Posted on 03/10/2021 9:57:59 AM PST by C19fan
Disclaimer: I must admit I have never read a biography of Queen Victoria. My knowledge of her as a person has been accumulated by reading articles, mentions in non-fiction books, watching documentaries, and listening to podcasts. As a side note, if you are interested in the Victorians the “Age of Victoria” podcast is excellent.
Just like season 2, season 3 starts with a bang. It is 1848 and one sees King of the French Louis Philippe preparing to disguise himself as a common working man to escape his father’s fate via the National Razor. In Britain, the Hungry Forties and events in Europe provide a major boost to the Chartists and their petition for major political reform. One sees the split in the movement between those who advocate non-violence and appealing to the Middle Class and higher and those, led by William Cuffay, whom advocate the use of violence.
The highlight of the season is Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston or Lord Pam entering the scene as the Whigs/Liberals are back in power. I read he was quite a rake and a ladies’ man and this season plays it to the max. When the Palace staff find out Pam and Prime Minister Lord John Russell are coming to discuss events in Europe, the steward Mr. Penge warns all the women on the staff to avoid Palmerston at all cost. Lord Palmerston comes strutting through the palace and he immediately flirts with every women he encounters whether staff or Duchess. At least give the guy credit, he was an equal opportunity womanizer. Laurence Fox, a member of that famous acting family, seems to relish playing Palmerston. What a Grecian God he is tall, blond hair, slender, and exuding charisma. I feel sorry for his side kick Lord John Russell as he is short and stout. Later we meet his wife, Lord Melbourne’s sister, Emily and what a woman she is. She is intelligent, witty, and oh so clever. They have an obvious fondness for each other despite let us say their unconventional relationship.
Another interesting societal change occurring highlighted in the season is the marriages between the new commercial elite and the old titled elite. One of Victoria’s ladies in waiting is Sophie, Duchess of Monmouth. Her Grace was not born into the peerage but married into it. Her family became wealthy as grocers. As with many of his type, the Duke of Monmouth needed a cash infusion so he married Sophie and her massive dowry. But how His Grace resents and hates his wife. He still sees her as nothing but a daughter of a tradesman. He hates how he degraded himself to marry this woman. Yes in Victorian society one can be fabulously wealthy from trade but you were still considered the same as some butcher.
My favorite episode was the Soho Cholera outbreak in 1854. The Victorians knew cholera was coming just by following outbreaks heading their way from the east. We meet physician John Snow as he keeps track of where cases are coming from. He makes the breakthrough linking the outbreak to a contaminated water pump. This went against the conventional wisdom that all disease was spread by foul air. We also meet Florence Nightingale as she along with her corps of trained nurses attempts to take care of those affected by the disease.
Overall, I felt this was the weakest season of the three. Some of the episodes drag as Victoria’s and Albert’s relationship is strained. For me, the episodes that link larger events to the palace are where this show is the strongest and there was not as much of that as in previous seasons.
On my scale of 1 to 5 bonnets, I give this 3 bonnets.
Bmrk for later.
Thank You for posting.
Laurence Fox as Palmerston and on the Lewis series is great. He is a bold outspoken conservative in the UK and it’s probably ruined his career. He is absolutely fearless and great to follow on Twitter and elsewhere. He’s also running for mayor of London against Sad Khan.
I finally bailed when Queen Victoria solved the Irish Potato Famine in one episode. I forget just what clever thing she did -- hold a bake sale or something. Problem solved.
Growing up I enjoyed historical dramas for their ability to show what life, customs, and attitudes were like in bygone days. Now writers typically project their own attitudes onto the characters, either out of ignorance, laziness, to spread a propagandistic narrative, or an attempt to make the story seem more "relatable." There's an "Emily" (Dickinson) series running on, I think, Apple+ I started to watch. Couldn't make it through the first episode. Sorry, Dickinson was not a breezy millennial. Perhaps I didn't give the series enough of a chance, but I thought I sensed "the pattern" to such stories. I liked Julie Harris in The Belle of Amherst, which I saw on stage twice. A very different portrayal. Maybe I'm getting old and grumpy.
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