Kate Mara Movie:

		List Price: $69.98		Label: Bfs Entertainment Salesrank: 19826 Released: November 11, 1998
		Used Price: $13.53
		MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated) Media: VHS Tape

Editorial Review:
A classic coming-of-age tale on par with Anne of Avonlea and Little Women, Berkeley Square is worth watching over and over again. This 10-episode British miniseries will awe you with its erudite script, wonderfully believable characters, high-caliber production values, meticulous Edwardian details, and topnotch acting. In fact, you will join the growing multitudes who puzzle over why the BBC decided to stop after only 10 episodes.

In 1902 three young nannies find jobs in well-to-do London households and get to know each other. Naive farm girl Lydia finds an unfamiliar world both in city life and with the progressive-thinking family who employs her. Earnest, rule-abiding Matty is a hard-working East End girl who slowly learns to loosen up. And, after a tragic affair with the eldest son of a grand Yorkshire family, Hannah's life in London is full of chilling secrets and grave life-and-death decisions. --Tara Chace

Berkeley Square (Boxed Set) [VHS] Reviews:
Hooked on BBC ...
2009-11-30 - Berkeley Square was my first BBC production purchased at Amazon, or ever. I watched it over one weekend (couldn't wait for each installment), and then watched it again at a more leisurely pace over the following week. The second watch revealed small details I had missed the first time around, the hallmark of a good series.

The characters are those whom you really come to care for. I was sad to see the series end ... wanted to know what happened in their lives next.

Get this series. It's worth twice the price. You will laugh and cry and wish it could continue on as I did. Good family viewing as well. I look forward to sharing it with my 14 year old niece this coming summer.

Thanks to Berkeley Square, I have now accumulated quite a library of BBC DVDs. Many, many hours of very pleasurable viewing thus far and to look forward to in the future.

I'm going to stop reading Amazon's descriptions
2009-10-01 - This miniseries is just awful! The sets are fine, the attention to Edwardian detail is admirable, the acting so-so but the plots and characters, ah, the meat of it all, are sorely lacking.

Let's start w/Lydia, shall we? A farm girl w/a thick neck and full back shoulders, no couth whatsoever (I don't care if she was raised on a farm. She doesn't have to behave like a cow.) It seems that every man just can't resist her, especially Lord Hugh played by Nicholas Irons. He takes advantage of his position and attempts to force himself on her and when she refuses w/a slap and a bite of his hand, he threatens to ruin her family and take away their farm and he's almost successful but, of course, someone steps in to save the day. Ugh. Lord Hugh's mother is American, an Amazon of a woman w/thick arms and who marches through every set like a man in combat boots.

Then there's Hannah, who had an affair w/her employer, another Lord, who was tragically killed when he was thrown from his horse. Hannah bore a son to him out of wedlock and after the Lord's death, his mother tried to take the baby from Hannah. She was unsuccessful but the story that unfolds later is just downright ridiculous. When she became a nanny in another home, a baby in her superior nanny's charge died from what was believed to be a crib death, later found to be murder. So genius that Hannah is, she decides to snatch the dead baby and do away w/it and replace it w/her own baby. Brilliant, eh? Oh yes, and someone actually unjustly goes to the gallows as a result of all this and at the end of the series, we see Hannah weeping but in agreement w/her young charge that they're "made of tougher stuff than this." If it sounds as though I'm rambling, it's because I am but what can you expect from a plot so heinous and unbelievable? During your viewing when you come to the episode "When the Bough Breaks", do yourself a favor and just eject the DVD and call it a day.

Last we have Matty or as her soon-to-be-lover calls her in his thick Cockney accent "Maa Eee". He sounds like Forrest Gump saying "I love you, Jenny" except insert the name Maa Eee" here. He, Ned, is wanted for murder and although he's innocent, he's too dumb to take action as Maa Eee's brother did in his behalf. He's later acquitted but goes off to Somali Land in active service. Such a lovely couple. Yikes.

We mustn't forget the nobility in all this. Suffice it to say, they're all a bunch of self absorbed twits, one family not even noticing that their child has been swapped for another! Then there's the family who is so concerned w/raising a son who won't shame them and yet the mother makes it a priority to have an affair while her son is sent off to school at the tender age of 7, all because he accidentally shot his father while he was forced to hunt w/him and his "macho" friends.

If you can believe Amazon's description, why, this is wonderful family viewing. Perhaps it is, if murder, child abuse, baby swapping and adultery are your cup of tea.

Just my kind of movie!
2009-07-07 - I enjoy these types of movies. Seeing women from all kinds of backgrounds trying to make a living in a time when most positions that earn real money are occupied by men. I did not realize that there was such high esteem and prestige in being a nanny. They had a lot of responsibility in caring for the children. Some parts were sad and I wish that all could have been well for every character in the movie.

I randomly picked this movie as I had not heard or seen it before, and I was very pleased. I shared it with my sisters and they too enjoyed watching it. It is money well spent!

NOT A FAMILY MOVIE!
2009-04-07 - In some of the other reviews of this product it was mentioned that this was a good series that was family oriented. I strongly disagree! I really enjoy period movies but this was so full of adultery and fornication that I was ashamed that I watched it. Please do not buy this series if you plan to watch this with your family.

Absorbing period drama, marred only by the lack of a sequel
2009-02-22 - I had actually watched this excellent Victorian period drama a couple of years ago and only recently re-watched it and it is still as riveting as I remembered it. This BBC drama revolves around the joys and tribulations [more of the latter] of three young nannies in an upper-class neighborhood in London.

Lydia Weston [Tabitha Wady] is a young and hardworking poor farm girl [with lots of siblings] from Devon who is recommended for a position in the household of the Earl and Countess Lamson-Scribener. She is hired because the the Countess doubts the old nanny's abilities to take care of her infant son. Hannah Randall [Victoria Smurfit] is a young girl from Ireland who is forced to flee with her infant son after the locals banish her [due to the illegitimacy of her son]. She is hired by the Hutchinson's but is forced to conceal her real circumstances as an unwed mother, leaving him under the care of her landlady. Finally, Matty Wickham [Clare Wilkie] is hired as head Nanny in the St John household. Matty stands for no nonsense and this causes conflicts between her and the other employees of the household. The three girls eventually meet and form a strong bond with each other, sharing in their privations and being a source of comfort to each other.

There are altogether 10 excellent episodes. Unfortunately, the series ends abruptly and there has been no sequel made. At the end of the tenth episode, a number of issues remain unresolved and lots of questions unanswered. I have tried looking up info for this series and found no indication of a sequel made or in the process of being made. Very disappointing considering the excellent cast and wonderful attention to period details. The compelling plot and intricate story lines make this a very addictive show and at the end of the final episode, viewers will be left clamoring for more. I'd still recommend this as a must-watch for those who love period dramas and Anglophiles.