Television Review: Lark Rise to Candleford

In 1890s Oxfordshire, two neighboring towns have a bit of a love/hate relationship. The impoverished rural agricultural hamlet of Lark Rise is small and desperately poor but proud, and its residents are devoted to each other. Nearby Candleford is a larger town and more prosperous. Tension exists between the haves of Candleford and the have-nots of Lark Rise. When teenaged Laura leaves Lark Rise to work at the Candleford post office, she finds herself caught between two worlds that may have more in common than either side thinks. And everyone in both towns find themselves caught in changing times.

Vienna Blood (2019)

Vienna’s Golden Age is the heady years before WWI in which the capital of the Austro-Hungarian Empire was a center for philosophy, science, and art. Its coffeehouses were a gathering place for some of the sharpest minds in Europe, and its opera was internationally famous. But as with any celebrated time period in history, there was also a darker side. Vienna Blood, a recent mystery series, delves into both the good and the bad of early 20th century Vienna while also serving up murders.

Your Library Card, Your Ticket to the World: India

Our library theme for 2020 is Your Library Card, Your Ticket to the World–because with the library, you truly can travel around the world without ever leaving the comfort of your own home. Every month in 2020, we’ll be landing at a new place on the globe. In May, we’re in India.

TV Review: To Walk Invisible (2017)

I usually am up-to-date on my Masterpiece Theater viewing, but I missed this biopic about the Brontë sisters when it first aired a couple of years ago. Fortunately, Mary-Esther suggested it to me, and I’m glad she did! It’s a well-acted, well-made dramatization of one of the most famous literary families in history.

TV Review: Maigret (2016)

When I was a teenager, I discovered Georges Simenon’s delightful Maigret book series. Maigret was an ordinary man, refreshingly devoid of the quirks, tortured backstory, and “chosen one” vibe that many fictional detectives have. I honestly don’t remember which Maigret stories I read–I just remember enjoying them, so much so that I still cite them as favorites. They remind me a bit of Nordic Noir but with a decidedly less dour tone.

TV Review: The Terror (2018)

I’m usually behind on the most current television. Because I don’t have cable, I have to wait for the DVDs or until something hits a streaming service, and that’s not something that ordinarily troubles me. But every now and then, a show premieres, and I am bitterly disappointed that I am behind everyone else. That was definitely the case with AMC’s recent miniseries The Terror. I’ve been so excited for this show ever since casting was first announced a couple of years ago. Just ask Julie. I’ve been preemptively pestering her about buying it ever since. 🙂

And now it’s here! And it’s just as excellent as I had hoped it would be! (Thank you, Julie, for not only buying it but also good-naturedly humoring my repeated purchase requests.)

TV Review: And Then There Were None (2016)

Agatha Christie’s best-known novel And Then There Was None is one of the 100 books that made the Great American Read list. And that seems like the perfect excuse to review the most recent adaptation of the book, this one an all-star production made for British television a couple of years ago.

The Crown, Season 1

If you have a Netflix account, it is probably old news that the streaming service’s original series The Crown, about the early reign of the United Kingdom’s Elizabeth II, is superb. But if you don’t have a Netflix account, you had no way to watch it until quite recently, when it was released on DVD.

English royalty has always been a popular subject for entertainment and has been the focus of several recently acclaimed shows, including Wolf Hall and Victoria. Though I have enjoyed the other shows mentioned, I’m not sure any other television show I have watched has delved into the complexities of imperial protocol and how one’s royal persona must overshadow any personal one quite like The Crown does.

Family Dysfunction, British-Style

Did you know that when you’re in the mood for a good view, your library also has you covered!  And if you need help finding something new and interesting to watch, I am here to help . . . at least once a month when I review a TV show or movie on this blog.

One of the great joys in watching television shows about dysfunctional families is enjoying their antics without personally having to deal with the repercussions. They’re fun to hang out with for a few hours at a time, but there is also something immensely reassuring in knowing that you don’t have to deal with these characters in real life.

And that is exactly the appeal of two British imports I recently watched and enjoyed–The Durrells in Corfu and Blandings. Both are about zany British families in 1920s/1930s, and both are delightfully charming and hilarious. Thanks so much to Julie for adding them both to the library collection!

From Page to Screen: Victoria

 

When it comes to being a world builder, it doesn’t get much bigger than having an entire historical period named after you.

But when eighteen year old Alexandrina Victoria ascended to the British throne following her uncle’s death, nobody was really thinking of her future reign in such grand terms. For the most part, they were just hoping she didn’t do anything too obviously embarrassing.

Victoria’s growing pains as a young monarch in the tumultuous first couple of years of her reign is explored in a recent novel and TV series from Daisy Goodwin.

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