BBC FOUR Autumn
2006
Programmes: S to Z
The Secret Life Of
Mrs Beeton
Just as Nigella Lawson and Martha Stewart have
inspired a generation of domestic goddesses, the
Victorians had their own female idol in the shape of
Mrs Isabella Beeton.
Defying the wishes of her parents to marry a man of
more established means, the strong-willed and forthright
Isabella married talented publisher Sam Beeton.
Theirs
was an extraordinary marriage the meeting of two
creative minds and the creation of one of the most
enduring brands of the 19th century: Mrs Beeton's Book
Of Household Management.
Dead by the age of 28, this cultural icon was not the
dumpy, crinolined matron we have been led to believe.
Instead, the sassy, feisty and very modern Isabella was not
a cook but a young, talented journalist and editor whose
personal life was riddled with heartache, sadness and a
dark secret that ultimately led to her death.
Anna Madeley (Stoned) stars as Isabella, while JJ Feild (To The Ends Of The Earth) plays Sam Beeton.
The Secret
Life Of Mrs Beeton is written by Sarah Williams and
directed by Jon Jones.
A BBC production.
UM
Wide Sargasso Sea
Rafe Spall (The Chatterley Affair), Rebecca Hall (The
Prestige) and Nina Sosanya (Casanova) head up the cast in
a one-off adaptation of Wide Sargasso Sea, Jean Rhys'
steamy prequel to Charlotte Brontė's Jane Eyre.
Set in the lush landscape of Jamaica after the
emancipation of slaves, it tells the story of the arranged
marriage between a white Creole heiress and an
Englishman.
Rhys wanted to offer an alternative to
Brontė's depiction of Bertha Mason, Mr Rochester's mad
first wife, and her powerful work describes not only the
meltdown of lust and passion, but also the atmosphere of
paranoia and racial tensions that characterised the
Caribbean in the 1830s.
Wide Sargasso Sea is adapted by Stephen Greenhorn,
produced by Elwen Rowlands and directed by
Brendan Maher.
A Kudos production with BBC Wales.
KG
Voyages Of Discovery
Intrepid explorer Paul Rose travels the world to tell five gripping tales of adventure on
the high seas.
This visually stunning series reveals the true stories of the men who set sail
into the unknown and made scientific discoveries that changed the world.
Paul follows in
the wake of great adventurers such as Ferdinand Magellan and Captain James Cook.
His
journey also takes him from the heat of the Ecuadorian jungle to the frozen wastes of the
north as he shows how the discoveries of lesser-known explorers have also impacted on
our lives and shaped the world in which we live today.
A BBC production.
CW
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