In this three-part serial, a family weekend is dominated by the ghost of a dead patriarch.
The widow Esme Grace (Faith Brook) and her two daughters, the volatile Cressida (Cyd Hayman) and the younger Emma (Petra Markham), convene at their country house for a weekend. The gathering takes place two decades after the death of the family patriarch, Julius, whose memory continues to dominate the lives of the three women. The arrival of guests, including Cressida’s former lover Felix King (John Carson) and a new suitor for Emma, Dan (Paul Copley), forces long-suppressed resentments and secrets to the surface over three tumultuous days.
Adapted by Elizabeth Jane Howard from her own novel, After Julius is a piece of carefully observed, upper-middle-class psychological realism. Produced by Yorkshire Television and broadcast over a single weekend, the serial has an intense, theatrical quality. The drama is carried by its three female leads, who represent different reactions to the family’s legacy. Cyd Hayman’s performance as the tormented Cressida is pitched at a high level of emotional intensity, a stark contrast to Petra Markham’s quieter, more grounded work as the younger sister. The result is an intimate, claustrophobic drama, more notable for its moments of painful insight than for its overall narrative impact.
Broadcast: ITV – Yorkshire, 3 Episodes, Friday 20 – Sunday 22 April 1979
Written by: Elizabeth Jane Howard
Director: John Glenister
Executive Producer: David Cunliffe
Main Cast: Faith Brook (Esme Grace), Cyd Hayman (Cressida Grace), Petra Markham (Emma Grace), John Carson (Felix King), Paul Copley (Dan), T.R. Bowen (Dick Hammond)
