Elizabeth Gaskell Movies: It's a Good Thing

Or a more appropriate title would be: Elizabeth Gaskell novels adapted into movies by the BBC: It's a Good Thing.

This post is for all you Jane Austen lovers out there, for I know there's a lot of you. If you don't like Jane Austen, her books, the movies, or that time period in British history, you might as well tune out now. But if you're a fan, then let me tell you about North and South and Wives and Daughters, two of the greatest kept secrets of BBC movie watching.

Elizabeth Gaskell was a British author that wrote just shortly after Jane Austen. Her books are pretty good, but man, did the BBC do an awesome job with the movies!

North and South (my favorite by a fraction) tells the story of Margaret Hale, a young woman from the south of England whose family is forced to move up north, to a harsher, colder climate and to people who, initially, Margaret feels are the same way. Of course there's a love interest, Mr. John Thornton, who owns one of the local mills and epitomizes everything Margaret dislikes about the North. The ending is absolutely FABULOUS! Much more fulfilling that the very last scene of Pride and Prejudice where you barely see Elizabeth and Darcy kiss. Super romantic and simply well done. It's about 3 and 1/2 hours, so about half the length of Pride and Prejudice.

Wives and Daughters tells the story of Molly Gibson, the daughter of a widowed doctor. It is, of course, a love story, but one that takes time to develop. Mr. Gibson decides to remarry after many, many years, so Molly has to deal with a new step-mother and a step-sister. The love story involves Molly and Roger Hamley, who initially thinks of her as a sister and only later does he look at her as a romantic prospect.

Either one you choose, you can't go wrong. They are both fun to watch and oh so romantic. So if you're tracking down some good movies to watch over the Thanksgiving holidays next week, I HIGHLY recommend these two. Happy movie watching!