"I Dies from Love" is the eighth episode of the first series of the British television series, ''
Upstairs, Downstairs Upstairs Downstairs may refer to:
Television
*Upstairs, Downstairs (1971 TV series), ''Upstairs, Downstairs'' (1971 TV series), a British TV series broadcast on ITV from 1971 to 1975
*Upstairs Downstairs (2010 TV series), ''Upstairs Downstairs'' ...
''. The episode is set in the summer of 1907.
"I Dies from Love" was among the episodes omitted from ''Upstairs, Downstairs initial ''
Masterpiece Theatre'' broadcast in 1974, and was consequently not shown on US television until 1989.
Cast
;Regular cast
*
Evin Crowley
Evin Crowley is a Northern Irish actress born 1945, Bangor. Evin started as a Lyric Player at the home of Mary O'Malley and her husband (later to become the Lyric Theatre, Belfast).
Career
Evin first appeared on stage from the mid-to-late 19 ...
(Emily)
;Guest cast
*
Aimée Delamain
Aimée Delamain (21 April 1906 – 18 June 1999) was an English actress, known for spending most of her career playing elderly ladies.
Biography
Her father, Colonel Frank Delamain was a member of King Edward XI's Bengal Lancers. Upon his re ...
(Lady Templeton)
*
Yolande Turner
Yolande Turner, also known as Yolande Finch (12 December 1935 – 6 November 2003), was a British actress and screenwriter.
Born in South Africa as Yolande Eileen Turnbull, she was the second wife of actor Peter Finch, by whom she had two child ...
(Mrs Van Groeben)
*
Charles Lamb (Harris)
*
Tom Marshall (William)
*
Patricia Hamilton
Patricia Hamilton (born 27 April 1937 in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada) is a Canadian actress, perhaps best known for playing Rachel Lynde in the television mini-series '' Anne of Green Gables'', its sequels: '' Anne of Green Gables: The Sequel'' ...
(Mrs Fellows)
*
Robin Wentworth
Robin may refer to:
Animals
* Australasian robins, red-breasted songbirds of the family Petroicidae
* Many members of the subfamily Saxicolinae (Old World chats), including:
**European robin (''Erithacus rubecula'')
**Bush-robin
**Forest rob ...
(the Policeman)
*
Carl Bernard Carl may refer to:
*Carl, Georgia, city in USA
*Carl, West Virginia, an unincorporated community
*Carl (name), includes info about the name, variations of the name, and a list of people with the name
*Carl², a TV series
* "Carl", an episode of tel ...
(Waterman)
*
Christopher Wray (Lowe)
Plot
Emily, the scullery maid, had fallen in love with William, the footman of Mrs. Van Groeben, a conceited ''
nouveau riche'' woman new to London from
Cape Town, South Africa
Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislature, legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the sec ...
, who calls on Lady Marjorie for a Charity Committee she is involved with. Lady Prudence Fairfax, Marjorie's best friend, and Lady Templeton, a slightly eccentric elderly lady, are also involved with the committee. Prudence voices her annoyance with Mrs. Van Groeben, though Marjorie says she is a good person. Mrs. Van Groeben tells Lady Marjorie that their charity should only support few privileged servants, which Marjorie disagrees with, then changes the subject, attempting to impress Marjorie with news of Lord Nicholson's house party, which backfires when Marjorie reveals her close friendship with him.
Though Emily also works as an under-house parlourmaid, her kitchen work suffers because of her ardor for William, and receives verbal lashing. Emily and William often spend their days off together, and she wants nothing more than to marry him. However, Mrs. Van Groben forbids the relationship out of envy and forbids William from seeing her, bribing him with promises of a new uniform and increased status; he obeys. Lady Marjorie tells Emily that William cannot see her anymore. With the exception of Rose, the staff are too preoccupied to notice Emily's misery. Mrs. Bridges taunts Emily, until Rose stops her and comforts a sobbing Emily.
Emily sends William a love letter, penned by Rose, declaring her love for him. However, the next morning, William ignores her, while Harris, the Van Groebens' head coachman, returns her letter and encourages Emily to look forward to the servants' outing to
Hampstead Heath
Hampstead Heath (locally known simply as the Heath) is an ancient heath in London, spanning . This grassy public space sits astride a sandy ridge, one of the highest points in London, running from Hampstead to Highgate, which rests on a band o ...
.
The next day, Emily, overcome with grief, hangs herself in her room. Rose, who discovered Emily's dead body, tells Hudson, who tells Lady Marjorie. Mrs. Bridges sits in her chair crying and feeling guilty, and the Bellamy staff stay behind from the outing. Hudson has the undertakers take her body out of the house.
In the novelization of the scripts by John Hawkesworth, it is told that after Emily kills herself, the other Bellamy servants viciously condemn William, and Lady Marjorie severs all social contact with Mrs. Van Groeben and her family because of the tragedy. However, in the series' next episode, "
Why Is Her Door Locked?", Lady Marjorie mentions that Mrs. Van Groeben raved about a dinner that Mrs. Bridges had prepared the previous night.
References
External links
Updown.org.uk- ''Upstairs, Downstairs'' Fansite
{{Upstairs, Downstairs
Upstairs, Downstairs (series 1) episodes
1972 British television episodes
Fiction set in 1907