''Doctor Thorne'' is a 2016 three-part (divided into four parts for broadcast in North America) television drama adaptation of the 1858

Anthony Trollope Anthony Trollope (; 24 April 1815 – 6 December 1882) was an English novelist and civil servant of the Victorian era. Among his best-known works is a series of novels collectively known as the '' Chronicles of Barsetshire'', which revolves ar ...

novel ''

Doctor Thorne ''Doctor Thorne'' by Anthony Trollope (Chapman and Hall, London, 1858) is the third novel in the ''Chronicles of Barsetshire'' series, between '' Barchester Towers'' and '' Framley Parsonage''. The idea of the plot was suggested to Trollope b ...

'' scripted by Julian Fellowes for ITV. Mary Thorne, penniless and with undisclosed parentage, grows up under the guardianship of her uncle Doctor Thorne. She spends much of her formative years in the company of the Gresham family at Greshamsbury Park estate. As they close on the world of adult cares and responsibilities, the past starts to impinge and the financial woes of the Gresham family threaten to tear relationships apart.

Cast

Tom Hollander Thomas Anthony Hollander (; born 25 August 1967) is an English actor. As a child Hollander trained with the National Youth Theatre and was later involved in stage productions as a member of the Footlights and was president of the Marlowe Soc ...

as Doctor Thorne * Stefanie Martini as Mary Thorne * Harry Richardson as Frank Gresham *

Rebecca Front Rebecca Louise Front (born 16 May 1964) is an English actress, writer and comedian. She won the 2010 BAFTA TV Award for Best Female Comedy Performance for '' The Thick of It'' (2009–2012).Jennifer Lipma"Bafta for Jewish actress Rebecca Front" ...

as Lady Arabella Gresham *

Richard McCabe Richard McCabe (born William McCabe; 18 August 1960) is a Scottish actor who has specialised in classical theatre. He is an Associate Artist of the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC). Career McCabe is an Associate Artist of the Royal Shakespeare ...

as Frank Gresham Snr. *

Ian McShane Ian David McShane (born 29 September 1942) is an English actor, producer and director. He is known for his television performances, particularly as the title role in the BBC series ''Lovejoy'' (1986–1994), Al Swearengen in '' Deadwood'' (20 ...

as Sir Roger Scatcherd *

Alison Brie Alison Brie Schermerhorn (born December 29, 1982) is an American actress. Her breakthrough came with the role of Trudy Campbell in the drama series '' Mad Men'' (2007–2015), which won her a Screen Actors Guild Award. She gained recognition fo ...

as Miss Dunstable * Janine Duvitski as Lady Scatcherd * Edward Franklin as Louis Scatcherd * Danny Kirrane as Mr. Moffatt * Nell Barlow as Beatrice Gresham *

Gwyneth Keyworth Gwyneth Anjuli Keyworth (born 15 September 1990) is a Welsh actress. She was born in Aberystwyth and began acting in a local Welsh language youth theatre group. She went on to appear with the National Youth Theatre. Since graduating from the ...

as Augusta Gresham *

Phoebe Nicholls Phoebe Sarah Nicholls (born 1957) is an English film, television, and stage actress. She is known for her roles as Cordelia Flyte in '' Brideshead Revisited'' and as the mother of John Merrick in '' The Elephant Man''. Personal life Nicholls ...

as Countess de Courcy * Tim McMullan as Earl de Courcy *

Kate O'Flynn Kate O'Flynn is a British actress. She is known for her performance in National Theatre's production of ''Port'' for which she received a Critics' Circle Theatre Award in 2013, as well as starring roles in plays ''A Taste of Honey'' in 2014, a ...

as Lady Alexandrina de Courcy * Tom Bell as Lord Porlock * Nicholas Rowe as Mortimer Gazebee *

Alex Price Alex Price (born 8 May 1985) is a British actor who has appeared in various television programmes including '' Being Human'', ''Merlin'' and ''Doctor Who''. He starred in feature-length films, such as ''A Horse with No Name'', and in a variety ...

as Reverend Caleb Oriel *

Cressida Bonas Cressida Curzon Bonas (born 18 February 1989) is an English actress and model, known also for her relationship with Prince Harry between 2012 and 2014. Early life and education Bonas was born in Winchester, Hampshire, the only child of 1960s " ...

as Patience Oriel * Ben Moor as Cossett * Jane Guernier as Janet Thacker * Sean Cernow as Jonah *

David Sterne David Sterne (born 1946) is an English actor. He has appeared in more than 90 films since 1973. After leaving the British Army, Sterne trained at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art. A former member of the Royal Shakespeare Company ...

as Mr. Romer * Ed Cartwright as Footman * Michael Grady-Hall as Scatcherd's Footman * Mark Carter as Moffatt's Heckler

Episodes

Critical reaction

Response from the critics seems to have been mixed, muted, subdued, or downright critical. Even those who were predisposed to like aspects of the adaptation were not without points of issue. ''The Telegraph'' initially registered a largely positive opening assessment, although it also had some criticisms. By the end of the series its review was more mixed, yet it wanted more episodes anyway. Aggregator

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

found 15 reviews and calculated an average favourable rating of 87% based on those critics.

Coverage

The series was picked up in the US by the Weinstein Company which owns the licence for North America. The series was made available on

Amazon Prime Amazon Prime is a paid subscription service from Amazon which is available in various countries and gives users access to additional services otherwise unavailable or available at a premium to other Amazon customers. Services include same, one- ...

on 20 May 2016. For its presentation on Amazon Prime, the series’ original three parts were recut into four episodes, each with an introduction and an epilogue featuring Fellowes himself.

Home media

The series was released on DVD in the re-cut, 4-episode version.

References

External links

* {{Julian Fellowes 2016 British television series debuts 2016 British television series endings 2010s British drama television series ITV television dramas Period television series Television shows based on British novels 2010s British television miniseries Television series by Hat Trick Productions British drama television series Costume drama television series Serial drama television series English-language television shows Television series set in the 1850s