# Any costume dramas set between 1816 and 1860? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 5, 2013, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-costume-dramas-set-between-1816-and-1860/654946 "2013-04-05T19:59:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2013, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-costume-dramas-set-between-1816-and-1860/654946/1 "2013-04-05T19:59:33Z")
I can think of many that were set in the 18th century or during the Napoleonic era; and of course in the Civil War and pretty much every era after it. But in the nearly half century between Napoleon and Lincoln, I’m drawing a blank. Too bad too, as there is plenty to be mined from that time including Jacksonianism, the revolutions of 1848, and immigration patterns in the U.S. that still affect our culture and politics. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2013, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-costume-dramas-set-between-1816-and-1860/654946/2 "2013-04-05T20:19:06Z")
You may have heard of “Les Miserables”. Another less popular one would be [The Barchester Chronicles](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086667/combined) by Trollope. There have been a number of Dickens stories taking place during that period (e.g. Oliver Twist, The Pickwick Papers, David Copperfield). Thackeray has “Vanity Fair” that has been adapted as well, although part of it is during the Napoleonic Wars. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2013, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-costume-dramas-set-between-1816-and-1860/654946/3 "2013-04-05T20:26:33Z")
Not a great movie, but definitely an epic/costume drama set in your time period: Tony Richardson’s _ **Charge of the Light Brigade.** _ > **[The Charge of the Light Brigade (1968 film)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Charge_of_the_Light_Brigade_(1968_film))** > > The Charge of the Light Brigade is a 1968 British DeLuxe Color satirical war film made by Woodfall Film Productions and distributed by United Artists, depicting parts of the Crimean War and the eponymous charge. It was directed by Tony Richardson and produced by Neil Hartley. Its animated credits and linking passages were created by Richard Williams, drawing on the satirical use of Victorian-era jingoistic images. This film features Richardson's daughters Natasha and Joely in their debuts. > Th... You MAY count Martin Scorsese’s\*\*\* Gangs of New York.\*\*\* ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2013, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-costume-dramas-set-between-1816-and-1860/654946/4 "2013-04-05T20:26:36Z")
Oops, I notice you specified dramas, so some of the ones I mentioned wouldn’t qualify (e.g. The Pickwick Papers). Mea culpa. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2013, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-costume-dramas-set-between-1816-and-1860/654946/5 "2013-04-05T20:52:57Z")
[The President’s Lady](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0046204/) might go into that time period. There’s also Young Mr. Lincoln and others about Lincoln before he became president. [The Young Victoria](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0962736/)should cover that time span also. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2013, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-costume-dramas-set-between-1816-and-1860/654946/6 "2013-04-05T21:22:56Z")
A fellow named Charles Dickens wrote a few things… Oliver Twist, 1837 Nicholas Nickleby, 1839 A Christmas Carol, 1843 David Copperfield, 1850 Great Expectations, 1860 ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2013, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-costume-dramas-set-between-1816-and-1860/654946/7 "2013-04-05T21:38:44Z")
Figured I could count on you guys for some examples. Keeping in mind that I’m talking about movies and TV here: are there many about RL historical figures primarily known for historical events within that time period (so, not counting the “Young \_\_\_\_\_\_\_” genre)? Seems like so far the only nominee is _The Charge of the Light Brigade_. Anything from the 1820s, '30s, or '40s? ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2013, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-costume-dramas-set-between-1816-and-1860/654946/8 "2013-04-05T21:49:47Z")
[Jezebel](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0030287/) with Bette Davis (1850s New Orleans) [The Young Victoria](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0962736/) (mid 19th century England) ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2013, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-costume-dramas-set-between-1816-and-1860/654946/9 "2013-04-05T21:50:45Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > Keeping in mind that I’m talking about movies and TV here: are there many about RL historical figures primarily known for historical events within that time period (so, not counting the “Young \_\_\_\_\_\_\_” genre)? Seems like so far the only nominee is _The Charge of the Light Brigade_. Anything from the 1820s, '30s, or '40s? Benito Juarez shows up as a character in _Zorro’s Fighting Legion_, but I don’t think that’s quite what you have in mind. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Mapp](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miss_mapp/32/369_2.png) [@Miss\_Mapp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Mapp)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2013, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-costume-dramas-set-between-1816-and-1860/654946/10 "2013-04-05T21:54:58Z")
All the versions of Jane Eyre I have, film or miniseries, are set in the 1830s. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2013, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-costume-dramas-set-between-1816-and-1860/654946/11 "2013-04-05T21:57:38Z")
Another much-adapted story from that era is The Count of Monte Cristo (which doesn’t involve real historical figures, of course). ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Mapp](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miss_mapp/32/369_2.png) [@Miss\_Mapp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Mapp)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2013, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-costume-dramas-set-between-1816-and-1860/654946/12 "2013-04-05T22:04:55Z")
The miniseries of Middlemarch is also set during the 1830s and features a pre-Reform local election and the coming of the railways to a midlands English county among its numerous other plot elements. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2013, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-costume-dramas-set-between-1816-and-1860/654946/13 "2013-04-05T22:29:00Z")
Similarly, _Cranford_ is set in rural England during the 1840s. That’s a TV miniseries, though, and not a movie, so I don’t know if it qualifies. Hope it does – it’s one of my all-time faves. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2013, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-costume-dramas-set-between-1816-and-1860/654946/14 "2013-04-05T23:04:33Z")
Davey Crocket, died at The Alamo in 1836. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2013, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-costume-dramas-set-between-1816-and-1860/654946/15 "2013-04-05T23:13:11Z")
Ah, the Alamo, right. That accounts for a goodly proportion of such films, I bet. ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2013, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-costume-dramas-set-between-1816-and-1860/654946/16 "2013-04-06T06:18:07Z")
Both _Tom Sawyer_ and _Huckleberry Finn_ count. ---
**Author:** ![gallows\_fodder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8c91f0/32.png) [@gallows\_fodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gallows_fodder)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2013, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-costume-dramas-set-between-1816-and-1860/654946/17 "2013-04-06T11:45:03Z")
Elizabeth Gaskell’s **North and South** (novel and BBC miniseries) was published in 1855 and the action is set in that time, too. **Eugene Onegin** (Pushkin’s novel in verse, later opera and film) was published between 1825 and 1833 and set in the 1820s. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2013, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-costume-dramas-set-between-1816-and-1860/654946/18 "2013-04-06T12:17:37Z")
\*\*[_The Adams Chronicles_](http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&ved=0CDUQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FThe_Adams_Chronicles&ei=DRJgUYHiBOja0QGm9YGABQ&usg=AFQjCNFTBu_qpmidRkrmFywoMLROne1kqA&sig2=IHtzrecbI89TInhF7zvnng) \*\* from PBS in 1976 spend a considerable amount of time in the 1816 to 1860 period. Though I am finding the mini-series fairly boring and I like the subject matter. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2013, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-costume-dramas-set-between-1816-and-1860/654946/19 "2013-04-06T12:46:25Z")
It’s still not clear if you’re talking about stage dramas or movies, but there are several of both **Amistad** – the mutiny occurred in 1839 and the trial in 1841. I love the film in part because it does take place in this less-covered period in American History. It also features twoAmerican presidents being played by British actors. **Davy Crockett** - Day was mentioned above, but I’ thinking of the Disney TV series 9episodes iof which were collcted and shown theatrically, so it’s not just TV). They depicted things such as Washington DC during that period, withwonderful “glass paintings” depcting the Capitol building with its _original_ dome. Two versions of **The Alamo** , of course, as suggested above. On TV, William Daniels (who also played John and Sam Adams) played John Quincy Adams _twice_ – Once in 1952 in _A Woman for the Ages_, and in the 1970s omnn _The Adams Chronicles_. At least it was anAmerican this time, insteac of the British Anthony Hopkins. ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2013, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-costume-dramas-set-between-1816-and-1860/654946/20 "2013-04-06T13:34:48Z")
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