The Buccaneers

Seez, you seem to be very confused.

Edith Wharton and Jane Austen are two totally different authors. They both were women and both wrote socially-oriented novels, but that's about all they have in common.

Jane Austen was English. She lived from 1775 to 1817 and published only six books, two posthumously. The major theme of her books is genteel but impoverished young women trying to make advantageous marriages. She had nothing whatsoever to do with the story of The Buccaneers; she died 120 years before the book was written.

Edith Wharton was an American. A member of New York's old Society, she was born Edith Jones in 1862. She was married at age 23 to Teddy Wharton, a socially acceptable young man, but the union was not happy. She published her first book in 1900 and soon moved to France when she began to experience commercial success. She would spend much of the rest of her life in Europe, divorcing Teddy when he threatened to spend all her money, for as a best-selling author her income was large. Wharton's books center around the American social scene and the socially constricting expectations of that world; she usually portrays marriage as a sort of prison, as she herself experienced it. The Buccaneers (1937) was her last novel. She died before it was finished, but left an outline; it has actually been finished by several authors in several different versions based upon her notes.

And finally, it is not set in "the Regency period of English history" (that term refers specifically to the years 1811-1820). It is set in the 1870s.

Wonderful adaptation of Edith Wharton's last novel. If you enjoyed films like Sense and Sensibility or Age of Innocence, you will enjoy this as well. This film is beautiful to look at, lush production values, a strong cast.

I paid almost 40 buckaroos for this PBS/BBC collaboration...and it was worth every red cent. What a treat...what a wonderful story...what amazing characters...and what a fantastic cast! Mira, Carla, James Frain, and Greg Wise are absolutely AWESOME. I love them all for making this mini such a delight. It's absorbing to the point that I was glued to my TV set till the very end. Mira's character (Conchita) is full of fire and has an amazingly kind heart...and her Brazilian accent is perfect. Carla wins your heart as the head-strong, and independent Nan (Annabelle). Greg Wise is great as the romantic and determined Guy Twaite. But, the best--to me--is James Frain's Julius, Duke of Trevenick. Julius is one of the most complex characters I've seen on a small or large screen in a very long time. He's a young man who feels immense love but is unable to express it adequately...and when frustrated by his emotions or by his young wife (Nan), he is prone to abusive behavior...that he later regrets. He is a product and victim of his times...a prisoner of his title and what is expected of him as a Duke. Carla's and James' chemistry was so wonderful that some how you hope they will be able to work things out in their difficult marriage. You see all the missed opportunities on the part of both Nan and Julius...opportunities that probably would have made their union a success. So, it's sad and rather tragic to see it all fall apart, when it really didn't have to. But, Julius and Nan are both VERY young...and ill equiped to overcome outside influences, or to fully realize the duties of their positions as Duke and Duchess of Trevenick. Julius is guilty of bad actions and heartless decisions, yet, at the same time, he is capable of sincere kindness and gentle-ness. He is a man torn between the past and it's restraints upon him and the present with it's promise of love and happiness if he would but only allow himself to feel and express it. Julius Trevenick is someone you love and hate at the same time.

All the characters are well drawn. All the cast is first-rate..and the story is extremely compelling. I believe Edith Wharton would be very proud.

We almost gave up at the end of the first episode, which is slow moving and frivolous -- endless scenes of giggling young ladies behaving like thirteen year old girls. But by the end of the second episode we were glad we persisted. In the context of the full story, the carefree lives of the American girls before they get to England, although overdone, is a necessary contrast. This five episode mini-series is a watchable adaptation of Edith Wharton's last (and unfinished) novel. The characters are well drawn, the settings are sumptuous, and the depiction of upper-class English life in the late nineteenth century is believable and illuminating.

The miniseries really belongs to Carla Gugino (Nan) whose story we follow and who grown from childish dreamer to a woman who can weigh the consequences of her actions. Mira Sorvino's accent is impeccable, and both Alison Elliot and Rya Kihlstedt are great. The tale of four American heiresses who trade themselves for a place in English society is bittersweet, but has the most upbeat ending of all of Wharton's works. Don't miss it.