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I have just heard some very exciting news for fans of British television. Are you a fan? I have been one for as long as I can remember! A lovely reader from England has written me that a new five- part television series called "Parade's End" starring Benedict Cumberbatch has just begun to air in England. This new mini-series is scheduled to begin here at the end of the year. It is based on Ford Maddox Ford's quartet of novels "Parade's End" about Britons during the First World War. Adapted for television by playwright Tom Stoppard, who has also written the screenplay for the upcoming film "Anna Karenina" (can't wait!), it has an incredible cast which includes Rebecca Hall, Rupert Everett, Miranda Richardson, and Janet McTeer. Here are some of the luscious images from this new Edwardian mini-series. It looks gorgeous with its English countryside setting and grand country houses; it just may ease our impatience while we wait for "Downton Abbey" to return.
After a little research I learned the following about the story: Benedict Cumberbatch plays Christopher Tietjens, a government statistician from a wealthy family who is serving in the British army during World War I. While he is away at war his socialite wife Sylvia, played by Rebecca Hall (above), is a deeply flawed character who seems intent on ruining her husband. The other main character is a woman with whom Tietjens is in love, a young suffragette named Valentine played by actress Adelaide Clemens. "Parade's End" is a love story set during the Great War as well as a portrait of British society before, during, and after the war. It sounds promising. While waiting for this series to begin, I would love to read the novels by Ford Maddox Ford on which it is based.
By the way, are you a fan of Benedict Cumberbatch? I think he is one of the most fascinating actors to watch and loved him in the recent series "Sherlock" on Masterpiece Mystery. I wrote about it here. Cumberbatch gave a fabulous performance as Sherlock Holmes which he delivered with humor and intelligence. I can't wait to see what he does in this new mini-series currently airing in England.
