House of Guinness writer Steven Knight on historical accuracy of Netflix drama

House of Guinness has landed on Netflix now, with the complete series ready for subscribers to devour, reports the Irish Mirror.

The drama chronicles the offspring of Benjamin Lee Guinness - Arthur (portrayed by Anthony Boyle), Edward (Louis Partridge) and Anne Plunket (Emily Fairn) - following his demise as they attempt to push forward with commerce and begin a fresh chapter in the dynasty's legacy.

The programme was devised by Peaky Blinders and SAS Rogue Heroes scribe Steven Knight and has high production values and impressive locations.

Similar to Peaky Blinders, the production draws upon genuine individuals, incorporating historical personalities and incidents.

Nevertheless, viewers are eager to discover precisely how much remains factual and how much has been invented.

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Is House of Guinness based on history?

Every instalment of House of Guinness opens with the disclaimer: "This fiction is inspired by a true story."

Therefore, whilst the Netflix programme does showcase actual people and occurrences, it represents a distinctly artistic interpretation of history.

Discussing penning the series, creator Knight revealed: "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 continued by praising the female characters in House of Guinness as "incredibly strong", reflecting the reality of women in 1860s Dublin.

Being a woman during this period required a "very particular requirement", and Knight found it "remarkable" how they managed to "manoeuvre around the restrictions and the expectations".

He concluded: "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 disclosed that she and the team behind House of Guinness approached Netflix as The Crown was drawing to a close, 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