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Set in a fictional (I think) town by the same name, Cranford covers a year in the lives of the townspeople from 1842-1843. The genteel class is populated mostly by women nearing middle years to elderly, and they are a close knit, gossipy bunch, led by Deborah Jenkyns, a very proper and strict spinster, and daughter of the former rector, who lives with her demurring younger sister, Mathilda (though everyone but Deborah calls her Mattie) and leads the town in all that is right and proper. Into this environment come three new people.

The first is Mary Smith, the daughter of a friend (Cousin? I forgot to write it down.) of the Jenkyns sisters, who flees to Cranford to escape her stepmothers attempts to marry her off to any available man. As Mary learns about Cranford and its residents, so do we. The second is Dr. Harrison, a young doctor from London brought in by the town’s doctor to eventually replace him. Though Dr. Harrison quickly falls in love with the current rector’s daughter, Sophie, two other local women fall for him, both wrongly (one because of a practical joke, the other through a misunderstanding) believing that he has an interest in them. The third is Captain Brown, a retired army captain living on a half-pay, Captain Brown is solely responsible for the care of his two daughters, one of whom is very ill. Just as Mary provides our view of Cranford, Captain Brown provides our view of the necessity of progress, especially the railroad. In addition, it is through her relationship with Jessie, the Captain’s daughter, that Deborah begins to ease up on her own strict rules.

Then there is Lady Ludlow, the local aristocrat. Very, very proud, Lady Ludlow is also very old fashioned, and is old enough to remember the horrors of the French Revolution. (Even with the makeup, Francesca Annis doesn’t look it, so we’ll just say she was young.) Because of this, she is extremely opposed to progress, especially the railroad, as well as of educating the lower classes, refusing to hire educated servants. She is also, as much as someone like that can be, extremely kind, and very concerned about the welfare of her people, even if she sometimes needs Mr. Carter, the head of her estate, to see when there is a problem. Mr. Carter, however, is very fond of progress, and of educating the lower classes, and takes in Harry, the son of a local squatter, to train to be a clerk, much to Lady Ludlow’s consternation. In one of the best scenes in the series, a genteel woman who was forced to become a milliner, but who is also an acquaintance of Lady Ludlow’s, points out to Mr. Carter that, just as Lady Ludlow will only see a poacher’s son when she looks at Harry, Mr. Carter will only ever see a woman when he sees her, opening his eyes to the fact that his idea of progress forgets a significant part of the population.

On the surface, Cranford is a very pretty, very well acted comedy about life in a small Victorian town, but it also (not surprisingly, as it’s apparently based on three books by Gaskell) deals with the changing times and the expansion of the industrial revolution, and how it affects the people of the times. However, even as it makes you laugh at the antics and banter of the residents, it also makes you want to cry for them. For example, one of the women who falls for Dr. Harrison is, in many ways, absolutely absurd, and you have to laugh and she flounces and gets worked up when he doesn’t pay her the attention she thinks he should. At the same time, however, there’s a sadness to it, as she really does believe that he has romantic feelings for her, due to his friend’s practical joke, and from that perspective, has genuine cause to be concerned, as she has fallen for him, and views him as her last chance to get married.

The only problem is that, while the story is tightly told, wonderfully acted, and has a great, well-rounded cast of characters, there are over twenty main characters. Their personalities and storylines are all well developed and easy to follow, but in a 5 episode series, it’s almost impossible to keep all their names straight. It also suffers a bit from “everyone gets paired off” syndrome (even if not all end up with both parties alive) but I suspect that won’t bother many. (Didn’t really bother me, actually, but I noticed enough to shake my head a bit.)

And on a very shallow note, I’ve always liked Julia Swalhala. For some reason, I like her even more now that she’s said she likes making period dramas for the clothes in the “making of” featurette.
 

Date: 2008-09-17 02:24 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] anime-babble.livejournal.com
You must watch "North and South". It's my fav of Gaskell's work, and the mini is to die for. My fav BBC period drama easily.

Date: 2008-09-17 02:26 am (UTC)

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