Category: Period Drama

A Preview of Ross Poldark & Demelza, by Winston Graham

     Ross Poldark A Novel of Cornwall, 1783 to1787 2015 x 200         Demelza A Novel of Cornwall, 1788-1790 by Winston Graham 2015

It’s always a red-letter day to bibliophiles when books originally published eons ago get a new life and a new audience. It usually takes a major television series or movie for this to happen. In the case of Jane Austen, we have seen new tie-in editions for Pride and Prejudice in 1995 & 2005, and Sense and Sensibility in 1995. Just the other day I saw a beautiful new movie tie-in cover for Thomas Hardy’s Far From the Madding Crowd in my bookstore. A good story is a good story no matter what generation it is introduced to. Continue reading “A Preview of Ross Poldark & Demelza, by Winston Graham” →

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A Preview of Poldark Season One on Masterpiece Classic PBS

From the desk of Laurel Ann Nattress: 

Sooner or later, everything that is old is new again—if we wait long enough! Masterpiece Theatre, and its phoenix Masterpiece Classic, is well-aware of this. Having successfully presented period drama for over forty years they have been a bit redundant at times. I lost track years ago of which version of David Copperfield we were on, so when I heard the news last year that the BBC and PBS were joining forces to create a new production Poldark, one of my all-time favorites, I was jubilant. Happily, enough time had passed to ride the Cornish cliffs with Ross Poldark again. Continue reading “A Preview of Poldark Season One on Masterpiece Classic PBS” →

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New Poldark Series to Premiere on Masterpiece PBS on June 21, 2015

Eleanor Tomlinson and Aidan Turner in Poldark 2015

Jane Austen fans, hold on to your bonnets. The new BBC/Masterpiece screen adaptation of Poldark will air on Masterpiece PBS on June 21st, 2015.

Based on the beloved novels by Winston Graham set in 1780’s Cornwall, many period drama fans will be familiar with the first screen adaptation by the BBC and Masterpiece from 1975-77 staring Robin Ellis (Edward Ferrars in Sense and Sensibility 1971). It was a huge hit on both sides of the pond and remains the second most popular drama series only behind the 1995 Pride and Prejudice.

This new eight part series stars Aidan Turner (The Hobbit) as rebellious Captain Ross Poldark and Eleanor Tomlinson (Death Comes to Pemberley) as Demelza, a fiery young street urchin who he employs as a kitchen maid at his estate. Airing since March in the UK to critical and public acclaim, Continue reading “New Poldark Series to Premiere on Masterpiece PBS on June 21, 2015” →

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25 Downton Abbey-inspired Holiday Gifts for the Downtonite in Your Life

 Downton Abbey Season 5 poster

Acclaimed by critics and cherished by fans, Downton Abbey is the most popular period drama ever. North America is all anticipation of the premier of Season 5 on January 4, 2015 on Masterpiece Classic PBS. Until then, feed your Downtonite with these great holiday gifts.

GIFTS

     What is a Weekend Mug x 250     Countess Grantham Bear x 250

 1. What Is A Weekend Coffee Mug

When the Dowager Countess of Grantham asked “What is a weekend?” in season one of Downton Abbey, I was totally addicted to this fabulous period drama. That line summed up the classification of “aristocrat” as an endangered species and foreshadowed all the laughter to come. I now start my morning as an anachronistic aristocrat with this clever coffee (or tea) mug. Continue reading “25 Downton Abbey-inspired Holiday Gifts for the Downtonite in Your Life” →

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A Preview of Death Comes to Pemberley on Masterpiece Mystery PBS

Matthew Rhys and Anna Maxwell Martin in Death Comes to Pemberley

The long wait is almost over. The two part BBC/PBS mini-series of P. D. James’ bestselling novel, Death Comes to Pemberley, will premiere on Masterpiece Mystery in one week on Sunday, October 26 at 9pm (check your local listing) and concludes on the following Sunday, November 2.

To get you warmed up for this intriguing mystery that continues the story of Jane Austen’s characters from Pride and Prejudice, here is a brief synopsis of the first episode and a trailer from PBS: Continue reading “A Preview of Death Comes to Pemberley on Masterpiece Mystery PBS” →

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Pride & Prejudice (2005) Movie – A Review

From the desk of Laurel Ann Nattress: 

I vividly remember sitting in the theatre in 2005 waiting for the curtain to rise on the new Pride & Prejudice movie starring Keira Knightley and Matthew Macfayden. I was excited that one of my favorite Jane Austen novels was being trotted out as a major motion picture. It had been 65 years since MGM released its theatrical version of Pride and Prejudice and I was looking forward to two hours of sumptuous Continue reading “Pride & Prejudice (2005) Movie – A Review” →

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Pride and Prejudice (1995) Mini-series – A Review

From the desk of Laurel Ann Nattress: 

Eighteen years after it first aired on BBC One in October 1995, the television mini-series Pride and Prejudice (1995) is still blowing bonnets off Janeites and wowing them in the aisles! This week in London a twelve-foot statue replicating Colin Firth’s portrayal of Mr. Darcy’s famous wet shirt ascent from the Pemberley pond was revealed. Its superhero size seems apropos in relation to the impact that the mini-series had on Britain in 1995, in the US when it aired on A&E in 1996, and the world. If that was not eye-popping Continue reading “Pride and Prejudice (1995) Mini-series – A Review” →

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Pride and Prejudice (1980) Mini-series – A Review

I have been blogging about Jane Austen here at Austenprose for over five years and I have reviewed many books and movies, yet I have held off writing about the one that really turned me into a Jane Austen disciple—the 1980 BBC Pride and Prejudice. When something is close to our hearts we want to keep it in a special place, so my personal impressions of Fay Weldon’s adaptation of Jane Austen’s most popular novel has remained my own. In this bicentenary year, I think it is time for me to share.

It first aired in five (55) minute episodes on the BBC in the UK in 1979, and on US television on Masterpiece Theatre between October 26 and November 23, 1980. I was a great fan of Masterpiece and period drama and remember being quite excited to watch the new series. I was not disappointed in the first episode—in fact I was mesmerized—and watched the episode again when it aired again that week on PBS. Considering that in 1980 disco music was all the rage and Magnum P.I. and Three’s Company were the most popular television shows, you might understand why this anglophile was entranced by a series set in Regency England with beautiful costumes, country houses, sharp dialogue and swoon worthy romance. I was totally hooked and started reading the novel for the first time while the series aired. Continue reading “Pride and Prejudice (1980) Mini-series – A Review” →

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Preview of Upstairs Downstairs Season 2: Masterpiece Classic PBS

Image from Upstairs Downstairs Season 2: cast pictured © 2011 MASTERPIECE

Get ready period drama fans – Season 2 of the new Upstairs Downstairs starts next Sunday, October 7 at 9pm on Masterpiece Classic PBS.

Last year we saw the triumphant return after thirty-four years of the award winning and much beloved series Upstairs Downstairs to Masterpiece Classic. The original series (1974-77) focused on the Bellamy family upstairs and their household staff downstairs: all living at 165 Eaton Place, a posh townhouse in London. Last year Season 1 began in 1936, six years after the close of the original series. We were treated to only three episodes: The Fledgling; The Ladybird; and The Cuckoo. Original co-creators of the series Jean Marsh and Dame Eileen Atkins were heavily involved in the new sequel. Marsh returned as housekeeper Rose Buck and Dame Eileen Atkins as the Dowager Lady Holland was one of the stellar new characters. You can read my preview of Season 1 to catch up on the new cast and the reaction when it aired in the UK 2010. Continue reading “Preview of Upstairs Downstairs Season 2: Masterpiece Classic PBS” →

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The Mystery of Edwin Drood: Masterpiece Classic PBS – A Review

From the desk of Laurel Ann Nattress: 

In the 41 years of producing television adaptations based on classic literature, Masterpiece Classic (formerly known as Master Theatre), has had a very productive relationship with author Charles Dickens. We have enjoyed two Bleak House’s, two David Copperfield’s, A Tale of Two Cities, Hard Times, Martin Chuzzlewit, Great Expectations, Our Mutual Friend, two Oliver Twist’s, Little Dorrit and The Old Curiosity Shop. Ten out of fifteen novels adapted is amazing. Many of them outstanding.

Based on Dickens’ Unfinished Novel

In honor of the 200th anniversary of Dickens birth, Masterpiece has added The Mystery of Edwin Drood to their long list. Written in 1870, it was Dickens’ final unfinished novel. He died before he completed it, Continue reading “The Mystery of Edwin Drood: Masterpiece Classic PBS – A Review” →

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Great Expectations (2011) on Masterpiece Classic PBS – A Review

From the desk of Laurel Ann Nattress: 

Charles Dickens’ classic novel Great Expectations has been adapted no less than fourteen times for the screen. Like Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre, and Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, every ten years or so it gets trotted out for a new interpretation; and, for good reason. The tale is a masterpiece of storytelling – compelling to read, and fabulous to experience filmed. Since the 1970’s I have watched all of the new adaptations as they aired on television and re-watched the 1946 David Lean movie several times. Some were memorable, others, not so much. In the scheme of things, Masterpiece Classic’s new mini-series of Great Expectations that concluded last night on PBS was definitely a keeper. Continue reading “Great Expectations (2011) on Masterpiece Classic PBS – A Review” →

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Follow Friday: Secrets of the Manor House on PBS this Sunday

Secrets of the Manor House on PBS (2012)

Ever wonder what really went on behind the stately walls of a British manor house like Downton Abbey? If so, be sure to catch the premiere of Secrets of the Manor House being aired before the third episode of Downton Abbey Season Two on Sunday, January 22nd, 2012 on many PBS stations (check local listings).

Fans of historical drama and fiction will be enthralled by this new documentary which looks at two English country manor houses a century ago and today.

Secrets of the Manor House on PBS (2012)

Upstairs family

Here is the description of the production from the PBS website and a video preview: Continue reading “Follow Friday: Secrets of the Manor House on PBS this Sunday” →

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