# Bleak House (2005)

> A sprawling Victorian period drama in which a generous guardian and his wards are drawn into an endless inheritance lawsuit and the buried secrets of a noblewoman.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/2362

## Facts

- Seasons: 1
- Episodes: 15
- Episode runtime: 55 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: drama
- Created by: Andrew Davies
- Network: BBC One
- Cast: Anna Maxwell Martin, Denis Lawson, Carey Mulligan, Gillian Anderson, Charles Dance, Patrick Kennedy, Richard Harrington, Natalie Press
- TMDB rating: 8.3/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0442632/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: measured
- Intensity: moderate
- Complexity: dense
- Violence: none
- Tone: melancholic, wistful, sardonic, gothic, measured

## What critics say

Audiences and critics broadly praised the faithful, lush adaptation of Dickens's sprawling novel and its strong cast.

## Synopsis

Bleak House (2005) is a British BBC One period drama miniseries created by Andrew Davies, adapted from Charles Dickens's sprawling novel. Anna Maxwell Martin plays Esther Summerson, a young woman whose life is quietly reshaped when she becomes entangled with the generous John Jarndyce (Denis Lawson) and his two wards, Richard Carstone (Patrick Kennedy) and Ada Clare (Carey Mulligan). All of them are pulled into the infamous Jarndyce vs. Jarndyce chancery case, a lawsuit so endless that its eventual outcome could make one of them rich beyond imagination. Gillian Anderson's Lady Dedlock sits at the glittering heart of the drama, while Charles Dance's sly Mr. Tulkinghorn digs relentlessly into her past. The story unfolds across fifteen episodes of smoky London courtrooms, crowded lodgings, country houses and fog-choked streets, with a dense cast of eccentric relatives, lawyers and hangers-on. The tone blends melancholy, sharp social satire and gothic suspense, with a wistful sense of lives wasted on an unending legal fight. Fans of Little Dorrit and Downton Abbey will find a similar appetite for Victorian class tension and buried secrets, delivered at a patient, literate pace.

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- [Fingersmith (2005)](https://ember.film/tv/12873)
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- [Dickensian (2015)](https://ember.film/tv/55997)
- [Great Expectations (2011)](https://ember.film/tv/38838)
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