Aristocrats (1999) is a BBC miniseries adaptation of the non-fiction biography of the four Lennox sisters: Caroline Fox, 1st Baroness Holland (1723–1774), Emily FitzGerald, Duchess of Leinster (1731–1814), Lady Louisa Conolly (1743–1821), and Lady Sarah Lennox (1745–1826). All four were descended from an illegitimate son of King Charles II and the daughters of the Duke of Richmond, and so highly placed in mid-18th century English society. And three had very interesting lives, as the mini-series demonstrates: Caroline defied her parents and married leading politician Henry Fox, Emily married the rich Irish Duke of Leinster, while Sarah was rumored to be married to the heir to the throne, the future King George III, but didn’t and went on to have a turbulent life. While there are no spoilers in history, that’s as much as I’m going to tell you — you’ll have to watch the series or read the biography to find out more!
Although I have some quibbles with the fact that this series tries to cover too much time, even going so far as to use different actresses for different age ranges of the key characters, it’s still a great story and a great production. Some of the headliners include Jodhi May, Serena Gordon, Anne-Marie Duff, Geraldine Somerville, and a rare appearance by Julian Fellowes as an actor!
Most important, the costumes, by James Keast, are very close to spot-on for the period, covering the 1740s through the 1780s, with some obvious budgetary limitations (in that many costumes are worn for “decades”).
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Just an FYI – The Lennox sisters were the daughters of the Duke of Richmond, who was the illegitimate grandson of Charles II.
My favorite 18th-century costume drama; I watch it every several years for the acting and production values. (And for Lord Kildare’s hilarious foot fetish, based on his detailed letters to Emily about the silk stockings he always brought her from London. The letters also imply that they likely had happy, guilt-free sex before their marriage.)
True heirs to the Merry Monarch, no matter which side of the blanket their ancestors were fathered on…