Elizabeth Gaskell Poll- Which adaptation is your fave?

Cranford

North & South

Wives and Daughters

Which Elizabeth Gaskell adaptation is your fave?
	Cranford
	North and South
	Wives and Daughters
pollcode.com free polls

Next question is: Which other Mrs. Gaskell novels, novellas or short stories would you like to see the BBC tackle next? I'll start the ball rolling with Mary Barton. It hasn't been done by the Beeb as an adaptation since 1964 so I think it is long overdue.

Please leave your suggestions in the comments below, or just tell us which of the above is the adaptation you have watched the most, or could least afford to be without? This is a tough poll as all 3 are absolutely brilliant!

Wives and Daughters 1999

Justine Waddell, Keeley Hawes and Francesca Annis in Wives and Daughters

I can't believe I haven't blogged about Wives and Daughters yet. This is one of the best British period dramas ever, bar none! Written by the talented Mrs. Gaskell and adapted by the almost equally talented Andrew Davies, this production nears perfection.

This is the story of Molly Gibson (Justine Waddell), the daughter of a country doctor who gets an unpleasant surprise in the guise of a silly and manipulative step-mother (Francesca Annis). Thankfully she also gets a pretty step-sister (Keeley Hawes) who grows quite fond of Molly although the motives for her actions are not always as pure and her feelings not as easy to read as her new sister's.

Bill Paterson as Dr. Gibson with his beloved Molly (Justine Waddell)

The loving father daughter relationship between Dr. Gibson and Molly is wonderfully played by Bill Paterson and Justine Waddell. The viewer really feels for Molly when her role as the most important female in his life is usurped by such a ninny as Hyacinth Clare Kirkpatrick (Francesca Annis).

Michael Gambon as Squire Hamley

Squire Hamley: I'm not saying she was very silly, but one of us was silly and it wasn't me.

Anthony Howell is easy on the eyes as Roger Hamley

Mr. Gibson: Women are queer, unreasoning creatures and just as likely as not to love a man who's been throwing his affection away.
Roger Hamley: Thank you sir, I see you mean to give me encouragement.
Mr. Gibson: My encouragement is neither here nor there, if she can stomach ya, I dare say I can.

Keeley Hawes as flighty Cynthia and Iain Glen as the hateful Mr. Preston

Cynthia Kirkpatrick: I didn't sell myself. I liked you then, but oh, do I hate you now!

***********************************************************************************

As I was watching this, my husband (I have taken to calling him The Squire) was popping in and out of the room as is his wont, when he started recognizing actors. "Hey, that's the dad from Miss Potter. There's the mom from Miss Potter! There's Isobel Crawley from Downton Abbey! Lady Catherine de Bourgh! Mr. Collins! Mary Bennet! Michael Gambon! Chloe from MI5! Sgt. Milner from Foyle's War! Mrs. Jennings from Sense and Sensibility! The Welsh guy from Coupling!"

It was kind of hilarious as he kept recognizing actor after actor. And this was only hours after he had just ID'd the dopey Lol Ferris from As Time Goes By as Mr. Gardiner from Pride and Prejudice 1995, which I had failed to see in previous viewings. He's getting good! Which just shows how many of my period dramas he has sat through. Or popped in and out during, always demanding a plot update when he reenters the room. Well, perhaps he is paying attention after all!

Molly Gibson in the rain

In short, I can conclude by saying this has to be in the top 5 period dramas of all time so if you've never watched this one, please do so soon, and if you have seen it, you may want to cuddle up and watch it again if you need a Molly and Roger fix. Molly is so adorable and that man can make a microscope look sexy! Well, that and the cravat of course...

Tribute to Elizabeth Gaskell Part II-Victorian Fashion

The inspiration for this post came partly from the excitement about Elizabeth Gaskell's 200th birthday and partly from the posting on Vic's blog Jane Austen Today where she posted a beautiful Youtube Regency fashion montage by PiepMiau04.
This talented German woman puts music and fashion images together in a sensory feast.  So sit back and relax while Mozart's Piano Concerto No.23 and Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata transport you to another era.
Instead of the gorgeous Regency dresses on Vic's blog, I have given you some amazing Victorian dresses reminiscent of what was worn in Elizabeth Gaskell's time.  So picture Margaret Hale from North and South or the girls from The Buccaneers or even Romola Garai's character Gwendolyn from Daniel Deronda who all had some pretty amazing Victorian costumes.  Oh, and I can't forget the adaptation of Anthony Trollope's The Way We Live Now for some of the best Victorian dresses I have ever seen.
If you want the full size video, just click on the center of the Youtube video and expand it by clicking in the right corner.  I am still trying to get the hang of this blogging so my page doesn't look quite as pretty as Vic's yet!
Again, Happy Birthday to Elizabeth Gaskell to whom I feel a special kinship as some of my ancestors worked in the mills of Manchester at the time she was writing.  It is one of the many, many reasons I love North and South.

Back to school...fun quotations from my favorite authors

"Give a girl an education and introduce her properly into the world, and ten to one but she has the means of settling well, without further expense to anybody. "
Jane Austen-Mansfield Park


Still true today and goes for both boys and girls I think.  I am so glad to know that Jane Austen thought an education important even back then and it is even more so now.  So this one is for all of you who have just sent your kids or grand-kids off to school.  Whether it be elementary school, high school or especially college or university, my thoughts are with you.

We just moved our eldest son into his residence room at University for his first year away and our youngest just went out the door for the first day of grade 11 so here I am blogging away.  As Tuesday is my day off, I always have time after everyone returns to school after Labour Day to relax and reflect on another year.  A bit more adjustment required of me this year, but they are both happy, and so am I.  Or I will be very soon.

"Men have had every advantage of us in telling their own story. Education has been theirs in so much higher a degree; the pen has been in their hands. I will not allow books to prove anything. "
Jane Austen-Persuasion

"A wise parent humours the desire for independent action, so as to become the friend and advisor when his absolute rule shall cease. "
Elizabeth Gaskell-North and South


Very wise words, and so I will not call my eldest for a few days at least.  But I may send an email, just to say I hope he is having fun and "making good choices".  That one is a family joke and if you have ever seen the genius of Jamie Lee Curtis in Freaky Friday, you will get this.


So perhaps if we have a rainy night this week, I will watch Freaky Friday again and remember the first time I watched it with my sister, on a really hot day in Toronto, when we were both taking a little break from motherhood to celebrate sisterhood.  Cheers!

Note: (added Sept 12)-Watched Freaky Friday on Thurs night as it was raining and cool.  Jamie Lee Curtis is fantastic and it was very sad in a way to see how talented Lindsay Lohan was.  Not sure if she still is.  I just know that she didn't "make good choices" after this was filmed.  Still a great film however and the music rocks!

North and South Episode 1 part 3

This is a clip from North & South which shows the view of Calton Hill in Edinburgh pictured in the photo from my blog entry above.  The scene is almost at the end of the clip at about the 9 minute point.