Set in 1844, Return to Cranford is the two-part Christmas special of the costume drama [Cranford](http://amzn.to/1P0SGNp), a BBC television adaptation of the book by the same name by Elizabeth Gaskell and broadcast by PBS as part of its Masterpiece Theatre series. Part 1 of Return to Cranford begins in August, Part 2 begins in October and closes on a snowy Christmas when the ladies of Cranford celebrate with games, songs, and heart-warming stories.
Change is racing towards the small, close-knit village of Cranford like a steam train — quite literally. As the railroad continues to encroach at the edge of town, Cranford strives to open to new realities, from surprising romances to unexpected losses and even waltzing! Matty Jenkyns (Judi Dench), Miss Pole (Imelda Staunton), Mrs. Forrester (Julia McKenzie) and Mrs. Jamieson (Barbara Flynn) are back with other distinguished residents of Cranford, along with one well-outfitted and mischievous cow. When a shocking event seemingly derails Cranford from its innocence, can a bit of magic and faith in enduring friendships save the day? Based on the stories of Victorian-era writer Elizabeth Gaskell, Return to Cranford also features Tom Hiddleston (Wallander) and Tim Curry.
The two-part saga Return to Cranford opens to a struggling Cranford, a traditional English village that in autumn 1844 is airing the conflicts that accompany progress. Miss Matty Jenkyns (Judi Dench), after having closed her business in the last series, is happily babysitting the child of her maid, Martha (Claudie Blakley). This gives the ladies in town something to gossip about, as does every other small event in this chatty group. The same women populate this new Cranford–the snooty Miss Jamieson (Barbara Flynn), nosy Miss Pole (Imelda Staunton), Miss Forrester (Julia McKenzie), Peggy (Jodie Whittaker), and Erminia (Michelle Dockery)–while a few new men added into the mix creates options for love intereststhroughout. In Part One, Peggy, visiting her dead father’s grave, bumps into William Baxton (Tom Hiddleston), a young and dapper gentleman who becomes a central character in Cranford’s growing divide between those who want a railroad coming through town and those who don’t. While politics are sorted, scenes alternate between heated public debates and intimate domestic exchanges to make Return to Cranford as charming as the first incarnations of this historical drama. The emphasis on the ways the women in town navigate thorny social situations remains primary in Return to Cranford. Babies are born and the elderly pass away while the ladies busily decide what to make of it all. While Part One focuses on catch-up, showing where each crone stands on the latest current events, Part Twoattempts more to challenge outmoded cultural values such as elitism andto show how the community members toughen up to become a courageous bunch. Unfortunately, Miss Matty discovers that solidarity is hard to come by in this small village, and Part Two is as much about a town falling apart as it is about ways to heal sore feelings and a violated landscape.Ultimately, life marches on in this pleasurably fictionalized glimpse into England’s past.
It is very much a holiday pudding…chockablock with Victoriana — gorse-strewn landscapes, chaste and thwarted love, faded dance cards, death by childbirth, pesky class issues and of course, all those frilly bonnets…the sets are lovely, and the acting so fine that you find yourself wondering if there is any narrative bog that Dench, Staunton and their colleagues cannot illuminate with splendid bits of humor and humanity, even under 5 pounds of lace and ribbon.- L.A. Times
Starring Judi Dench, Francesca Annis, Jonathan Pryce, Imelda Staunton, Tim Curry.
Shown on PBS Masterpiece Theatre.
Note: Episode Three of [Cranford,](http://amzn.to/1P0SGNp) set in 1842 also has some Christmas scenes. You may also be interested in the costume drama [Victoria & Albert (2001)](http://amzn.to/1QFnu85) in which the royal family celebrates Christmas: “While still in her teens, Victoria (Victoria Hamilton) becomes the queen of England after her uncle, King William IV (Peter Ustinov), dies. Breaking free of the overbearing influence of her mother (Penelope Wilton), Queen Victoria gradually comes into her own as a ruler. Falling for her first cousin, Albert (Jonathan Firth), Victoria marries the handsome prince, but he struggles with his lack of authority. Eventually, Albert is given more duties, which only helps Victoria’s decades-long reign.”