![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Wives and Daughters
Mar. 29th, 2007 11:30 amWives and Daughters is Elizabeth Gaskell's unfinished novel about Molly Gibson, who has been raised since childhood by her father. He remarries a charming but petty and self-absorbed woman, Hyacinth, who brings a daughter about Molly's age into the home; the loveable but worldly and disturbing Cynthia. The tale traces the maturation of the two girls into womanhood, in the small and watchful society of Hollingford and surrounds.
Over 600 pages long, it took me a little while to get into the story, but after that I was swept away. The characterizations were all well developed. I loved all the interaction between the many characters. Molly was a wonderful heroine, and I came to care deeply about how things effected her. (She reminded me a tiny bit of Fanny Price.) Her relationship with Squire Hamley and his family was touching. She and Cynthia were complete opposites and yet were genuinely fond of each other. Hyacinth was quite annoying but I did not totally dislike her. In fact, there was only one character in the story that I loathed.
Yesterday I saw the BBC miniseries version of Wives and Daughters in one sitting -- five wonderful hours. This is now my favorite miniseries of all time. The cinematography was glorious. The sets, costumes, and music wonderful. And the cast was amazing. Justine Waddell was Molly; she conveyed more emotion through her facial expressions than when speaking. She made me understand more what Molly experienced throughout the course of the story. A most impressive performance. Francesca Annis was the self-absorbed Hyacinth and Keeley Hawes the worldly Cynthia Kirkpatrick, both terrific. Other standout performances were Bill Paterson as Mr. Gibson, Anthony Howell as Roger Hamley, and Tom Hollander as Osborne Hamley.
The adaptation was written by Andrew Davies (Pride and Prejudice, Emma, Northanger Abbey, and the upcoming Sense and Sensibility). A good amount of the dialogue was taken straight from the book. To my pleasant surprise there were not any major jarring changes. Some events were switched around and dialogue was given to different characters and such, but that was mainly it. Thankfully, this time Mr. Davies did not put in any racy, undressing, or *shudder* bathing scenes. But he did leave his mark: one nice scene had a gentleman and young lady talking in the pouring rain. And he provided a satisfying ending to Mrs. Gaskell's unfinished story.
I highly recommend both the book and book. They are worth visiting more than once
Over 600 pages long, it took me a little while to get into the story, but after that I was swept away. The characterizations were all well developed. I loved all the interaction between the many characters. Molly was a wonderful heroine, and I came to care deeply about how things effected her. (She reminded me a tiny bit of Fanny Price.) Her relationship with Squire Hamley and his family was touching. She and Cynthia were complete opposites and yet were genuinely fond of each other. Hyacinth was quite annoying but I did not totally dislike her. In fact, there was only one character in the story that I loathed.
Yesterday I saw the BBC miniseries version of Wives and Daughters in one sitting -- five wonderful hours. This is now my favorite miniseries of all time. The cinematography was glorious. The sets, costumes, and music wonderful. And the cast was amazing. Justine Waddell was Molly; she conveyed more emotion through her facial expressions than when speaking. She made me understand more what Molly experienced throughout the course of the story. A most impressive performance. Francesca Annis was the self-absorbed Hyacinth and Keeley Hawes the worldly Cynthia Kirkpatrick, both terrific. Other standout performances were Bill Paterson as Mr. Gibson, Anthony Howell as Roger Hamley, and Tom Hollander as Osborne Hamley.
The adaptation was written by Andrew Davies (Pride and Prejudice, Emma, Northanger Abbey, and the upcoming Sense and Sensibility). A good amount of the dialogue was taken straight from the book. To my pleasant surprise there were not any major jarring changes. Some events were switched around and dialogue was given to different characters and such, but that was mainly it. Thankfully, this time Mr. Davies did not put in any racy, undressing, or *shudder* bathing scenes. But he did leave his mark: one nice scene had a gentleman and young lady talking in the pouring rain. And he provided a satisfying ending to Mrs. Gaskell's unfinished story.
I highly recommend both the book and book. They are worth visiting more than once
