My period drama to-watch list
Where to find even more comprehensive lists:
charitysplace.com/reviews
erasofelegance.com/entertainment.html
enchantedserenityperiodfilms.blogspot.com
charitysplace.com/reviews
erasofelegance.com/entertainment.html
enchantedserenityperiodfilms.blogspot.com
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- DirectorStefan SchwartzStarsAlice EvansDaniel LapaineSophia MylesA group of Irish noblemen kidnap girls in order to marry into their fortune and avoid becoming priests or soldiers.
- StarsClémence PoésyAlessio BoniAlexander BeyerThe story of five aristocratic families in Russia during the Napoleonic Wars of 1812
- DirectorAndy TennantStarsJodie FosterChow Yun-FatBai LingThe story of the romance between the King of Siam and widowed British schoolteacher, Anna Leonowens, during the 1860s.
- StarsNicola PagettStuart WilsonEric PorterAnna Karenina is the young wife of an older husband. She has an affair with the handsome Count Vronsky. By following her desires, Anna complicates her life.
- DirectorSimon LangtonStarsJacqueline BissetChristopher ReevePaul ScofieldTragic Anna leaves her cold husband for dashing Count Vronsky in 19th-century Russia.
- DirectorKenneth BranaghStarsTakuya ShimadaBrian BlessedRichard CliffordA daughter of the powerful Duke must show her courage and inventiveness to be with the man she loves.
- DirectorAnthony MinghellaStarsJude LawNicole KidmanRenée ZellwegerIn the waning days of the American Civil War, a wounded soldier embarks on a perilous journey back home to Cold Mountain, North Carolina to reunite with his sweetheart.
- StarsDaniel RadcliffeTrevor EvePauline QuirkeA gentle orphan discovers life and love in an indifferent adult world.
- DirectorPeter MedakStarsHugh DancyMichael RichardsEileen AtkinsA gentle orphan discovers life and love in an indifferent adult world.
- StarsKeira KnightleySam NeillHans MathesonDoctor Zhivago falls for Lara despite being engaged. Their forbidden love blossoms amidst the upheaval of the Russian Revolution, impacting his career and family.
- CreatorMarlene MatthewsStarsMartha MacIsaacSheila McCarthyStephen McHattieAn orphan is sent to live with relatives in picturesque turn-of-the-century Prince Edward Island.
- DirectorMarc ForsterStarsJohnny DeppKate WinsletJulie ChristieThe story of Sir J.M. Barrie's friendship with a family who inspired him to create Peter Pan.
- StarsEric PorterMargaret TyzackNyree Dawn PorterSpanning decades, the saga contrasts obsessive Soames, clinging to wife Irene, and Jolyon, leaving for his kids' governess. Their diverging paths intertwine, bringing highs and lows to the upper-class Forsyte clan.
- CreatorTony MarchantStarsAndrew BuchanLyndsey MarshalRupert GravesGarrow's Law is the true tale of William Garrow, who acted as counsel for the accused, introducing the concept of 'innocent until proved guilty' at London's Old Bailey.
- DirectorPeter WebberStarsScarlett JohanssonColin FirthTom WilkinsonA young peasant maid working in the house of painter Johannes Vermeer becomes his talented assistant and the model for one of his most famous works.
- DirectorJames IvoryStarsUma ThurmanJeremy NorthamKate BeckinsaleA man marries an heiress for her money even though he is actually in love with her friend.
- DirectorVictor FlemingGeorge CukorSam WoodStarsClark GableVivien LeighThomas MitchellA sheltered and manipulative Southern belle and a roguish profiteer face off in a turbulent romance as the society around them crumbles with the end of slavery and is rebuilt during the Civil War and Reconstruction periods.
- DirectorStephen PoliakoffStarsDaniel WilliamsMatthew James ThomasBrock Everitt-ElwickBased on the story of a British royal Prince locked away because of epilepsy.
- StarsHarriet WalterBill PatersonAlan BatesIn the first part of this adaptation by Peter Barnes, we are introduced to Tom and Louisa.
- DirectorTerence DaviesStarsGillian AndersonDan AykroydEleanor BronA woman risks losing her chance of happiness with the only man she has ever loved.
- DirectorMichael WinterbottomStarsChristopher EcclestonKate WinsletLiam CunninghamIn late 1800s England, Jude plans to go to the city and attend university but marries early and becomes a stonemason. When his wife leaves, he moves to the city, where he befriends his liberal cousin Sue.
- DirectorAlfonso ArauStarsMadeleine StoweBruce GreenwoodJonathan Rhys MeyersThe spoiled rotten and utterly unlikable rich kid George Amberson becomes horrified when his recently widowed mother rekindles her relationship with the wealthy Eugene Morgan, who she left decades earlier in order to marry George's father. As George struggles to sabotage his mother's new romance, he must deal with his own romantic feelings for Morgan's daughter and the consequences of his meddling as his once great family falls into ruin due to his machinations...
- DirectorRandall WallaceStarsLeonardo DiCaprioJeremy IronsJohn MalkovichThe cruel King Louis XIV of France has a secret twin brother whom he keeps imprisoned. Can the twin be substituted for the real king?
- StarsDouglas HodgeJuliet AubreyTrevyn McDowellMiddlemarch is a story of provincial life on the brink of momentous change and a deeply moving saga about a group of people striving to give meaning and value to their lives during the Industrial Revolution.
- DirectorDouglas McGrathStarsCharlie HunnamJamie BellChristopher PlummerA young, compassionate man struggles to save his family and friends from the abusive exploitation of his cold-heartedly grasping uncle.
- DirectorBrian PercivalStarsDerek JacobiToby JonesSophie VavasseurA kindly shop owner whose overwhelming gambling debts allow a greedy landlord to seize his shop of dusty treasures. Evicted and with no way to pay his debts, he and his granddaughter flee.
- StarsRobin EllisAngharad ReesClive FrancisIn 1783, Ross Poldark returns from the American wars to his native Cornwall to right wrongs and reunite with the love of his life.
- DirectorJames IvoryStarsAnthony HopkinsEmma ThompsonJohn HaycraftA butler who sacrificed body and soul to service in the years leading up to World War II realizes too late how misguided his loyalty was to his lordly employer.
- CreatorFiona McHughStarsZachary BennettLally CadeauMag RuffmanA young girl is sent to live with her late mother's relatives in Prince Edward Island. Set in the early 1900's, the series follows her adventures, as well as that of her family and the town's people as she grows up in Avonlea.
- DirectorNicholas RentonStarsElaine CassidyLaurence FoxRafe SpallIn the Edwardian era, Marian Honeychurch and her two just-of-age children Lucy and Freddy Honeychurch are a carefree, fun-loving family living on Summer Street in the country town of Surrey. Lucy is a proper young lady, but passion seethes beneath her demure demeanor. She and her chaperone, her older cousin Charlotte Bartlett, who is officious in a slyly-undermining way, travel to Florence, Italy for a week-long respite. They stay at the Pensione Bertolini, which is popular among British tourists. Among the disparate group of other British guests at the Pensione are Mr. Emerson, whom Charlotte considers vulgar because of his forwardness, and his son, bright but brooding George Emerson. As their stay progresses, George feels that Italian life is opening his eyes to what is important in life, and he feels the same is happening to Lucy. On a group outing, an incident occurs which both Charlotte and Lucy consider improper, and the two leave Italy early and head back to England. Soon after, Lucy gets engaged to the upper-crust and passionless Cecil Vyse, and Mr. Emerson moves to Summer Street, with George visiting on the weekends. As George befriends the Honeychurches, Lucy begins to tell a series of lies, mostly to herself, about what and whom she really wants in her life.
- DirectorGlenn JordanStarsGlenn CloseChristopher WalkenLexi RandallA single New England woman responds to an advertisement by a Midwestern widower in which he asks for a bride to help him raise his two children.
- DirectorJim GoddardStarsChris SarandonPeter CushingKenneth MoreAn ex-aristocrat from France and an alcoholic English lawyer find themselves crossing paths and in love with the same woman during the French Revolution.
- StarsJames WilbyXavier DelucSerena GordonTwo men, one an aristocrat, and one a drunken lawyer, fall in love with the same woman during the early stages of the French Revolution.
- StarsPeter GallagherGeorge C. ScottCatherine Zeta-JonesThe story of the 1912 sinking of the largest luxury liner ever built, the tragedy that befell over two thousand of the rich and famous as well as of the poor and unknown passengers aboard the doomed ship.
- DirectorJames CameronStarsLeonardo DiCaprioKate WinsletBilly ZaneA seventeen-year-old aristocrat falls in love with a kind but poor artist aboard the luxurious, ill-fated R.M.S. Titanic.
- CreatorEileen AtkinsStarsGordon JacksonDavid LangtonJean MarshThe lives and fortunes of the Bellamy family and their below-stairs servant staff at 165 Eaton Place play out against the social, political and historical backdrop of Edwardian London from 1903 to 1930.
- DirectorMira NairStarsReese WitherspoonRomola GaraiJames PurefoyGrowing up poor in London, Becky Sharp defies her poverty-stricken background and ascends the social ladder alongside her best friend, Amelia Sedley.
- StarsVictoria HamiltonJonathan FirthJames CallisThe marriage of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, a longtime royal love story.
- DirectorCharles SturridgeStarsHelena Bonham CarterJudy DavisRupert GravesAfter a rich Edwardian widow impulsively marries a handsome but poor Tuscan dentist and dies in childbirth, her English in-laws try to gain custody of the baby.
- DirectorIain SoftleyStarsHelena Bonham CarterLinus RoacheAlex JenningsAn impoverished woman who has been forced to choose between a privileged life with her wealthy aunt and her journalist lover, befriends an American heiress. When she discovers the heiress is attracted to her own lover and is dying, she sees a chance to have both the privileged life she cannot give up and the lover she cannot live without.
- StarsAngela ThorneJane SlaughterElizabeth MorganPauline, Petrova, and Posy Fossil live with Sylvia Brown, their guardian. Money is tight and as the story opens, three boarders - a garage owner, a retired English professor, and a dance teacher - come to stay. Theo Dane, the dance teacher, has the girls accepted at her school by the formidable Madame, and the three go on the stage to help raise money. Each discovers her talents - Pauline as an actress, Petrova in fixing engines, and Posy as a dancer.
- DirectorPhilippa LowthorpeStarsJames PurefoyHugh BonnevillePhil DavisGeorge 'Beau' Brummel, a penniless but witty London gentleman, maintains a refined lifestyle with his loyal servant, cook Robinson. Only the friendship of the unpopular Hanoverian heir and Prince Regent, George, Prince of Wales, who acclaims Brummel's fashionable invention, dandy-ism, keeps the creditors from his back, even allows him unconditional credit. Alas a triangle with lady Julia and the equally dubious poet Lord Byron ends up costing him the prince's favor, so his debts come bite him with a vengeance.
- DirectorCaroline ThompsonStarsSean BeanDavid ThewlisDocs Keepin TimeThe fates of horses, and the people who own and command them, are revealed as Black Beauty narrates the circle of his life.
- StarsJeremy IronsDiana QuickRoger MilnerThe life, friendships and romances of the protagonist Charles Ryder-including his friendship with the Flytes, a family of wealthy English Catholics who live in a palatial mansion called Brideshead Castle.
- DirectorJane CampionStarsAbbie CornishBen WhishawPaul SchneiderThe three-year romance between 19th-century poet John Keats and Fanny Brawne near the end of his life.
- StarsIan HoggDavid TroughtonPatience CollierA gentle orphan discovers life and love in an indifferent adult world.
- CreatorMarc MillerStarsRoy DotriceJohn F. LandryDiana CouplandCharles Dickens grew up in a family where his father was larger than life. The elder Dickens is a teller of tales and always seems to have ambitions that are well beyond his means or his capabilities. He is also constantly in debt and, at more than one point in his life, finds himself in debtor's prison, forcing Charles to leave school at the age of 12 and work. Charles finds success in his writing and marries, his wife Kate bearing them many children despite her delicate mental state. He has a touch of his father in him, however, particularly when it comes to money. He is of course remembered as one of the great writers of the 19th century.
- DirectorRichard LaxtonStarsDakota FanningGreg WiseTom SturridgeA look at the scandalous love triangle between Victorian art critic John Ruskin (Greg Wise), his teenage bride Euphemia "Effie" Gray (Dakota Fanning), and Pre-Raphaelite painter John Everett Millais (Tom Sturridge).
- DirectorShekhar KapurStarsCate BlanchettLiz GilesRod CulbertsonThe early years of the reign of Elizabeth I of England and her difficult task of learning what is necessary to be a monarch.
- DirectorShekhar KapurStarsCate BlanchettClive OwenGeoffrey RushA mature Queen Elizabeth endures multiple crises late in her reign including court intrigues, an assassination plot, the Spanish Armada, and romantic disappointments.
- DirectorCharles SturridgeStarsPaul McGannFlorence HoathElizabeth EarlIn 1917, two children take a photograph, which is soon believed by some to be the first scientific evidence of the existence of fairies.
- DirectorJulian FellowesStarsAlex EtelTimothy SpallMaggie SmithA haunting ghost story spanning two worlds, more than a century apart. When 13-year-old Tolly finds he can mysteriously travel between the two, he begins an adventure that unlocks family secrets laid buried for generations.
- DirectorStephen PoliakoffStarsRomola GaraiEddie RedmayneJuno TempleThe adopted daughter of a privileged British politician uncovers a family secret in the weeks leading up to World War II.
- DirectorRobert AltmanStarsMaggie SmithRyan PhillippeMichael GambonSet in the 1930s, a group of pretentious rich and famous get together for a weekend of relaxation at a hunting resort. But when a murder occurs, each one of these interesting characters becomes a suspect.
- StarsJohn Rhys-DaviesAnthony CalfJean SimmonsA humble orphan suddenly becomes a gentleman with the help of an unknown benefactor.
- DirectorFranco ZeffirelliStarsMel GibsonGlenn CloseAlan BatesHamlet, Prince of Denmark, finds out that his uncle Claudius killed his father to obtain the throne, and plans revenge.
- DirectorPhilip SavilleStarsKieran BewEmily HamiltonFlora MontgomeryA fictionalized account of the young life of Hans Christian Andersen, a young man with a penchant for storytelling but struggles to find his place in the world and gain the affection of the woman he adores. Interspersed throughout are brief interludes of the stories that will make Hans famous (The Nightingale, The Little Mermaid and The Snow Queen to name a few), which are intertwined with the events that surround his own life.
- DirectorPete TravisStarsRay WinstoneJoss AcklandSid MitchellTwo part mini-series documenting the stormy thirty-eight-year reign of King Henry VIII.
- DirectorJames IvoryStarsAnthony HopkinsEmma ThompsonVanessa RedgraveSet in the early 20th century, class distinctions and troubled relations affect the relationship between two families and the ownership of a cherished British estate known as Howards End.
- DirectorJames LapineStarsJudy DavisHugh GrantMandy PatinkinIn 1830s France, pianist/composer Frédéric Chopin is pursued romantically by the determined, individualistic woman who uses the name George Sand.
- DirectorBill BennettStarsRufus SewellMartin DonovanMaya StangeTwo married anthropologists go to an island off of Papua New Guinea for field research.
- StarsSaskia ReevesOwen TealeJulia FordDuring the Second World War, a quiet channel island community is thrown into turmoil by the invasion forces of Nazi Germany.
- StarsCiarán HindsSusan LynchVictoria SmurfitAfter returning from the Third Crusade in the Holy Land, Ivanhoe discovers that England is under the rule of the corrupt Prince John.
- StarsSorcha CusackMichael JaystonMegs JenkinsAfter a harsh childhood, orphan Jane Eyre is hired by Edward Rochester, the brooding lord of a mysterious manor house, to care for his young daughter.
- DirectorBille AugustStarsLiam NeesonGeoffrey RushUma ThurmanValjean, a former criminal, has atoned for his past and now finds himself in the midst of the French Revolution, avoiding a law-obsessed policeman hell-bent on capturing him.
- DirectorAndrew GrieveStarsMichael MacKenzieAndrew FergusonSean BeanJohn Ridd was just a boy when the villainous Carver Doone callously murdered his father. Now a young man, John has two driving passions: his thirst for revenge against the outlaw Doones, and his love for the beautiful Lorna, daughter of his sworn enemies.Admittedly, only because it has Sean Bean and Clive Owen in it. I've heard bad things about this adaptation.
- DirectorJerusha HessStarsKeri RussellJJ FeildJennifer CoolidgeObsessed with Pride and Prejudice (1995), a woman travels to a Jane Austen theme park in search for her perfect gentleman.
- StarsJudi DenchMichael AldridgeMichael WilliamsTwo cousins come of age in the early twentieth century, but fate leads them down very different paths.
- DirectorEric TillStarsJoseph FiennesBruno GanzPeter UstinovDuring the early sixteenth century, idealistic German monk Martin Luther, disgusted by the materialism in the Catholic Church, begins the dialogue that will lead to the Protestant Reformation.
- StarsEmma ChambersJulia SawalhaKeith AllenOld Martin Chuzzlewit is nearing his death. Who will inherit his riches? With such a prize to play for, the Chuzzlewit family bring forth all of their cunning, greed and selfishness. Adapted from the novel by Charles Dickens.
- DirectorGillian ArmstrongStarsJudy DavisSam NeillWendy HughesA proud young woman in early 20th century Australia must choose between marriage and independence.
- DirectorMarleen GorrisStarsVanessa RedgraveNatascha McElhoneMichael KitchenIn 1923 London, socialite Clarissa Dalloway's (Vanessa Redgrave's) well-planned party is overshadowed by the return of an old suitor she had known thirty-three years earlier.
- DirectorStephen WhittakerStarsJohn DallimoreJames D'ArcySophia MylesA young, compassionate man struggles to save his family and friends from the abusive exploitation of his cold-hearted, grasping uncle.
- StarsAnn FirbankBryan MarshallMarian SpencerAnne Elliot is convinced to break off her engagement to Frederick Wentworth. When her father rents the family estate to Admiral Croft, Anne is forced to accompany Frederick. Will he and Anne rekindle the old flame?
- StarsCharles DanceDiana RiggGeraldine JamesA British gentleman's innocent bride grapples with intrusive reminders of his deceased wife.
- StarsJoanna DavidCiaran MaddenPatricia RoutledgeMrs. Dashwood and her two daughters, Elinor and Marianne, are faced with the prospect of Mrs. Dashwood's stepson and his wife moving into their home at Norland.
- DirectorRoman PolanskiStarsNastassja KinskiPeter FirthLeigh LawsonA strong-willed young peasant girl attracts the affection of two men.
- DirectorIan SharpStarsJustine WaddellJason FlemyngOliver MilburnA free-spirited yet naive country girl is caught between her wealthy, manipulative "cousin" Alec and the handsome, educated farmer Angel Clare in this Victorian tragedy from novelist Thomas Hardy.
- StarsDonald PleasenceJanet MawNigel HawthorneWhen a crusade against the Church of England's practice of self-enrichment misfires, scandal taints the cozy community of Barchester when their local church becomes the object of a scathing, investigative report.
- DirectorKevin ReynoldsStarsJim CaviezelGuy PearceChristopher AdamsonA young man, falsely imprisoned by his jealous "friend", escapes and uses a hidden treasure to exact his revenge.
- StarsJohn SessionsBenjamin WhitrowRon CookA ribald and rowdy romp through the mansions and taverns of Georgian England. Henry Fielding's fallen hero bed-hops his way out of a good home and almost into a hangman's noose, via a series of misadventures and misunderstandings.
- StarsRichard ArmitageJulian GloverWill Keen"Three hour mini-series tells the intimate history of a most illustrious brotherhood of Impressionist artists - Monet, Degas, Renoir, Cézanne and Manet. Entirely based on documentary evidence, special effects transport the viewer inside some of the world's best-loved paintings, The Impressionists will recreate the illuminated landscapes, and haunting portraits of late 19th-century France."
- DirectorMichael MannStarsDaniel Day-LewisMadeleine StoweRussell MeansThree trappers protect the daughters of a British Colonel in the midst of the French and Indian War.
- DirectorDavid ThackerStarsCiarán HindsJuliet AubreyJodhi MayA drunken farm worker sells his wife and child at a market and begins a new life of wealth and respect as the Mayor of Casterbridge. However, his past returns to haunt him when he is reunited with his family, with unexpected consequences.
- DirectorRobert BiermanStarsGreg WiseKeeley HawesTerrence HardimanWhen the fabulous Moonstone diamond is stolen, all the suspects appear to have alibis. Even the young girl who owns the diamond won't say whom she saw took it. A dear family friend calls in the famous Sergeant Cuff to solve the case, but they'll have to untangle a skein of lies and retrieve lost memories before they'll find the path to the diamond.
- StarsSusan HampshirePhilip LathamBarbara MurrayBeginning with the forced marriage of Glencora (Susan Hampshire), the lives of the friends and children of this couple are the subject of study. The backdrop is the House of Commons in England as we watch the comings and goings and loves and tragedies of the powerful and not-so-powerful.
- DirectorSimon Cellan JonesStarsLucy CohuMeredith MacNeillAl BarclayFollowing the death of her father George VI princess Margaret hopes to marry the war hero Peter Townsend but is told that if she does she will be cut out of the Civil List and receive no money. Throughout her life she is criticized by the anti-Royalist MP Willie Hamilton. She pursues a hedonistic life-style more suited to a wealthy upper class woman than a royal but in 1960 she meets and marries the photographer Anthony Armstrong-Jones and they have two children. However Margaret's insistence on being a party girl puts a strain on the marriage and they drift apart, each having affairs. Depressed when one of her lovers Robin Douglas-Home kills himself Margaret finds unexpected solace with the much younger Roddy Llewellyn, an aspiring singer who lives on a commune and whop shelters her from publicity. However they are snapped kissing and are emblazoned across the gutter press. For Armstrong-Jones and the royal family this is the final straw. Margaret is last seen on the Caribbean island of Mustique where she had honeymooned but now she is alone.
- DirectorJack GoldStarsCatherine Zeta-JonesClive OwenRay StevensonReddleman Diggory Venn drives slowly across the heath, carrying a hidden passenger in the back of his van. When darkness falls, the country folk light bonfires on the hills, emphasizing the pagan spirit of the heath and its denizens.
- DirectorBrian PercivalStarsBillie PiperMatt SmithSian ThomasIn Victorian England, a young woman searches for a priceless ruby and uncovers even greater mysteries.
- StarsAnne-Marie DuffSienna GuilloryIan HartFrom teenage princess to accomplished queen, torn between duty and personal longing, the reign of Elizabeth I is exposed in this lavish drama filmed against a backdrop of some of Great Britain's most beautiful houses and landscapes.
- DirectorDavid MametStarsRebecca PidgeonJeremy NorthamNigel HawthorneFollowing the theft of a postal order, a 14-year-old cadet is expelled from Naval College. To save the honour of the boy and his family, the pre-eminent barrister of the day is engaged to take on the might of the Admiralty.
- DirectorPhil AglandStarsEmily WoofRufus SewellCal MacAninchThe story is set in late 19th century rural corner of South England. The daughter of timber merchant Melbury, Grace, returns to the town after finishing school. Her father now believes she can find a better husband than her childhood sweetheart, woodsman Giles. She marries handsome young doctor FitzPiers, but soon finds out he's not the man of her dreams and she still loves Giles.
- StarsBarnaby KayElijah WoodMadhur MittalIn 1765, young English boy Jim Hawkins gets involved with buccaneers during his quest to find pirate Captain Flint's treasure buried on a secret island.
- DirectorMichael AndersonStarsVanessa RedgraveChristopher PlummerFranco NeroA German princess is chosen to marry the heir to the Russian Throne, but faces plots and intrigues against her.
- DirectorReverge AnselmoStarsKirsten DunstJulie WaltersGeraldine JamesA younger boy falls in love with a tragic girl who flirts with, and manipulates, her older suitors in 1800s Russia.
- DirectorStephen FrearsStarsJulia RobertsJohn MalkovichGeorge ColeA housemaid falls in love with Dr. Henry Jekyll and his darkly mysterious counterpart, Mr. Edward Hyde.
- DirectorMichael WinterbottomStarsWes BentleyPeter MullanRon AndersonA prospector who sold his wife and infant daughter in exchange for a mining claim, tries desperately to win them back as he helps to build the Pacific Railroad with a group of pioneer friends.
- 1997–20231h 31mUnrated6.2 (1.9K)TV EpisodeDirectorTony BillStarsRichard DreyfussElijah WoodDavid O'HaraAn orphan named Oliver Twist meets a pickpocket on the streets of London. From there, he joins a household of boys who are trained to steal for their master.
- DirectorBetsan Morris EvansStarsNeve McIntoshJuliette CatonMelanie Clark PullenWealthy estate owner sir Michael Audley willingly marries a gold-digger, his only daughter Alicia's governess Lucy née Gray. Sir Michael's dashing, in-living orphaned nephew Robert 'Bob' returns from an Australia gold rush adventure with his new best friend George Talboys, a young father who finds his wife died in their absence. Robert is instantly attracted to Lucy, who buries her past with George by leaving him drowning in a well. Maid Phoebe's boyfriend finds out Lucy's secret and blackmails her. Later Robert comes on the trace of the truth, while accepting to marry Alicia as Michael seems infertile. But after Robert tells Michael, the consequences and the extent of deception exceed their imagination.