My Lady Ludlow
Encyclopedia
My Lady Ludlow is a long novella
(over 77,000 words in the Project Gutenberg
text) by Elizabeth Gaskell
. It appeared in the magazine Household Words
in 1858, and was republished in Round the Sofa in 1859, with framing passages added at the start and end.
It recounts the daily lives of the widowed Countess of Ludlow of Hanbury and the spinster Miss Galindo, whose father was a Baronet, and their caring for other single women and girls. It is also concerned with Lady Ludlow's man of business, Mr Horner, and a poacher's son named Harry Gregson whose education he provides for.
, The Last Generation in England
and Mr. Harrison's Confessions
, My Lady Ludlow was adapted for television in 2007 as Cranford, with Francesca Annis
as the eponymous character, with Alex Etel
as Harry Gregson and Emma Fielding
as Laurentia Galindo. Mr Horner's name was changed to Mr Carter, and was played by Philip Glenister
. The character of Lord Septimus, the Countess' seventh child, is mentioned in the first series as he is in the novella. The book, however, was extended in the first episode of the second series Return to Cranford
, featuring the death of Lady Ludlow from bone cancer, and Lord Septimus' return from Italy to claim his estate, where his ne'er-do-well personality is revealed. In the episode, Lord Septimus was portrayed by Rory Kinnear
, with Annis, Etel and Fielding reprising their roles.
Novella
A novella is a written, fictional, prose narrative usually longer than a novelette but shorter than a novel. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Nebula Awards for science fiction define the novella as having a word count between 17,500 and 40,000...
(over 77,000 words in the Project Gutenberg
Project Gutenberg
Project Gutenberg is a volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks". Founded in 1971 by Michael S. Hart, it is the oldest digital library. Most of the items in its collection are the full texts of public domain books...
text) by Elizabeth Gaskell
Elizabeth Gaskell
Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell, née Stevenson , often referred to simply as Mrs Gaskell, was a British novelist and short story writer during the Victorian era...
. It appeared in the magazine Household Words
Household Words
Household Words was an English weekly magazine edited by Charles Dickens in the 1850s which took its name from the line from Shakespeare "Familiar in his mouth as household words" — Henry V.-History:...
in 1858, and was republished in Round the Sofa in 1859, with framing passages added at the start and end.
It recounts the daily lives of the widowed Countess of Ludlow of Hanbury and the spinster Miss Galindo, whose father was a Baronet, and their caring for other single women and girls. It is also concerned with Lady Ludlow's man of business, Mr Horner, and a poacher's son named Harry Gregson whose education he provides for.
TV Adaptation
With CranfordCranford (novel)
Cranford is one of the better-known novels of the 19th century English writer Elizabeth Gaskell. It was first published in 1851 as a serial in the magazine Household Words, which was edited by Charles Dickens.-Plot:...
, The Last Generation in England
The Last Generation in England
The Last Generation in England is a non-fiction article by Elizabeth Gaskell, published in the American Sartain's Union Magazine in July 1849, relating memories of a small country town in the generation prior to her own. As such, it is seen as the real-life background for her novel Cranford...
and Mr. Harrison's Confessions
Mr. Harrison's Confessions
Mr. Harrison’s Confessions is an episodic 1851 long short story or novella by Elizabeth Gaskell about a doctor in provincial England. It is notable for being a 'prequel' to her novel Cranford. With Cranford, The Last Generation in England and My Lady Ludlow, it was adapted for TV in 2007 as...
, My Lady Ludlow was adapted for television in 2007 as Cranford, with Francesca Annis
Francesca Annis
Francesca Annis is an English actress, known for her film and television appearances, most recently in the BBC series Wives and Daughters, Cranford, and Deceit.-Early life and education:...
as the eponymous character, with Alex Etel
Alex Etel
Alexander Nathan "Alex" Etel is a British child actor.-Early life:Alexander Nathan Etel was born at 3:33AM on September 19, 1994 in a hospital on the outskirts of Manchester. Etel is the middle child of his family, he has a younger brother and an older sister.-Career:Etel was born in Manchester...
as Harry Gregson and Emma Fielding
Emma Fielding
Emma Georgina Annalies Fielding is an English actress.-Biography:The lapsed Roman Catholic daughter of a British Army soldier, Fielding spent much of her childhood in Malaysia and Nigeria, and a period in Malvern above her grandparents' betting shop...
as Laurentia Galindo. Mr Horner's name was changed to Mr Carter, and was played by Philip Glenister
Philip Glenister
Philip Haywood Glenister is an English actor, known for his role as DCI Gene Hunt in British television series Life On Mars and its sequel Ashes To Ashes.-Television and films:...
. The character of Lord Septimus, the Countess' seventh child, is mentioned in the first series as he is in the novella. The book, however, was extended in the first episode of the second series Return to Cranford
Return to Cranford
Return to Cranford is the two-part second season of a British television series directed by Simon Curtis. The teleplay by Heidi Thomas was based on material from two novellas and a short story by Elizabeth Gaskell published between 1849 and 1863: Cranford, The Moorland Cottage and The Cage at...
, featuring the death of Lady Ludlow from bone cancer, and Lord Septimus' return from Italy to claim his estate, where his ne'er-do-well personality is revealed. In the episode, Lord Septimus was portrayed by Rory Kinnear
Rory Kinnear
Rory Kinnear is an award-winning English actor who has worked with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal National Theatre.-Early life:...
, with Annis, Etel and Fielding reprising their roles.
External links
- Susan Colon, Professional Frontiers in Elizabeth Gaskell's My Lady Ludlow (Women's Writing, Volume 13, Issue 3 October 2006 , pages 475 - 494)