Netflix‘s new drama House of Guinness opens every episode by calling itself a “fiction inspired by true stories.” Sir Benjamin Lee Guinness really did die, leaving four twenty-something children to keep the family’s brewery business alive. Eldest son Arthur (Anthony Boyle) and youngest son Edward (Louis Partridge) really were left to divvy up the empire, which soon expanded worldwide, as Guinness signs in every pub can confirm. And the Irish Catholic, or Fenian, call for home rule really did continue to build momentum, boiling over into a civil war in the early 20th century.
**Spoilers for House of Guinness, now streaming on Netflix**
Okay, but surely the Guinness family’s foreman Rafferty (James Norton) wasn’t busting skulls to Kneecap songs in the streets of 1860s Dublin? Or hooking up with multiple important women in the Guinness family on the sly? How true can the events of House of Guinness really be?
According to series creator Steven Knight, it’s pretty gosh darn true, including many of the more incredulous storylines in the show.
“True events are more weird and strange and bonkers than things that you could ever make up,” Knight said. “For example, Arthur’s attempt to rig an election using train tickets and wardrobes with holes cut in the back. It’s true. It’s all true. Yeah, you wouldn’t dare make that up.”
Of course, House of Guinness isn’t a documentary, but a Netflix drama. It’s full of the aforementioned modern needle drops, sexy love affairs, and soapy plot twists. Nevertheless, Knight insisted that nothing he added in terms of dramatic oomph compared to the true stories, some of which “didn’t make the cut.”
“Yeah, some things that were really crazy that didn’t make the cut, but they weren’t left up because they were crazy. Because there’s so much going on in there,” he said.
So what’s true and what’s not? Here’s everything you need to know about the true story behind House of Guinness…
Photo: Netflix
Is House of Guinness Based on a True Story?
House of Guinness opens on a real life event, Sir Benjamin Lee Guinness’s funeral. This really happened in 1868 and it was an event that left all of Ireland wondering if the formidable businessman and politician’s four pampered kids were up to the task of keeping the brewery going.
“Bear in mind that the real people — the real Arthur, the real Edward, the real Benjamin, the real Anne — they were really young,” Steven Knight said. “They were early 20s when they get given this huge responsibility.”
Indeed, they were, and Arthur and Edward would indeed share control of the brewery and other family interests until 1876, when Arthur would sell his half of the business to Edward. Arthur would become a baron and a key political figure in the Conservative movement,