn), in the aftermath of his death as they try to forge ahead with business and start a new chapter in the family’s history. The series was conceived by Peaky Blinders and SAS Rogue Heroes writer Steven Knight . Much like Peaky Blinders, the show is based on some real-life characters, featuring historical figures and events. However, fans want to know how much is actually real and how much is fictitious. Each episode of House of Guinness is prefaced with the title card: “This fiction is inspired by a true story.” So while the Netflix show does feature real people and events, it’s very much a creative take on history. Speaking about writing the series, creator Knight explained: “I would say there are two forms of reality in this. One is being faithful to the truth of the characters, and I think it is very true to the characters. “So here were a lot of human beings who really existed at this time – they were members of the Guinness family, people who worked with them and for them, and what I’ve tried to do is bring those characters to life as faithfully to the real thing as possible, because the real thing was so interesting and more interesting than I could ever invent, because reality always is so bonkers and so I stayed true to the characters. “In terms of the events, the chronology is pretty spot on, I’m picking stepping stones of actual events to leap between and in the leaps between it are invention, and not just invention but speculation, maybe that happened, maybe that would have happened, so it’s a mixture, but I hope that if those characters were alive now they would recognise themselves.” Knight went on to say the female characters in House of Guinness were “incredibly strong” because this is how women in 1860s Dublin were in reality. Being a woman in this era was a “very particular requirement” and the screenwriter said it was “remarkable” the way in which they had to “manoeuvre around the restrictions and the expectations”. He added: “They are very smart, intelligent, strong, powerful human beings with a great deal of influence who have to sort of pretend not to be, which is always an interesting situation to be in.” Executive producer Karen Wilson revealed she and the programme-makers approached Netflix with House of Guinness The Crown was coming to an end, pitching it as “another epic family saga that speaks to history and intersects with major historical events”. House of Guinness is streaming on Netflix now