Last week, I reviewed the fourth, and most recent, book in The Wollstonecraft Detective Agency series - The Case of the Perilous Palace. Tina reviewed Mrs. Wilson, a show that Americans saw on PBS's Masterpiece. I agree with her that a second watching would be worthwhile.
An episode of PBS's Masterpiece that tells the story of the Brontë sisters - I'm not sure how I missed this biopic when it aired on Masterpiece in 2017, but I'm glad someone linked to it in a discussion thread on Facebook, recently.
To Walk Invisible tells the story of how and why the Brontë sisters published their books.
My imagination was of a happier story than we get in To Walk Invisible - companionable writing sessions around the dining room table and long walks on the moors. We do get those, but most of the story features addiction, poverty, and the limited options for 19th century women.
I don't know why I expected the real-life stories of the Brontë sisters to be merry and bright. After all, the books are pretty dark.
The costumes and setting are evocative of the 19th century. I loved the scenes on the moors, in the village of Haworth, and around the shops and streets of London. I particularly enjoyed the performance of Chloe Pirrie as Emily Brontë. Fortunately, Masterpiece interviewed the actor so I got to learn more about how she approached the role.
That interview and some other multi-media pieces related to the show are available on To Walk Invisible page at the Masterpiece site. If you have PBS Passport (a benefit of being a member of your local PBS station), you can watch the whole episode.
Have you seen this show? What did you think?
About Joy Weese Moll
a librarian writing about books