Hayley Atwell as Margaret Schlegel
There are only four episodes and I’ll admit, I watched the first the day it aired. Then, when I realized there were only four of them, I knew I would wait so I could sit and watch the rest in one sitting. I know the story, I know what happens, and perhaps I should want to savor this talented cast but I just couldn’t. I knew I would want everything all at once. I would want for Margaret the way Mr. Wilcox does. I would go off in haste the way Aunt Juley often does.
Fantastic Cast
Hayley is perfectly cast as Margaret, a progressive young woman for 1910 London and head of the bourgeoisie Schlegel family. She chooses to embrace the arts, literature even political discourse while living on her own terms as much as one can as they battle the class system of the time. I will admit, I haven’t read the book but feel I must add it to the pile. I want to see how E.M. Forster wrote her and if she jumps off the page as well as Hayley plays her. How she often battles her Aunt Juley who is of a different era, Hayley seems quite the perfect actress to play the heroine of the story.
The cast is filled out with previously mentioned Matthew Macfadyen and Julia Ormond as upper-class Henry and Ruth Wilcox. Margaret’s younger sister Helen is played by Philippa Coulthard and Aunt Juley is played by Tracey Ullman. Leonard Bast, from the third family in our story, the lower-class background compared to the others, is played by Joseph Quinn.
Howards End Characters
While still a few weeks away for me, it will be exciting to see how “Mr. Darcy” has grown. Henry Wilcox is conservative and stuffy. Will Margaret’s idealistic views of society and propriety butt heads? I can’t wait to see.
Trailer
Watch the trailer for the series here:
