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.
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