Today we have historical romance author Maire Claremont here to celebrate her latest release. The Dark Lady is available now from Signet.
Maire Claremont’s Top Ten Favorite Historical Miniseries
I’d like to share my very favorite top ten favorite historical mini series! I adore these and can’t wait to share!
1. North and South. This mini series deals with the contrast between Northern England and Southern England during the Victorian period. One of the most POWERFUL love stories I’ve ever seen!
2. The Crimson Petal and The White. This one is NOT for the faint of heart. I adore it. It focuses on a wealthy middle class family and a prostitute in the later Victorian period and how their lives intersect. This one isn’t a romance, but it is SO SO good and period fabulous!
3. Wives and Daughters. I have watched this OVER and OVER again. The story is just magical. Another Victorian but very bucolic!
4. Wuthering Heights. Though this isn’t really a series, the BBC recently ran it as a two part drama starring Tom Hardy and his real life love. This version rocks my socks off. I don’t think anyone plays Heathcliff anywhere remotely as amazingly as Mr. Hardy.
5. Upstairs Downstairs (the original) This is a five season series done in the seventies exploring the lives of the servants Downstairs and the family above. You could argue it paved the way for Downton Abbey.
6. The Forsyte Saga. The costumes are glorious, the stories are tortured, and it includes Damian Lewis as one hateable villain.
7. Cranford. If you haven’t seen this, you are seriously missing out. A fabulous cast (Judi Dench, Eileen Atkins, and Michael Gambon) This is a powerful but heartwarming story of a small town being pulled into industry during the Victorian era.
8. Tess of the d’Uurbervilles (featuring Gemma Atterton). This story will wrench your heart out. A real Victorian drama. Be forewarned, not a HEA in sight, but still SO good.
9.Downton Abbey. Most of us know it now, but what list could be without this fantastically beautiful depiction of the evolution of the old style of living in the early 20th century.
10. The Tudors. This one is my super uber guilty pleasure. The history is dodgy, but the actors are SO much fun. I adore Jonathan Rhys Myers and all the fabulous drama he gets up to.
Bonus: One of my very favorite series ever made is HBO’s Rome. Its vicious, realistic, and you root for the characters all the way. If you’re squeamish maybe not, but if you want an amazing story, you MUST see this!
Now, what are your favorite shows??? One random commenter will win a copy of The Dark Lady. US only.
Please note: You must include a vaild email address with your comment to be eligible. Contest ends 2/19/13 @11:59pm.
Bio:
2011 Golden Heart winner Máire Claremont first fell in love with Mr. Rochester, not Mr. Darcy. Drawn to his dark snark, she longed to find a tortured hero of her own… until she realized the ramifications of Mr. Rochester locking his first wife up in his attic. Discovering the errors of her ways, Máire now looks for a real-life Darcy and creates deliciously dark heroes on the page. Oh, and she wants everyone to know her name is pronounced Moira. Her parents just had to give her an Irish Gaelic name.
Website: http://www.maireclaremont.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/MaireClaremont
Twitter: http://twitter.com/MaireClaremont
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/maireclaremont/
Blog: http://maireclaremont.blogspot.com/
The Victorian era was full of majestic beauty and scandalous secrets—a time when corsets were the least of a woman’s restrictions, and men could kill or be killed in the name of honor….
Lord Ian Blake has returned from India a broken man. Years ago, he pledged to Lady Eva Carin—his childhood companion and ” first love—that he would bring her husband back alive. His failure haunts him. But even his jade soul can’t anticipate the shocking sight of beautiful, independent Eva confined in a madhouse….Locked in an asylum, forgotten by society, Eva is adrift in both body and mind. For Ian to break her free, they must cross a powerful enemy—and prove her sanity to England’s unforgiving aristocracy. But the biggest danger of all may come when the secrets of Eva’s tragic past are finally unlocked….
Excerpt:http://www.maireclaremont.com/#!the-dark-lady-excerpt/ctw6
I know there are lots of video versions of Jane Eyre, but my favorite stars Toby Stephens as Mr. Rochester and a young woman named Ruth Wilson as Jane – she is more like the Jane of the book in that she isn’t terribly pretty! Loved your list, reminds me there are several I haven’t seen yet. And your book sounds different and intriguing.
Congratulations on your new release. I enjoyed the movie version of Pride and Prejudice, but I had never seen the BBC miniseries. It was recently televised on PBS and was quite good.
penfield716(AT)yahoo(DOT)com
Dr J’s review just below has sold me on this–please throw my name in the hat for the draw, I’d love to read and review The Dark Lady
Best of luck with the release!
Thank you Kim!!! I love the movie version too. A lot of people are on the fence, but its beautiful and Matthew Macfayden is fabulous!
Hey Anonymous!!! I love the version of Jane Eyre. Toby Stephens is an amazing Rochester!
Hi Aztec lady!
So glad you’re excited about The Dark Lady!!! Thanks for stopping by!
Hi Maire,
Tis me again!! I love a lot of the t.v shows that you liked. I use to watch the original “Upstairs, Downstairs” when I still lived in England. Wuthering Heights, and North & South and also Downton Abbey are great favorites of mine.
I’m looking forward to “Mr. Selfridge” which starts next month on PBS.
Thanks for another opportunity to win a copy of your new book, “The Dark Lady”.
I LOVE The Tudors! I’ve been thinking of starting Downton Abbey since I’ve heard such great things about it, too. I cannot wait to read The Dark Lady!
I don’t watch much TV anymore, other than college football. I do read quite a bit, and am looking forward to getting ahold of The Dark Lady. Thanks for visiting!
mochfly(at)swbell(dot)net
Hi again Diana! So fun to see you around! Mr. Selfridge sounds awesome!!!!
Hi Annah! Lovely to see you again. Downton Abbey is a MUST!!!!!!! Can’t wait to hear what you think of The Dark Lady!
Hi LSU!!
Thanks for stopping by and I can’t wait to hear what you think of The Dark Lady!!!
Thank you for posting this! I love historical fictions (especially romances!) I didn’t know half of those mini series existed … and I’m so excited to watch them! I love shows like Downton Abbey because it’s amazing to get to see the castles and cars and scenery that before I could only imagine. The Dark Lady looks exciting! I’d love to read it and share my reviews with my book club and online!
Hi Maire, Mr. Selfridge starts in March on PBS. It’s set in London in the early 1900’s. The sets that have been built are amazing. I hope that everybody watches it. It will be our fix for when Downton Abbey finishes this week. 🙁
I just started watching Downton Abbey 2 episodes ago and had to find the first two seasons on DVD. LOL I love historicals.
Marcy Shuler
bmndshuler(at)hotmail(dot)com
CSI
bn100candg(at)hotmail(dot)com
I love the British series like Downton Abbey, Rosemary & Thyme, Foyle’s Warr plus Castle, Scandal, Elementary.
sallans d at yahoo dot com
Congrats on the new release. The Dark Lady sounds fantastic. Can’t wait to read it.
Downton Abbey, The Tudors, and Spartacus are a few of my favorite shows.
e.balinski(at)att(dot)net
Love the older mini series Horatio Hornblower with Ioan Gruffudd.
R_Z_T@msn.com