The Camomile Lawn

A story about a family (and associated friends) where most of the characters are either selfish or inadequate seems an unlikely hit, but I continue to find this one of my favorite winter evening viewings. The story is told, as in the book, with flash-forwards that help crystallize your opinions of the characters and their motivations. With promiscuous behavior throughout, various unconventional relationships (Polly and the twins, Max and his town wife/country wife etc), it would have been all too easy for the series to dissolve into an orgy of explicit sex; this was, after all, made by Channel 4, who can teach HBO a thing or too about the subject! It runs along a pace, and as each episode ends, the temptation to just press play and watch the next is strong.

The performances are wonderful. I loved Felicity Kendall as the bad-tempered matriarch in the flash-forwards. Jennifer Ehle is, of course, delectable, and completely gorgeous, and acts the pants off everyone. Her accent is a wonderful mids-40s upper-class English, taken straight from Brief Encounter and the like. I didn't realize until today that she was born in North Carolina, I had her marked an English rose! Tara Fitzgerald plays Polly, the most likable character, a strong, self-minded and tolerant person. The male characters are weaker, but Oliver Cotton and the late Paul Eddington make the best of the material they're given.

The production is great - period detail is excellent, although perhaps the grimness of war on the Home Front is not given enough emphasis. However, these are privileged people, they would have had it better than the masses simply because they had more to start with.

You can watch this series over and over, like rereading a favorite book.

Jennifer Ehle is certainly attractive and shows a lot more in this epic than in her later Jane Austen roles. But for an example of dark and sultry pouting look no further than Tara Fitzgerald. This production also features everyones 1970's favourite pin-up Felicty Kendal, but she's playing an old woman here folks!

I read the book first and i have to say this series is so true to it. In this rotten PC age its so nice to delve into a past that is poignant and patriotic. A past where the english did their bit. And just brilliant performances from jenifer ehle, tara fitzgerald and rebecca hall. The depth of the acting pool on view here is huge. Its gloriously anti-woke and much the better for it. For example if you love female nudity like me, you will love this. I also thought the back and forth between the modern day and WW2 was brilliantly done.

The Camomile Lawn is one of my favorite British TV adaptations. It's based on a book by Mary Wesley, and was first shown in 1992. The director is Sir Peter Hall who founded both the National Theatre and the RSC. There are five episodes and it's compulsive viewing.

It's a family drama set during the early years of World War II. In the last episode the characters meet at a funeral thirty years later, giving it similarities to the Big Chill. The main characters are seven cousins / friends who spend part of their summers in Cornwall at the home of Aunt Helena (Felicity Kendall) and Uncle Richard (Paul Eddington). The story begins in August 1939, before the Germans invade Poland. The friends, are mostly 18 or 19 and join the war effort when war is declared. The action then moves to London during the Blitz. The young cast all have an abundance of energy and charisma, especially Jennifer Ehle (Young Calypso), Tara Fitzgerald (Young Polly)and Rebecca Hall (Young Sophy).

Philip Larkin famously said that sexual intercourse began in 1963, but he needed to get out more. With death all around them, the lead characters live for today and take a hedonistic approach to sex and booze. As the older Polly says (Virginia McKenna) "it was a happy time."

Mary Wesley creates strong female characters who all seem wise, pragmatic and fun. The men mostly seem flawed and weak in some way. They are either dim-witted, obsessed with sex or confused about what they want. Eddington (Uncle Richard) is regarded by his family as something of a joke. Toby Stephens (Young Oliver) plays a left wing idealist who serves in the Spanish Civil War, lusts after Jennifer Ehle and complains about spending his army career running away from the Germans. Oliver Cotton (Max) plays a violinist who escapes from the clutches of the Nazis in Vienna and chases after the entire female cast.

In Episode Five we meet older versions of the characters, including: Oliver (Richard Johnson), Sophy (Claire Bloom) and Calypso (Rosemary Harris)who talk about their past. Overall, it's fun, fast paced, beautifully written and brilliantly directed.

I think WWII dramas are very romantic and I love this series! When it was first broadcast on Channel Four I couldn't wait to see it every week. Aside from the brilliant acting by everyone concerned, the story lines are excellent, enough to keep you involved, but not too complicated and not done in an "arty" way. Also the characters are interesting and events are wholly believable. You really do start caring about the characters involved.

I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of it, also it gives younger people who weren't around during WWII a little taste of what it must have been like. The costumes and music are lovely too.

So, if you fancy a trip down memory lane and want an interesting and engaging story with likable characters, then you can't go wrong with this one! I get this video out on rainy days when I feel like a few hours of relaxation. Enjoy!