throwback to yesteryear, a twenty-first-century, Americanized Downton Abbey. I quickly sensed that membership wasn’t for me. Given all that membership entailed, financial and otherwise, I wasn’t interested in joining. But one part of the membership process intrigued me. To be a member of the Pendennis Club, you had to be nominated by a current member in good standing, cosponsored by several others, and affirmed by the entire membership. In other words, you didn’t seek membership; membership sought