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It was thanks to a fellow bloggist and their enthusiastic
response that I began to watch A Very
British Murder with Lucy Worsley. I was a tad sceptical at the beginning,
for experience has taught me that historians don’t always find the transition
into ‘presenter’ that easy, hence we have the likes of Jeremy Paxman fronting
the BBC’s World War One centenary season. I digress – back to Worsley!
The programme picks a topic that has become a part of
popular culture. As Worsley states, the ‘preoccupation with murder has a long
history’ and thanks to successful literary works and television programmes, the
murder mystery is a well-received genre in contemporary society. A Very British Murder taps into this
fascination and through the use of primary evidence unravels the historical
origin of society’s fascination with murder.  |
| http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01ftzlq |
However unlike a typical documentary A Very British Murder uses a number of different techniques to
engage its audience. Perhaps the most notable is the incorporation of
dramatized scenes to illustrate specific case studies. For example Worsley
adopts the role of the servant character in the Marr murder (Ratcliffe Highway
in 1811) in order to narrate the story. What I particularly liked in this
segment was how the viewer was invited further into the story through the use
of camera shots. The style of filming replicated the techniques used in modern crime
dramas where the viewer is given a first-hand perspective; the camera becoming
the characters eyes and gradually revealing to the audience details of the
scene as if they were actually in that situation.
I was however, a little more uncertain of the re-enactment
of The Murder in the Red Barn when
Worsley donned the role of Maria Marten. I love that she was really
enthusiastic and welcomed the opportunity to get that involved in the story,
there is just part of me that couldn’t help feeling it lowered the tone a
little. It was the only part in the whole series where I thought “oh no”. But
that was just my response, I know from having spoken with others that they
responded well to that fact that Worsley didn’t see herself above getting that
involved and yes I commend her for that. She clearly has huge enthusiasm for
what’s she’s doing and that really does come across on screen.
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| http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01ftzlq |
I also enjoyed the incorporation of visual sources, material
artefacts and the direct references to primary source material. As a historian
watching this sort of thing I like to know where the information has come from
and while the incorporation of other ‘experts’ goes some way towards this, it’s
nice to see a piece of archival material once in a while. Just to pick up on
the role of the experts, I would also say that this was really well done. When
Worsley spoke to contributors there was equal participation. Worsley’s
questions were well pitched; you know they were coming from someone with
knowledge and so the conversation was able to progress naturally. You see some
presenters asking questions they clearly don’t understand and receiving
responses they get even less, and that wasn’t the case here and I found that
really refreshing.
I would definitely recommend this programme as one to watch
if you get chance. It plays to contemporary interests, is fronted by a female
historian and uses an inviting range of techniques to really engage its
audience. I hope more history documentaries follow this example!
Just quickly, I also want to respond to a comment made about
how Worsley didn’t maintain a continuity of dress throughout the programme. It
is often the case that a presenter will wear the same clothes throughout a
series, so when my fellow bloggist commented on how nice it was to see that
Worsley hadn’t stuck to this ‘rule’ I was intrigued. However, when later
watching the programme I found myself putting together a filming schedule in my
head and enquiring about locations and their relation to one another. Now I
don’t know if this was just me, but I found it very distracting – anyone else?
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