I am enjoying the stories and relationships between characters in this series and look forward each evening to watching the next episodes. The contrast between Louisa's public persona and private feelings is handled sensitively and all of the main characters are sympathetic. The only criticism I would make is that the character's accents are hard to understand and I wind up guessing at half of the dialogues.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New
One of PBS's favorite series from decades ago is still as entertaining as it was then...HOWEVER, this and all our other sets of zone 2 DVDs, when played on our pricey "zone free" blu-ray machine have low rez (not as sharp) an image as native zone 1 or blu-ray discs - more like 720 ppi images that tempt you to look for the fine focus adjustment. We've not discovered yet if this some technical glitch or simply that the original productions were prior to our present 1080 ppi standard, but the problem seems endemic to zone 2 discs. Surprising since our playere is supposed to "enhance" DVDs to near Blu-ray quality.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New
This series originally aired on Masterpiece Theatre. The 31 episodes chronicle the life of Louisa (Layton) Trotter, a fictionalized representation of the real-life Rosa Lewis, the most celebrated cook in Edwardian England. Louisa applies for a position as assistant cook in a prominent household after starting in service at the age of twelve. She works hard to learn her craft and gets her start when her tutor is away on holiday and she is ordered to prepare the dinner for a small group. It turns out this group includes Prince Edward, son of Queen Victoria. Her cooking pleases the prince, and this sets her off on a series of adventures cooking for prominent households and running a private hotel after being forced into an arranged marriage. Louisa's life is a series of ups and downs after Prince Edward ascends the throne, but her fighting Cockney spirit sees her through two world wars and a lot of personal tumult as well. A thoroughly entertaining series, although it does get a little slow at the end.Read full review
Must like British TV . all of the characters have great histories well developed,. good story line covers many years
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
Similar to Upstairs Downstairs, this series/collection is well made and interesting. The acting and production quality are good. There are no subtitles, but the sound is good, which helps when listening to characters speaking with accents. There is sporadic use of foul language which surprised me considering the depiction of late Victorian England and the main character's aspirations of "quality" and success as "the best cook/chef in all of England."
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