Library Journal Review

Beginning and ending with a funeral, this five-episode British miniseries, adapted from a novel by Mary Wesley, follows five upper-class cousins from the first days of World War II through the London blitzkriegs. It was a time when life was experienced more deeply, when sex, marriage, birth, illness, and death took on an extra measure of intensity. As the war raged in Europe, it was on the home front that Calypso, Pauline, Walter, Oliver, and Sophie matured. When the cousins meet years later at the country house where the story begins, they reflect-through a series of flashbacks-on their lives, loves, heartbreaks, tragedies, and triumphs. The period detail of this program is spot-on, and the writing, acting, and production also are of very high quality. Several British actors familiar to North American viewers are featured, including Felicity Kendal and Paul Eddington from the popular TV series Good Neighbours. Originally produced for Channel Four television in 1991, the series combines humor with drama and is engaging and entertaining. DVD extras include an author biography and cast filmographies. Recommended for mature audiences, owing to language, some nudity, and adult themes. For public libraries with large entertainment sections.-Linda Frederiksen, Washington State Univ. Vancouver Lib. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.