On the surface, the 19th-century fictional village of Cranford is a world filled with bonnets and baking, ponies and pomade and gossiping spinsters – a world that is determinedly old-fashioned.
In the current era of social-networking sites and ever-diminishing attention spans, Simon Woods asks why audiences continue to treasure these visions of the past. He asks what viewers love so much about period dramas and finds out how a beautifully complex and utterly convincing mirage of 19th-century life is brought to the small screen.
Armed with a degree in English Literature from Oxford and an insider's knowledge of cast and crew, Simon, who starred in the most recent incarnation of Victorian classic, Cranford, takes viewers on an intelligent journey through the restorative power of Elizabeth Gaskell's novel.
This is a world run by women, struggling to maintain order and virtue in the middle of thumping change. Talking to historical consultant Jenny Uglow, Simon learns that Gaskell salutes her protagonists' achievements, while acknowledging that female independence is illusory.
Through a mixture of on-set interviews with leading cast members, behind-the-scenes footage and new material, Simon examines the desire to strip away the modern world in order to get to the heart of Englishness.
