THE TIMELESS ALLURE OF COSTUME DRAMAS: WHY THEY REMAIN POPULAR

 

Rose Williams as Charlotte Heywood in Sanditon season 3, based on Jane Austen' s unfinished novel

In a world filled with modern technological marvels and fast-paced storytelling, it may seem surprising that costume dramas, period dramas, and historical dramas continue to captivate audiences. Shows like Bridgerton, Peaky Blinders, Downton Abbey, Outlander, The Gilded Age and adaptations of Jane Austen's novels transport viewers to bygone eras, providing a glimpse into the past. Yet, these productions are far from relics; they are thriving in the age of streaming services and digital entertainment. So, what is it about these narratives that continues to draw us in? Let's explore the enduring appeal of costume dramas and why they remain relevant and popular today.

3 SUGGESTIONS FOR YOUR TBW LIST

 

Mare of Easttown 

After reading several positive reviews, I've finally managed to watch Kate Winslet in her latest role as the lead of HBO's Mare of Easttown. Fortunately, it was available on Italian Sky channels. Have you seen it?

MY SUNDAY'S PERIOD PICKS: MISS MARX (2020)

 

"Miss Marx" premiered at Venice Film Festival 2020 and is Eleonor Marx’s biopic, directed by Susanna Nicchiarelli and starring Romola Garai.

Eleonor was Karl Marx’s youngest daughter. Nicknamed Tussy, she was brilliant, cultured and passionate. She wrote, translated and studied and was a committed political activist with the socialist party and the trade unions. She highlighted the connection between feminism and socialism, took part in protests and riots, fought for women’s rights and against the exploitation of children in work.

PERIOD DRAMA NEWS: OLD FRIENDS AND NEW ACQUAINTANCES COMING SOON

1. GENTLEMAN JACK: SURANNE JONES + SALLY WAINWRIGHT + VICTORIAN ENGLAND

Suranne Jones (Doctor Foster, Save Me, Scott & Bailey)  and  Sally Wainwright (To Walk Invisible, Last Tango In Halifax, Happy Valley) are due on set together again to shoot Gentleman Jack, a coproduction BBC/HBO. Of course, Suranne Jones will lead the cast as the protagonist while Sally Wainwright will sign the screenplay and will direct the 8-part series.

If you love good TV drama you should at least be as excited as me. But if, like me,  you are also a period drama lover, you should be on seventh heaven since this new series is set in 1832.

It’s the story of Anne Lister (Suranne Jones), a remarkable landowner who - after years of exotic travel and social climbing - returns to Halifax, West Yorkshire, determined to transform the fate of her faded ancestral home, Shibden Hall.

PERIOD & MORE PERIOD - MY SUMMER LIST

I still remember when summer was like: what do I watch now? Because all our favourite shows and Tv programmes were interrupted for some time and nothing new was on,  except old movies and silly stuff. Well, that was in the prehistory of TV and eons before the Net, Netflix or satellite pay-Tv were introduced. 

Why am I thinking about that right now? Because, instead, I've been watching quite a good deal of great TV shows in the latest couple of months, that is,  since summer has started. 

That's not bad at all:  we all have more spare time in the summer and feel less guilty binge watching or staying up late to catch up with our favourite series. 

Luckily enough, there are or there have been several interesting period drama series to pick up among.  Here is  my summer watching list: Will, Still Star-Crossed, Jamestown, Poldark and Turn Washington's Spies.

PERIOD & MORE PERIOD: NEW SHOWS & OLD ACQUAINTANCES

The White Princess

Have you seen episode 1 of new Starz The White Princess? I saw and liked The White Queen when it was on, so I have been eagerly waiting for this new series which was announced as a sequel. However, I'm sure it can be seen as an indepent chapter of the tragic Cousins' War, so don't worry if you haven't seen the previous series.
I didn't expect to like The White Princess, though.  Being a Ricardian, I am supposed to watch it with a scowl, despising King Henry VII (Jacob Collins-Levy),  probably as much as Prince Elizabeth of York (Jodie Comer),  who hated him for killing her beloved uncle (and lover?), King Richard III. But just like her,  I unwillingly accepted  to grant him the chance to prove himself the rightful king of England  and I let him be just the hero of a new TV show.  Beware Henry/Jacob, you'll have a very hard task to make Elizabeth and me change our minds!
Jokes apart, I liked what I saw in the first episode: lavish, intriguing, introspective. Little history, much fiction, but good period drama. Right balance of sex & violence, intrigue & politics. Hence, green lights, Starz! (N.B. Those who are in search of historical accuracy as well as perfect 15th clothing and hair style had better look for academic essays and documentaries).

    Interview with Jodie Comer and Jacob Collins-Levy        Preview episode 2

OCTOBER WATCHING, READING, TEACHING, LIVING

1. WATCHING - Don't you love Sunday nights?

Aidan Turner as Ross Poldark

Most people hate Sunday nights since the weekend is over and the idea of starting a new working week is not easy to tackle. But I'm lucky enough to have found not one but two perfect antidotes in the recent weeks and I don't mind sharing them with you. This is how I face the ugly truth: Monday you do not scare me!  I prepare all my lesson plans and do my paperwork in advance, which I usually do at night, so that I can sit as comfortably as I can, turn the TV on and 1) enjoy Poldark's 18th century Cornish adventures on BBC 1 then 2) swoon on Victoria and Albert's 19th century royal romance on ITV +1. The result is I head to bed something like this  ...

... mesmerized! And who cares it'll be Monday in few hours!

Why are these series such safe havens? Too long to explain, but I'm sure you can understand. I am so grateful to UK TV for giving us such great period drama series.

PERIOD & MORE PERIOD: POLDARK IS BACK - ARE YOU IN FOR SOME MORE CORNISH DELIGHTS AND BITTERSWEET DRAMA?

Autumn usually brings new series and new shows on TV.  Summer is going to end soon, this means we must get ready to some excitement. Are you waiting for anything in particular? Excited for any of the coming-soon shows? 

I'm writing about mine, ok? What about sharing yours in the comments section? Too many question marks here! To the point! 

What about Poldark series two? Isn't that something worth some enthusiasm? After the cliffhanger we were left with at the end of series one, I can't wait? Have you read the books meanwhile? Or re-watched the episodes of the first season? 

Too many question marks again! Time for real news, now. Here is some info from the BBC Press Media Center website. Beware of some spoilers!

Aidan Turner as Ross Poldark and Eleanor Tomlinson as his wife Demelza are back on BBC One this September 4 at 9pm . The debut series peaked with 9.4 million viewers across TV and iPlayer, generating phenomenal media interest and devotion from viewers which culminated in it winning the Radio Times Audience Award at this year’s Baftas.

PERIOD & MORE PERIOD: 7 REASONS TO LOVE GRANTCHESTER - SERIES 2 DVD IS OUT!

James Norton as Sidney Chambers in Grantchester 

Canon Sidney Chambers

I don't know what it is with Mr Chambers (James Norton) when it comes to women (aside: including me). It's a mystery  (aside: no, it isn't, if you take a proper look at the pictures above and below) . They all fall for him, while he barely notices them or their interest in him. Canon Sidney Chambers is so distant from the archetype of vicars we've had on TV so far: he is lovely, clever, good-looking. His strength is his compassion, his distinctive sign is that he is a good man in a bad world.  He isn't flawless, he has a temper, drinks a lot of whisky, loves jazz and a game of cricket,  is haunted by his war memories and tormented by an impossible love. To cut it short, we have a romantic hero wearing a clerical collar, instead of a funny caricature with false teeth and a silly voice. (aside: I have a crush on James Norton's voice and accent).  

"We're talking about wine, and crime, and love. Sometimes I think there is nothing we cannot say to each other."

PERIOD & MORE PERIOD - WELCOME BACK, OUTLANDER, THOUGH ... THROUGH A GLASS, DARKLY

One more review

I know we are all a bit dizzy having moved from droughtlander to this flood of new inebriating images, events, stories from the Outlander world, but let me add my own musings to the general euphoria,  will you? I promise I’ll be brief.  As brief as a talkative English teacher + enthusiastic  fan of the series can reasonably be. The following ramblings will make sense only if you’ve seen episode one of series 2. So... spoilers ahead, I’m afraid.

PERIOD & MORE PERIOD - DOCTOR THORNE, TROLLOPE & FELLOWES ARE A WINNING PAIR

“Conduct! Is conduct everything? One may conduct oneself excellently, and yet break one's heart.”

I've been watching quite a bit of present-day drama series lately,  but not completely neglecting my search for good period drama. I haven't seen anything in a 19th century costume since War & Peace, actually, but being quite taken by my unmissable Wednesday nights' dates with Rev. Sidney Chambers.  I love Grantchester series 2 even more than the series 1 and, mind you, I was deeply fond of that. I have had to convert, ehm, surrender to the charms of the ginger after Outlander and Grantchester. 

We've had plenty of good series to watch, especially on Sunday nights, so you may have missed this lovely adaptation of Anthony Trollope's Doctor Thorne (book 3 in the Barsetshire Chronicles, 1858). Book 1 and 2 were adapted by BBC as The Barchester Chronicles in 1982 with a stellar cast including the late Alan Rickman.

If you were distracted by the Hiddleston/Colman vs Laurie/Hollander battle of talents in BBC One adaptation of John Le Carrè's The Night Manager and you lost Tom Hollander as the lead in Julian Fellowes's adaptation of Doctor Thorne, don't worry, you can catch up thanks to ITV online player or add the DVD to your costume drama collection. 

PERIOD & MORE PERIOD - THE ULTIMATE MAP OF DOWNTON ABBEY LOCATIONS

It wasn't easy for UK fans to bid farewell to their beloved Edwardian friends from Downton Abbey. US viewers still have a few episodes to go(check PBS Masterpiece website) before the moment to say good-bye comes for them too. As for myself, I hadn't been as emotional  as I was on Christmas day while watching Downton Abbey special - which was also the very last instalment in the series - for quite some time.

After 6 years and plenty of elegance and emotions, Downton Abbey is now destined to become a cult for many, not only in the UK or US.  In honour of this and for the joy of all its loyal fans, Wayfair.co.uk   scoured the country to find the real-life locations that make up the wonderful world of Downton and have created a map with an extensive list of over 70 Downton Abbey filming locations marked on it, with information about what scene the location was used for and how you can check it out for yourself.

PERIOD & MORE PERIOD - WAR, PEACE AND A RESTLESS PRINCE

Are you watching War and Peace? 

I am and I like it so much!  I knew I had to wait on a bit to understand if I could love or hate this adaptation of Tolstoj's masterpiece, because I was not particularly enthusiastic at the end of  its premiere. But episode after episode,  I started appreciating the cast, the locations, the performances and the rendition of a story I already knew quite a lot about.  I read the book (war scenes included!) a few years ago, what about you? Have you succeeded in going through the whole thick volume?

The Russian Darcy

Have you got a favourite character? I have and I guess he is a favourite of many. Andrew Davies, who adapted and sexed-up the novel for the small  screen, defined Prince Bolkonsky as the Russian Darcy, and who better than Mr Davies would recognize a Darcy-like hero? Brooding and restless, reckelss and complicated he is perfect new addition to our gallery of romantic, charming heroes, isn't he? 

PERIOD & MORE PERIOD - MY BEST FAVOURITE COSTUME DRAMA SERIES OF 2015

2015 has been a blessed year for period drama lovers, hasn't it? What costume series have you watched and loved? Here are mine.

...

Outlander 

The second part of season one was gripping, tough, dark, a rollercoaster of emotions. Never suffered as much as while watching ep.15/16 for any TV series! Unforgettable performances by Mr Heughan and Mr Menzies. Looking forward to Jamie & Claire's  French adventures!

Poldark

The original TV series was pivotal in my life, it started my love for everything British. The new version was mesmerizing, so romantic and beautiful! Aidan Turner? Well, yes, I happened to notice his charming looks from time to time.

PERIOD & MORE PERIOD - UHTRED, THE NEW HERO FROM THE KINGDOM OF BBC

Played by Alexander Dreymon, Uhtred is the protagonist of Bernard Cornwell's Saxon Tales book saga, adapted for the screen as The Last Kingdom. As the first season is going to wrap with episode 8 - on BBC America tonight  and  on BBC Two in two weeks -  I'd like to share with you what was that drew me to this historical fiction series so distant from my tastes. 

I started watching it by chance, sure I wouln't like it and wouldn't go past the first episode, as it had previously happened with widely popular series set in  a wild, distant past like Game of Thrones, Vikings or The Bastard Executioner. 

What lit the spark, instead? Well, I think Uhtred is to blame. I felt immediate sympathy for this unconventional, smart, ironic, fearless character. I couldn't stop watching and have been looking forward to any new episode. 

PERIOD & MORE PERIOD - SCANDALOUS LIVES FROM THE PAST

BBC spicies up and bets on period drama after their huge hit show,   Poldark, set on a popular literary saga set in 18th century Cornwall and starring Aidan Turner and Eleanor Tomlinson.  Their unbeatable recipe seems to include sex, great literature, awesome costumes, stunning locations and, last but not least, brilliant casting, I mean,  handsome, talented, popular, familiar faces. 

The three BBC productions showcased in this post - two upcoming ones and one just broadcast - focus on very unconventional lives and openly deal with sex: The Scandalous Lady, Lady Chatterley's Lover and Life in Squares.

I TOOK MY TIME AND WROTE ABOUT OUTLANDER

Descent to Hell

It’s been a long ride, a journey in which I didn’t expect I would invest so much emotionally. It’s only a TV series I know, but it is Outlander, the show acclaimed as the bravest on TV this year, as a milestone which will change the history of TV series. Love it or hate it, what you can't do is ignore it. 

To know in advance and in detail what was going to happen was no protection, didn’t help, didn’t save me from the overwhelming wave of powerful emotions that swept me off my feet. That was more Sam Heughan, you say?

Seriously, now.  It was such a gripping experience! It had been some time since I was last so enthusiastically committed and involved in a TV series.   

PERIOD & MORE PERIOD - WHO'S THE ROMANTIC HERO OF YOUR HEART? JAMIE FRASER OR ROSS POLDARK?

Sighs and swooning out there? Yes, I know. I've seen polls spring up all over the Net and wasn't surprised at all.  Ross or Jamie? Aidan or Sam? Poldark or Outlander? Cornwall or Scotland?
Starz Outlander and BBC One Poldark are the two hit period drama series of the moment. Blending adventure and romance, historical fiction and stunning locations, talent and beauty they have got legions of passionate fans all over the world. These fans are quite vocal and convey their enthusiasm in their tweets, facebook pages and their blogs, they read or re-read the books on which the series are based, they discuss them in groups, they create fan-fiction and gadgets, they make friends and have fun gathering together. They love the stories and all the characters in them, they are fond of the locations and costumes, they are intrigued by the twists and turns, watch and re-watch their favourite scenes, learn by heart their favourite lines but ... let's be honest ... the main reason of their passionate interest is their fondness for the two gorgeous, fascinating, dashing heroes: James Alexander Malcom MacKenzie Fraser and Captain Ross Poldark.

PERIOD & MORE PERIOD - POLDARK, THE MUSKETEERS 2, BANISHED AND ... OUTLANDER!

Being the period drama freak I am, I have been watching quite a few costume drama series recently. Not as many and as I would wish, but enough, I’d rather say,  for a very busy bee like me.

Outlander (Starz)

Now, first things first! Looking around my stuff, you may have noticed I’m slightly hooked by “Outlander”. Aye,  I can’t deny the fact I am verra favourably inclined toward the spicy intriguing  historical romance written by Diana Gabaldon and adapted for Starz by Ron D. Moore. I had bravely resisted Jamie Fraser’s charms as long as he remained a book hero,  while now, and  I must blame Scot-to-the-bone Mr Heughan for my sudden astonishing change, the situation has changed and I'm prone to an Outlander frenzy. Indeed. 

I'm watching the series on Fox Life HD on Monday night. The first two episodes have been broadcast so far. I can watch it in the original language and enjoy Caitriona Balfe, Sam Heughan , Tobias Menzies and the rest of the talented cast perform in their real voices. 

I can’t wait for April 4th ,  when episode 9 will be on Starz with all its burden of marital issues for the newly married  Claire and Jamie and, especially,  with the announced hot scenes of make-up sex.

DRESS LIKE A CRAWLEY - STYLE INSPIRATION FROM THE LADIES OF DOWNTON ABBEY

If you’re anything like me, you sometimes get a little distracted while watching Downton Abbey.

It’ll be the middle of an important scene, full of subtle dramatic tension and all of a sudden, you realize that you’ve completely tuned out the dialogue because you’re studying one of the character’s outfit so closely. 

You get lost in a sea of dropped waist dresses, intricate beading and gorgeous hats.  And you’re also probably thinking, “Is there some way I can get away with dressing like I just stepped off of a sprawling Edwardian estate?” 

The answer, thankfully, is yes.  Well, sort of. 

You may not want to go whole hog period fashion, or you might risk looking costumey, but there are certainly ways you can incorporate the style into what you wear every day.

Color Me Softly

When it comes to a color palette, if you want to fit in at Downton, you should stick to soft shades.  Think colors like dusty rose, pale mint, creams, grays, lavender, and light blues.  The overall effect you’re going for is delicately feminine, so stick to muted tones as opposed to vibrant ones.  You do sometimes see the Crawley ladies in more saturated colors, but that’s only for formal occasions, and only once in a while.

Art Deco Details

The Art Deco design movement can clearly be seen in the fashion of Downton Abbey.  Everything from the jewelry to the details on dresses is inspired by the symmetrical, geometric elements seen in things like the stained glass, furniture and architecture of the time period.