Pretty?
I wouldn't want anybody in the world but Gemma Jones playing this part, she's so good. But am I the only one who shrugs whenever somebody tells her on the show how extraordinarily pretty she is? As a woman who could have "the pick of society" according to Haslemere, and who captivates the Prince of Wales, she just doesn't seem to me enough of a looker. Is it just me?
Of course, the choices she makes -- the jerky walk and the harsh Cockney accent -- don't help her create the illusion of loveliness a lot of comparatively plain women are able to create by voice and the way they carry themselves. I think Jones herself was able to seem a lot more attractive in "The Spoils of Poynton" by exactly that method.
Again, I think she's an absolutely fantastic actress. I perk up every time I see her name. I have no wish to be unkind. But she simply is not Francesca Annis, and people in this series, early on, keep treating her as if she were. When men in the first episode keep advising her to go on the stage, and Monsieur Alex's first reaction is to call her a "chorus girl," I think "huh???"
The Republican Plan: repeal all reform; collect payoffs; go yachting (but not in the Gulf).