Julian Fellowes Investigates: A Most Mysterious Murder (2004-2005)

[mightymads]

It's Agatha Christie meeting Downton, with Jullian Fellowes as a presenter, although this docudrama is based on real unsolved murders. There are five episodes, the first of which even features Michael Fassbender:

- The Case of Charles Bravo, the 1876 poisoning of lawyer Charles Bravo, recently married to the widow and heiress Florence Ricardo;

- The Case of Rose Harsent, the 1902 murder of servant girl Rose Harsent, a devout member of a Methodist chapel, who was six months pregnant when she was stabbed to death. Local preacher William Gardiner was tried twice for her murder, but not convicted;

- The Case of George Harry Storrs, the 1909 murder of wealthy industrialist George Harry Storrs, murdered at his home in Stalybridge;

- The Case of the Earl of Erroll, the 1941 murder of the Earl of Erroll in colonial Kenya. With rumours abounding about the Earl’s affair with Diana Delves Broughton, her husband Jock was put on trial for the murder;

- The Case of the Croydon Poisonings, the 1920s murders of three members of the same upper middle-class family living in 1920s Croydon, who died within a year of each other from arsenic poisoning.

All of them are fascinating tales of greed, sex, and violence in various period settings, well-narated, well-directed, and well-acted. Fellowes attempts to give explanations which differ from the popular opnion. I often found myself agreeing with the latter, though. It was especially interesting to look up photos of the real people who were involved in those cases and read more about the details.

And I'd be very interested if Fellowes made a Holmes adaptation (or any other detective series) instead of a new soap opera.