I have always loathed the character of Lydia, right from my first encounter with Pride & Prejudice, through every film/movie adaptation and particularly in this story. When I first encountered Death Comes to Pemberley I was sort of hoping she'd be the victim. Here, Jenna Coleman does an excellent job of being ghastly!
However PD James understood - as is outlined in the actual plot - that even a peripheral connection to a murder would be fatal to the Darcy family's reputation, not something that could be brushed off so she would be most unlikely to bump off Darcy's sister-in-law no matter how much we might all want her to!
This is an excellent adaptation of an enjoyable book (though not I think PD James best). There are one or two anachronisms brought in by the TV writer which I don't remember from the book. I don't include the more relaxed, modern dialogue, which I think is a reasonable alteration. However, one TV invention that stood out was the vicar gently teasing his congregation because basically he had a full house due to the scandal: church going was totally usual and expected at the time. I doubt he ever had much less than full attendance!
However PD James understood - as is outlined in the actual plot - that even a peripheral connection to a murder would be fatal to the Darcy family's reputation, not something that could be brushed off so she would be most unlikely to bump off Darcy's sister-in-law no matter how much we might all want her to!
This is an excellent adaptation of an enjoyable book (though not I think PD James best). There are one or two anachronisms brought in by the TV writer which I don't remember from the book. I don't include the more relaxed, modern dialogue, which I think is a reasonable alteration. However, one TV invention that stood out was the vicar gently teasing his congregation because basically he had a full house due to the scandal: church going was totally usual and expected at the time. I doubt he ever had much less than full attendance!
