A little something from...Elizabeth Gaskell

This is one of my favourite quotes from Elizabeth Gaskell's Wives and Daughters. I can't help but giggle a little everytime I read/hear it :)

"I say Gibson, we're old friends, and you're a fool if you take anything I say as an offense. Madam your wife and I didn't hit it off the only time I ever saw her. I won't say she was silly, but I think one of us was silly, and it wasn't me!"

Villains we sympathise with (Part 2)

Mr Preston

Mr Preston is the villian in Elizabeth Gaskell's Wives and Daughters. Preston is in love with Cynthia Kirkpatrick and after lending her 20 pounds she agrees to marry him when she comes of age. At the time of the proposal Preston was significantly older than the 15 year old Cynthia. When Cynthia comes of age she professes that she hates him and refuses to marry him. Cynthia confides in her step-sister  Molly that she felt forced to agree to his proposal and that she was too young to have made that decision. Preston upset that she has broken her promise, declares he will exposed Cynthia as a flirt and jilter.
I particularly feel sorry for Mr Preston because I believe he truly loved Cynthia and he was very hurt by her refusal.



Guy of Gisborne

Guy probably doesn't fit in as well with the other villains I have suggested but I have to mention him as out of every villain I know of he is the one which I sympathise with the most. Thankfully I can still include him because he is indeed a villain in a period drama.
Guy of Gisborne is one of the key villains in the BBC TV Series Robin Hood. Guy is the adversary of the great Robin Hood who he is constantly trying to capture. Guy is a little obsessed with power and wants everything that was once Robin's and is prepared to do anything to achieve this. However his one weakness is the beautiful Lady Marian, who has a lot of (romanti c) history with Robin. Poor Guy despite doing almost everything to please Marian she plays him, using Guy only to get information which she can then pass onto Robin. As much as I love Marian, she does lead Guy on a fair bit during the series' and unfortunately Guy's love for her only grows stronger and stronger and to no avail.


Well with these two villains that makes five in our poll so far:

John Willoughby

Carver Doone

Henry Crawford

Mr Preston

Guy of Gisborne

What do you think? I would still like a few more, if you have any suggestions I would absolutely love to heard them. Just comment below :)

Much Love,

Tristans_Isolde xx

Wives and Daughters




Molly Gibson (Justine Waddell) and Roger Hamely
(Anthony Howell)

 

I just finished watching, for about the millionth time, the 1999 BBC TV-miniseries Wives and Daughters. It is a wonderful adaptation of Elizabeth Gaskell's novel, by the same name and I highly recomend it. It follows the life of Molly Gibson as her father remarries and has to try to adapt and cope with the many changes in her life.    

The storyline is so beautiful and it is so easy to fall in love with the characters that as soon as the credits finish you sit there wishing there was more. It is a great series for those who believe in second chances.

When re-watching this series, I was struck by how wonderful Elizabeth Gaskell's villians are, but in the same breath you can never hate them because they are portrayed in such a way that you begin to understand how they became that way.

If you have watched this miniseries or have read the book, please let me know your thoughts 

The Costumes are also extremely beautiful in this series unfortunately I cant say the same about some of the hairstyles