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Happy 50th to Colin Firth, Actor Extraordinaire

Victoria here, wishing many happy returns to Colin Firth, another actor that fascinates me — handsome, talented, versatile and all the other adjectives one can apply to British actors in the tradition of Olivier,  Gielgud, and so many others.  I wonder if Firth ever realized what a heart-throb he would become by playing Jane Austen’s memorable hero in the 1995 version of Pride and Prejudice, with a screenplay by Andrew Davies, produced by Sue Birtwistle and directed by Simon Langton for the BBC and A and E.

Of course, some of that had to do with the famous wet shirt scene, at which one might swoon — over what Jane Austen would have made of it!! 
But it also had to do with the smoky, sexy looks Darcy cast Elizabeth’s way — sigh!  Talk about “fine eyes.”  Firth made an excellent Darcy, looking suitably grim and bored at the beginning, and changing over the six episodes to recognize his love for Lizzy. This did not preclude his continued arrogance and his reluctance to share the real story of Mr. Wickham. But in the end, was anyone in doubt of the happy- ever-after ending?  Not I.
Firth did a sort of reprise of his P and P role when he played Mark Darcy in the Bridget Jones movies in 2001 and 2004.

Colin Firth was born September 10th, 1960, in Grayshott, Hampshire. He lived in Nigeria during part of his childhood later spent a year in the U.S. as a teen. He studied acting at the Drama Centre and was “discovered” while playing Hamlet.
Firth has appeared on the stage in London but has kept very busy with films, such as the role of the artist Vermeer in The Girl with the Pearl Earring (2003).  He appeared in Valmont (1989), The English Patient (1996), Shakespeare in Love (1998), and Love, Actually (2003), among many more.
Firth has worked with many fine actresses, none better than Judi Dench in Shakespeare in Love.  Kristen Scott Thomas, Jennifer Ehle, Meg Tilly,  Renee Zellweger, Isabella Rossellini, and Emma Thompson, to name a few more.
If I had been advising Colin Firth on his choice of roles, I guess I would have nixed Mamma Mia (2008).  Perhaps they had a great time filming it. Or working with Meryl Streep was impossible to give up.  Although Colin’s singing was just fine, Pierce Brosnan was dreadful.  But that last scene with all of them dressed in those shiny suits fro the 70’s and parading across the stage made me howl with laughter.

Firth received international kudos for his role in A Single Man (2009), including the BAFTA, an Oscar nomination, and awards from the Venice International Film Festival.   In the role of Professor George Falconer, he mourns the death of his long-time companion.
In the meantime, A Single Man has been released on DVD. Colin Firth’s performance is truly excellent.  His co-star is Julianne Moore who is also very good, much better than in her usual roles. 
Among Firth’s upcoming films is his starring role as King George VI in The King’s Speech, co-starring Geoffrey Rush as the coach who helped the King, father of the current Queen Elizabeth II, overcome his stammer. It should be released later in 2010.

I am sure that Colin Firth will continue to engage us with his portrayals on stage, screen and television, into his middle age.  And aren’t we lucky that we all can own a copy of Pride and Prejudice to watch whenever we like? In fact, you can watch a damp Firth in the  “lake scene” from Pride and Predjudice here. And the marriage proposal here.

A Note From Kristine and Victoria

Windsor June 2010
As we approach our six month anniversary, Victoria and I wanted to take a moment to thank everyone for their support of Number One London. Judging by the comments and emails we receive, you’re enjoying this site, but not half as much as we enjoy blogging! It’s really been a labour of love.
When we first started Number One London, one of our goals was to have a place where like minded Georgian, Regency and Victorian history addicts could share research and interesting stories they’d uncovered. We’d like to once more extend the invitation for you to become a guest blogger. Is there a particular area of history you’re fascinated by? An unforgettable personality? A little known fact regarding daily life? If so, please share it with the rest of us! We’ve all got our own particular interests so it’s rather nice to have a place to learn about things we wouldn’t necesarily research on our own. You might also submit a film or book review or a piece about your own visit to a stately home, museum or other location within the UK.

Furthering the effort to get connected, we’ve begun running a “real time” Recent Comments list in our left sidebar. Without having to open individual posts and click on the comments links, you can immediately see who’s been to Number One London and what they had to say. And we hope you’ve enjoyed the reaction boxes we added below each post, enabling you to leave a quick reaction with just the tick of a box.


Do you have suggestions or comments regarding the future of Number One London? If so, please use the email link in the left sidebar to email us – or leave your comment below this post. We’d love to hear them.

Once again, thanks so much for your support. Really. You know, Victoria and I each write our posts and then send them onto the web and wonder just who, if anyone, is reading them besides ourselves. I can’t tell you how encouraging it is for us to see your comments, reactions and emails.

The Fullerton Sisters, Sir Thomas Lawrence, 1825

Victoria here, taking a moment to thank everyone and encourage all of you to contribute your thoughts via a comment or a full-blown post.  You wouldn’t be here if you weren’t a fan of England, British topics and so forth.  What do you love to read and where do you dream of going? 

I’m sort of addicted to visiting country houses myself, as you may have noticed.  Any hints for our next trip?  Favorite spots?  Someplace you want to re-visit — or that you would have for your own (if you win the lottery)?

Scotney Castle, Kent

Tell us all about it.  Or just come along while we tell you about our faves — that’s okay too.  Cheerio!

Burghley House

Mack the Knife

Oh, the shark, babe, has such teeth, dear
And it shows them pearly white
Just a jackknife has old MacHeath, babe
And he keeps it … ah … out of sight.
Ya know when that shark bites, with his teeth, babe
Scarlet billows start to spread
Fancy gloves, though, wears old MacHeath, babe
So there’s nevah, nevah a trace of red.
Now on the sidewalk … uuh, huh … whoo … sunny mornin’ … uuh, huh
Lies a body just oozin’ life … eeek!
And someone’s sneakin’ ‘round the corner
Could that someone be Mack the Knife?

Don’t you love Mack the Knife? I do. I’ve added Bobby Darin’s version of the song to nearly every cd I’ve burned. Imagine my surprise when I learned that Mack the Knife has it’s roots in England . . . . .  The character of Macheath, later to become Mack the Knife, first appeared in The Beggar’s Opera by John Gay (1685-1732). The Beggar’s Opera, a comic ballad opera, took London by storm with it’s portrayal of the lower-class criminals satirizing the government and upper-class society. The main character of The Beggar’s Opera is a swashbuckling thief called Macheath who is polite to the people he robs, shuns violence, and shows impeccable good manners while cheating on his wife. The character is usually understood as partly a satire of Sir Robert Walpole, a leading British politician of the time. The Beggar’s Opera was a success from its first production in 1728, and continued to be performed for many years. It was the first musical play produced in colonial New York and legend has it that George Washington enjoyed it very much.

The Beggar’s Opera by Hogarth

The play was so popular that it prompted Hogarth to fashion a painting upon it. Here is the description of the above painting from the Tate Britain website: “Between 1728 and 1731 Hogarth painted numerous versions of a climactic scene from John Gay’s The Beggar’s Opera, the great theatrical sensation of the period. Hogarth concentrated on a scene set in Newgate prison in which the play’s leading character, a condemned highwayman called Captain Macheath, is shown at the centre of a tug-of-love. The characters of Lucy Lockit and Polly Peachum, both of whom believe themselves married to Macheath, plead with their fathers – respectively a corrupt prison-warden and a crooked lawyer – to set him free. In both versions of A Beggar’s Opera displayed here, Hogarth included the stage trappings and protagonists of the theatrical environment in which Gay’s work was first staged. An elaborate curtain hangs over the proceedings, and Hogarth paints recognisable portraits of such actors as Lavinia Fenton (dressed in white), who famously played Polly Peachum. Furthermore, Hogarth depicts the most fashionable members of the theatre audience sitting on the stage, as was commonplace at this time.”

But back to the song . . . . . the much covered popular tune (Armstrong, Fitzgerald, Darin, Sinatra, Buble, et al) was composed by Kurt Weill with lyrics by Bertolt Brecht for their music drama Die Dreigroschenoper, or, as it is known in English, The Threepenny Opera – based on The Beggar’s Opera. It premiered in Berlin in 1928 and the song became a popular standard. “Mack the Knife” was introduced to the United States hit parade by Louis Armstrong in 1956, but the song is most closely associated with Bobby Darin, who recorded the song in 1958 and won Record of the Year in 1959.

Aah … I said Jenny Diver … whoa … Sukey Tawdry
Look out to Miss Lotte Lenya and old Lucy Brown
Yes, that line forms on the right, babe
Now that Macky’s back in town …

Kurt Weill’s widow, Lotte Lenya, was the star of both the original 1928 German production and the 1954 Blitzstein Broadway version and she happened to be present in the studio during Armstrong’s recording. He spontaneously added her name to the lyrics, which already named several of Macheath’s female victims. All the other women’s names, Suky Tawdry, Jenny Diver, Lucy Brown, etc., appear in the original German version.
 
You can watch a classic video of Bobby Darin singing Mack The Knife here.

Victoria (Magazine) at Holker Hall

I guess I have a “thing” about Victorias — writers, queens, magazines, whatever. I loved the first Victoria magazine, published from 1987 to 2003, and I love the new version, published since 2007.  When it arrives every other month, I put it aside until I have a couple of quiet hours in which to enjoy it uninterrupted.

So in this busy summer, it took me a long time to get around to the September-October issue, which arrived a few weeks ago. On pp. 40-45, I found a lovely photographic story about Holker Hall, a stately home in the English Lake District which I have visited.  How delightful to experience the house and its gardens all over again.  Here is a link to Victoria magazine and here is a link to the Hall’s website.

The Holker estate belongs to Lord and Lady Cavendish, a branch of the family of the present 12th Duke of Devonshire. It has been in the Cavendish-Devonshire family for many years, coming into their possession by marriage.  Largely  rebuilt in red sandstone after a fire in 1871,  its style is  neo-Elizabethan. one of the popular recreated architectural fashions of the Victorian Era.

The 7th Duke of Devonshire left Holker to a younger son (in 1908), and thus it passed out of the direct control of the dukes themselves.  That younger son was a grandfather of the present Lord Cavendish.


Of particular interest are the gardens, which have been designed carefully to bring out the best in seasonal plantings.  These spring time rhododendrons must be amazing.

 

The newer wing of the house, built in the 1870’s contains many outstanding features in woodworking, plaster designs, lighting and furnishings.  If you look at the pictures in the magazine article, it is almost possible to think of yourself sitting in one of the comfortable armchairs, waiting for tea or reading one of the 3,500 books in the library.  The cantilevered staircase pictured at left was carved by estate workers of local wood.

In the Blue Guide to Country Houses of England, Geoffrey Tyack writes of Holker Hall, “Few houses open to the public convey better than Holker the sense of late-Victorian aristocratic life and tastes.”
The estate is a busy commercial concern, including forestry, lumbering,  and slate cutting businesses as well as agricultural produce, tourism, hunting and fishing, and many special events such as festivals, concerts, and exhibitions.  The fallow deer herds are maintained for their traditional beauty as well as for their meat. 

By the way, in the September-October 2010 issue of Victoria magazine, there are also excellent articles on the Lake District and its benefactress, the late author Beatrix Potter, who created Peter Rabbit and all his friends.

I hope Peter is still at Mr. McGregor’s House and not stirring things up at beautiful Holker Hall.

Wolf Hall and The Tudors

Victoria here, still breathless after finishing Hilary Mantel’s novel Wolf Hall.  I admit I had a hard time getting into the novel at first, but soon I was hooked and hung on every word to the finish. I can understand why Wolf Hall won the Man Booker Prize.  It is exceptionaly well written and seems firmly based in fact.

The novel is set in the time of Henry VIII and the main character is Thomas Cromwell, a man of humble birth who is rising to prominence as an adviser to the king after serving Cardinal Wolsey.  Cromwell (later named Earl of Essex, as in the picture at left from the National Portrait Gallery in London, after a painting by Hans Holbein) is brilliant at accomplishing any task, large or small, for the king and the court. He is a skilled negotiator, creative in suggesting solutions to complicated problems and efficiently acquires power and influence.
The stories of Henry VIII, his wives and mistresses, his reign and those of his short-lived son and his two daughters have been popular in all sorts of media in the past few years.  Novels about ill-fated queens, from Katherine of Aragon to Mary, Queen of Scots, have been seen on television and the big screen.  I frankly wondered if I needed one more version of a Tudor story when I began Wolf Hall.  Though I thought Jonathan Rhys-Meyers made an interesting young Henry, despite the wrong build and wrong shade of hair, I thought it was ridiculous by the end of The Tudors. Wait — it was good drama but bad casting and veered from historical to completely faux by the end of the fourth and last season. In my opinion, of course.
But I digress.  This time of the English Renaissance is not really MY period at all, but I must say Ms. Mantel’s skill gave me a new appreciation for the politics and scheming associated with Henry’s break with Rome, the Dissolution of the Abbeys, and the establishment of a new church (left, Tintern Abbey by Turner).  The time of Henry VIII, Wolsey, Cromwell, More, and the Boleyns was a dreadful time of intrigue and bloody torture as well as a flowering of art and music.
Hilary Mantel was born in Derbyshire in 1952. She has written many novels, for which she has won awards, culminating in the 2009 Man Booker Prize, probably the world’s most prestigious. She also writes essays, reviews and has written a memoir as well as many short stories.  She is working on a sequel to Wolf Hall tentatively titled The Mirror and the Light.  I am eager to read it. In the meantime, the trade paperback has been recently released in the U.S. from Picador, an imprint of Macmillan.