My Autumn in August PBS Passport claims that Death comes to Pemberley

Welcome to another round of Autumn in August , where we rejoice in the approaching fall season in the end portion of summer.

Since this year happens to the 250th anniversary of the birth of Jane Austen, she seemed to be perfect hostess for this occasion and in order to encourage more people of the advantages of subscribing to PBS Passport (more that later), I chose a more recent adaptation of an Austen themed work to start us off:

Death Comes to Pemberley, based on the 2011 novel by acclaimed mystery author P.D. James, is a two part miniseries that first aired in the US in 2014. It stars Matthew Rhys and Anna Maxwell Martin as Mr. and Mrs. Darcy, living in relative calm several years after the events of Pride and Prejudice.

That calm is quickly broken by the unannounced arrival of wayward sister Lydia(Jenna Coleman) who is literally screaming bloody murder. She and her equally unwelcome husband Wickham (Matthew Goode) intended to crash the upcoming ball at Pemberley when an argument between longtime friend Denny and Wickham leads to a brutal end for one of them:

The one who got the worst of it was Denny, leaving Wickham to be charged with murder first at an inquest and then a trial.

The magistrate investigating the case is a man named Hardcastle(Trevor Eve) is no stranger to Darcy or Wickham as his late father held the same title and was very much a ruthless pursuer of the law. Darcy has the authority as a magistrate as well but due to obvious conflict of interest goes to Hardcastle, who refuses to play favorites with anyone here.

One of the interesting elements is the story is seeing the justice system of this time period at work. While forensics are limited to say the least, the reliance on witness testimony is truly crucial and the public observers who attend both the inquest and the trial are not shy masking their opinions on the proceedings known:

We also get to see some familiar P&P characters take the stage as Georgiana (Elinor Tomlinson) has two suitors, one of whom is Col. Fitzwilliam, beloved older sister Jane pays a visit to comfort Elizabeth and yes, Mr. and Mrs. Bennet spend a little time at Pemberley before all of the action begins(Mr. Bennet does head to the household library as fast as he can!).

A minor character that plays a strong supporting role in DCTP is Mrs. Reynolds(Joanna Scanlon). The devoted housekeeper is in fine form, supporting Elizabeth as much as she can while holding a steady course with the staff. The actress portraying her brings a fully formed humanity to what would consider to be a side character at best and she really grew on me during this rewatch.

Lydia, of course, is the ultimate drama queen here but she’s not completely superficial as the situation gets worse for her husband. Her giddiness is well timed at one point when Lady Catherine (Penelope Keith) pays a call to make her opinion known, fortunately cutting that visit short:

All in all, if you are a fan of Jane Austen style mysteries, this miniseries is a must watch for sure.

The cast is excellent, with Rhys and Maxwell Martin giving fine performances and having great onscreen chemistry with each other. Trevor Eve as Hardcastle does have a commanding presence yet doesn’t overpower his co-stars here(he was most recently seen in another book to TV adaptation, A Discovery of Witches) and the overall look and feel of the show fits as neatly as a set of ladies gloves.

The only P.D. James book I’ve ever read was this one and her reputation as a modern day mystery icon is well displayed both on page and screen. 

I do like seeing both Elizabeth and Darcy seek the truth of the matter in separate yet similarly distinct ways, each of them having their own set of social connections lead them to a mutual conclusion (I can say no more in order to keep this a spoiler free zone). It’s a bit more of a dramatic take on the source material than some might prefer but Ms. James and company do honor Jane Austen (who did enjoy a thrilling read or two in her day) very well indeed.

I do hope that if you haven’t seen DCTP yet, you do so via PBS Passport as public television needs all the help they can get these days.

 While the Corporation for Public Broadcasting is shutting its doors, PBS stations are still fighting the good fight for us all. “Defunded but not Defeated “ is their new motto and a great one at that. It doesn’t cost a lot to join(I only pay ten dollars a month myself) and you get a lot of great programming, including other Austen related content such as the recent adaptation of Gil Hornsby’s Miss Austen, a sheer delight, and hopefully more to come.

Meanwhile, our Autumn in August will continue with a look at season one of Sanditon , a rather loose take on this uncompleted novel by Austen yet rather amusing in many ways as the podcasters at Reclaiming Jane can well attest to !

For now, I plan to pack my metaphorical bags for the seashore while biding a nearly fatal farewell to the good folks at Pemberley there: