Masterpiece BBC miniseries fans are raving is ‘better than the book’ | Films | Entertainment

A masterpiece period drama has been dubbed ‘better than the book’ by fans. North & South is a television historical drama, produced by the BBC and originally broadcast in four episodes in late 2004.

The serial is based on the 1855 Victorian novel North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell and takes place in the years surrounding the Great Exhibition of 1851.

Along with Wives and Daughters (1866) and Cranford (1853), it is one of Gaskell’s best-known novels and was adapted for television three times (1966, 1975 and 2004). It follows the story of Margaret Hale (Daniela Denby-Ashe), a young woman from southern England who has to move to the fictional town of Milton in the North after her father decides to leave the clergy.

The family struggles to adjust itself to the industrial town’s customs, especially after meeting the Thorntons, a proud nouveau riche family of cotton mill owners who at first seem to despise their social inferiors. The story explores the issues of class and gender, as Margaret’s sympathy for the town mill workers clashes with her growing attraction to John Thornton (Richard Armitage).

At first, Gaskell wanted the novel to be titled after the heroine, Margaret Hale, but Charles Dickens, the editor of Household Words, the magazine in which the novel was serialised, insisted on North and South.

As the BBC had low expectations for the series, it was not well publicised and went almost unnoticed by critics. Audiences, however, were more receptive. Hours after the first episode aired in November 2004, the message board of the programme’s website crashed because of the number of visitors the site was receiving, forcing host the BBC to shut it down.

This sudden interest on the serial was attributed to Richard Armitage, a relatively unknown actor, whose portrayal of the emotionally restrained John Thornton drew parallels with Colin Firth’s portrayal of Fitzwilliam Darcy.

Armitage himself has said that the series was a success because of the “industrial landscape and the attention [it gives] to the working classes”.

North & South was later voted “Best Drama” in the BBC drama website’s annual poll in 2004. Richard Armitage was voted “Most Desirable Drama Star” and “Best Actor”, Daniela Denby-Ashe was voted “Best Actress” and three different scenes were voted as the year’s “Favourite Moments”, with the final scene winning the number one spot.

The series has a 90% score on Rotten Tomatoes and 85% on IMDb. One reviewer said: “It’s easily watchable in one sitting. To me, this miniseries is a notable example of a show being better than the book it’s based on. I enjoyed the book, but I LOVED the show!”

Another said: “Spectacular leads: both prickly, impressive characters that are totally worthy of love, and earn one another’s admiration the hard way. Also just beautifully filmed, and a really great depiction of class, industrialisation, and humanity at its best and worst.

“This all seems a little hyperbolic, but it is a damn great adaptation, and (whispers) even better than the BBC’s legendary Pride and Prejudice.”