The date is 1814, and apparently the Napoleonic Wars have ended with Napoleon forced into exile on his island kingdom of Elba. Merry Old England is settling back into normalcy. The empire is thriving in such farflung locales as India. And, it is time for the dashing young soldiers to be thinking about marriage and producing healthy young English babies.
Enter Miss Rebecca "Becky" Sharp, who has left Miss Pinkerton's Academy, which is described by one character as "the breeding ground for future-hunting jades." Miss Sharp uses her intelligence, artistic bent, and ingenuity to work her way up the social ladder. This second episode might be titled more accurately, "Meet the Crawleys," as Miss Sharp settles in to her Devonshire environment as the governess to the Crawley children.
In this program, Miss Sharp curries favor with Pit Crawley to become his personal secretary. She is a whiz with finances as she assists him in his numerous lawsuits. In the process, she earns the wrath of the oldest children of Crawley, a Puritan brother-and-sister combination that is truly formidable. There is also the dapper soldier Rawdon, who has designs on Miss Sharp that may not be entirely honorable. There are the delightful little charges, Rose and Violet, whom Miss Sharp instructs in French lessons.
In a brief scene in London, George Armstrong has proven a cad in his ill treatment of Emmy. George's snooty father looks down on Emmy and her stockbroker father. When the elder Armstrong calls in his loans, Snedley and his lovely daughter will be ruined. Dobbin is the only truly honorable soldier.
There is an unexpected visit to Queen's Crawley by the indomitable and wealthy Aunt Matilda, who takes an instant liking to Miss Sharp. By the end of the episode, Miss Sharp has become personal secretary to Aunt Matilda, who adores the orphan's romantic parentage of a failed artist and a dancer for the opera. Miss Sharp's coach has arrived, and she travels back to London with her new benefactor.
Enter Miss Rebecca "Becky" Sharp, who has left Miss Pinkerton's Academy, which is described by one character as "the breeding ground for future-hunting jades." Miss Sharp uses her intelligence, artistic bent, and ingenuity to work her way up the social ladder. This second episode might be titled more accurately, "Meet the Crawleys," as Miss Sharp settles in to her Devonshire environment as the governess to the Crawley children.
In this program, Miss Sharp curries favor with Pit Crawley to become his personal secretary. She is a whiz with finances as she assists him in his numerous lawsuits. In the process, she earns the wrath of the oldest children of Crawley, a Puritan brother-and-sister combination that is truly formidable. There is also the dapper soldier Rawdon, who has designs on Miss Sharp that may not be entirely honorable. There are the delightful little charges, Rose and Violet, whom Miss Sharp instructs in French lessons.
In a brief scene in London, George Armstrong has proven a cad in his ill treatment of Emmy. George's snooty father looks down on Emmy and her stockbroker father. When the elder Armstrong calls in his loans, Snedley and his lovely daughter will be ruined. Dobbin is the only truly honorable soldier.
There is an unexpected visit to Queen's Crawley by the indomitable and wealthy Aunt Matilda, who takes an instant liking to Miss Sharp. By the end of the episode, Miss Sharp has become personal secretary to Aunt Matilda, who adores the orphan's romantic parentage of a failed artist and a dancer for the opera. Miss Sharp's coach has arrived, and she travels back to London with her new benefactor.
