Monday 19 November 2007

Return to Cranford?

The consensus is that not a lot happens in BBC1's brilliant new adaptation of Elizabeth Gaskell's Cranford trilogy, which started last night, but that it is played rather beautifully. One of the most telling moments was when Cranford’s reigning aristocrat, Lady Ludlow (played by Francesa Annis), turns down Mr Carter's (played by Philip Glenister) suggestion of a new maid because the girl can read and write; Lady Ludlow has instead set up a school on the estate where the girls can busy themselves learning to sew. But we've come a long way since then, haven't we? After all, nobody would want to stop children learning to read now, would they?

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