More on the BBC's Wide Sargasso Sea


Possibly because it is a 'one off' production, news about BBC4's new adaptation of Jean Rhys' Jane Eyre 'prequel' novel is flowing very fast. It has only been on the wire for a few months but it already has a website and these images. (I find it amusing that the link to Jane Eyre from the WSS website bears the caption 'New BBC drama about Mr Rochester's other wife').

WIDE SARGASSO SEA
Monday 9 October 2006 TBC

Set in lush 19th-century Jamaica, Wide Sargasso Sea tells the story of the relationship between a passionate Creole heiress, Antoinette (Rebecca Hall), and a brooding Englishman, Edward Rochester (Rafe Spall). Adapted from Jean Rhys' award-winning novel, Wide Sargasso Sea is a prequel to Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre and paints a rather different story of Mr Rochester's first wife.
Born to a Creole mother, Rhys felt Bronte had misrepresented Creole women in her work. She wanted to show an alternative to the story of Bertha Mason, Mr Rochester's first spouse, and dispel the 'mad wife' image created by Brontë.
Written by Stephen Greenhorn (Derailed, BBC TV) and directed by Brendan Maher (Kidnapped), this is a period drama with a very contemporary feel, conjuring up all of the passion, paranoia and racial tensions of the original novel. Previous productions by the makers, Kudos, include Life on Mars and Spooks.