Um…hi

My family enjoys watching period films and shows ( I know, I don’t really talk about shows or movies, I’m supposed to talk about books- but just hear me out), as well as things based on books (sometimes). We watched the BBC show (miniseries?) starring Gemma Arterton and Eddie Redmayne, which led me to read this book.

After both reading the book and watching the show I can honestly say I don’t have a preference for one or the other. 

The story is a beautiful tale of a young woman who is hurt by pretty much every man in her life ever but mainly, her father (John), her “cousin”(Alec), and her husband(Angel). These three men are respectively, a drunkard, a seducer, and an abandoner (though he was hurt by her too- in a way). She manages to persevere through the many trials she faces through these three men, and still have compassion and love for the people around her, which is astounding to me. This is a wonderful story of an older sister, who does what she can for her family, maintains her pride, and does the best she can with her lot in life. The end, however, I didn’t see coming until it happened. I definitely wasn’t expecting any of what happened.

The reason I say that I have no preference, is because Gemma Arterton and Eddie Redmayne, captured the characters of Tess and Angel perfectly. I understand, that I could be biased for them because I watched the show first, but in spite of that, I can’t imagine that it could have been cast better for any of the characters, so I applaud the casting director who made the decisions for the show as well.