This Sunday December 20th, Masterpiece Classic returns to PBS with a reprise of last season’s highly acclaimed presentation of the mini-series Cranford based on Elizabeth Gaskell's classic novel airing in three parts on consecutive Sundays through January 3rd. Here is the description from the PBS website.
Welcome to Cranford, circa 1840 ... a rural English town where etiquette rules, undergirded by a healthy amount of gossip. Modernity is making a move in town as construction of a railway comes harrowingly close. Cranford's eclectic residents, among them Matty Jenkyns (Dame Judi Dench) her sister Deborah (Dame Eileen Atkins), and Miss Pole (Imelda Staunton), stay immersed in the sweet pleasures and sometimes heartbreaking realities of simple village life. But when a handsome, young doctor arrives with cutting-edge new techniques, it rapidly becomes clear that as the world changes, so Cranford will change with it. Based on three Elizabeth Gaskell novels (Cranford, My Lady Ludlow and Mr. Harrison's Confessions), and boasting an all-star cast, Cranford breathes life into one town during one extraordinary year.
This is really the wind up to the premiere on January 10th of the next two episodes of the saga, Return to Cranford. Yes, Miss Matty, Miss Pole, Mrs. Forrester and Miss Tomkinson, the amazons of the early Victorian small-town Cranford, return in a new production that is sure to charm and delight us. Produced by the estimable team of Sue Birtwistle and Susie Conklin who brought us Pride and Prejudice (1995), Emma (1996) and Wives and Daughters (1999), it may be the last bonnet drama produced by BBC/PBS for some time, so cherish every moment.
Visit the official Cranford site at Masterpiece Classic
Read Vic’s preview of Cranford at Jane Austen Today
Cranford is a Delightful Place to Visit at Jane Austen’s World
Some Say that Gaskell is Austen embellished with Dickens at Austenprose
Enjoy, Laurel Ann, Austenprose
Did you enjoy the conclusion of Return to Cranford last night on Masterpiece Classic? Would you like to listen to an audio recording of the original novel that inspired it? Enter a chance to win one copy of a Naxos Audiobooks recording of Cranford, by Elizabeth Gaskell by following this link to Austenprose and leaving a comment by January 24th, 2010 stating which character in Return to Cranford was your favorite, or which Victorian-era author you have read and would like to see an audio book recording made of. Winner to be announced on January 25th, 2010. Shipping to US and Canadian addresses only. Good luck!
