Today I'm going to review one of my favourite period dramas ever. Well, the first half of it.
Wives and Daughters is based on Elizabeth Gaskell's last novel. Mrs. Gaskell died before finishing it, so the writers had to create the ending themselves. Unlike most cases of writers adding things when adapting novels, the result isn't bad at all. But more about that later.
The cast is full of familiar faces.
Justine Waddell (Estella in Great Expectations 1999) as Molly
Francesca Annis (Lady Ludlow in Cranford) as Mrs. Gibson
Keely Hawes (Lizzie in Our Mutual Friend 1998) as Cynthia
Bill Paterson (Mr. Meagles in Little Dorrit 2008) as Dr. Gibson
Michael Gambon (Mr. Holbrook in Cranford) as Squire Hamley
Deborah Findlay (Miss Tomkinson in Cranford) as Miss Phoebe
Barbara Flynn (Mrs. Jamieson in Cranford) as Miss Browning
Tom Hollander (Cutler Beckett in Pirates of the Caribbean and Mr. Mantalini in Nicholas Nickleby 2001) as Osborne
Elizabeth Spriggs (Mrs. Jennings in Sense and Sensibility 1995) as Mrs. Goodenough
Barbara Leigh-Hunt (Lady Catherine in Pride and Prejudice 1995) as Lady Cumnor
Rosamund Pike (Jane in Pride and Prejudice 2005) as Lady Harriet
I'm sure I've forgotten someone, but I think that's a long enough list as it is 😃
The series begins with a rather odd, almost surreal sequence of young!Molly wandering around a party and meeting the woman who'll eventually become her stepmother. Then it jumps forward a few years. Molly, now a young woman, has gone to visit the Hamley family, and her widowed father Dr. Gibson decides to marry again.
It's obvious from the start that he made a terrible choice. Mrs. Kirkpatrick is a selfish, mercenary brat who doesn't care about anyone else's thoughts or feelings. Molly is understandably unhappy to learn about her soon-to-be stepmother. And to make things worse, Mrs. Kirkpatrick has a daughter, Cynthia, who's just as spoilt and selfish as she is.
Molly's friends the Hamleys have their own troubles. Squire Hamley is forced to pay his son Osborne's debts, which leaves the family with very little money. Mrs. Hamley dies of what's implied to be tuberculosis. Roger is alternatively looked down on and praised to the skies by his father. And Osborne has a terrible secret that the Squire absolutely must not know: he's married to a Frenchwoman, and his father hates the French.
Even more trouble starts when Roger -- who Molly is secretly in love with -- falls in love with Cynthia, and the mysterious, sinister Mr. Preston comes on the scene.
Osborne and his wife are going to have a baby, which means Osborne needs money desperately. But the Squire refuses to give him any, and he doesn't dare tell him the truth. Things look pretty grim for everyone... but then Roger is given a place on a scientific expedition to Africa. He gives Osborne some of his money, gets engaged to Cynthia (terrible idea, Roger!), and goes to Africa for two years. Episode two ends with Molly watching him go. Ouch, poor Molly 😢
The first time I watched this series, it was immediately after watching Pride and Prejudice (1995). That wasn't the smartest idea. I'm ashamed to admit that I was bored for half of the first episode. (You could say I was "Pride and Prejudiced" against it 😊) I thought "yawn, I know how this will go. Mrs. Gibson's going to be a wicked stepmother and Osborne's going to be a villainous brother" -- which was doing poor Osborne a terrible disservice.
But once Pride and Prejudice-induced criticism wore off (because everything looks bad when compared to something really good), I fell in love with Wives and Daughters. I was especially impressed by the performances of Justine Waddell (Molly) and Tom Hollander (Osborne). Before this series, I'd only seen Justine Waddell in Great Expectations, playing a character that I've never liked, and Tom Hollander in Pirates of the Caribbean, playing a despicable villain. It was odd to see them in such different roles here, where their characters are two of the most sympathetic ones in the series.
Rating: 8/10.
Review of the next two episodes here.
The series begins with a rather odd, almost surreal sequence of young!Molly wandering around a party and meeting the woman who'll eventually become her stepmother. Then it jumps forward a few years. Molly, now a young woman, has gone to visit the Hamley family, and her widowed father Dr. Gibson decides to marry again.
Dr. Gibson
Mrs. Hamley and Molly
Squire Hamley
Hyacinth (yes, that really is her name!) Kirkpatrick, the future Mrs. Gibson
It's obvious from the start that he made a terrible choice. Mrs. Kirkpatrick is a selfish, mercenary brat who doesn't care about anyone else's thoughts or feelings. Molly is understandably unhappy to learn about her soon-to-be stepmother. And to make things worse, Mrs. Kirkpatrick has a daughter, Cynthia, who's just as spoilt and selfish as she is.
Cynthia
Molly's friends the Hamleys have their own troubles. Squire Hamley is forced to pay his son Osborne's debts, which leaves the family with very little money. Mrs. Hamley dies of what's implied to be tuberculosis. Roger is alternatively looked down on and praised to the skies by his father. And Osborne has a terrible secret that the Squire absolutely must not know: he's married to a Frenchwoman, and his father hates the French.
Osborne
Molly and Roger
Even more trouble starts when Roger -- who Molly is secretly in love with -- falls in love with Cynthia, and the mysterious, sinister Mr. Preston comes on the scene.
Mr. Preston, the closest equivalent Wives and Daughters has to Wickham.
Osborne and his wife are going to have a baby, which means Osborne needs money desperately. But the Squire refuses to give him any, and he doesn't dare tell him the truth. Things look pretty grim for everyone... but then Roger is given a place on a scientific expedition to Africa. He gives Osborne some of his money, gets engaged to Cynthia (terrible idea, Roger!), and goes to Africa for two years. Episode two ends with Molly watching him go. Ouch, poor Molly 😢
😢
The first time I watched this series, it was immediately after watching Pride and Prejudice (1995). That wasn't the smartest idea. I'm ashamed to admit that I was bored for half of the first episode. (You could say I was "Pride and Prejudiced" against it 😊) I thought "yawn, I know how this will go. Mrs. Gibson's going to be a wicked stepmother and Osborne's going to be a villainous brother" -- which was doing poor Osborne a terrible disservice.
But once Pride and Prejudice-induced criticism wore off (because everything looks bad when compared to something really good), I fell in love with Wives and Daughters. I was especially impressed by the performances of Justine Waddell (Molly) and Tom Hollander (Osborne). Before this series, I'd only seen Justine Waddell in Great Expectations, playing a character that I've never liked, and Tom Hollander in Pirates of the Caribbean, playing a despicable villain. It was odd to see them in such different roles here, where their characters are two of the most sympathetic ones in the series.
Rating: 8/10.
Review of the next two episodes here.
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