Welcome to British Isles Friday! British Isles Friday is a weekly event for sharing all things British and Irish - reviews, photos, opinions, trip reports, guides, links, resources, personal stories, interviews, and research posts. Join us each Friday to link your British and Irish themed content and to see what others have to share. The link list is at the bottom of this post. Pour a cup of tea or lift a pint and join our link party!
Last week, I watched Mary Queen of Scots. Jean read Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland by Patrick Radden Keefe. Gaele reviewed two World War II stories: Hetty's Secret War by Rosie Clarke and The Spitfire Girl in the Skies by Fenella J. Miller.
This three-part drama is a story about a woman who married an adventurous man. Alec Wilson loved his country and his families. The women and children who loved him were also harmed by him when his death ripped away his cover stories. Every time we think we understand who and what he was, a new development throws a wrench into that theory.
Mrs Wilson is set in 1960s London, with occasional forays back in time (especially the World War II years) and out to the countryside and, even, India. The costumes and sets are marvelous and evocative of time and place.
I wondered about the coincidence that the actor who plays Mrs. Wilson is named Ruth Wilson. It turns out, that isn't a coincidence. Ruth Wilson is the grand-daughter of the real-life Mrs. Wilson. That contributes to the loving and compelling portrayal.
I watched this with my PBS Passport, a benefit of membership in my local PBS station (shout out to the Nine Network!). If I'm understanding things correctly, I believe the first two episodes are available to the general public until the 14th of this month and the third will remain available until the 21st. The videos, as well as some interviews and other behind-the-scenes material, are at Masterpiece Theater's Mrs Wilson web page.
Did you watch this series? What did you think?
About Joy Weese Moll
a librarian writing about books
