Clarissa 

A virtuous young woman is oppressed by her ambitious family and a rake who's becomes obsessed with her.

Stars:

Sean Bean, Saskia Wickham, Jonny Phillips

5 nominations.

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Sean Bean	...	Lovelace 4 episodes, 1991
Saskia Wickham	...	Clarissa Harlowe 4 episodes, 1991
Jonny Phillips	...	James 4 episodes, 1991
Lynsey Baxter	...	Arabella Harlowe / ... 4 episodes, 1991
Hermione Norris	...	Anna Howe 4 episodes, 1991
Sean Pertwee	...	Jack Belford 4 episodes, 1991
Jeffry Wickham	...	Mr. Harlowe 3 episodes, 1991
Cathryn Harrison	...	Mrs. Sinclair 3 episodes, 1991
Shirley Henderson	...	Sally 3 episodes, 1991
Lucy Robinson	...	Deb 3 episodes, 1991
Darby Hawker	...	Dorcas 3 episodes, 1991
Frances Viner	...	Mrs. Harlowe 3 episodes, 1991
Ralph Riach	...	Uncle Anthony 3 episodes, 1991
Jon Sotherton	...	Hickman 3 episodes, 1991
Matthew Wait	...	Joe Leman 3 episodes, 1991
Michael Feast	...	Tomlinson 2 episodes, 1991
Julian Firth	...	Solmes 2 episodes, 1991
Lorna Heilbron	...	Mrs. Howe 2 episodes, 1991
Julia Dearden	...	Mrs. Moore 2 episodes, 1991
Allison Hancock	...	Betty 2 episodes, 1991

Storyline

Clarissa Harlowe is a young 18th-century Englishwoman. Her family have aspirations to move into the aristocracy and want her to marry the repellent Mr Soames as part of their plan. Clarissa manages to escape from them with the help of the handsome Lovelace, whose intentions towards her prove to be less than entirely honourable.

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Plot Keywords:

18th century | georgian era | virtue | sword fight | ruse | 

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Genres:

History

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 April 1992 (USA)

Also Known As:

Samuel Richardson's Clarissa - History of a Young Lady

Filming Locations:

Brocket Hall, Lemsford, Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), WGBH

Technical Specs

Runtime:

180 min (3 parts)

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

With a budget of over £3 million, filming on Clarissa began 29 Apr 1991 and continued for 16 weeks until 19 July 1991. Locations included several large country houses (one in the north of England, another near Stratford, and a third in Hampstead). Some exteriors were shot outside The Inns of Court in London but much of the filming was done at London's Ealing Studios, where a three-storey Georgian house was specially constructed for the series.

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Quotes

Anna: Men are all such nasty schoolboys.

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Soundtracks

Cuckolds All A Row
(uncredited)
Traditional
From John Playford's 'The English Dancing Master', First Edition (1651)

User Reviews

Loved it!

I've not always been a big fan of period pieces, but I found this production to be riveting throughout. The performances of the actors were excellent, Saskia Wickam appeared to be a seasoned pro and I was so impressed to find this was her first major role. Sean Bean's portrayal of Lovelace was terrific - his presence on screen was amazing. His charisma was stunning, despite the wigs and ornate costumes, which I thought would be distracting. They were not at all. I would highly recommend this production to anyone - it's such a shame that it is so difficult to find. Hopefully it will be made available to American audiences again in the very near future. I'd love to see the entire four hour production originally shown on the BBC.