The first episode of Season Two of Lark Rise to Candleford was a 75 minute Christmas special. When Dorcas and Emma each want to give Laura the same gift for Christmas, an old family wound is opened up and Laura finds herself torn between two mothers. As the inhabitants of Lark Rise and Candleford prepare for the festivities, loyalties are tested and, amid the gift-giving and carol singing, tensions are building. However, the arrival of a ragged, bare-footed young woman, who goes by the name of Cinderella Doe, introduces a note of Christmas mystery. The series is set in 1895 in Victorian era England.
About the BBC series: In this adaptation of Flora Thompson’s memoir of her childhood, Laura Timmins leaves the Oxfordshire hamlet of Lark Rise for a job in the market town of Candleford, where her mother’s cousin, effervescent Dorcas Lane, is postmistress. Farm workers, craftsmen and gentry make up the community of families, rivals, friends and neighbours. Throughout the series, residents of both places interact at the best and the worst of times, including a measles epidemic that threatens the harvest and the arrival of new Post Office Inspector Mr. Rushton.
The “Christmas Special” episode could become as essential an annual viewing as Dickens’ “Christmas Carol.” or “The Snowman.” It is a complete story in itself and does not have its genesis in earlier episodes and does not carry the story forward in subsequent ones. So watching this episode is satisfying in that it has a beginning, a middle and an end. You can then move on to the continuing story from the events in the first season. – Amazon reviewer
Starring Dawn French, Julia Sawalha, Brendan Coyle, Victoria Hamilton.
Note: The Christmas special is available as part of Season Two.
You may also enjoy [Under the Greenwood Tree (2005)](http://amzn.to/1QFkuJ8): “In a small village in the south of England, Dick Dewy, a handsome working man, falls in love with Fancy Day, a newly arrived schoolteacher from a wealthy family who happens to be the village beauty. But other, richer men also want to win the hand of Fancy. There’s Farmer Shiner, a wealthy landowner, and Reverend Maybold, the decent young vicar. Who will win Fancy’s hand? And even if she agrees to marry Dick, will her father consent to the marriage? This charming, timeless story of rural life gave Thomas Hardy his first real taste of success, and with its rustic setting and moving tale of young love, it weaves a spell that still entrances today.” Though not strictly a Christmas movie, Under the Greenwood Tree opens at Christmastime and there are several carols in the period drama including It Came Upon A Midnight Clear and a Remember O Thou Man. The film is set in the Victorian era and was shown on PBS Masterpiece Theatre.