Of Swords and Parasols

This BBC drama retells the English Civil War through the eyes of Anjelica Fanshawe, a fictional (though presented as a true story by the drama) woman involved in the lives of several historical figures. Particularly Charles I, who is her guardian, Oliver Cromwell, Thomas Rainsborough, who is her second and greatest love, Edward Sexby, who loves but is not loved by Anjelica, and John Lilburne and his wife, Elizabeth. The title stems from both Anjelica’s childhood disillusionment with Catholicism and God due to her mother’s abandonment of her for the church, and from a name an enemy of hers gives her after she kills a man who tries to rape her.

The drama is gorgeously shot and, for the most part, excellently written, despite numerous historical liberties and some rather unnecessairly gratuitous sex scenes, and the acting is great, both for the characters I liked (Rainsborough and Elizabeth were my favorites) and those I didn’t. I really liked the first half, though the first episode took a while to get going to me (Anjelica starts out rather shallow and uninteresting, but soon gets much better), but was left involved in the second half, which shifted much of the narrative focus to Sexby, who I didn’t find nearly as interesting as the drama expected me to, and actively disliked by the end.

Anjelica has been criticized as being too modern minded for a woman of the period, and this is true, but didn’t keep me from liking her. You can, however, easily tell who you are and aren’t supposed to like by how they treat Anjelica, something that telegraphs intent a bit too much.

For me, the highlight of the series was Anjelica’s relationship with Rainsborough, who, IMO, is the only one of the men to ever come close to viewing her as an equal. Sexby respects her, but mostly sees her as something to be longed for and protected. Similarly, Lilburne and Cromwell respect her, but as something separate and to be considered, not as an equal. The relationship also did more to make Anjelica come alive than anything else in the series (and was when she was happiest, IMO) and was more convincing than numerous fictional relationships that have lasted far longer. Though I’m not sure if that says more about their relationship or about romantic pairings in other things.

Unfortunately, the third and fourth episodes are less about Anjelica and more about Sexby and Cromwell, with Anjelica becoming a secondary focus. Now, I would have signed up for a drama focusing on Edward Sexby and Oliver Cromwell, but I had signed up for a drama about Anjelica Fanshawe, fictional pre-feminist. And…well, the drama clearly expected me to find Sexby fascinating and morally ambiguous, and his one-sided love for Anjelica tragic and epic. Sadly, I found him dull, and his love for Anjelica more on the creepy side. I mean, it seemed more obsession to me than love, as he was basically obsessed with her from the moment he saw her (mindlessly flitting around, about to marry someone else) to the point where he steals her wedding garters and carries them around to sniff. I enjoyed their interactions on a platonic level, but was always uncomfortable with the romantic aspect, and then it took a turn that was very much for the worse for me.

( spoilers )

It’s been a couple months since I watched it, but, despite certain parts, I did really like it, and it left me wanting more fiction about the time period. Preferably female-centric fiction that doesn’t get co-opted by uninteresting anti-heroes with creepy obsessions with the heroine.