Best Period Romances/Miniseries
I haven't found any of the Wuthering Heights or Tess of the d'Urbervilles adaptations to be particularly romantic, so they're not on here.
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- StarsColin FirthJennifer EhleSusannah HarkerWhile the arrival of wealthy gentlemen sends her marriage-minded mother into a frenzy, willful and opinionated Elizabeth Bennet matches wits with haughty Mr. Darcy.
- StarsDaniela Denby-AsheRichard ArmitageTim Pigott-SmithNorth and South is a four-part adaptation of Elizabeth Gaskell's love story of Margaret Hale, a middle-class southerner who is forced to move to the northern town of Milton.
- StarsRuth WilsonToby StephensLorraine AshbourneA young governess falls in love with her brooding and complex master. However, his dark past may destroy their relationship forever.
- DirectorRoger MichellStarsAmanda RootCiarán HindsSusan FleetwoodTheatrical film of Persuasion with Ciaran Hinds & Amanda Root. Directed by Roger Michell.
- DirectorJoe WrightStarsKeira KnightleyMatthew MacfadyenBrenda BlethynSparks fly when spirited Elizabeth Bennet meets single, rich, and proud Mr. Darcy. But Mr. Darcy reluctantly finds himself falling in love with a woman beneath his class. Can each overcome their own pride and prejudice?
- StarsFrancesca AnnisJustine WaddellBill PatersonThe daughter of a country doctor copes with an unwanted stepmother, an impetuous stepsister, burdensome secrets, the town gossips, and the tug on her own heartstrings for a man who thinks of her only as a friend.
- StarsMatthew MacfadyenClaire FoyTom CourtenayThe Dorrits are a family whose life revolves around the Marshalsea, a debtor's prison. Amy Dorrit's kind nature brings the family into contact with a wide swath of English society, from the poorest to the richest, and back again.
- StarsRomola GaraiMichael GambonJonny Lee MillerEmma Woodhouse, a wealthy young woman living in the early 19th century, whose misplaced confidence in her matchmaking abilities occasions several romantic misadventures, which leads her into deeper meanings of love and life
- DirectorDouglas McGrathStarsGwyneth PaltrowJames CosmoGreta ScacchiWhile matchmaking for friends and neighbours, a young 19th Century Englishwoman nearly misses her own chance at love.
- DirectorAdrian ShergoldStarsSally HawkinsAlice KrigeAnthony HeadAnne was in love with Frederick, who was rejected by her snobby parents 8 years ago. They've now hit hard times and rent out their mansion to his brother-in-law. He returns a Royal Navy captain. Will he remember Anne?Almost as wonderful as the 1995 adaptation
- StarsDominic CooperCharity WakefieldHattie MorahanThe sisters Eleanor and Marianne Dashwood try to find love and security in the 1800's. These two sisters coudn't be more different. Where Eleanor is calm and always acts proper Marianne is passionate and usally forgets herself.I found this version to be better-cast and more coherent than the 1995 adaptation
- StarsJodhi MayEdward FoxAmanda RootSet in Victorian London, Gwendolen Harleth is drawn to Daniel Deronda, a selfless and intelligent gentleman of unknown parentage, but her own desperate need for financial security may destroy her chance at happiness.I don't particularly LIKE this, to be honest, but that's mostly because it's not the sort of romance I enjoy. It's definitely one of the better-made miniseries out there, and Hugh Dancy is well-cast.
- DirectorBobby RothStarsCari ShayneBrigitta DauPaul Anthony StewartA 19th-century woman, companion to a blue-blooded New England girl, falls for an aristocrat.Amazingly lovely. My mom and I have watched this multiple times. Based on a novella by Lousia May Alcott (the movie is far better than the novel, fyi)
- DirectorAndy TennantStarsDrew BarrymoreAnjelica HustonDougray ScottThe Brothers Grimm arrive at the home of a wealthy Grande Dame who speaks of the many legends surrounding the fable of the cinder girl before telling the "true" story of her ancestor.Classic
- StarsVictoria HamiltonJonathan FirthJames CallisThe marriage of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, a longtime royal love story.Ignore the horrible cover; this was such a lovely, romantic adaptation, with great chemistry between the leads
- DirectorDavid MametStarsRebecca PidgeonJeremy NorthamNigel HawthorneFollowing the theft of a postal order, a 14-year-old cadet is expelled from Naval College. To save the honour of the boy and his family, the pre-eminent barrister of the day is engaged to take on the might of the Admiralty.
- DirectorAng LeeStarsEmma ThompsonKate WinsletJames FleetRich Mr. Dashwood dies, leaving his second wife and her three daughters poor by the rules of inheritance. The two eldest daughters are the title opposites.
- DirectorDiarmuid LawrenceStarsKate BeckinsaleBernard HeptonMark StrongFaithful, enchanting adaptation of Jane Austen's nineteenth-century tale of Emma Woodhouse--a clever young woman whose mischievous matchmaking schemes nearly end up jeopardizing her own shot at romance.
- CreatorJulian FellowesStarsHugh BonnevillePhyllis LoganElizabeth McGovernA chronicle of the lives of the British aristocratic Crawley family and their servants in the early twentieth century.This is an expertly made series with beautiful cinematography and great acting. Be warned, however - it's not exactly Jane Austen with happy endings and innocent love. But there are many very compelling characters and two good romances.
- StarsCarla GuginoAlison ElliottMira SorvinoFour American girls go to England to find husbands.
- DirectorMichael Landon Jr.StarsKatherine HeiglDale MidkiffCorbin BernsenA young woman on her way to a new life in the 1800's suddenly finds herself a widow. Now she must live with a recently widowed young man and his daughter. Can any of them find love again?
- StarsAnna Maxwell MartinCarey MulliganDenis LawsonA suspenseful tale about the injustices of the 19th Century English legal system.
- DirectorJon JonesStarsGeraldine JamesMichael JuddJulia DeardenA young woman's penchant for sensational Gothic novels leads to misunderstandings in the matters of the heart.
- DirectorNicholas RentonStarsElaine CassidyLaurence FoxRafe SpallIn the Edwardian era, Marian Honeychurch and her two just-of-age children Lucy and Freddy Honeychurch are a carefree, fun-loving family living on Summer Street in the country town of Surrey. Lucy is a proper young lady, but passion seethes beneath her demure demeanor. She and her chaperone, her older cousin Charlotte Bartlett, who is officious in a slyly-undermining way, travel to Florence, Italy for a week-long respite. They stay at the Pensione Bertolini, which is popular among British tourists. Among the disparate group of other British guests at the Pensione are Mr. Emerson, whom Charlotte considers vulgar because of his forwardness, and his son, bright but brooding George Emerson. As their stay progresses, George feels that Italian life is opening his eyes to what is important in life, and he feels the same is happening to Lucy. On a group outing, an incident occurs which both Charlotte and Lucy consider improper, and the two leave Italy early and head back to England. Soon after, Lucy gets engaged to the upper-crust and passionless Cecil Vyse, and Mr. Emerson moves to Summer Street, with George visiting on the weekends. As George befriends the Honeychurches, Lucy begins to tell a series of lies, mostly to herself, about what and whom she really wants in her life.
- StarsPaul McGannKeeley HawesDominic MafhamIntertwining tales of love, greed, and secret identities in Charles Dickens's 1860s London.Tough to wade through, but there's two absolutely lovely romances buried among all the side plots
- DirectorChristopher CainStarsJennifer GarnerJeffrey D. SamsZak OrthIn the late 1800s, four young, New York City street kids save an abandoned baby girl and move to Montana to start a new life. Stars Jennifer Garner. From the Hallmark Hall of Fame Collection.
- DirectorFranco ZeffirelliStarsWilliam HurtCharlotte GainsbourgAnna PaquinJane Eyre is an orphan cast out as a young girl by her aunt, Mrs. Reed, and sent to be raised in a harsh charity school for girls. There she learns to become a teacher and eventually seeks employment outside of the school. Her advertisement is answered by the housekeeper of Thornfield Hall, Mrs. Fairfax.
- DirectorMichael Landon Jr.StarsJanuary JonesLogan BartholomewDale MidkiffThe Davis family saga continues as Missie's romance with a wealthy surveyor is interrupted by her father's life-threatening accident. However, the mysterious stranger who begins helping them makes Missie second-guess her true feelings.
- DirectorMike BarkerStarsNeil FinnighanJack BaverstockTrevor CooperAgainst a backdrop of political and religious upheaval, a farmer falls in love with the "queen" of the notorious Doone clan --a family that he has sworn vengeance on.
- StarsToby StephensTara FitzgeraldRupert GravesAn adaptation of Anne Bronte's novel; a young widow takes her son and moves to Yorkshire.Unexpectedly romantic, though it's quite dark
- DirectorNicholas LaughlandStarsKeeley HawesJames MurrayTerry MortimerIn this lighthearted romance from Victorian novelist Thomas Hardy, the beautiful new village school teacher is pursued by three suitors: a working-class man, a landowner, and the vicar.
- DirectorIain B. MacDonaldStarsJulia JoyceDouglas HodgeMaggie O'NeillThe classic tale by Jane Austen of family scandal, social graces, and the unrequited love between cousins.