Daniel Deronda

I well remember seeing this serial version of Daniel Deronda in the old days of black and white TV. The character played by Robert Hardy was so well realised; he really seemed an unbearable person, unlike in the later version when he was merely unpleasant. Our sympathies were with Gwendolen, although she is a flawed personality. By the end of the story you feel she might reform...I don't think this gives too much away! Daniel himself is enthralling, and of course in those days the scriptwriters were allowed to give their characters so much more dialogue. You had a chance of understanding the thought-processes and developments of the characters without being bored. Later adaptations can seem so shallow.