Here's a promotional plug for a group that has just been created on Facebook seeking others of a similar mindset that would like to see PBS Masterpiece feature the works of writer Elizabeth Gaskell. Previously, PBS featured an Austen season which was highly successful with so many fans of the works of Jane Austen tuning in to watch. There are many of us who would love to see something done in a similar vein to highlight the adaptations of novels written by Ms. Gaskell.
As previously mentioned on here, there is a Facebook group trying to persuade PBS to air North and South, one that I still can't believe hasn't been shown already! I can't help but think that it would be a most excellent proposition to not only present North and South, but also include other adaptations that they've shown such as Wives and Daughters (shown in 2001) and of course Cranford (shown in 2009).
And wouldn't this be made complete by including a brand new production of one of Gaskell's works that hasn't been adapted in recent years such as Mary Barton, Ruth or Sylvia's Lovers? Just a recommendation...
Showing posts with label elizabeth gaskell. Show all posts
Showing posts with label elizabeth gaskell. Show all posts
Gaskell Season for PBS Masterpiece
Cranford Companion Book
Synopsis from Barnes and Noble:
"When Cranford aired on PBS's Masterpiece Classics in 2008, it garnered critical praise from all corners, earned a devoted audience, and secured Emmy nominations in nearly every category, from writing and acting to costumes and hairstyling. Starring Dame Judi Dench and Dame Eileen Atkins, with a host of other remarkable talents, and based on three classic novels by Elizabeth Gaskell - Cranford, Mr Harrison's Confessions, and My Lady Ludlow - the series follows the residents of a fictional, nineteenth-century town in Cheshire, England. Its enthusiastic reception led to the extension of the series with Return to Cranford, based on Gaskell's short stories.
In The Cranford Companion, cocreators Sue Birtwistle and Susie Conklin give us an unprecedented insider look at the making of the instant-classic series - from the adaptation of the script, to the scouting of locations across the English countryside, to the breathtaking costumes. With gorgeous photographs throughout from the series and the set, and intimate interviews with the cast and crew, this book is the must-have companion to a beloved miniseries, an exclusive entry to Cranford life, sure to be revisited for years to come."
Thanks to Katherine Cox (Gaskell Blog) for mentioning!
Elizabeth Gaskell - bicentennial of her birth!
When it comes to period dramas, it might have been Jane Austen that captured my attention
but it has been Elizabeth Gaskell that has captured my heart.
Elizabeth Gaskell was born on September 29, 1810So to mark the 200th anniversary of her birth,
how about watching one of the wonderful period dramas based on her novels?
Wives and Daughters was the first Gaskell film adaptation that I saw and I was so drawn in to the story and its characters. Molly Gibson was a true heroine in my eyes. Her sweet nature and her tender relationship with her father was so touching to watch. (Played by Justine Waddell and Bill Paterson)I loved seeing her close friendship with the Hamley family and to see:
- gruff Squire Hamley (Sir Michael Gambon) soften when it came to Molly
- Mrs. Hamley's (Penelope Wilton) affection for Molly as if she were her own daughter
- and the complex relationship with the two brothers Roger and Osborne (Anthony Howell and Tom Hollander)
Add to that priceless performances by:
- Francesca Annis (as Molly's stepmother) - memorable!
- Keeley Hawes (Molly's stepsister) - captivating as always!
- Barbara Flynn & Deborah Findlay (loved the Browning sisters!)
- Barbara Leigh Hunt and Rosamund Pike (as Lady Cumnor and her daughter Harriet)
With such a talented cast, it's no wonder that this is my favourite period drama!
Trailer for Wives and Daughters thanks to Skipmaus!
The next Gaskell adaptation that I saw was North & SouthIf you haven't seen this one yet, what are you waiting for?
Some people have been put off I think by the grey and sombre landscape depicted in the industrial town of Milton set in the north of England. However, if you let that dissuade you, you'll be missing out on one of the greatest love stories of period drama as evidenced by an Army of fans worldwide! I confess to being one among this band of devoted admirers and created a motivational poster retelling of this "Foolish Passion".
wallpaper by dreamvision
North & South trailer thanks to lycisca!
And then there's Cranford
An unforgettable saga with a cast that includes:Judi Dench, Eileen Atkins, Imelda Staunton, Greg Wise, Michael Gambon, Francesca Annis, Deborah Findley, Barbara Flynn, Simon Woods, Julia Sawalha, Claudie Blakley , Lesley Manville, Alex Etel, Jim Carter, Kimberley Nixon, Lisa Dillon and Philip Glenister
Cranford trailer thanks to Luthi3n84!
Another adaptation to watch is the sequel Return to Cranford
where the ladies are still up to their antics!
where the ladies are still up to their antics!
And the wonderful thing is that all of the above are miniseriesso there's plenty of Gaskell to inspire and delight!
If you'd like to read even more about Elizabeth Gaskell and her works,
be sure to join in the Bicentenary Blog Tour hosted by Austenprose
be sure to join in the Bicentenary Blog Tour hosted by Austenprose
Return to Cranford
The DVD of the upcoming Christmas special: Return to Cranford will be available for purchase on January 19, 2010 at Amazon.comLeft to right: Deborah Findley, Judi Dench, Imelda Staunton, Julia Mackenzie
>>Read more details about the rest of the cast here
>>more information of Cranford sequel
Synopsis from BBC:
Miss Matty and the ladies of Cranford are excited about the imminent visit of Lady Glenmire, as the two-part Cranford special reaches a conclusion. That is until the Hon Mrs Jamieson announces that none of them is of high-enough social standing to meet her. Deeply hurt, Miss Matty leads the Amazons in snubbing both the newcomer and her hostess. But sociable Lady Glenmire is quick to offer an olive branch by hosting a memorable Halloween party, which results in the forging of new friendships.
Impressed by Edward Bell's ambitions and hurt by his own son's defiance, Mr Buxton takes on Edward to act as his land agent. But Edward makes a disastrous decision that has dire consequences not only for himself but also for Peggy, whose fortitude and courage will be tested to the limit.
Meanwhile, Matty is distressed when a surprising discovery about one of their close circle results in a serious falling out among the friends. Mrs Jamieson and Miss Pole split from the group and Matty is uncertain about how to bring them all back together again.
Matty is also deeply affected by Peggy's crisis. Knowing painfully well the cost of sacrificing one's personal happiness for the sake of family obligations, Matty decides to intervene in events to help Peggy. But when tragedy strikes the town, she comes to believe that, unwittingly, she has opened a Pandora's box and fears that Cranford will never recover.
(except for the air date which they are still keeping secret?)
And now we finally know which books are the basis of the sequel...Amazon.uk is selling the book,
"This celebratory omnibus edition includes the classic novel of the same name, a comic portrait of the lives of Cranford's genteel female inhabitants, as well as a novella and a short story. Both of these, "The Moorland Cottage" and "The Cage at Cranford", feature in the Cranford two-part Special due to be screened on BBC television over Christmas 2009."
* * * * You can also read The Moorland Cottage in its entirety online at The Literature Network and The Cage at Cranford can be read online as well.
(For those of us who already bought Cranford last year!)
(For those of us who already bought Cranford last year!)
Just realized from visiting the site of The Gaskell Society, that 2010 is the 200th anniversary of Elizabeth Gaskell's birth which makes me want to Knutsford: A History, by Joan Leach
Quoted from the Elizabeth Gaskell Society,
"We are both pleased and proud to introduce a long awaited history of Knutsford by our Honorary Secretary and Founder of the Gaskell Society, Joan Leach MBE. This is a really readable and beautifully illustrated history of a small country town, that is sure to appeal to both local historians and Gaskell devotees alike. Using her extensive knowledge of the area, Joan traces the story of the town from its earliest days when it was mentioned as Cunetesford in the Domesday Book, through to its “Cranford Days” and right up to the present time. Joan tells us of the many old customs which still remain, linking us to the world of Miss Matty and her friends."
For anyone unfamiliar with Cranford, here's a DVD trailer for the first series :
Cranford - pics from upcoming Christmas Special
promo pics from BBC
Check out David Betterage Photography
for a bunch of pictures from the much awaited Cranford sequel...
for a bunch of pictures from the much awaited Cranford sequel...
Thrilled that Mary Smith (Lisa Dillon) on left is returning for the sequel!And of course Dame Judi Dench!!
Judi Dench and Imelda Staunton
Harry Gregson (Alex Etel) looking dapper!
Celia Imrie
Emma Fielding (Mrs. Galindo)
Nicholas Le Prevost (Peter, Matty's brother)
Julia Mackenzie (Mrs. Forrester)Wonder how her cow's doing???
Thanks to Samitude for the link!
Elizabeth Gaskell
~ North and South, Cranford, Wives and Daughters ~
Elizabeth Gaskell (1810-1865) may not be as widely read as Jane Austen, but her works seem to have gained a wider audience in the past few years. While remakes of Austen's novels have been done and redone, some of us have begun to take notice of Gaskell through the popularity of miniseries based on her novels. Cranford (2007) enjoyed great success and the main players are expected to 
return to film a sequel this coming Christmas (2009). Wives and Daughters was unfinished at the time of Gaskell's death but with the help of a ghost writer, the completed novel was made into a sweet, captivating miniseries which is my favourite of all the period dramas that I've come to love. North and South (NOT the Civil American war) is another one of Gaskell's novels turned into a much beloved mini-series complete with a dark and misunderstood gentleman and an intelligent, compassionate heroine. Simply Google Richard Armitage and you will discover the obsession that still follows this 2004 production...
Articles:
Cranford comes to rescue of Elizabeth Gaskell's house
(how restoration has resumed, mention of Bronte hiding behind drapes...)
The Amazing Secret Life of Cranford Creator Elizabeth Gaskell
(article in the Daily Mail)
Elizabeth Gaskell Society
The Gaskell Web
Some Say that Gaskell is Austen embellished with Dickens at Austenprose
'10 Things to Know About Elizabeth Gaskell'
(Reading, Writing, Working, Playing has a post with further links for more info...)
Wikipedia
article about Mary Barton being staged in Manchester in 2006
(I had hoped it would do well and eventually adapted to film)
Cranford, Wives and Daughters and North and South can all be found in the Films Index...
Cranford
The initial airing of Cranford
was so successful that they are planning
another two-part special for Christmas 2009
Multi award-winning actress Judi Dench is to star in Cranford, a new five-part drama serial created by Sue Birtwistle and Susie Conklin from three novels by Elizabeth Gaskell for BBC One.was so successful that they are planning
another two-part special for Christmas 2009
Scripted by Heidi Thomas
In 1842, Cranford is a small rural Cheshire town on the cusp of great changes. Some people find romance and opportunities, while others fear the breakdown of social order.
Who will embrace the changes on offer by becoming modern?
Three Elizabeth Gaskell novels have been woven together to create this uniquely rich and comic drama about ordinary human lives during the course of one extraordinary year in this small town.
Jane Tranter, Controller, BBC Fiction, says: "To have Judi Dench, Sue Birtwistle and Heidi Thomas on one drama serial is an honour for BBC Drama.
"Cranford is a beautifully big and ambitious period drama - just the way we like them!
"The logistics of mounting such a production have inevitably taken a while to pull together, but the best things are well worth waiting for, and we are all very excited at the prospect of such a piece, and of welcoming Judi Dench back to the BBC."
Dame Judi will play Miss Matty Jenkyns, whose hopes and lively spirit were crushed when she was forced as a young woman to give up the man she loved and to live afterwards in the shadow of her elder sister, Deborah, the arbiter of correctness in Cranford.
Judi Dench says: "I am so excited to be doing Cranford. A summer of fun to look forward to!"
Producer Sue Birtwistle was the force behind the highly-acclaimed television productions of Pride And Prejudice and Wives And Daughters.
She says: "Five years ago, I made a wish: to be allowed to conjure an entirely new drama out of three Elizabeth Gaskell novels, and to persuade Judi Dench to play Miss Matty. Dream come true. Is one allowed to be this lucky?" (source BBC)
(Love this picture...)
Francesca Annis as Lady Ludlow
Joe McFadden as Dr Jack Marshlandand Simon Woods as Dr Frank Harrison.
Eileen Atkins as Deborah Jenkyns
Judi Dench as Matty Jenkyns
Michael Gambon as Mr.Holbrook with Matty Jenkyns
Kimberly Nixon as Sophy Hutton
Julia Mckenzie as Mrs. Forrester
Imelda Staunton as Miss Pole
Greg Wise as Sir Charles Maulver
Simon Woods as Dr. Harrison
Philip Glenister as Mr.Carter
Lisa Dillon as Mary Smith
The town of Lacock stands in for Cranford
Synopsis from DVD: Welcome to Cranford, circa 1840...a rural English town where etiquette rules, undergirded by a healthy amount of gossip. Modernity is making a move in town as construction of a railway comes harrowingly close. Cranford's eclectic residents, among them Matty Jenkyns (Dame Judi Dench) her sister Deborah (Dame Eileen Atkins), and Miss Pole (Imelda Staunton), stay immersed in the sweet pleasures and sometimes heartbreaking realities of simple village life. But when a handsome, young doctor arrives with cutting-edge new techniques, it rapidly becomes clear that as the world changes, so Cranford will change with it. Boasting an all-star cast, and based on the works of Elizabeth Gaskell, Cranford breathes life into one town during one extraordinary year.
PBS Linkwith preview video
Behind the scenes videos
BBC Link
info and interviews
IMDB Link
Cranford Bloopers
Screencaps
_______This stellar cast includes many actors from other great period dramas_______
Judi Dench -almost anything!
Eileen Atkins - Gosford Park, Mansfield Park, other parks in other movies...
Imelda Staunton - Sense & Sensibility
Greg Wise - Sense and Sensibility
Michael Gambon - Wives & Daughters, Gosford Park, ...
Francesca Annis - Wives & Daughters
Deborah Findley - Wives & Daughters
Barbara Flynn - Forsyte Saga, Wives & Daughters, Miss Potter...
Simon Woods - Pride & Prejudice (2005)
Julia Sawalha - Pride & Prejudice (1995)
Claudie Blakley - Pride & Prejudice (2005), He Knew He Was Right
(side joke: she tried to marry David Tennant but Kimberley would have none of it!)
Lesley Manville - North & South
Favourite Quotes:
Thomas Holbrook: Miss Matilda, it cannot, I think, be denied that our... association has been drawn out over more years than we might have wished. We cannot reverse the clock. Only move forward in the way of time itself. And I do not arrange an absence for no reason. I do so hoping that whilst I'm away, you will take pause to consider how our future path might run.
Miss Matty: I see.
Thomas: I believe you do. Haste has never been our hallmark, Miss Matilda. We would be unshaped if we began to move at speed.
Miss Deborah Jenkyns: I would prefer it if I did not enjoy oranges. Consuming them is a most incommodious business.
Miss Matty Jenkyns: There is not such a lot of juice, Deborah dear - only when they are sliced with a knife.
Mary Smith: At home we make a little hole in our oranges and we suck them.
[Deborah looks horrified]
Miss Matty Jenkyns: That is the way I like to take them best, but Deborah says it is vulgar and altogether too redolent of a ritual undertaken by little babies. My sister does not care for the expression [whispers]"suck".
Miss Deborah Jenkyns: [primly] We will repair to our rooms... and consume our fruit in solitude.
Miss Pole: Men! They know everything except what is about to happen and how it can be stopped. My father was a man. I think I know the sex!
Dr. Morgan to Rev. Hutton: Lavish your daughter with eggs and affection! A girl's heart is a stouter organ than is realized.
Miss Matty: I have never liked the notion that the world is round. It makes me feel so giddy.
Miss Matty: I shall arrange myself by the window.
Miss Matty, discussing how she was glad that tea is not a "sticky" commodity as she could not bear anything that would "leave a residue".
Mrs. Forrester: Oh, Mrs. Rose, do you know nothing of love? To give gloves at such a time is tantamount to a proposal!
Miss Matty: I see.
Thomas: I believe you do. Haste has never been our hallmark, Miss Matilda. We would be unshaped if we began to move at speed.
Miss Deborah Jenkyns: I would prefer it if I did not enjoy oranges. Consuming them is a most incommodious business.
Miss Matty Jenkyns: There is not such a lot of juice, Deborah dear - only when they are sliced with a knife.
Mary Smith: At home we make a little hole in our oranges and we suck them.
[Deborah looks horrified]
Miss Matty Jenkyns: That is the way I like to take them best, but Deborah says it is vulgar and altogether too redolent of a ritual undertaken by little babies. My sister does not care for the expression [whispers]"suck".
Miss Deborah Jenkyns: [primly] We will repair to our rooms... and consume our fruit in solitude.
Miss Pole: Men! They know everything except what is about to happen and how it can be stopped. My father was a man. I think I know the sex!
Dr. Morgan to Rev. Hutton: Lavish your daughter with eggs and affection! A girl's heart is a stouter organ than is realized.
Miss Matty: I have never liked the notion that the world is round. It makes me feel so giddy.
Miss Matty: I shall arrange myself by the window.
Miss Matty, discussing how she was glad that tea is not a "sticky" commodity as she could not bear anything that would "leave a residue".
Mrs. Forrester: Oh, Mrs. Rose, do you know nothing of love? To give gloves at such a time is tantamount to a proposal!
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