In this four-part BBC serial, a headstrong young woman rejects her patriarchal upbringing to find independence in Edwardian London.
Frustrated by the oppressive rule of her father, the fiercely intelligent Ann Veronica Stanley (Rosemary Nicols) leaves her suburban home to make a life for herself in London. Lacking money and experience, she falls in with a circle of political activists, becoming involved with both the intellectual Fabian society and the more militant suffragette movement. Her journey towards personal and political emancipation is shaped by her encounters with figures such as the charismatic suffragist Kitty Brett (Sheila Ballantine) and the cynical playwright Mr Capes (Philip Bond), forcing her to question the true price of her independence.
Broadcast just one month after the launch of BBC Two, Ann Veronica was a clear statement of the new channel’s intellectual ambition. The source novel by H.G. Wells, an infamous text upon its 1909 publication, was a provocative choice of source material. Its story of a young woman’s flight from suburbia and her subsequent political and sexual awakening was a direct challenge to Edwardian convention. This 1964 adaptation, produced by Douglas Allen and directed by the prolific Christopher Barry, brought the author’s still-potent ideas about female emancipation to a television audience. The production served as an early indicator of BBC Two’s remit to provide drama of substance for a more discerning viewer. Previously mounted as a live BBC play in 1952 starring Margaret Lockwood.
Broadcast: BBC Two, 4 Episodes, 23 May – 13 June 1964
Dramatised by: Denis Constanduros
Based on the novel by: H. G. Wells
Director: Christopher Barry
Producer: Douglas Allen
Main Cast: Rosemary Nicols (Ann Veronica Stanley), Sheila Ballantine (Kitty Brett), Alan Tilvern (Edwin Ramage), Barrie Ingham (Hubert Manning), Philip Bond (Mr Capes), Kay Patrick (Miss Garvice), Margaret Gordon (Miss Miniver), Gay Cameron (Hetty Widgett), Laurence Hardy (Mr Stanley)
