Set in the early 1840s, this is the original BBC miniseries of Elizabeth Gaskell's classic tale of a fictional Victorian country village in which the genteel ladies of Cranford struggle to face an uncertain future with dignity and 19th Century decorum.

Follows the lives of the people in the English town of Cranford over the course of two years.

Cranford, in 1842, is a market town in northwest England. It is a place governed by etiquette, custom and above all, an intricate network of ladies. It seems that life has always been conducted according to their social rules. For spinsters Deborah Jenkyns, the arbiter of correctness, and Matty, her demurring sister, the town is a hub of intrigue. Handsome new doctor Frank Harrison has arrived from London; a retired Captain and his daughters move in across the street and preparations for Lady Ludlow's garden party are underway. The town has some secrets which are about to be revealed. But news comes that shakes the town: a railway line from Manchester is coming to Cranford.

1842. Cranford is a small market town in the Northwest part of England. It is a place governed by etiquette, custom and above all, an intricate network of ladies. For spinsters Deborah Jenkyns, the arbiter of correctness in Cranford, and her demurring sister Matty, the town is a hub of intrigue where little goes unnoticed. Everyone in town - from the charming rouge Dr. Marshland to Mrs. Jamieson and her lap dog - talks, and in turn is talked about. But the town has its secrets, despite the most vigilant eyes and ears. While it seems that life has always been conducted according to strict social rules, Cranford is on the cusp of change.

Cranford [DVDC 4011 pt. 1]: Adapted from Elizabeth Gaskell's novels, the five-episode miniseries Cranford focuses on female characters in the 19th-century British town to thematically contemplate encroaching modernity in rural England. With the camera roving house to house, each drama within the grander story is constructed of scenes featuring dialogue between several gossipy ladies obsessed with moral code, romantic ideas about courtship, and social occasions.

Miss Matty's house is full of life and bustle. Her dream of having a child in the house has been realized in the birth of Tilly, daughter of her maid Martha and carpenter Jem. Elsewhere, the shadow of the railway still looms, but the line has been halted five miles outside Cranford, a disaster as far as Captain Brown is concerned. Meanwhile, as Mr. Buxton returns to town with his son, William, and his niece, Erminia, Miss Matty becomes concerned about another young person, Peggy Bell, who lives in an isolated cottage with her mother and domineering brother. She decides to intervene and engineers an invitation that will bring the four young people together. But when tragedy strikes, she fears she has opened a Pandora's box from which Cranford will never recover.

Cranford: For spinsters Deborah Jenkyns, the arbiter of correctness in Cranford, and Matty, her demurring sister, the town is a hub of intrigue. A handsome new doctor, Frank Harrison, has arrived from London, a retired Army captain and his daughters have moved into a house opposite the sisters, and the preparations for Lady Ludlow's garden party are under way. Everyone -- from charming rogue Dr. Marshland to mean Mrs. Jamieson and her lap dog -- talks, and is talked about, behind closed doors. The town also has its secrets, which it slowly reveals.