The Dwelling Place

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Best part of this entire miniseries: Clive is SUPER SURPRISED that Cissie keeps trying to avoid him, and he keeps chasing her down and pinning her to the ground and to cave walls and stuff, totally indignant. I know it’s a terrible situation, but it’s so badly done that what is supposed to be creepy is hysterically funny instead.

I’d say all this change of custody is really scarring, but I think this kid will have plenty of problems just from his wardrobe.I thought it was well written tale of a woman (by the end of the novel is much older unlike in the movie) of strength and impeccable character who overcomes ALL obstacles. Cissie’s only real ally is Matthew, the carpenter from the village, who’s sweet on Cissie even though he’s married to Rose the miller’s daughter. He’s played by Ray Stevenson, whom the Catherine Cookson miniseries have trained me never to trust, since he plays a jerk in two of them. Ok, it seems there are many contradictions regarding the plot of this story and personally, I feel, this is as a result of many who had watched the mini-series believing the novel is accurate to the tv/movie adaptation, which it is not. The struggles of Cissie and her family are in stark contrast to the lifestyle of the local gentry. Separated from his wife, Lord Fischer lives in his stately home in comfort and opulence with a son and a daughter – neither of whom he gets on with. His daughter Isabelle hates the isolated existence in the country, while Clive lives only for painting. Catherine Cookson skillfully weaves their fortunes with those of the impoverished Brodies.

So there's Cissie and her brood, Matthew the Wheelwright, and then Lord Fischel and his mansion and awful (adult) children, Clive and Isabelle. Isabelle is about as evil as a villain can be. He runs after her on the moor and asks her if she loves Matthew the carpenter. She’s like, “Nah, he’s never around when I need him.” Her ninety-six siblings are like, “Wait, what?” You will not read a more exciting and absorbing work of historical fiction than this gem from Catherine Cookson. Set in County Durham in the mid 19th century, it dramatically confirms how bad it was to be poor during a period of massive industrial development and social upheaval.One of the funniest things about this miniseries is that everyone else you meet in the entire thing thinks it’s a stupid idea to live in a cave. The priest is like, “…a cave, really?” and the guy who’s clearing out the furniture from the hovel actually lets them take all the furniture into the cave, because he’s like, “…a cave, really?” I’d like to say this is an unusual screencap, but it’s not. We just sort of have to take the movie’s word for it that she’s smart and pretty, since she spends most of the movie staring blankly into space and marrying rapists. Unable to see her sister condemned to such a fate, Cissie strikes a bargain with Lord Fischer, offering to hand over the baby if he will use his influence to secure the dropping of charges against Bella. Even though he’s wearing the bad-guy moustache, he’s apparently contrite about what he’s done. We know this because when he sees Cissie again, he follows her into the secluded glen where she keeps an eye on her kid and Daddy Fischel, and when she sees Clive and tries to run away he lies down on top of her so he can explain how contrite he is! What a sweetie.

Clive proved to be reliable and loving. She loved Cissie truly and never pressed her with his presence and desires, never came whining to her, as Matthew did many times.What I enjoyed was that this was a sort of dystopian survival novel . . . except it takes place early in the 19th century. Cissie, 15, is the eldest of eleven children (there were 14, but three died previously) when her own parents and an infant die of fever. This is in the County of Durham in Northeast England, and there are few options for the absolutely destitute. But Cissie will hear nothing of her siblings going "into the Poor Law" -- obviously horrific. So with the help of a kind young wheelwright, Cissie manages to set up house in a cave on the fells ["a hill or stretch of high moorland, esp. in Northern England"]. It's fascinating because it goes into great detail about their belongings, their meager meals, how they make do, a sort of Boxcar Children for adults. Turns out not everyone likes this arrangement. You know who really hates the arrangement? Isabelle! …no, I don’t know why either! Ray was inspired to become an actor after seeing John Malkovich in the play Burn This at a West End theatre. Personal Details The other family we meet are the Fischels. They’re gentry! Also, they’re a can of nuts. Daddy Fischel’s an asshole, Clive Fischel’s a fop, and Isabelle Fischel has been driven insane by the fashions of the 1830s, one of history’s ugliest eras. Hot face-smushing action! He moans about how he loves her, even though he could never even consider marrying her. How…sweet? Here, he consoles her for having given up the bairn in exchange for the commute of a sentence for her younger sister. She stole something, whatever.