Give me your favourite period drama adaptations

[PicklingGherkins]

I have a rare day to myself. I usually fall upon Pride & Prejudice (BBC Jennifer Ehle version). I remember liking the BBC version of Vanity Fair and Wives and Daughters but haven't seen them since they first aired. Any other ideas or should I resign myself to an afternoon of wine and Colin Firth (there is no right or wrong here)

God god. Have just binged North and South. Phwoarbloodyphwoar. Never realised what a scorcher Thorin Oakenshield was as a lad.

I came on to say Pride and Prejudice with Colin Firth and the movie with Keira Knightley- tho I know MN hates Keira Knightley!

Some very good recommendations here, I checked BBC iPlayer and it wasnt on so ended up buying the DVD of eBay.

North and South sounds good too!

Just remembered I Capture the Castle with Romola Garai. Not as good as the book, but still enjoyable. Henry Cavill before he was Superman.

The first version of The Forsyte Saga. Eric Porter was utterly brilliant as Soames.

Ohh SO has to be Amanda Root and Ciaran Hinds in Persuasion. Nothing comes close to that...

Fun fact - none of the actors wore make up to ensure a more "authentic" look for the time period. :)

As someone has already mentioned the Shakespeare Retold version of The Taming of the Shrew, can I also put a vote in for their version of Much Ado About Nothing. Damian Lewis, Sarah Parish & Billie Piper (the exercise ball scene actually made me cry laughing). Not sure if it streams anywhere but he whole series is on DVD for less than a tenner.

Well I fell into the familiar and am now 5/6th the way through pride and prejudice. I've ordered persuasion on DVD for next weekend as a starter but have made a list of all of your recommendations for the future. Thank you all so much for the inspiration. I appreciate you taking the time to share.

//plans maternity leave viewing

I noticed that P&P (there is only the Firth/Ehle version, in my mind) is on the iPlayer at the moment. Emma Thompson’s Sense and Sensibility, obviously, where everyone is amazing (but I now get sad about Alan stockman), the Ruth Wilson Jane Eyre and North and South are usually my go to lists.

@EyeDrops - I was going to say Barchester Chronicles too - you can't beat a young Alan Rickman as Mr Slope.

A friend of mine decided that all television after that wasn't worth watching!

Agree with Jane Eyre with Toby Stephens and Ruth Wilson. I also liked Our Mutual Friend with Steven McIntosh

And just remembered Oliver Twist with Marc Warren, Michele Kitchen and Robert Lindsay.

BBC's Vanity Fair with Natasha Little as Becky Sharp is probably my favourite along with The Crimson and The White, also a BBC adaptation with Romola Garai and Gilian Anderson.

As for Jane Eyre, it will always be the 1940s version with Joan Fontaine and Orson Wells. Wells is the best Rochester by Far.

Tess of the D'Ubervilles, both the BBC version and the Polanski film. Both Emma's, the BBC version with Romola Garai and the film with Gwyneth Paltrow, (and of course it's modern day incarnation - Clueless)

And I quite agree with the poster who prefers the Keira Knightley Pride and Prejudice. I also agree it rings far truer than the beloved BBC Andrew David adaption with Colin Firth, although Matthew McFadden is a bit too drippy to be a decent Darcy. I also think Wickham in the BBC's version isn't handsome enough. The film version took a while to grow on me, but it's now my preferred one to watch out of the two.

Lastly, Merchant Ivory's A Room With a View. Just glorious and utterly perfect.

Ca

Oh there's an old adaptation of P&P with Laurence Olivier. The frocks are all wrong and it diverges from the plot, which is usually anathema to me, but this one is surprisingly good.

Silas Marner with Ben Kingsley is a weepy

This thread has sorted Autumn out! Fabulous

Andrew Davies Vanity Fair adaptation in a fine thing - there is a new version on this Autumn on ITV I think. (don't like the look of the leads)

I quite like Daniel Deronda with Romola Garai, Hugh Dancy, Jodhi May and Hugh Bonneville.

Flambards is also very good

The Royal Shakespeare Co. version of Comedy of Errors with Judi Dench, Francesca Annis and Michael Williams.

Years ago, I watched an adaptation of Jane Eyre with Timothy Dalton as Rochester. Also enjoyed the Mayor of Casterbridge with Alan Bates.

Yes cloudy the Timothy Dalton Jane Eyre is good (although Dalton is too handsome for Rochester). The actress who plays Jane is quite plain looking. It sticks to the book plot as well.

Following!

I liked the film Jude (Hardy’s Jude the obscure) with Christopher Eccleston and Kate Winslet. Though liked might be the wrong word given the bleakness.

I loved the mid nineties adaptation of Moll Flanders with Alex Kingston and Daniel Craig even dd1 likes it.

A forgotten one seems to be the ITV Andrew Davies adaptation of Dr. Zhivago. It stars a young Keira Knightley and Sam Neill and sticks more closely to the book than the famous David Lean film. It is on a British TV budget but it's worth a watch.

Anna Karenina film with Keira Knightly. I can't think of another adaptation of HF where the director doesn't end up ruining it by putting anachronistic stuff in.
I loved the North and South adaptation until they end up having a good snog on the train, and she ends up in Africa in trousers. Ditto the BBC adaptation of Persuasion, where the leads end up in a clinch in public. The end of Bleak House being changed. etc

My people!
Absolutely love bbc p and p.
Loved Bleak House wish I could unwatch it and see it for the time Gillian Anderson is amazing and fantastical cast.
2008 version of sense and sensibility is great casting much better than the film imo.
Really liked Oliver Twist with Marc Warren also.
Of course North and South that kiss!
And really liked Wuthering Heights with Tom Hardy ITV version.
Looking forward to Vanity Fair :)