Reader Question #12: Period Drama TV

I'm going to try to get back into Reader Questions. It's been quite a long time since I did these. My good friend Charity from Austenitis sent me an E-mail with a lot of questions in it a long time ago, but due to my busy school year, I didn't have much of a chance to write any of them up. So, getting back into Reader Questions, I will answer Charity's questions. At this point on (provided that there are reader questions for me to answer), I will try to get a Reader Question post out every Thursday.

Charity asked:

Which period drama TV shows are your favorites? Which ones do you recommend highest? 

Thursday: Character Costume Highlight: Dorcas Lane -- Period Drama Fashion Week

Today's Character Costume Highlight is Dorcas Lane from Lark Rise to Candleford.

A Little About Dorcas

Dorcas is the postmistress of the Candleford post office that serves the needs of both Lark Rise and Candleford. She has a respect for the rules and regulations of the post office, but her mischievous nature has her finding ways to work around the rules. Dorcas has many "one weaknesses" and tries to give the townspeople around her advice.

Dorcas's Red Corselet and Skirt

Dorcas's Blue Outfit

Which of these two dresses of Dorcas's is your favorite? Or is your favorite one that isn't up here? Leave a comment!

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 God Bless,

Keep Calm and Carry On Contest at Old-Fashioned Charm

First, let me tell you my good news! I finished my last final yesterday and will be free to update Elegance of Fashion at my leisure! Be prepared for the return of reviews on Monday!

Anyway, Miss Laurie from Old-Fashioned Charm is holding a contest to make "Keep Calm and Carry On" posters. I came up with two entries last night, so here they are!

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 God Bless,

LolPeriodDramas

Years ago, my sister introduced me to Lolcats. I didn't understand it at first, but now I've grown an appreciation for it.

In case you have never heard of Lolcats, let me tell you what they are. Basically, they are pictures of cats with captions. Usually these captions have very horrible grammar that looks like internet lingo (or lolspeak). The captions purposely have misspellings and bad grammar (which could be one of the reasons that I didn't get it at first: I'm very grammar conscious).

People have done Lolcats pictures with non-cat pictures. It really could be anything: dogs, TV shows... maybe even Period Dramas?

I've been experimenting with making Lol captions with period dramas. Let me know what you all think.

Who knows, if these are a success, I may start up a blog about them... but that might not be for a while.


 God Bless,
 

Lists: Top 10 Favorite Heroes

Due to the great response to my "Top 10 Favorite Heroines" post, I put together my Top 10 Favorite Heroes! Enjoy!

1. Fitzwilliam Darcy (Pride and Prejudice) 
Probably a very obvious answer from me! I didn't always like Mr. Darcy (c'mon, he was a bit of a jerk at the beginning of Pride and Prejudice), but after a while he grew on me once his character improved, and now he's my favorite hero! Yes, he was a bit arrogant at the beginning of Pride and Prejudice, but his arrogance decreases as the plot progresses; he's also a good brother and takes it upon himself to bring about the marriage of Lydia and Wickham after their scandal.

To me, Colin Firth is Mr. Darcy, period. He has the look of arrogance in the beginning, but then as Pride and Prejudice goes on, he has that more of a caring look. He also did all of Mr. Darcy subtle looks really well.

2. Colonel Brandon (Sense and Sensibility)

While reading/watching Sense and Sensibility, how can you not feel sorry for Colonel Brandon? All the stuff that he had to go through and yet he doesn't complain about it. As much as I like Marianne Dashwood, I still thought she was really mean about Colonel Brandon (Willoughby made fun of him and she went along with it). He was able to act like a gentleman while Willoughby was apart of the party.

I did like David Morrissey's Colonel Brandon, but it seemed like something was missing for him in the 2008 Sense and Sensibility. To me, Alan Rickman did a better job in the 1995 movie.

3. George Knightley (Emma)
Oh, Mr. Knightley. He tries to help Emma by telling her that she is wrong, but she doesn't listen (well, most of the time). Mr. Knightley is very caring, a great brother-in-law to Emma, a great uncle to John and Isabella's children, and (we can be sure) a great husband for Emma. He helps out his neighbors whenever he can (sending Mrs. and Miss Bates food, saving Harriet during the dance when Mr. Elton snubbed her, etc.). Overall, Mr. Knightley is a great guy and a gentleman!

Johnny Lee Miller is my favorite Mr. Knightley. I did also like Jeremy Northam's Mr. Knightley, but I think Johnny Lee Miller's was closer to the Mr. Knightley in the book... at least to my memory.

4. Henry Tilney (Northanger Abbey)

When you first see Mr. Tilney in Northanger Abbey, you might find him a little odd (I know I did), but in a good way. When you get to know him more, you can see that he likes to tease his sister Eleanor and Catherine a little bit in a friendly way. Once you know more about him, you can see that he's a caring brother and a great husband for Catherine.

I've only seen the 2007 version of Northanger Abbey (unless the Wishbone episode counts), and despite the problems it had with the screenplay, the actors were well cast. J.J. Field's Mr. Tilney was very well done.

5. Arthur Clennam (Little Dorrit)
I like how Mr. Clennam tries to help out the Dorrits: he's trying to right a wrong that he thinks his family business may have done, and how many people would go through the trouble of finding out who they wronged? Plus, when he loses all his money and is in debt, he doesn't run away from his obligations, but faces them and is accountable for them. He messed up and took the consequences of it. In this world where people tend to run away from their responsibilities and obligations, Arthur Clennam is a good example of what people should do: accept responsibility and face the consequences of your actions.

I've seen both the new and older version of Little Dorrit, and I think Matthew McFayden's Arthur Clennam is the better one. His was much better acted than Derek Jacobi's Arthur Clennam, plus Derek Jacobi was just too old.

6. Edward Ferrars (Sense and Sensibility)

I don't like that Edward had Elinor like him when he wasn't supposed to, but I will say that he does do the honorable thing by staying engaged to Lucy even though he doesn't love Lucy anymore, but instead loves Elinor. He sticks to his duty even when it becomes very hard.

I prefer Dan Stevens's Edward to Hugh Grant's. Hugh Grant just looked too sickly for the role.

7. Septimas Harding (The Barchester Chronicles)
Mr. Harding was such a sweet old man! I felt sorry that in the first part of The Barchester Chronicles that Mr. Bold was going to sue him because of his salary. He was almost instantly likable, which is what you need in a series/miniseries/movie/etc. in order for people to like it. And, considering The Barchester Chronicles is an 80s miniseries, the acting has to be very good since there aren't the effects that newer period dramas have. Donald Pleasance played Mr. Harding very well. I'll definitely have to watch The Barchester Chronicles again to see what I've missed.

8/9/10 (Tied). Robert Crawley, Lord of Grantham (Downton Abbey)

I've got three heroes from Downton Abbey that I like, but couldn't choose in what order. Robert is a great master of Downton. He cares for all of his employees and the surrounding area. He doesn't mope around about the entail, but instead teaches the way to run Downton to his third cousin and heir of Downton, Matthew Crawley. He also tries to be a good father to his three children and a good husband to Cora.

Hugh Bonneville played Robert in Downton Abbey. Hugh Bonneville does a very good job acting here. I can't wait to see what's in store for Robert in Series 2

8/9/10 (Tied). John Bates (Downton Abbey)
Poor Mr. Bates... He arrives at Downton with a limp and most of the staff thinks he can't do his job... But he persists at his job and he gains everyone's respect (well except for a few). He's almost in an Edward Ferrars position except he's actually married instead of engaged: he loves Anna, one of the maids, but he remembers his duty to his wife. He tries to do the honorable thing while at Downton. I wonder what will happen with him in Season 2 (I'm hoping they don't ruin his character like what sometimes happens when series go on).

John Bates is played by Brenden Coyle. I first saw Brenden Coyle in Lark Rise to Candleford as Laura Timmins's father, Robert. I must say that I like John Bates better than Robert Timmins: Robert became too much of a jerk after awhile.

8/9/10 (Tied). Matthew Crawley (Downton Abbey)

At first, you have to warm up to Matthew a little bit since he tries so hard not to change (and since the Crawleys at Downton Abbey are one of the first characters we've seen, it might be a little easier to side with them). But then when Matthew gets settled in near Downton, he really tries hard to learn how to run the estate. He takes an interest in fixing up the cottages in the surrounding area and as Robert's family likes him more and more, we start to like him more and more.

Dan Stevens, who also played Edward Ferrars in the 2008 Sense and Sensibility, plays Matthew Crawley in Downton Abbey.

I will say that I started to read Mansfield Park a little while ago and Edmund Bertram looks promising. Maybe he might bump someone off the list in the future? But as for now, this is the list of my top favorite heroes!


What do you think of my list? Are there some heroes in my list that you would include in your top favorite heroes? Who would you include in your list? Leave a comment!

 God Bless,
 

My Top Ten Favorite Heroines

As promised, I have here my top 10 favorite heroines from period dramas. Enjoy!


Jennifer Ehle as Elizabeth Bennet

1. Elizabeth Bennet (Pride and Prejudice)

I think that part of the reason for my being drawn to Pride and Prejudice was Elizabeth’s personality. My personality is very similar to Elizabeth’s: I have strong opinions and I stick to them, I’m not afraid to stand up for myself, both of us stick to our morals and convictions, and both of us have a similar sense of humor. I think in all my years of reading, she was probably the first character that really stood out to me as being someone that I've seen in my daily life (in this case, me). In fact, nearly all of Jane Austen's characters are very realistic and very relatable, but Lizzy is probably the most relatable to me. She is such an awesome character: in addition to what I've said above, she is smart, witty, clever, and quick. She's a definite delight to watch/read about.

I think that Jennifer Ehle portrayed Elizabeth's witty personality well and said her lines they way Elizabeth would have said them.

Emma Thompson as
Elinor Dashwood

2. Elinor Dashwood (Sense and Sensibility)

Elinor is remarkable because she goes through so much (losing her home and having to move far away from it, finding out that the man she loves, Edward Ferrars, is actually engaged to another woman who he doesn’t love, having that very woman constantly rub in her face that she's engaged to Edward, and having to watch her sister’s grief over a bad break-up) and yet she is able to keep a stiff upper lip and does whatever needs to get done. Because her mother and sisters can't put aside their emotions to make important decisions, Elinor steps up to manage many of those important decisions with her sense and reason, even while she's going through all the rough stuff in her life.

I liked both Hattie Morahan's and Emma Thompson's Elinor, but I think that Emma Thompson was closer in acting as Elinor though she was significantly much older than Elinor should have been.

Claire Foy as Amy Dorrit

3. Amy Dorrit (Little Dorrit)

Amy is so sweet! She supports her family very humbly, and even though her family is ungrateful to her (with the exception of her uncle, Frederick Dorrit), she still supports them and obeys her father. Even when her and her family become rich and when her whole family becomes very snobbish (again, the exception of Frederick Dorrit), she still remains very humble and wishes to be useful and helpful despite the fact that everyone around her is telling her to "be a lady" and "do nothing all day."

Claire Foy was wonderful as Amy Dorrit. They did a good job in making her look young and you could believe that she's about 21. She also portrayed the quiet and humble nature of Amy very well.

Felicity Jones as Catherine
Morland

4. Catherine Morland (Northanger Abbey)

Catherine can be a bit imaginative and naive, but at the same time, she is very open and artless: she means what she says (“I cannot speak well enough to be unintelligible.”) and she is also always honest, which are both very good qualities. She is a genuine person and could be counted on for an honest answer.

Though I think that there needs to be a better adaptation of Northanger Abbey, I thought that Felicity Jones in the 2007 adaptation portrayed the honest, naive Catherine well, although they should have kept her imaginations down and to more innocent imaginations instead of the ones that could be mature.

Romola Garai as
Emma Woodhouse

5. Emma Woodhouse (Emma)

I’ll admit it, when I first started reading Emma, I found Emma to be very irritating: she seemed to want to control everyone and there were times where you think “Why don’t you just listen to Mr. Knightley?!” But by the time I finished Emma, I grew to really like her character. Yes, she is a bit controlling and thinks she knows everything, but she means well and simply wants to help her neighbors out. She does learn that she never had a talent for matchmaking and is able to realize her mistakes.

Romola Garai is the best Emma that I've seen. Just like when I read the book, I found her Emma to be a little bit irksome, but when the miniseries went on, I grew to like her Emma. She portrayed Emma's well meaning nature very well.

Stella Gonet as Beatrice Eliott

 6. Beatrice Eliott (House of Eliott)

Between Beatrice and Evangeline (Bea and Evie respectively), the two Eliott sisters, I’ve always liked Bea a lot more (though I liked Evie in Series 1, but once she went to Paris, they tried to push that she was more "worldly" and "sophisticated", which got very irritating very quickly). Bea was always a lot more mature and sensible than Evie, who was more childish and based her actions and decisions on her emotions. Bea also had a mind for business, which really sticks out to me since I’m interested in business: she really cared for her business and carefully made decisions concerning her business. She also had the creative mind for fashion and sewing.

Stella Gonet portrayed Bea. She was very elegant and mature in the role of Bea. It was a pleasure to watch her.

Kate Winslet as Marianne
Dashwood

7. Marianne Dashwood (Sense and Sensibility)

Poor Marianne: she doesn’t quite keep the stiff upper lip that Elinor maintains throughout Sense and Sensibility. When struck with grief, Marianne becomes consumed with this grief to the point that she becomes sick and nearly dies. When she recovers, she realizes that she should not have acted in that way and she becomes determined to mend her ways. Marianne’s self-realization and determination to fix her faults is something that anyone should aspire to obtain.

Kate Winslet was great in her interpretation of Marianne. Though Kate Winslet could be a little over-the-top in her emotional portrayal of Marianne, I think it works since Jane Austen meant to show that Marianne's over-emotional personality is a bit ridiculous.

Elizabeth McGovern as
Cora

8. Cora, Countess of Grantham (Downton Abbey)

Cora, Countess of Grantham, was an American who married Robert Crawley, Lord of Grantham. She really cares for her daughters, especially Lady Mary whose chance of finding a husband had been made difficult. She sees that she has to get her daughters married, so she tries to find them suitable husbands (yes, it does sound similar to Mrs. Bennet in Pride and Prejudice: the difference is that Cora tries to find husbands for her daughters with a great deal more dignity than Mrs. Bennet).

Elizabeth McGovern portrayed Cora in Downton Abbey. She was sweet and very enjoyable to watch. My only issue was that her accent sounded like it was a fake American accent and Elizabeth McGovern is actually American.

Joanne Froggatt as Anna

9. Anna Smith (Downton Abbey)

Anna, one of the top maids in Downton Abbey, is a really hard worker and a sister-figure to Gwen, a younger maid who wants to find another job that would allow her to move up in the world. She also goes to great lengths to find out Mr. Bates’s past to clear his name at Downton. I can't wait to see what's next for her in Season 2!

Joanne Froggatt was Anna in Downton Abbey. She was very caring and it was great to watch a character who was like a "big sister".

Julia Sawalha as
Dorcas Lane

10. Dorcas Lane (Lark Rise to Candleford)

Dorcas has her faults: she is very meddlesome, has a taste for trouble, and, when provoked, she can be very quick with her tongue. At the same time, she just wants to help out her neighbors all while keeping with post office regulations. She has respect for the post office regulations, but if they cause a problem she tries to work around them to help out her neighbors. She also tries to teach Laura Timmins, her cousin’s daughter, the right way to work in a post office. She also tries to maintain a professional appearance even though she might be going through something rough.

 Julia Sawalha, a very well known period drama actress, portrayed Dorcas Lane. I first saw Julia Sawalha as Lydia Bennet in Pride and Prejudice; Dorcas is probably the opposite of Lydia: she has a care for the rules and is very dignified. This shows that Julia Sawalha can be a very versatile actress. She did a great job in Lark Rise to Candleford.

 

 
So there's my list. What do you think of it? Would you put some of the same heroines in your own list of favorite heroines? Would there be any that you would add to your list? Leave a comment!

 God Bless, 
 



Review: Lark Rise to Candleford - Series 4

Since I first saw Lark Rise to Candleford, I fell in love with it! It was good, fairly clean family fun. Though Series 1 is still my favorite season, I continued to enjoy Lark Rise to Candleford and was glad that a fourth season was coming. However, I was sadden by the fact that Season 4 was going to be the last season and that it was only going to be six episodes (Nooooo!). Although I thought the third season wasn't the best, I still want Lark Rise to Candleford to go on...

Note: There are going to be spoilers from previous seasons in this review. If you haven't seen Lark Rise to Candleford, you might want to take a look at the previous seasons. First -- Second -- Third

Box Art

Synopsis

When Gabriel Cochrane (Richard Harrington) loses his wife, home, and factory in the same year, he goes to Candleford to find justice for the wrong that he claims the bank did against him. When postmistress Dorcas Lane (Julia Sawalha) gives him a job at the forge, the two form a friendship.

Characters

The only major cast change from Series 3 to Series 4 is Robert Timmins (Brenden Coyle) -- he did not appear in Series 4, though he is mentioned often. In the show, we find out that he is working in Oxford and sending money home to his family while Emma takes care of the house and children; in real life, Brenden Coyle started acting in new series Downton Abbey and left Lark Rise to Candleford. But back to the show. As much as Robert was getting annoying (he always seemed to be arguing with someone at any opportunity), his presence was missed in Series 4.

Ruby Pratt briefly left Candleford in Series 3... and she came back in the first episode of Series 4. During the first couple of episodes, it seemed that any character development that they made for her vanished. She became very bitter since her romance from Series 3 broke apart. She does revert back to her more developed character in Episode 3, but for the first two episodes, it seemed like she hadn't changed from Series 1 (or even went backwards from Series 1).

Laura continued to get on my nerves. She just seemes to act more and more like a know-it-all. Back in Series 1, she seemed to be more innocent and naive which worked for her, but during the middle of Series 2, she wasn't naive anymore, but instead was a know-it-all.

In the last episode, Alf's mother, Caroline (Dawn French), comes back. I guess since she was gone for so long, I didn't really miss her too much. We all got used to the idea that she was in prison a lot, so when she came back, it was like "Okay, she's back. Whatever."

Gabriel Cochrane (Richard Harrington)

The addition of Gabriel Cochrane wasn't too bad. There's a lot of conflict between him and Dorcas, some of which would be something a married couple might fight over, Spoiler so it was kind of obvious that they would end up together. End of Spoiler Dorcas seemed to be trying to impress him in later episodes (like trying to buy more feminine clothing), which didn't really seem to match Dorcas's character from previous seasons.

Scenery
The scenery continues to be excellent! You do get to see a little more of the fields than you did in previous seasons, but overall the scenery didn't change very much.

Costumes


Minnie and Dorcas at a Church festival

Still lovely! Pretty much the same type of clothing as in previous seasons: late Victorian. Everyone's style still remained the same: Dorcas was professional looking, Ruby and Pearl wore the same thing as each other and had current fashions, Laura still dressed fairly young. Minnie is seen in other dresses other than her maid's outfit, but we started to see her in other dresses last season.

Overall: 4/5

Most of the episodes were good: the exception was the third episode (it wasn't good at all). The rest were okay. I'm still sad that it ended, but at the same time, any other seasons aren't going to be like what the first (or even second) season was. Overall, I really liked the series, and I would still recommend it to anyone.

Queenie and Alf

Spoiler The last episode made a really good attempt at tying everything up at the end. Margaret is finally going to have a baby, Dorcas and Gabriel fall in love with each other and (we can assume) might be engaged or very soon will be, Caroline Arless is determined to change her ways, Queenie forsees change in the future, and Minnie and Alf are engaged. My only question is what happens between Laura and Daniel: there was a little bit of a cliffhanger there. Last we see of them, Daniel tells Laura that he cannot publish her article because it's not her and that she needs to write about her surroundings like she always does. I was kind of hoping that they would get engaged or something. Oh well! End of Spoiler

Lark Rise to Candleford - Series 4 is available on DVD. It has six, one hour long episodes.

Review: Lark Rise to Candleford - Series 3

I love Lark Rise to Candleford! When I finished Series 2, I could not wait for the third series to come out. I was anxious to see what would happen since Series 2, since a lot of changes took place in the storyline.

Warning: this review contains spoilers! If you don't want to know what happens in this season until you've seen the others, you might want to skip over some parts of the review. If you are interested in Lark Rise to Candleford, you can find the review for Series 1 here. I also reviewed Series 2 here. I highly recommend this series!

Synopsis
Daniel Parish, a journalist, arrives in Candleford to inform Emma Timmins (Claudie Blakley) that she inherited a fortune from some relatives; meanwhile, Laura (Olivia Hallinan) takes a liking to Daniel since they share a love of writing. Thomas Brown and Margaret Ellison were married at the end of Series 2, and now they begin married life together. Dorcas (Julia Sawalha) adopts Sydney and strives to make him comfortable. At the stores, Ruby (Victoria Hamilton) and Pearl Pratt are keeping secrets from each other: Pearl hasn't told Ruby that their business is not doing well, and Ruby hasn't told Pearl that she has been writing letters to a man in Pontefract that she found in the personals section of the newspaper
Characters
Laura continues to get on my nerves a little more. It seemed kind of fake how in the first episode, she says that she wants to hate Daniel, but she can't, even though she would naturally be quite angry with him with what he did. I think that ever since Fisher came in Series 2, Laura has been getting increasingly annoying, which is sad because I really liked her character in Series 1. Oh well...

Laura Timmins (Olivia Hallinan) and Daniel Parish (Ben Aldridge).

Most of this season, I really disliked Daniel! I think it was around episode 8, 9, or 10 that I actually started to think he was tolerable. I guess I still thought that what he did in the first episode was really bad and it took me a while to, like I said, find him only tolerable. Spoiler However, when Fisher returns to Candleford to try to win Laura back, I thought that Laura should stay with Daniel (since I disliked Fisher from the start and never grew to like him). End of Spoiler

Sydney is a pleasant addition to the show... when he appears on screen. There are some episodes in which you wouldn't even know he was in the show, but he makes an addition to the episodes in which he does appear. Dorcas becomes his adoptive mother and their mother-son relationship develops throughout the season.

The relationship between Minnie and Alf begins to develop in Series 3, although a question remains: what happened to Nan from Series 2? Not that I liked Nan all that much, but it seemed that her and Alf could almost have been married, and then all of a sudden she is gone? She just disappeared in the third series. They should have written her out somehow. And Alf also got over her pretty quickly. Still, the Minnie/Alf relationship is a good plot line to have in the show.

In the middle of the series, Ruby leaves (NOOO!), so there is more time to develop Pearl's character. She becomes much softer towards the end of the series than she was at the beginning of the show. She even shows signs that she even cares for Laura towards the end.


Episode Plots
As the season goes on, the episodes do get better. The first couple of episodes I did not like, specifically episodes 1, 2, and 4. Episodes 5 and 6 weren't too bad. The rest from then on were good.

Episode 2 had a lot of superstitions in it, which is why I didn't like it too much. It seemed to revolve too much around the superstition. It seemed to be more fantasy than realistic in my view, and Lark Rise to Candleford is supposed to be about daily life in Victorian England.

A character from Series 1 comes back in Episode 7! Lady Adelaide, wife of Sir Timothy the squire, returns for one episode. I'm only sorry to say that Sir Timothy did not return; I would have liked to see how he behaved towards Dorcas since he left at the end of Series 1.

There are some episodes with scandals in them. While Episode 10 included a more serious scandal, other episodes such as episodes 6 and 8 had less serious scandals.

Scenery
Lark Rise to Candleford continues to have lovely scenery! Scenes still take place in Lark Rise (inside the hamlet houses and outside): in this season, we get to see more of the fields that many of the Lark Rise men work on. In Candleford, scenes still take place in the usual spots with an addition of the Brown's home, since they were married.


Pearl and Ruby hide secrets from each other in Series 3.

 Costuming

The costuming continues to be lovely! Everyone pretty much has their usual style of clothing. The exception would probably be Minnie. Before, we would only see her in her maid's uniform, but in this season, she begins to wear more of a variety of clothes, which are nice and very pretty.

Overall: 3.5/5
I still love Lark Rise to Candleford, but this season wasn't as good as the earlier ones (the first was the best). The first couple of episodes I didn't really like, but the rest of the episodes were good. There are some more double entendres than there were in previous seasons, but Lark Rise to Candleford still remains PG.

Lark Rise to Candleford: Series 3 is available on DVD. There are twelve episodes that are one hour long in this season.

New Buttons!

I've added new blog buttons, just as I promised!

Regular Sized Buttons (150 x 150)



And, as also promised, I put up a longer button size! There are three in the Banner Size.

Banner Buttons (350 x 150)



I thought I would make a new button size. They're made to resemble banners and are longer in width than hight. I'm not sure how many would prefer the banner style, but I thought that I would make it available.

You can follow this link to the buttons or simply go to the top of the page and click on the Blog Buttons tab.