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A Lifetime of Frustratiore D,+Iuq Ftutqt?,+L)Il

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A Lifetime of Frustratiore D,+Iuq Ftutqt?,+L)Il A lifetime of frustratiore D,+iuq ftutqt?,+l)il . "- , ,qlsfc+ that it was period drama of the forbidden sort, resides in the production va-lues THE WEEKEND most sumptuous and kind, anticipation and in the flawiess performarrces Daphne also delivered imagining. "I thought you from Ceialdine Somervrlle, ffiruYffiffiWg$fi#ru another dimension, which was gorgeous." refl ected Daphne Elizabeth McGovern and Janet l-. needed because we now know to herself after Ellen's fiist how much du Maurier's appearance in her cabin mid- articulaIed lenderingi o[ personal tribulations fed Atlantic. Enough said, really. private tragedv that dicl most into herwriting and because At the - other end of the to iliurninate du Maurier's .; repressed desire and life. emotional spectrum, wi thirr At lhe ottrcr end ol ttre social disappointment appropriated the restricting walls of home scale, Supergrass (BBC 2, such a big slice of her in Cornwall, it took no rnore Sirn). a slice oI the jtv emotional reaj life. A good part of than a pained exprcssion bchind the lhr it was consumed Srueaiitlnd : Patricia Wynn Davies by her from husband Tomrnv and a Life or; Mars. proved eqlr,liy unrequited love for EIIen mumbled excuse abolt five oa{rJ.rahle. i t' lengthy. Doubleday, the untenablv On years o[ war for lJaphne to onc lerel" it n'rs a f-f] he work of novelist attraclive series wife of her Americaa know that the physicirl side r;[ o!'rcconstnrrti,'rns Daphne du Maurier publisher. of horv, in I Du Maurier called her.marriage vlas over. Coing I was shot throueh ihe .1970s, Lorrdon's armed herself a "bov in a box,, back furthcr. it ncs enough with secreLs waitins l"ir robi.r.i,s iculc rn hlgaki69 ths i'o be and said heriife had been Daphne to "thev sar she'd recc"ir *d M-h r'ommartdmcnt ( thou uruavelled, even if "one long lie", certainlv - "not one touch of the liand shalt not grass) to get reduced remained imperfectJy since the pash she had from Mummy". Amid the sentences until the lr,hole st understood. It took until had for a finishins school - sumphrous surroundjngs oI iJ Stem r'ame crashing dorrrr )E 1994. and Margaret Forster's mademoiselle. Brit a part key well-heeled Amcrica, fa-bul ous on the heuds of a biography. for du Maurier's of passion, \leFopolitan particularly of the frocks. classy soft-focus Policc R ou.m secrets bisexual, duty- lbrce that had allegedly - got )r bound- to a sterile marriage too close to the crims] Alongside from the Second World War all thal t}ough, came an additronal onwards - to be revealed. The flouriih - ffiHffi&Y&LREVIEW the production biographical drama Daphne after vears of (BBC 2, Sat) was hitherro Sercna Davies silence of the retired senior uncharted territorv for detective Tony Lundy, the l0r'n)er "su pel.grass television. which ti-rese days master" Errcn if ifs notthe most Ruth Jones and James C-orden). who relishes a spot of abandoned ra,n a convevor belt of avant-garde new comedy hedictatly. the good-looking grasses bodice-ripping. So fuorn his Finchlev it was a show, BBCS's sitcom Givln ones fell ins{antfuinto relief to find its creators each nick. Unfortunateiy for iais - and Staceyis Sill several othefs-arms, while lheir ugly uriterAmyJenkiru and reputation, he also had a mar*s up on lhatdrarurel,s mates had to get hammerfr' director C]are hoxing-club acquaintance Beaval - fifrAfuqbn g,It is also funnier finft,This isr't p cleaving to a seriesthat who was inv.rived in Lhe Iabled ia the more than BBCI's puzzingfu popular Iooks like ffs going to be tee f 3.4million silver rll i controlled atrnosphere Mg Fmnib,thoust, br on a ahis c"n of didr6. Never mind, drere's robbery of 1984. 3 of postwar times. scarcely be considered mudr still lob to enioy: the cental Around iliat time, ') Which is not to sav that of an achienement the sr.stem I last niehfs romance was reallv rather started to go pear-shaoed du Maurier's "Vene-tian" opener inhroduced - frou eu;sed toudring on first vi;wins. by then a lesser breed. tendencies - a reference t<; i[ Gavin and Stacev. Stacev and Rob Brydon providEd so to speah, grass just du,Ma urier family slang (Joarura of for Page) waj able support as Stacerrs lestnamsm never made lhings rrp. A lengthr. - tbund prcttyWelsh blonde"dori, and Gavin anally retentive physical frrlfilment r"rncle. Alison i nvesLi gation fol lowedl Nol- 6 in this (Malhew Home, previoush seen Steadmanas Gavin,smum drama or in life. (Fr.rlfilment nThe@hqtueTdcSlrru) Lundy becamc the darli_ns was customari$ ovenwough! of crime took the form of unhoubled, was a mtherhandsome ib. Essex but her sweching added 6 nJl the wrong"o,r"spond"nt, reasons, tmtil devil-may-care achess bry. As work colleaeues who'd the general sense ofbonhomie. he was cleared and indeed Gertrude Lawrence - one- been flirting on thelhone for Ihe soipfuwiters were a litfle promoted. A case oI a-xe- time lover of du Maurier,s monlhs but never adualfumel, too waty of oflending theWelsh grinding" he said, because father, the kind of womarr they finally dedded to bit6 tre - or the English, for thal mafter "I did nry belter than "who shou.ld be enioved on a bullet and hookup in Iondon iob, - to wring the maximum omic inocl." As for "doing a Rova]" divan not a bed".) USuuXn m. Ammpanying lhem were lheir potential out of our nations' little on l'ellow villains todav, it's success of this 90 minutei ht friends Nessa and Smittry difrercnces But this may well be recently been put didn't turn greatly on the fact (played on a bythe shords wribis, avein mined infufure episodes staiutory foofng. ffiN N.
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