This aired last year on Starz, but I didn't watch it there. I'm enjoying it
now on PBS. I saw the movie back in the 90's, but I don't remember it
whatsoever. I think it starred Emma Thompson and Anthony Hopkins.
This
new TV adaption is good. The heroines are the two Schegel sisters, Margaret
(Hayley Atwell) and Helen (Philippa Coulthard). They're very independent,
unusual for their time, and intellectual. They have a little family money but
aren't rich. Helen visits the rich Wilcox family and falls for one of their
sons, but their relationship doesn't last very long. Margaret and Helen's aunt
is played by Tracey Ullman, who does a fine job as their cranky old relative.
Margaret becomes friends with Ruth Wilcox (Julia Ormond), the ailing matriarch
of the family, who invites her to her home at Howard's End. Ruth's husband,
Henry (Matthew Macfadyen, "Ripper Street"), is a successful banker. It's clear
that Charlotte likes him. The women also make friends with a young man named
Leonard Bast (Joseph Quinn), who's a working class man, but he acts very
strangely. He's very conscious of their class differences. The whole series
takes place in London at the turn of the century, when the social class norms
were being challenged.
I really like the characters, who are richly
written and have many layers, as well as the story, which moves along well (but
not too fast). I don't want to spoil the plot for you. It's worth watching.
MORE INFORMATION:
“HOWARDSEND”
AND THE DEBUT OF “VIENNA
BLOOD”
STREAMING ON THE PBS
MASTERPIECE PRIME VIDEO
CHANNEL
THIS JANUARY
Arlington, VA – January 7,
2020
– This January, PBS
Distribution debuts four new
programs on
the
PBS MASTERPIECE Prime Video
Channel, including the
miniseries of the classic
E.M. Forster novel “HowardsEnd,”
starring
Matthew Macfadyen,
Julia Ormond
and
Tracey Ullman
and the brand-new murder
mystery series “Vienna
Blood.”
Also arriving on the channel
are a number of new titles
from
Walter Presents
including “Home
Ground, Season 1,”
and “The
Blood Pact, Season 1.”
The subscription rate for
the PBS MASTERPIECE Prime
Video Channel is $5.99/month
with an Amazon Prime or
Prime Video subscription.
Every purchase helps
supports public television
for all.
Information about each of
the programs is listed
below.
HowardsEnd
Written by Kenneth Lonergan,
(‘Manchester by the Sea’,
‘Gangs of New York’) comes
the four-
episode adaptation of E.M.
Forster’s, “HowardsEnd”.
Starring
Matthew Macfadyen
as Henry Wilcox,
Philippa Coulthard
as Helen Schlegel,
Julia Ormond
as Mrs. Wilcox,
Hayley Atwell
as Margaret Schlegel, and
Tracey Ullman
as Aunt Julie, this is a
fresh take on the story of
two independent and
unconventional sisters and
the men in their lives
seeking love and meaning as
they navigate an
ever-changing world.
Also starring Joseph Quinn,
Rosalind Eleazar, and Alex
Lawther.
Streaming:
January 13, 2020
Episodes:
4
Genre:
Drama
Language:
English
Margaret Schlegel is an
intelligent, idealistic
young woman who is courted
by the older Henry Wilcox, a
self-made conservative
businessman. After his wife
Ruth Wilcox dies
unexpectedly he becomes the
owner of
HowardsEnd.
Meanwhile Margaret’s
passionate and capricious
younger sister Helen
Schlegel takes up the cause
of Leonard Bast, a young
bank clerk who falls on hard
times at work and at home
with his partner Jacky. In
the absence of their late
parents, the sisters’ loving
but interfering Aunt Juley
tries to keep the young
ladies and their brother
Tibby on the straight and
narrow.
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