At one point during The Aristocrats, the dutiful, devoted, yet rather dim husband of Louisa Lennox cannot find the word to describe the magnificent party they are attending. "Resplendent," his wife offers. That pretty much describes this impeccably mounted BBC miniseries.

Based on the biography by Stella Tillyard, The Aristocrats vividly re-creates "a different world" that would eventually be shattered by rebellion and bloodshed. "The much pampered" Emily Lennox narrates her family's history, as tumultuous as it was charmed. The Lennox sisters, Caroline (Serena Gordon), Emily (Geraldine Somerville, and as an older woman, Sian Phillips), Louisa (Anne-Marie McDuff), and Sarah (Jodhi May), were of royal blood and they mixed with royalty. Part 1 chronicles elder daughter Caroline's "small rebellion" that tears her family apart. Against her father's wishes ("I would sooner let you sell fish in the street," he thunders), she marries for love Henry Fox, a politician who is 20 years older. Caroline is banished from the house and her sisters' lives. Part 2 charts the misfortunes of sister Sarah, who as a child was a favorite of the king and is later courted, but ultimately rejected, by his heir. She becomes "an inconvenient woman," scandalizing her family with her indiscretions. Part 3 makes the last reel of Gone with the Wind look like Singin' in the Rain as bittersweet reunions, sibling rivalries, death, infidelities, and revolution take their tragic toll.

Enter THEIR World!

"I remained convinced that our prestigious family with its significant connections could still hold sway over history." Thus spake Emily, Duchess of Leinster, in 1798, shortly before her son, the notorious and dashing Irish revolutionary, Edward Fitzgerald, was executed for the murder of a British soldier. The world they knew was rapidly changing, and, indeed, there was little, if *anything*, the Duchess or her aristocratic family held sway over anymore, except each other. But a few short years before, she and her sisters were among the most admired and privileged women on earth. The five sisters, Caroline, Emily, Louisa, Sarah and Cecilia, were the great-granddaughters of Charles II with his mistress, Louise de Keroualle, the Duchess of Portsmouth. Their grandfather, the king's illegitimate son, was Charles Lennox, 1st Duke of Richmond. His son, also Charles, became the 2nd Duke of Richmond. The 2nd Duke married an Irish woman, of whose backround, both were deeply ashamed of and desperately tried to conceal. When their eldest daughter Caroline, an intelligent woman with a thirst for sophisticated pleasures, eloped with Henry Fox, 1st Baron Holland, the Duke and Duchess were mortified at her insubordination - marrying a politician against the wishes of her father brought swift judgement upon Caroline, and she was banished from her family. Caroline missed her family greatly and grieved over their estrangement, but from her home, Holland House (the same one on the Holland House liquor labels), she kept discreet correspondence with her sisters. When second eldest daughter, Emily, begged her parents to allow her to marry James Fitzgerald, 20th Earl of Kildare, an Irish statesman, the parents were aghast at the possibility of Irish blood (re-)entering their bloodline, but fearing another estrangement, they agreed to the marriage, partially because it was evident that the Earl deeply loved Emily, and partially because the Earl was extraordinarily wealthy. She had a son, Edward Fitzgerald, a celebrated United Irishman, whose dedication to Irish freedom would have been incomprehensible to his grandparents. Louisa, the third sister, married Thomas Conolly, a kind and loving man, had a brood of children and lived happily ever after. Fourth sister, Sarah, married badly, had an affair, a baby, a divorce, and complete social ostracism all in short order. Fifth sister, Cecilia, died in her teens. There was also a brother who became 3rd Duke of Richmond.
Meticulously adapted from Stella Tillyard's masterpiece by the same name, *Aristocrats* is a story of magnificent scope and grandeur, but told without the usual gassy adoration of the British upper class. Its basis is not embellished reports and embroidered tales, but the massive archives of correspondence and household and historical records left behind by these women. It is as much a story of the sisters' love for each other and their families, as it is a historical drama, but the viewer never forgets that it is through the eyes of these women that we see the epic unfold. As with many epics, it makes short work of some of history's more momentous occasions, but that serves to keep the story focused on the sisters. The production values are top notch. With an excellent screenplay by Harriet O'Carroll, superb direction, and outstanding craftsmanship throughout, *Aristocrats* is as splendid a production as it is a story.

The Book is Better

I watched this on Masterpiece Theater and was intrigued enough with the family story to buy the book. The characters and the historical context are much better developed in the book and you don't have to listen to that extraordinarily whiny, droning music.

Rich And Elegant

Aristocrats is the epitome of the costume historical dramas the British do so well. It is the story of the five Lennox sisters: Caroline, Emily, Louisa, Sarah, and Cecilia who, as the daughters of the Duke of Richmond and great-granddaughters of King Charles II, stood at the apex of 18th century English society. They lived lives of splendor in magnificent homes with dozens of servants, but their love lives were tumultuous and tortured. Unusually for that period, they held significant political influence through their husbands, sons, and lovers and were witnesses to much climatic history from the mid 1700s through the early 1800s.

If you have only seen the version of Aristocrats shown on Masterpiece Theater in 1999 you are in for an extra treat with this video set in that many deleted scenes have been included, adding to the richness of the drama and making the story much more complete. (We see Cecilia's sad fate, for example).