Classics Revisited: 'North and South' is a Period Romance with Something to Say

As part of our new "Classics Revisited" series, we're taking a look back at some of our favorite series and movies from days gone by. Next up: The 2004 BBC adaptation of Elizabeth Gaskell's novel North and South, which happens to be one of the best - and most underrated - period dramas ever made.

When we talk about period dramas, we tend to think of the big, sweeping multipart epics like Downton Abbey or Poldark. We think of the adaptations of various Jane Austen or Charles Dickens novels that seem to roll around every few years. But this series is not that. Clocking in at a lean four episodes, North and South is fairly economical with both its time and its narrative. But it still manages to be that rare period series with a legitimate message, and a story that goes well beyond the romance at its center.

Because although North and South is a love story - and John Thorton (Richard Armitage) and Margaret Hale (Daniela Denby-Ashe) are truly a period romance for the ages - it's also one in which its central relationship cannot be separated from the larger social context in which it takes place. It is not just a tale of two very different people finding common ground and falling in love, but a story about social justice,  moral responsibility, the perils of capitalism, and what we owe to one another.