I’m a huge fan of Brenda Blethyn’s, having watched countless hours of her as DCI Vera Stanhope, so you can imagine my delight when I saw A Woman of Substance (2026-) pop up on BritBox. Based on the 1979 novel of the same name by Barbara Taylor Bradford, it stars Blethyn as the older version of heroine Emma Harte. Jessica Reynolds plays the younger Emma in flashbacks to the early 20th century.
The show covers the decades between 1910 and about 1970, delving into Emma’s life story as she starts out as a maid for the wealthy Fairley family in rural Yorkshire, finding love and losing it several times throughout her life, all while building herself a career that ultimately sees her at the top of a retail empire and beset by greedy children and a few lingering nuisances relating to her old life. There was a miniseries in 1985 based on the book as well, but I haven’t seen it yet so I can’t comment on which is the better show, but so far I’m one episode into this rendition and am hooked.
Obviously, the huge span of decades offers the potential for a lot of costume content to discuss, but I’ve been burned in the past by shows that start off strong in the costume department and then fizzle out after a few episodes (looking at you The White Queen). That said, I’m cautiously optimistic because the radical difference between fashions decade-to-decade from the 1910s to the 1960s, plus Emma’s increasing wealth and power, should mean that there will be enough eye candy to make a series of posts worth it.
As it is, only the first two eps are out stateside on Britbox, and I’ve only had time this week to watch the first one so far, so I’ll be focusing on that for this post. Nadine Clifford-Davern is the designer and she’s best known as the assistant costume designer on Gentleman Jack, so I have high hopes that we will have some truly interesting outfits to sink our teeth into.
1970s Emma Harte
We first encounter Emma Harte in what appears to be the mid-1970s (moving it a few years forward from the novel, in which the “modern” Emma is placed c. 1968-1970) in New York. She’s the founder of Harte’s, a high-end department store, and we quickly learn that malicious rumors have been spread by Harte’s board of directors to try to oust her from the company she built. We then flash back to Emma’s youth, c. 1910, in Yorkshire.
1910 Emma Harte
Young Emma is a free-spirited and spunky teenage girl whose family lives a humble but loving life in remote Yorkshire. Emma’s mother is bedridden from an unspecified disease, while Emma’s father works grueling shifts at the local mill (also owned by the Fairleys) with her younger brother, Frank. Emma herself is employed by the wealthy Fairley family, and it’s implied that Emma’s mother also worked at the Fairley’s manor before becoming ill. Her mother wants her to make the most of the opportunities afforded to her by working in the Fairley estate, but is also worried that she may end up getting stuck as a maid and never break free of poverty.
1910 Olivia Wainwright
Olivia Wainwright (played by Lydia Leonard) is the sister-in-law of Adam Fairley, the “squire” who owns Fairley Hall. She has stepped into the roll of mistress of the estate in the near total absence of her sister Adele, who spends her day in an alcoholic haze in her bedroom, too afraid to come downstairs. This, of course, lays the foundation for a love triangle to develop between the estranged spouses and Olivia.
1910 Adele Fairley
Adele is the wife of Adam Fairley and the “madwoman in the attic.” She hasn’t been present in the family in any meaningful way for years as she became more and more lost to mental illness and alcoholism. Emma is assigned to be her lady’s maid, however, and the pairing seems to have a therapeutic effect on Adele.
1910 Priya Chandra
Played by Hiftu Quasem, Priya is the daughter of a wealthy investor who the Fairleys are attempting to woo for their mill operations. There’s also some heavy foreshadowing that they intend to also woo Priya as potential bride for the youngest Fairley son, Edwin, (who inconveniently also happens to be in love with Emma).
That’s it so far for the costumes of Episode One. If you’re in the UK and have seen all the episodes by now, let me know if it’s worth continuing to cover each episode!
Find this frock flick at:
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