Quarter 1 Reviews- 002 Historical Drama- Old

002 Historical Drama – Old

While I actually started listening to Dickens Confidential at the end of 2019, I finished it in early 2020 and decided to include the whole series in Quarter 1.  I actually heard the second series shortly after its broadcast release more than ten years ago, but to tell the truth, I don’t really remember it.  To say that I got into the first series this time around is a major understatement.  I found it all-consuming.  While, for some reason, the first quarter of 2020 yielded some spectacularly engaging historical dramas, I found myself very drawn to these characters, almost to the point of obsession. The conceit is simply related:  in 1839, between his years as a court correspondent and his initial success with Pickwick Papers, Dickens strays from fiction to edit a newspaper. I was a bit squeamish at first tuning in, probably because my fairly good knowledge of Dickens (Jamie Glover) made me slightly concerned about the level of authenticity.  Aside from one major slip-up (Dickens telling someone about his experiences in the bootblacking factory which he kept silent about until the end of his life and which were only generally known until his posthumous life by Forrester was published), I think the general historical accuracy is very good.  What’s more, this series is really faithful to the character of the historical Dickens.  It adeptly describes the paradox of a charming, brilliant man possessed of unshakeable sexism.  This is particularly frustrating as personified in the (entirely fictional) person of Agnes Paxton (Jasmine Hyde), an unconventional, capable, independently wealthy young woman (daughter, not as I thought, of Paxton the designer of the Crystal Palace but of a fictional railway magnate).  Dickens sees her as an amiable, literate young woman, as a talented actress, and as the suitable person to organise the petty cash at his new newspaper, The Herald, financed by her father.  He does not see her as capable of being a reporter, much less any other traditionally male job that would interfere with her doing the social hostessing or put her in any danger. 

The stories themselves are usually quite good and illustrative of different themes in early Victorian history.  For example, in the opening story “Railway Kings,” we meet Agnes and Jack Marshall (Freddy White) , a young man of socially mobile lower middle class, slightly Sam Weller-esque, who quite literally goes through hell to get a story for The Herald, proving his mettle in pursuit of the scoop behind a Didcot railway crash.  In the process, he gets off on the wrong foot with Agnes by insulting her father and all railway magnates; yet, Agnes is fond enough to go off and rescue him, three times in fact, from villainous Mickey’s Jim (Gerard Murphy). Resourceful Agnes, the actress whose convincing portrayals of lower class characters are so good that they fool Jack (the audience is much wiser), is seemingly playing a dangerous game that is hidden from her male colleagues. The story, seemingly simplistic, becomes much more satisfying when viewed as an entry in the Dickens/Agnes/Jack saga. It must be said that the characterization of Dickens and the persistent, unresolved love triangle between Dickens, Agnes, and Jack are the real factors in why I became quite obsessed with Dickens Confidential. It is one of the few series where I am honestly unsure with whom I would rather see Agnes end up, Dickens or Jack (or indeed if she needs to end up with anyone).  The first episode was written by Mike Walker and starred John Dougall, Sam Dale, Alex Tregear, Rachel Bavidge, and Anthony Glennon.

The second episode, “Darker Than You Think,” was also written by Mike Walker.  I can only imagine what Jasmine Hyde went through to perform the part of Agnes while on nitrous oxide (laughing gas).  This was an enjoyable and classically Gothic entry. The episode opens with Agnes on stage in an amateur theatrical, while her friends and the audience are introduced to Henry Jenks (Nicholas Boulton), whose progressive medical policies see him treating the poor . . . His aims seem to chime with Dickens’ and he seemingly sweeps Agnes off her feet.  But is he not all he seems?!?!  “High Society” was written by Deborah Davis, a very complex text that balanced the drawing rooms of the aristocracy nicely with the mainly lower class Victorian locales previously explored.  As Lord Kames (Robert Bathurst) puts it, it seems as though only the middle classes are concerned with the morality of a man correcting his wife, while it’s all in a day’s work for the aristocracy and the lower classes.  This story brings Agnes and Jack seemingly a lot closer when she pursues the truth through her society connections and he is forced to masquerade as a footman to get the below-stairs perspective. This is all appropriate given that Dickens is infatuated with Countess Belinda Kames (Juliet Aubrey), to whom she reveals her ultimate secret . . .  There are some absolutely sensational scenes in this piece, in keeping with its truly scandalous secrets (along the lines of The Woman in White but with a dose of the much more controversial à la Jude the Obscure).  The repressed sexuality is seething violently beneath the surface of this, along with class divisions and inhibited passions.  I don’t know if this story is actually based on real-life and a call for legislation that would make it easier to divorce if cruelty could be proven or led to the Married Women’s Property Act.  It also starred Bertie Carvel and Melinda Walker.

“Captain Swing,” by the late Annie Caulfield, is most like “Railway Kings” in its presentation of a Victorian conundrum where there is no clear-cut answer.  Agnes returns to her father’s country residence and finds relations with her childhood friend, Patty (Jasmine Callan), awkward due to social constraints that did not trouble them when they were children.  Agnes tries to help her friend’s husband Tom (Anthony Glennon) by bringing in Jack and eventually Dickens.  Tom is falsely accused by a local magistrate of being part of the Captain Swing riots, which is similar to the Luddite movement.  Agnes is quite frustrated in this story, not only because she has to face some hard truths about her social position, but also because Dickens still refuses to believe that she is capable of being a reporter or really anything other than a decorative lady.  “Foundry,” also by Mike Walker, had some problems, yet at the same time it was very well-acted, particularly on the part of Jasmine Hyde as Agnes.  Agnes is keen to prove that she can be a journalist, so when Dickens becomes obsessed with a story on children being exploited in a factory, she disguises herself as a boy.  She befriends teenage worker Billy (Harry Eden).  There’s a big reversal regarding the character of Mr Fell (Jonathan Keeble).  The soundworld is nicely if appallingly constructed, and Jamie Glover is once again on top form as Dickens.

The penultimate episode of Dickens Confidential leaves you wondering when Dickens would ever find out what lengths Agnes had gone to for investigative journalism and also when Jack and Dickens would confront the fact that they both fancied Agnes.  Well, all that happened in “Innocence,” the series 1 finale.  It was a story with a lot of peril in it, and the (somewhat predictable) return of an old menace.  Dickens confronts his friend Colonel Corbet—played by the perfectly cast Clive Swift—about the hypocrisy of Victorian men seeing prostitutes.  It’s all quite uncomfortable, and doubly so for the audience, who knows that in a few years Dickens will be unfaithful to his own wife.  Nevertheless, as much as it can be, his heart is in the right place.  He wants Jack to interview an educated, self-prepossessing prostitute named Catherine (Charlotte Emmerson) whom they meet while walking the Haymarket.  Because she quotes Cicero to them, he can see she was an educated but fallen lady.  When Jack reluctantly tells Agnes about this, Agnes decides she must be the one to befriend Catherine and find out her story.  When Agnes goes missing, Jack has to confess the whole thing to Dickens.  At last, both of them have to admit how they feel about her.  But, first, they have to save her!  A bit of a shame considering Agnes has done most of the rescuing throughout the series . . . Dickens Confidential was produced and directed by David Hunter and Tracey Neale and executive produced by Alison Hindell (who has proved herself an incredibly good producer of historical drama).  It was originally from 2007.

Okay, I clearly had a lot to say about Dickens Confidential.  Brace yourself, because I’ve got almost as much to say about another historical drama spearheaded by Alison Hindell.  You could have forgiven me for thinking The Tree of Liberty had been based on a series of books. Not so—Nigel Baldwin, a very experienced writer, conjured these dramas up purely for radio back in 1995.  And my God, what incredible dramas they are.  Not only are the crime drama plots diabolical, the setting—of 1791 Amiens—is visceral and real, boldly imagined.  As if that wasn’t enough, the characters are superb—particularly the hero, Lt. General Jacques Lacroix (David Calder) and his shady sergeant, Monet (Brian Hibbard).  The acting is also incredibly fine.  Lacroix is a moderate.  He is committed to justice and does his job well, though it often lands him in hot water.  He is atypical of his age, in some ways, by not being greedy or politically avaricious, and unlike almost every other character in the four dramas, he is faithful to his wife, Charlotte (Kathryn Pogson).  She, too, is an interesting character.  They are desperate for children, to the point where the episode sees Charlotte going to a “sorceress” for help conceiving.  Now, there are many, many crime drama pairs of superior officer and subordinate where the two are at each other’s throats.  Seldom have these characters’ struggles seemed quite so real as between the high-minded yet irascible Lacroix and his mostly vile and venal sergeant, Monet.  I wonder if it is fun to play a character so self-serving and low-level vicious as Monet.  Because they made the decision for all the Amiens countryfolk to have Welsh accents (I suppose because it was made in Wales), Monet has a Welsh accent.  Monet could conceivably be accused of every “-ism” going, with the only possible shading being he recognizes how good his wife is to put up with him. 

This first story, "Friends in High Places,” is a corker, embroiling Lacroix with an ascendant Robespierre (Brendan Charleson) and his associate, Dupont (Ian Rowlands).  Robespierre is beautifully and faithfully depicted, while Lacroix’s put-upon and hectoring superior, Roland (Christian Rodska), advises Lacroix in no uncertain terms to pin this murder on the woman’s husband.  I should say something about the thoroughly modern score by Paula Gardiner:  at first I found it a bit odd.  However, I had to concede that it actually works.  It may be a bit disconcerting to hear a jazzy soundtrack complete with xylophones playing alongside soundscapes from 1791, but there’s something about it that tells the listener in no uncertain terms not to relegate this story to Classic Serial status.  A cracking drama and mystery and in every way superb. This episode also starred Steve Hodson, Bethan Jones, Matthew Morgan, Lesley Rooney, and Simon Ludders.

If possible, “To Be a Pilgrim” was just as good if not better than the first story.  It was a very interesting story regarding a maimed corpse which led LaCroix to interview Madame des Chats, who ran a high-level bordel (NOT bordello) whose clientele apparently included high-ranking Revolutionary officials.  Monet, true patriot as he claims to be, seemed genuinely shocked that men like Danton could be caught dead in such a place.  LaCroix also began teaming up with Madeleine Boniface (Frances Tomelty), a truly great character who was LaCroix’s equal in every possible way.  A wise woman mislabelled as a sorceress, she and LaCroix had to pretend not to know each other given that she had been secretly helping his wife Charlotte to get pregnant.  Educated and shrewd, Boniface sticks by LaCroix even when the ignorant (or not-so-ignorant) Monet beats her up in jail while interrogating her.  To the outside world, it looks like Madame Boniface is LaCroix’s mistress.  In truth, her knowledge of the arcane and what we would now recognize as psychology makes her a great ally.  She’s the one who makes connections between an Englishman who is part of a secret society dedicating to restoring the monarchy in France, an Englishman LaCroix was supposed to meet at a party hosted by his friend Didier (Steve Hodson), where they were to discuss art.  What LaCroix eventually discovers is a cover up.  Now, LaCroix has some healthy skepticism when it comes to the Revolution, given its inevitable slide into settling old scores, but he is not exactly a monarchist either.  He is in that understandable but uncomfortable position of being able to see both sides.  Madame Boniface is much more perceptive when she says that the stars foretell the execution of the King and Queen—in 1791, LaCroix like most people refuses to believe it—and that things are going to get much worse before they get better. 

“Health of a Nation” takes an unusual turn when a surgeon is murdered by a volatile chemical gas in his own surgery.  The Jewish moneylender to whom he owed money is implicated; so is the victim’s wife and son.  A merry-go-round of accusations and counter-accusations, alibis and confessions occur, and LaCroix and Madame Boniface have to sift through this to discover the truth in what is probably the most tightly plotted of the four dramas.  I’ll admit that my mouth dropped open during the final act of the final story of the quartet, “Moon Conjunct Uranus.” To complete the story, LaCroix investigates the sensational death of a young woman at a chateau.  Josephine (Bethan Jones), whose husband is elsewhere and probably involved in arms dealing, is gentry trying very hard not to ruffle the feathers of the Revolutionary government.  At her chateau, there is intrigue, with love triangles involving herself and her servants and a mad aristocrat called Chalier (played with incredible dedication by Steve Hodson).  Who killed the young woman and why?  Why does Josephine greet LaCroix in Latin when he first meets her?  With Madame Boniface helpfully by his side to sift through the occult, LaCroix is in for some uncomfortable revelations, including when he and Madame Boniface admit their mutual attraction to each other without acting on it.  What will 1792 bring for LaCroix?  I do hope they did another series of these, because they’re absolutely superb.