Gunfreak  | 21 Feb 2016 3:35 p.m. PST |
Ok i know it's a "alternate history "thing. But its really disconcerting having half the cast wearing tricorne and 1760s dress and the other half top hats and regency dress… And where the  is the mighty bicorne in all this! |
| KTravlos | 21 Feb 2016 3:43 p.m. PST |
|
| nazrat | 21 Feb 2016 5:05 p.m. PST |
What show are you talking about? |
| JSchutt | 21 Feb 2016 5:25 p.m. PST |
The cheapest way to simulate alternate history is to scramble up the wardrobe a bit. It was however a very entertaining and well done series. Character portrayals were outstanding. I think I'll listen to the audiobook again while I paint… |
| bandit86 | 21 Feb 2016 11:22 p.m. PST |
I saw the 1st show and it did not catch on with me |
 Artilleryman | 22 Feb 2016 2:46 a.m. PST |
Funnily enough, the military aspects were generally well done. Cannon balls were solid spheres of metal and not exploding balls of fire. Uniforms were quite accurate and the difference between those in the Peninsula and those at Waterloo were portrayed. Even little things such as the French infantry bursting into Hougomont were clearly leger and were led by a tall axe-wielding officer. There were some oddities such as a hussar sergeant sitting at Wellington's dinner table, but all in all I was quite impressed. |
| arthur1815 | 22 Feb 2016 4:09 a.m. PST |
Leaving aside the 'alternate history' aspect of the story, I don't find it incredible that older, possibly somewhat eccentric people (they do imagine themselves to be magicians!)might continue to wear perfectly serviceable clothes that have ceased to be the height of fashion – I certainly do! |
| Martin Rapier | 22 Feb 2016 4:45 a.m. PST |
Could it possibly be that Mr Norrels eccentric dress might be a symptom of his innate conservatism? The book isn't alternate history per se, but an ode to the north (Yorkshire in particular) and their contribution to British culture via big dollop of magical realism. Loved every minute of it, particularly wandering along the Derwent and pondering how the locals had offended the Raven King. The TV adaptation was OK but had a bit too much Harry Potter in it. |
| Winston Smith | 22 Feb 2016 7:29 a.m. PST |
I found the book was not impossible to put down. |
| Sergeant Paper | 22 Feb 2016 7:46 a.m. PST |
I found the book to inspire the Eight Deadly Words…
"I don't care what happens to these people."
It was just meh, lacking, not fit to be fed to goats.
Bully for those who could find it palatable, but I threw mine away. |
| Martin Rapier | 22 Feb 2016 8:52 a.m. PST |
LOL, my wife found it much the same way. She clearly isn't really from Yorkshire at all:) I even went out and bought 'The Ladies of Grace Adieu', which is even more…quirky. |
| Navy Fower Wun Seven | 22 Feb 2016 12:23 p.m. PST |
Well I started reading it, but, yawn…. |
| IUsedToBeSomeone | 23 Feb 2016 12:16 a.m. PST |
I thought it a fantastic book – one of my favourites. Mike |
| steam flunky | 24 Feb 2016 4:36 a.m. PST |
Read the book a couple of years ago. Loved it!
The social circles, gossip and dinner parties of the era are so well discribed that it facinated me and did not bother me that very little happens at the start.
Really enjoyed the series as well. |
 Flashman14 | 24 Feb 2016 5:26 a.m. PST |
I liked it and the book but it's not really my thing. |
| Supercilius Maximus | 24 Feb 2016 7:22 a.m. PST |
But its really disconcerting having half the cast wearing tricorne and 1760s dress and the other half top hats and regency dress… Look at the paintings of gatherings of Prussian landwehr and landsturm in 1813-1814 and you'll see precisely the same mix of clothing from mid-18th Century to early 19th Century. |
