Product Description

BRAMWELL follows the fortunes of Dr. Eleanor Bramwell (Jemma Redgrave) in her pursuit of public health and private amours in Victorian-era London. Feisty and unconventional, her sights are set on becoming a leading surgeon, an ambition unheard of for women in Victorian society. Eleanor's father Robert (David Calder) would like his daughter to join him in his respectable private practice, but his daughter has plans of her own which take her from the drawing rooms of the elite to the shocking deprivation of the slums of London's East End.

This lavish period drama begins with Eleanor assisting at the East London Hospital of eminent surgeon Sir Herbert Hamilton. From the very beginning Eleanor's strongly held opinions and desire to take the medical profession out of the dark ages draw her into conflict with Sir Hamilton's old fashioned and often barbaric practices. But Eleanor's energy and compassion also win her friends, including Lady Cora Peters who recognizes Eleanor's talents and sets her up in a small charitable infirmary in the slums of the East End where she will encounter the difficulties and dangers of attending to the needs of both London's poor and criminal underworld.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #11685 in DVD
• Released on: 2005-08-09
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 3
• Running time: 54 minutes

Amazon.com
From PBS’s Masterpiece Theatre, this 1995 miniseries chronicles the professional and personal challenges of a determined female physician in late 19th century England. With extraordinary depth and vitality, Jemma Redgrave plays Dr. Eleanor Bramwell, an ambitious doctor intent on becoming a surgeon who struggles to make her mark in the medical world while mocked by her male counterparts. In the season opener, Eleanor works at East London hospital under the patronizing tutelage of Sir Herbert Hamilton until she no longer can tolerate his barbaric medical practices—especially toward women. Against the wishes of her protective father (David Calder), Eleanor strikes out on her own to run the charitable Thrift Infirmary in London’s impoverished East End, thanks to the generosity of a widowed patroness, Lady Cora Peters. Subsequent dramas unfold, with each of the seven episodes building upon the last, as Eleanor grapples with issues of class, race, poverty-induced crime, family expectations, and the politics of patronage. In one story, Eleanor’s upper-crust outlook gets a jolt when she discovers that Lady Cora’s pregnant laundry maid is married to a black man; in another, a belligerent patient under her care attempts a sexual assault. This well-written and skillfully acted period drama provides a provocative glimpse at turn-of-the-century women’s rights as well as social commentary on the culture of Victorian England. Redgrave gives an intelligent performance, developing her character at many levels, as a deeply compassionate, headstrong, flawed individual who remains true to her convictions. The season ends with the possibility of a budding romance between Eleanor and one of her colleagues. Not suitable for young children due to mature themes. --Lynn Gibson

Customer Reviews

Good series...terrible format
The series content is very good, however the company that produced the DVD did a terrible job of formating the episodes/scenes. They split a one-hour show across two DVD's to save using a fourth disk in the series. In doing this, the scene access for the second half of an episode will not play; it jumps to the beginnig of the next episode. The only way to view the 2nd part is to fast-backwards all the way to just after the start of the scene and play from there. If you go all the way back, it takes off at the begining of the next episode. Very Frustrating to deal with the formating faults on this DVD. I will think twice about ordering another DVD from this studio.

Beware of Format
Bramwell is an outstanding series. The rating of 2 stars is for the following reason. To add to AGPym's formatting issue, Shanachie has also issued 7 episodes and labeled the dvd as season 1. According to the PBS web site I printed out with the Bramwell retrospective, listing all seasons and episodes, this dvd combines seasons 1 and 2 (which originally totalled 8 episodes)and leaves off the final episode of season 2. This missing episode involves a subway (underground) train crash which I did originally see when the series was new. Also check my customer review for the so-called season 4.

Bramwell - a view of Victorian London
Brilliant series which illustrates the prejudices of Victorian England against educated women. Also graphically shows medical practices of the time and the attitude to the poor. Combining this with excellent acting and costuming make this a series worthy of recommendation.