The Imitation Game

The 87th Academy Awards will be held on Sunday, February 22, 2015 and will be televised on ABC. One of the movies gaining a lot of nominations is “The Imitation Game” which tells the story of Alan Turing and stars Benedict Cumberbatch and Keira Knightley.

The movie is nominated for Best Picture, Morten Tyldum is nominated for Best Director, Cumberbatch is nominated for Best Actor and Knightley is nominated for Best Supporting Actress. The movies was named one of the Top 10 films of 2014, received five nominations for the Golden Globes, three nominiations at the Screen Actors Guild Awards, and nine BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) nominations including Best Film and Outstanding British Film. Its was also honored by the Human Rights Campaign for bringing Turing’s legacy to a wider audience. As of January 2015, the film has grossed a total of $120.2 million worldwide against a $14 million production budget making it the top-grossing independent film release of 2014.

There are so many things to love about this movie. It is based on the book “Alan Turing: The Enigma” by Andrew Hodges and tells the story of Turing, a British mathematician, logician, cryptanalyst and pioneering computer scientist who was a key figure in cracking Nazi Germany’s naval Enigma code. This helped the Allies win World War II. He was later  criminally prosecuted for his homosexuality, chemically castrated and committed suicide. It sheds light again on Bletchley Park, a part of WWII that I personally find fascinating. I wrote about it previously here and here.

The movie features a fabulous cast in addition to Cumberbatch (one of my favorite actors EVER) who of course stars in Sherlock which I wrote about here. Keira Knightley has starred in many films including Pride & Prejudice which I discussed previously in this post about Jane Austen movies. It co-stars Allen Leach (Branson for you Downton Abbey fans), Charles Dance (Game of Thrones),and Matthew Goode (of Death Comes to Pemberley which I covered).

I definitely recommend this movie. It combines a historical story with fabulous actors into a story that is both uplifting and sad at the same time. In fact, I’d recommend it even if it didn’t star one of my favorite actors ever.

Death (dum, dum, dummmm) Comes to Pemberley

Death Comes to Pemberley is a murder mystery 3 episode mini-series that incorporates characters from Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. It was broadcast on BBC One in December 2013 and in the US on PBS’s Masterpiece Mystery in the fall of 2014. It is based on the 2011 novel by P.D. James of the same name.

Death Comes to Pemberley stars:

Anna Maxwell Martin (of Bletchley Circle which I wrote about here and here) as Elizabeth Bennet Darcy;
Jenna Coleman (Clara Oswald of Doctor Who) as Lydia Wickham;
Matthew Rhys as Fitzwilliam Darcy;
Matthew Goode (of The Imitation Game with Benedict Cumberbatch) as George Wickham;
Tom Ward (of “The Snowmen” episode of Doctor Who) as Colonel Fitzwilliam;
Eleanor Tomlinson (previously in The Sarah Jane Adventures and as Isabel Neville in The White Queen which I wrote about here) as Georgiana Darcy;
and James Norton (of the “Cold War” episode of Doctor Who) as Henry Alveston.

Rhys and Maxwell Martin as Mr. and Mrs. Darcy

Six years after the events of P&P, Death Comes to Pemberley begins with Mrs. Darcy (and to a lesser extent Mr.) planning for the annual “Lady Anne Ball”. Georgiana Darcy (Mr. Darcy’s younger sister) must choose between two suitors – Colonel Fitzwilliam and Henry Alveston. Alveston arrives along with Mr. and Mrs. Bennet for the upcoming ball. While Mrs. Darcy is visiting the kitchen checking on menu preparation, two female servants rush in, claiming to have seen “Mrs. Riley’s ghost” in the woods. We later learn this is a local superstition based on real people. Mrs. Riley’s son was hanged for poaching and it is said that her ghost appears in the woods whenever there is going to be a death or some misfortune.

Mariah Gale in Death Comes to Pemberley

The afternoon before the ball, Mrs. Darcy is visiting a sick neighbor and meets up with a “mad woman” in the woods, played by Mariah Gale. She portrayed Ophelia to David Tennant’s Hamlet which I wrote about here. That evening we see Mrs. Darcy’s sister Lydia, her ne’er do well husband George Wickham and their friend Colonel Denny in a carriage. We learn later that they are on their way to Pemberley to “crash” the party or, as Lydia describes it, “a jolly surprise”. When Denny leaves the carriage, Wickham follows. We next see Lydia arriving in a speeding carriage, hysterically crying and saying she heard gunshots.

Lydia and George Wickham with Colonel Denney

Darcy and company organize a search party and Mrs. Bennet attempts to “comfort” Lydia. Mrs. B is not so good at comforting as it takes the following form. “Lydia, we must try to remain positive, my dear, and hope at least that he died in a duel.” Over Lydia’s sobbing, she continues, “It’s such a noble way to die!” Lydia continues crying until she realizes her trunk is still in the carriage. She asks them to get it so her ball gown won’t be creased.

Even though Lydia and Mrs. B. are less than concerned about Wickham and Denny, Darcy and company search the woods for them. Alveston stays behind. Darcy & Co. eventually find a (recently) dead Denny and a (very) drunk Wickham. Wickham is ultimately arrested for the murder of his friend Denny and we spend the next couple hours figuring out “whodunit”.

Anna Maxwell Martin as Elizabeth Bennet Darcy

This movie was well done and quite entertaining. The actors, especially Maxwell Martin and Coleman, are very good. Doctor Who’s Jenna Coleman does a great job of making Lydia, who is usually a very unlikable character, into a sympathetic one. Maxwell Martin does a good job portraying what an adult Elizabeth Bennet might be like: in charge of Pemberley, fair to their employees yet still feisty and willing to tease Darcy.

Jenna Coleman

Death Comes to Pemberley was recently shown on PBS’s Masterpiece Mystery. It isn’t currently available on Netflix or any of the other streaming services. It is available to buy though. The book is available to purchase, both used or new, online as well as at libraries everywhere.

Time for some book recommendations!

I’ve done a lot of TV and movie recommendations lately – like A LOT a lot! It may seem like I spend all my time watching TV or movies. Au contraire, mon frère. I actually read more often than I watch movies. So I’m going to recommend some of my favorite Anglo-related books and book series. None of these are new series. In fact, some of them are quite ancient (by some standards:)

First up, the “Jane Austen Mysteries” series by Stephanie Barron (real name: Francine Mathews).

Jane Austen as a sleuth – why not? Us Janeites bristle at the characterization of her as a boring spinster who didn’t accomplish anything (other than six AMAZING novels and bunch of other works, that is). So why not envision what her life might be like? This series is thoroughly enjoyable. It has a few references to what is known of her life so that her fans will get the references or “inside jokes”. However, there aren’t so many that others would be confused.

“With her lively mind and acerbic tongue, Jane Austen is a sleuth to the manner born, and her first case, The Unpleasantness at Scargrave Manor, is stylishly sophisticated, devilishly intricate, and marvelously entertaining.”

    

In these books, Jane Austen falls in love, experiences the loss of loved ones, meets Lord Byron and, along the way, solves many murders. The books in this series are:

• Jane and the Unpleasantness at Scargrave Manor (1996)…..see? “Ancient”
• Jane and the Man of the Cloth (1997)
• Jane and the Wandering Eye (1998)
• Jane and the Genius of the Place (1999)
• Jane and the Stillroom Maid (2000)
• Jane and the Prisoner of Wool House (2001)
• Jane and the Ghosts of Netley (2003)
• Jane and His Lordship’s Legacy (2005)
• Jane and the Barque of Frailty (2006)
• Jane and the Madness of Lord Byron (2010)
• Jane and the Canterbury Tale (2011)
• Jane and the 12 Days of Christmas (2014)………..just released on October 28th!! And for anyone family members looking for a Christmas gift, um hello!

    

Here is description of her most recent book:

The twelfth installment in Stephanie Barron’s fan-favorite Being a Jane Austen Mystery series

Christmas Eve, 1814: Jane Austen has been invited to spend the holiday with family and friends at The Vyne, the gorgeous ancestral home of the wealthy and politically prominent Chute family. As the year fades and friends begin to gather beneath the mistletoe for the twelve days of Christmas festivities, Jane and her circle are in a celebratory mood: Mansfield Park is selling nicely; Napoleon has been banished to Elba; British forces have seized Washington, DC; and on Christmas Eve, John Quincy Adams signs the Treaty of Ghent, which will end a war nobody in England really wanted.
 
Jane, however, discovers holiday cheer is fleeting. One of the Yuletide revelers dies in a tragic accident, which Jane immediately views with suspicion. If the accident was in fact murder, the killer is one of Jane’s fellow snow-bound guests. With clues scattered amidst cleverly crafted charades, dark secrets coming to light during parlor games, and old friendships returning to haunt the Christmas parties, whom can Jane trust to help her discover the truth and stop the killer from striking again?

You can find more information about this series and author here. Let me know how you like the books (if you decide to try them that is). If you don’t decide to try them, I don’t really want your feedback:) Thanks!

Guest Post: Recent Doctor Who episodes

Today we have a guest blogger: my 10 year old daughter, Claire. She decided she wanted to start a blog so I told her she could do a few guest posts to see how she likes it.  First up, her thoughts about two recent episodes of Doctor Who – “In the Forest of the Night” and the first half of the two part season finale “Dark Water“.

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The nerd’s view by Claire

Hi, Hola, Guten Tag, Bonjour, Sup. My name is Claire Holston and I’m here to tell you about all the things I like- Doctor Who, The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, Animal Jam, Art, etc. I’ll write reviews of shows, share interesting websites, talk about books and show you some of my own creations.

This is me, trick or treating as the Eleventh Doctor.

Doctor Who, Episode review – 10/25/14
“In the Forest of the Night”

In this new episode, the Doctor (Peter Capaldi), Clara Oswald (played by Jenna-Louise Coleman), Danny Pink and a class of Coal Hill school kids find themselves in a giant overgrown forest. Or London. I understood why the forest was there, but was not quite sure how it had grown there overnight. I really felt that this episode was altogether interesting and humorous.

Doctor Who, Episode Review – 11/1/14

“Dark Water”

In the episode Dark Water, something very unexpected happens. Danny Pink (played by Samuel Anderson) dies in a car crash. Clara begs The Doctor to bring him back but he constantly replies with “No.” So, he just takes her to see him. This episode includes two of the three most iconic Doctor Who bad guys, Cybermen and The Doctor’s greatest enemy (besides the Daleks). In this first part of a two-parter, you’ll never believe who’s really been ending every episode…Missy aka The Mistress aka The Master. She is played by Michelle Gomez.

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You can find reviews of both episodes all over the Internet: In the Forest of the Night reviews here, here, here and Dark Water reviews here, here and here.

Brainy is the new sexy

“Dear God, what is it like in your funny little brains? It must be so boring!” – Sherlock Holmes, SHERLOCK

I’ve been putting off writing a blog post about the BBC’s SHERLOCK (based on the Sherlock Holmes stories of Arthur Conan Doyle) not because I don’t like it. In fact, I probably like the show way too much. I fear that I won’t do a good enough job explaining just how amazingly, fabulously, wonderously great this show is! But I’ve decided it’s time to at least try. I will never be able to explain how glorious the show actually is but here goes…..

I stumbled upon SHERLOCK a few years back on PBS’s Masterpiece Mystery. I was immediately hooked. I was thrilled to find out that the “episodes” are longer than usual TV dramas (a full hour and a half versus the usual forty five minutes). Woo hoo! This elation was short lived however when I found that this means that each season has only three episodes. Three episodes! Boo.

So in an attempt to sufficiently explain this series, I decided to rewatch the very first episode, trying to see it as a new viewer. Not sure how this will work. I’ve seen every episode of this show many, many, many times. But here goes:

“A Study in Pink” was first broadcast on BBC One on 25 July 2010and  is inspired by Doyle’s A Study in Scarlet. It opens with war flashbacks. A man wakes up from his nightmare about the war and cries. He is then shown sitting on a bed in a drab room. Everything is beige – the carpet, the walls, the bedding. It’s just so depressing. He walks with a cane; we see he has a pistol in his drawer; he gets out a laptop. We see his blog website, titled “The Personal Blog of Dr. John H. Watson”. Other than the title, there is nothing there. Nothing. Cut to him talking with a therapist. “John, you’re a soldier. And writing a blog about everything that happens to you will honestly help you.” “Nothing happens to me.” Cue the music. And btw the title sequence for SHERLOCK is one of my favorite ever – just amazing.

Interspersed with scenes of various individuals (apparently) killing themselves, we see a police press conference where the reporters and police all receive texts telling them that they’re wrong.

This is our first clue that this retelling of the Sherlock Holmes stories will truly be a modern one. Instead of just updating costumes and locations, this show changes specific things (use of text messages, tabloids, TV reports) within the Holmes stories to make it contemporary. Yet the show still manages to remain true to the original stories.

We next see John (played by Martin Freeman of The Hobbit, The End of the World) as he (fortuitously) meets up with a friend from school. The friend then introduces him to another man who, like John, is looking for a roommate. And thus we are introduced to Benedict Cumberbatch’s (The Hobbit, Star Trek, 12 Years a Slave), Sherlock Holmes, “21st century London’s go-to consulting detective”. Holmes looks downright psychotic as he beats a dead body with a riding crop. The meeting between Sherlock and John is classic Conan Doyle as, by way of a greeting, Sherlock asks John “Afghanistan or Iraq?” They meet to see the apartment and, after Mrs. Hudson describes John as “the sitting down type”, John joins Sherlock as he investigates four duplicate “suicides”.

Sherlock: “Seen a lot of injuries? Violent deaths?” John: “Of course. Yes. Enough for a lifetime, far too much.”
Sherlock: “Want to see some more?” John: “Oh, God, yes.”

Cue the music again. They’re off to solve the crimes (Spoiler alert: they solve it). John is a bit amazed about Sherlock’s skill at deductions and thus we get this brilliant exchange in the back of a taxi.

Sherlock: Okay, you’ve got questions…When I met you for the first time yesterday, I said “Afghanistan or Iraq?” You looked surprised. John: Yes. How did you know? Sherlock: I didn’t know, I saw. Your haircut, the way you hold yourself, says military. But your conversation as you entered the room said trained at Bart’s, so army doctor. Obvious. Your face is tanned, but no tan above the wrists: you’ve been abroad but not sunbathing. The limp’s really bad when you walk, but you don’t ask for a chair when you stand, like you’ve forgotten about it, so it’s at least partly psychosomatic. That says the original circumstances of the injury were probably traumatic: wounded in action, then. Wounded in action, suntan: Afghanistan or Iraq.

John: You said I had a therapist.Sherlock: You’ve got a psychosomatic limp. Of course you’ve got a therapist. Then there’s your brother. Your phone—it’s expensive, email enabled, MP3 player. But you’re looking for a flat-share, you wouldn’t waste money on this. It’s a gift, then. Scratches—not one, many over time. It’s been in the same pocket as keys and coins. The man sitting next to me wouldn’t treat his one luxury item like this, so it’s had a previous owner. The next bit’s easy, you know it already. [the back of the phone has been engraved “Harry Watson — from Clara xxx”]

John: The engraving? Sherlock: Harry Watson: clearly a family member who’s given you his old phone. Not your father, this is a young man’s gadget. Could be a cousin, but you’re a war hero who can’t find a place to live. Unlikely you’ve got an extended family, certainly not one you’re close to, so brother it is. Now, Clara: who’s Clara? Three kisses says a romantic attachment. Expensive phone says wife, not girlfriend. Must’ve given it to him recently; this model’s only six months old. Marriage in trouble, then—six months on, and already he’s giving it away? If she’d left him, he would’ve kept it. People do, sentiment. But no, he wanted rid of it—he left her. He gave the phone to you, that says he wants you to stay in touch. [beat] You’re looking for cheap accommodation and you’re not going to your brother for help? That says you’ve got problems with him. Maybe you liked his wife, maybe you don’t like his drinking.

John: How can you possibly know about the drinking? Sherlock: Shot in the dark. Good one, though. Power connection: tiny little scuff marks around the edge. Every night he goes to plug it in and charge but his hands are shaky. You never see those marks on a sober man’s phone, never see a drunk’s without them.

John: [slowly] That was amazing. Sherlock: [deadpan] You think so? John: Of course it was. It was extraordinary. It was quite… extraordinary. Sherlock: That’s not what people normally say. John: What do people normally say? Sherlock: “Piss off!“

So who are the brilliant minds behind SHERLOCK? The same ones currently responsible for Doctor Who. While working on Doctor Who, Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat would ride the train to work together. They would discuss how much they enjoyed the Sherlock Holmes books and would love to see a modern retelling of them. Eventually they decided that they would be the tellers and thus SHERLOCK was born.

Steven and I were on many, many trains to Cardiff for Doctor Who and we always seemed to end up talking about how much we love Sherlock Holmes. We eventually danced around the shameful admission that our favorite versions are still the Basil Rathbone movies, particularly the ones in the forties when they brought it up to date and battled the Nazis and stuff like that. They seemed to have more of the flavor of the original stories than a lot of more careful recreations. That’s not to say those ones aren’t brilliant, because they are and everyone has a different favorite Sherlock Holmes, just like they have a favorite Doctor. We thought ‘Why don’t we just do it now?’ That immediately means it doesn’t become about the trappings – the hansom cabs and the fog and Jack the Ripper and the clothes – it becomes about the characters.

Read more here.

Why do I love SHERLOCK so much? First of all, the original stories are great. To this you add the genius of Doctor Who’s Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat. The writing is witty and fast paced. It’s funny but not in a sitcom kind of way. You actually have to pay attention to “get it”. Like he does on Doctor Who, Moffat loves to drop little clues early on that we barely notice. Then when he comes back to the (now no so little) clues, we’re amazed that we missed it. The cast is amazeballs! Mark Gatiss himself plays Sherlock’s brother (and self professed arch enemy) Mycroft Holmes. Rupert Graves (Doctor Who, The White Queen) is “the long suffering” Detective Inspector Lestrade. The adorable Una Stubbs ( is their landlady (not their housekeeper:) Mrs. Hudson. Other cast members in this episode include: Louise Brealey (as Molly Hooper),Vinette Robinson (Sgt. Sally Donovan), and Jonathan Aris (Anderson). Later in the series, we get to see Andrew Scott as Moriarty and…..well that is going to have to be a separate post.

So is it just me? Am I the only one obsessed with this series? I’d have to say, um, no.

SHERLOCK has been nominated for many awards (BAFTAs, Emmys, Golden Globe) and has won quite a few. At the 2011 BAFTA awards, the show as a whole won the award for Best Drama Series. Martin Freeman and Andrew Scott were both nominated for Best Supporting Actor with Freeman winning the award. Benedict Cumberbatch was nominated for Best Actor. In 2014, SHERLOCK received the most number of wins at the 66th Primetime Emmy Awards including Outstanding Writing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Dramatic Special for Steven Moffat, Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie for Benedict Cumberbatch, and Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie for Martin Freeman. In 2011, the show also won a Peabody Award.

Steven Moffat

SHERLOCK is the UK’s most watched TV series since 2001. It has quite an extensive and, uh, enthusiastic fandom. Witness: this, this, this, this. If you’re looking for more rational info, try this, this, this,…..actually you know what? Just google Sherlock and fans or fandom or any variation of the word “fanatic” and you’ll see what I mean. You can also check out some of their videos but, I WARN YOU, be careful going down that rabbit hole. We may never see you again. Seriously. But if you’re feeling brave, here you go.

Basically – See? It’s not just me. In fact, Sherlock has spawned a bit of a cultural movement.

You can find Sherlock at most libraries, online, Netflix, Vudu. More in depth information can be found here. And in case you’re wondering about an ETA for Series 4, you can find news (and by “news” I really mean rumors) here, here, here.

Doctor Who. Fan. Orchestra.

Wait, what? By themselves, those are three separate things that I understand completely. But put them together and….wait, what?  Well apparently the Doctor Who Fan Orchestra is indeed a thing. And it is glorious.

“One gloomy evening in early 2011, in Surrey, England, I was tinkering away in Sibelius on an arrangement of “I Am The Doctor”, the Eleventh Doctor’s theme, when a particularly crazy idea struck me. I knew that Murray’s music meant an awful lot to an awful lot of people, and I reasoned that, probably, among those fans, a lot would be musicians themselves. And that they’d give anything to be able to play music from Doctor Who. Wouldn’t it be great, I thought, if we could somehow play the music all together?”…….Stephen Willis

And thus the idea for Doctor Who Fan Orchestra was born. Inspired by Murray Gold’s music for Doctor Who and the YouTube Symphony Orchestra, founder Stephen Willis, a musician and Whovian, posted on Gallifrey Base, a DW fan forum. The idea was that Willis would send the participants sheet music for their part, a click track and other materials. Participants then independently rehearse for a few months. Each person then records his/her portion and sends it back to Willis. Some, but not all, also record a video of that performance. Willis then compiles the various performances into the master track.

The first performance was “I Am The Doctor” and was published on YouTube July 10, 2011. There were 36 people. For the fifth performance, “The Impossible Astronaut (Suite)”, Willis had to put a cap on maximum number of participants – at 600. Members of DWFO “range in age from 10 to 80 and are located in at least 25 different countries.”

The performance are all available on YouTube and are:

“I Am The Doctor”

“This Is Gallifrey/Vale Decem”

“Rose’s Theme/Doomsday”

“Dalek Suite”

“The Impossible Astronaut (Suite)”

“A Christmas Carol (Suite)”

“Amy’s Suite”

“50^th Anniversary Suite”

DWFO: About the Doctor Who Fan Orchestra

DWFO also has a blog, though it doesn’t seem to be updated much. DWFO also inspired another collaborative orchestra – the Sherlock Fan Orchestra. And you can bet I’ll be checking that one out asap.

Do yourself a favor and check out the performances on YouTube. DWFO is truly a beautiful thing.

Lost in Austen

“Lost in Austen“, a TV miniseries from 2008 starring Jemima Rooper, really tests your ability to ignore reality and buy into a premise. But if you manage to do so, you will probably enjoy this cute little movie about Jane Austen. Well it’s not actually about Jane Austen, it’s more about a Jane Austen fanatic. Either way, it’s enjoyable.

Amanda, an ardent Jane Austen fan, lives in present day London with her boyfriend Michael, until she finds she’s swapped places with Austen’s fictional creation Elizabeth Bennet.

It is a truth generally acknowledged that we are all longing to escape. I escape always to my favorite book, Pride and Prejudice. I’ve read it so many times now, the words just say themselves in my head, and it’s like a window opening. It’s like I’m actually there. It’s become a place I know so intimately. I can see that world. I can touch it. I can see Darcy.

And so begins “Lost in Austen”, starring Jemima Rooper as Jane Austen fan Amanda Price. She is bored with her life and escapes into Austen, especially Pride and Prejudice.

I have no right to complain about my life. I mean, it’s the same for everybody. I do what we all do. I take it on the chin and patch myself up with Jane Austen. I know I sound like a terrible loser. I do actually have a boyfriend. Sometimes I’d rather stay in with Elizabeth Bennet.

And stay in she does, drinking wine and reading P&P, until her boyfriend comes by, drunkenly proposes (with a beer tab) and then passes out on her sofa.

She tries to explain her love of Austen to her mother, “I love the love story. I love Elizabeth. I love the manners, and and the language and the courtesy. It’s become part of who I am and what I want. I’m saying, mum, that I have standards.”

Amanda hears some noises coming from her bathroom and discovers a stranger in her bathtub. The stranger introduces herself as Elizabeth Bennet – and then promptly disappears. She later finds Elizabeth Bennet (played by Gemma Arterton) turning her bathroom light on and off. “You see, I am a real person and you are a pretend person…You are a character in a book.” But then she is curious enough to go through the little door in her bathroom….which leads to the upstairs of a house. The door of course closes behind her and she can’t get back to her own apartment. And thus Amanda Price is suddenly a guest in the Bennet household.

This movie is quite entertaining, provided you buy into the premise. If you can suspend your doubt for a bit, you’ll enjoy Hugh Bonneville, who plays Robert Crawley, Earl of Grantham on Downton Abbey as well as Captain Avery in Doctor Who. Bonneville portrays Mr. Bennet. Mrs. Bennet is played by the amazing Alex Kingston (River Song of Doctor Who).

Mr. Bennet: Large gatherings of society bring me out in hives. As do small gatherings.

Bonneville as Mr. Bennet

Kingston as Mrs. Bennet

We also meet Mr. Bingley who apparently is a “pleasant enough fellow, not strong on brains” as well as the other Bennet daughters, Jane, Lydia, Kitty and the (predictably) bespectacled Mary. The portrayal of the Bennet daughters is spot on – each one looks exactly how I think she should. And that’s all that really matters, isn’t it?  Tom Mison who portrays Mr. Bingley is also quite accurate.

Elliot Cowan, who plays Mr. Darcy, looks the part and has all the arrogance we’d expect. Mrs. Bingley does not take to the new girl as she is taking attention away from her daughters, who she needs to marry off. And because Elizabeth Bennet is not present, she cannot meet Mr. Darcy, which of course ruins all the events of the novel.

Arterton, Rooper and Cowan as Elizabeth, Amanda and Darcy

One of my favorite actresses, Lindsay Duncan, plays Lady Catherine de Bourgh, one of my favorite characters ever. Lindsay Duncan has been in: Doctor Who as Adelaide Brooke, in Mansfield Price as Lady Bertram and Mrs. Price and in Sherlock as Lady Smallwood. In 2009, she was appointed CBE (Commander of the British Empire) for services to drama.

Duncan as Lady Catherine

I won’t tell you any more of the plot. You’ll have to watch the movie yourself. I will share some of the lines I found enjoyable. If you can imagine a 21st century woman immersed in Pride and Prejudice, you will realize that there are many options for laughs.

Amanda Price: I’d quite like to clean my teeth. Is that possible?
Jane: Of course. The instruments are already before you. See, I brought birch twigs, powdered salt and a fresh block of chalk.
Amanda: Right. Thank you. Splendid.

Kitty: Do you have a Psalter, Miss Price?
Amanda Price: Is that like a picnic thing for seasoning sandwiches?
Kitty: More for the recitation of psalms.

If you’re a fan of Jane Austen, you should definitely give this miniseries a try. If you’re not (yet), well what’s wrong with you? If you do watch Lost in Austen, please let me know what you thought.

The Bletchley Circle, part deux

Hey kids, let’s get the band back together!

No one in Season Two of The Bletchley Circle actually utters these words but if they did, it would be fitting.

This image is NOT from The Bletchley Circle.

Season Two, Episode One is titled “Blood on their Hands Part 1 and Part 2”. It opens back at Bletchley Park during WWII. It’s 1943 and we see a newcomer, Alice Merren (played by Hattie Morahan who played Elinor in Sense and Sensibility which I wrote about here) solving a problem with a code.

You can build the most perfectly complicated machine in the world, but it’ll still be run by people. People love shortcuts.

Hattie Morahan as Alice Merren

Next we see her kiss John Richards (played by Paul McGann, Doctor Who’s Eighth doctor), a scientist at Bletchley, after he explains that he has been reassigned. He can’t tell her where he’s going and it seems that this is the end of whatever their relationship is. Our old buddy Jean McBrian (Julie Graham) witnesses the kiss but says nothing.

Paul McGann as John Richards

Jump to 1953 London (which takes place after the happenings of Season One which I wrote about here)….
First we witness Alice calling the police, handling a gun and then a dead John Richards. We learn that Jean has been attempting to contact Alice but the letters have all been returned. Alice has now been arrested for Richards’ murder but when Jean visits her, Alice has no interest in discussing her case.

Jean decides she’s going to get her crime solving team back together, whether they (or Alice) want it or not. We find that Lucy (Sophie Rundle) is now working for Scotland Yard, though only as “clerical support officer”. She seems to be learning a lot of useful skills though like picking locks and how to search rooms. Millie (Rachael Stirling) is currently at a translation post and Susan (Anna Maxwell Martin) is currently researching boarding schools for her children. Thus far though, she hasn’t found one that lives up to her “standards”. Susan learns that her husband, Timothy (Mark Dexter) has been offered a foreign post but won’t accept unless she approves.

Although Alice doesn’t want any help from them, Jean is the driving force this time for the group’s crime solving activities. Susan is suffering from some PTSD type symptoms from last season. She balks at getting involved again despite Jean’s pleas.

Susan, you’re good at this type of thing. We need you.
Other people need me more.

As expected, they quickly get to the bottom of the mystery but learn that what they thought was a case of one woman (Alice) taking the blame for someone else (new character Elizabeth “Lizzie”) is actually a vast military conspiracy related to sarin and highly questionable experiments. Lizzie is played by the brilliant Faye Marsay of The White Queen miniseries which I wrote about here.

Faye Marsay as Elizabeth “Lizzie” Lancaster

Like Season One, I recommend Season Two of The Bletchley Circle. Like the previous season, these first two episodes are highly focused on the six women – Jean, Millie, Lucy, Susan, Alice and Lizzie. The “bad guy”(played by Paul Ritter) has a very small part. Timothy is important only as Susan’s husband and how his behavior and plans for his career affect her. It focuses on: Susan’s ability to deal with her life after the prior traumatic events and her relationship with her husband; Jean’s stubbornness in helping Alice and Alice’s reasons for not wanting that help; the relationship between Alice and Lizzie and how it led to Alice being sentenced to hang.

One month after they solve the case, one group member is recovering from a bullet wound, Susan’s life is about to change and it looks like Alice will be the “new Susan”.

Episodes three and four are called “Uncustomed Goods Part 1 and Part 2”. Alice is now unable to get a job because of her past. Although she continues to remind prospective employers that she was found innocent, the fact that she was in the news works against her.

Lizzie is living with Alice though she is away during the week, studying at a teachers’ school (ironically at Bletchley Park which is now a college). Millie, who lost her job in the first two episodes of this season, is now working the black market to pay bills. Something goes wrong with her partner and his supplier and Millie is kidnapped.

The other three ladies (Jean, Lucy and Alice) organize a search for her when the police don’t believe she is in danger. Once Millie is free, the four of the women work to bring down the head of the organization that kidnapped Millie and killed her partner. These episodes also show up the growth and strengthening of Alice and Lizzie’s relationship.

Unfortunately episodes three and four from Season Two are not as strong as episodes one and two. Faye Marsay (who plays Lizzie) is a wonderful actress and she is given little to do in the later episodes. Julie Graham, as Jean, is strong this entire season as is Rachael Stirling as Millie. I have no complaint about Sophie Rundle’s portrayal of Lucy. It just seems that Lucy’s skills (eidetic memory) are not emphasized as much in Season Two. The loss of Anna Maxwell Martin’s Susan is definitely felt in episodes three and four. While Hattie Morahan’s Alice is strong, her approach is more common sense based than Susan’s impressive cognitive skills. I still recommend The Bletchley Circle, Season Two with the caveat that, in this case, the sequel isn’t as strong as the original.

The DVD for Season Two includes some cast interviews as well as interviews with writers, producers and one woman who was at the real Bletchley Park. Audrey Wind, who was a worker at Bletchley, explained how the strict security impacted the lives of the workers even many years after the war. During the war, “they told us there would be no advancement because they didn’t let anyone out for security reasons”. Their bosses emphasized that “lives depend upon you breaking these codes”. Because they had signed the Official Secrets Act, after the war the women were not allowed to tell anyone what they did during the war. “For 30 years after the war we were sworn to secrecy so nobody could say a thing”. Said writer Guy Burt a “generation of people who had been astonishing and had done wonderful things had then faded from view and really weren’t recognized by their families, by the government, by anybody.” He also explains how the show emphasized the shifting allegiances of the post-WWII world. During the war, the Russians were allies but afterwards were the enemy. The Germans were exactly the opposite. This is referenced when Millie talks about her job as a translator for the German diplomatic ministry in Episodes one and two. Both seasons of the Bletchley Circle were shown on ITV in the United Kingdom and PBS in the States.

I encourage everyone to learn about the “real” Bletchley Park. The official home of Bletchley Park is at www.bletchleypark.org.uk. Any research should start there. More information about the real Bletchley Park can be found here. Bletchley Park is now a museum and you can find info about it here and here. For more info about the women of Bletchley Park go here. A movie, starring Benedict Cumberbatch, about Bletchley Park alum Alan Turing will be released in October 2014.

My black sheep grandpa: or how NOT to win friends and influence people

“A family without a black sheep is not a typical family.”
– Heinrich Böll

Let me introduce you to ONE of the black sheep in my (apparently) typical family: my 20th great grandfather, Piers Gaveston. Because of Piers Gaveston (also written as Piers de Gaveston), I briefly thought I was descended from royalty. Alas, I am actually descended from the illegitimate daughter of a man who married a woman who was descended from royalty. Not quite the same thing, is it? My disappointment was tempered when I learned that the black sheep is often much more interesting that lighter colored sheep.

So who was Piers Gaveston? My 20th great grandfather (through my maternal great grandmother Vera Nelson) led quite an eventful life. Born in the Gascony region of France around 1284, Piers was the son of Arnaud de Gabaston, “a Gascon knight in the service of Gaston VII of Bearn” who became a “vassal” of King Edward I of England.

Edward I, King of England

Edward I (nicknamed Longshanks because he was so tall) was also the Duke of Aquitaine. Because of his service, Arnaud was known to Edward I who also became familiar with Piers, who apparently impressed the King. Around 1300, Piers and his brother sailed to England. Piers was assigned to the house of Prince Edward (later Edward II) because “The King was apparently impressed by Gaveston’s conduct and martial skills, and wanted him to serve as a model for his son.” The two boys were said to be as close as brothers (though later they were said to be close in a totally different way). At various times when King Edward I and (future king) Edward II quarreled (as family is wont to do), Piers was often caught in the middle.

Edward II, King of England

Piers de Gaveston was exiled from England numerous times. The first exile was in 1305 when Edward I exiled Piers to punish his son, the Prince. The King was unhappy with the favoritism shown by the Prince towards Piers. This exile was quite short however. Edward I fell ill and died in July of 1305. Almost immediately the new King, Edward II, ordered Piers to return.

After Edward I’s death, Edward II succeeded to the throne and made Piers the Earl of Cornwall. Piers was now a member of the peerage. This didn’t sit well with the other peers since Piers came from relatively humble origins. In addition, a marriage was arranged between Piers and Margaret de Clare, granddaughter of the late king and Edward II’s niece. They had one child, Joan (who I am not descended from).

Coat of Arms of Piers Gaveston as Earl of Cornwall

The earldom of Cornwall was normally meant for members of the royal family and it gave Piers Gaveston “substantial landholdings” in England including “most of Cornwall, “parts of Devonshire”, “land in Berkshire and Oxfordshire”, “most of the eastern part of Lincolnshire”. These lands, along with his marriage to Margaret de Clare, placed Piers Gaveston “among the highest levels of the English nobility”. Edward II’s favoritism towards Piers was not popular. Also it seems that Piers was more than a little arrogant which didn’t help. When Edward II left the country to get married, he left Piers Gaveston as regent to rule in his place, something that normally went to family members.

In April of 1308, parliament passed the “Declaration of 1308” that demanded Piers be again sent away. The king had little choice but to comply. Piers was threatened with excommunication if he did not leave England. Edward II sent him away but appointed him his Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, which was primarily a military post. Piers had “considerable success” dealing with “insurgents” in Ireland. Edward II worked to smooth over hurt feelings and get Piers back in England. Finally in 1309, Piers was able to return to England. His earldom of Cornwall was reinstated but he did not make an effort to get along with his critics. If anything, he seems to have gotten more arrogant, famously giving many of the peers “mocking nicknames”. He also worked to get land and money for his friends. In February 1310 “a number of earls refused to attend parliament” if Piers would be there.

In an attempt to silence Piers’ enemies, Edward II decided to travel to Scotland, taking Piers along, in order to militarily deal with the “Scottish situation”. They were unable to make any progress and in July 1311, Edward II left for England leaving Piers Gaveston as “Lieutenant of Scotland”. Other peers demanded the King exile Piers yet again and he was forced to comply. It is unclear where Piers spent what would be his last exile from England. He returned around the end of 1311, likely for the birth of his (legitimate) daughter Joan. Upon Piers’ return Edward II restored his lands and titles. Piers was excommunicated and settled at Scarborough. The earls of Pembroke and Warwick attacked Scarborough Castle and despite Piers’ attempt to fortify his castle, Piers was forced to surrender. An agreement was reached with Pembroke that guaranteed Piers’ safety. Unfortunately for Piers, Pembroke took him to another location and left him there. When the Earl of Warwick found out, he seized Piers and took him prisoner.

Ear of Warwick stands over beheaded body of Piers Gaveston

After a sham of a trial at Warwick, Piers Gaveston was sentenced to death, taken to Blacklow Hill where he was run through with a sword and beheaded. His execution took place on June 19, 1312 near Warwick, Warwickshire. His body was left in the road until a group of friars took it to Oxford. He could not receive a proper Christian burial until his excommunication was overturned. Finally in early January 1315, Edward II was able to get a papal absolution and Piers was buried in a Dominican friary at King’s Langley in Hertfordshire. A cross was erected in 1823 at the location of his execution.

Gaveston’s monument

Inscription

Richard Cavendish said in History Today said, of Piers, “King Edward II’s favourite flew too high and paid the penalty”. So were Edward II and Piers simply very close friends or were they something more? Later reports claim that Edward II and Piers were lovers, although accounts from that time don’t mention this possibility as a reason for Piers’ unpopularity. Instead it seems that his arrogance, his greed and Edward II’s favoritism were the cause of the hatred towards Piers. Both Edward II and Piers had children with their wives and mistresses but that doesn’t prove they weren’t lovers. Later portrayals in fiction portray them as lovers including Christopher Marlowe’s play “Edward II”. More info about their relationship can be found here. In the end, for me, it doesn’t really matter what the exact nature of their relationship was. It is clear that Piers was not a popular man.

The above portrait is from Shakespeare and History and can be viewed here.

In addition to the one legitimate daughter, Joan, born of Piers’ wife Margaret de Claire, Piers had a least one other child: a daughter named Amie. It is unclear who her mother was but when Amie married John de Driby in the 1330s, she was identified as the daughter of Piers Gaveston. Amie (also Amy de Gaveston) was a “damsel” in the household of Queen Philippa, the wife of Edward III. Like her mother’s name, Amie’s birth date is not known, though it is likely that she was born sometime between 1310 and 1320. With the exception of royalty, it is not surprising when dates of birth from this time period are unknown.

Piers’ daughter Joan died at age thirteen and she did not have any children. Amie and John de Driby, however, had a daughter Alice, who had a daughter Clementia, who had a son Thomas, who had a daughter Agnes, who had a son Thomas, who had a son Humphrey, who had a son John, who had a son John, who had a son Job, who had a son Job Jr., who had a daughter Mary, who had a son Anthony, who had a son Jasper, who had a son Abner, who had a son Truman, who had a son Edward, who had a daughter Ella, who had a daughter Vera, who had a daughter Phyllis, who had a daughter Janet, who had a daughter me. Easy peasy, right?

So back to Grandpa Piers. He certainly got a lot of bad press, both while alive and after his death. Many blamed him for the problems of Edward II’s reign. Some were forced to admit that he did have his positives. The Irish were “appreciative both of his military and his administrative skills during his period in Ireland”. He seems to have been physically gifted and strong with military subjects. But no one would ever describe him as a “people pleaser”. Modern portrayals generally take the rumors of homosexuality at face value and depict him and Edward II as lovers. There is a memorial to Piers Gaveston near the place where he was executed. Oxford University even has a “dining and drinking club” called the Piers Gaveston Society and Hugh Grant is one of the more famous former members.

More info about Piers can be found at: this blog dedicated to Piers Gaveston; History Today here; this blog about Edward II; here at History House; and many other places online and in your library. Just Google Piers Gaveston and take your pick of info.

Bletchley Circle – Season One

PBS’s The Bletchley Circle Season 1 takes place in 1952, when four women who worked at the wartime code-breaking center, Bletchley Park, reunite to track down a serial killer.

With an extraordinary flair for code breaking and razor-sharp intelligence skills, four seemingly ordinary women become the unlikely investigators of a string of grisly murders in this original thriller, set against the backdrop of post-war London.

The four main characters are:

Susan (played by Anna Maxwell Martin who was Jane Austen’s sister Cassandra in “Becoming Jane” and Elizabeth Darcy in “Death Comes to Pemberley”) is the mathematical genius who is a whiz at patterns, statistics and puzzles. She is also a married woman with two young children.

Anna Maxwell Martin in The Bletchley Circle

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Millie (portrayed by Rachael Stirling who played Ada in the Doctor Who episode “The Crimson Horror” with her mother Diana Rigg) is bohemian, streetwise and adventurous – and Susan’s best friend.

Rachael Stirling in The Bletchley Circle

Dame Diana Rigg and daughter Rachael Stirling in the Doctor Who episode “The Crimson Horror”

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Lucy (played by Sophie Rundle from Call the Midwife and Episodes, where she played Matt Le Blanc’s stalker) has an idetic memory with photographic memory and recall. She is also the youngest and most naïve of the four women.

Sophie Rundle

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Jean (portrayed by Julie Graham who played a villainous alien on an episode of the Sarah Jane Adventures) is organizer who has access to everyone and everything. She is described as “the moral center” of the four women.

Julie Gardner in The Bletchley Circle

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The first episode opens during WWII. It’s 1943 and we meet four women (Susan, Millie, Lucy, and Jean) who are working at the top secret Bletchley Park. As Susan is working on a message, she notices a strange pattern. After discussing it with Millie, Lucy and Jean, they work out what seems to be an important aspect of a code. After taking it to their supervisors, Susan learns that they were correct. Their breakthrough changes troop movements and saves Allied lives. The process they use to solve this problem shows us just how intelligent these women are and how important the workers at Bletchley Park were.

The show then jumps to nine years later. Susan, now a married housewife with two children, is following the news of a string of murdered women. She thinks she sees a pattern but when she offers help to the police, she is rebuffed. Eventually they take some of her advice but when the police fail to find any physical evidence, they give up. Susan is sure she can help solve the murders and looks up her old friend Millie. They enlist their former co-workers Lucy and Jean. Although reluctant at first, all four realize that they can help save the lives of women. So when another girl goes missing, they get organized and start working to solve this whodunit.

The show is a combination murder mystery and social drama with strong women leads. It does a great job of portraying the gender roles of the time and how these intelligent women, who helped win the war, were displaced afterwards. It is clear that the male officials find it impossible that these women would be able to help them, let alone solve the crimes. With the exception of Steven Robertson (who plays a super creepy bad guy), the male actors are relegated to the types of roles women often get, i.e., “the husband”, “the co-worker” etc.

I’m really looking forward to getting Season 2 as it adds two actresses I really enjoy: Hattie Morahan who played Elinor Dashwood in Sense and Sensibility (which I wrote about here) and Faye Marsay who was Anne Neville in The White Queen (which I wrote about here). I’ll be sure to review Season 2 as soon as I watch it.

For more info about Bletchley park, go here: Bletchley Park Research