Wessex Tales (Season 1)

An anthology series based on the Wessex Tales, a collection of short stories by novelist Thomas Hardy.

  • Poster for The Withered Arm

    The Withered Arm (Episode 1)

    Writer: Rhys Adrian

    Air date: 1973-11-07

    Runtime: 75 min

    Overview: In the early 19th century, a young married woman is stricken with a mysterious malady and searching for a cure leads her in to mysteries and tragedy.

  • Poster for Fellow Townsmen

    Fellow Townsmen (Episode 2)

    Writer: Douglas Livingstone

    Air date: 1973-11-14

    Runtime: 75 min

    Overview: Barnet has made an unhappy marriage, Downe a happy one. The lives of the 'Fellow Townsmen' become tragically interwoven.

  • Poster for A Tragedy of Two Ambitions

    A Tragedy of Two Ambitions (Episode 3)

    Writer: Dennis Potter

    Air date: 1973-11-21

    Runtime: 75 min

    Overview: Like a ghost from the past, the Halborough brothers' drunken father reappears to destroy their image of respectability.

  • Poster for An Imaginative Woman

    An Imaginative Woman (Episode 4)

    Writer: William Trevor

    Air date: 1973-11-28

    Runtime: 75 min

    Overview: Fate brings Ella Marchmill to rent the rooms of a poet she has always admired. Her admiration gradually turns into obsession.

  • Poster for The Melancholy Hussar

    The Melancholy Hussar (Episode 5)

    Writer: Ken Taylor

    Air date: 1973-12-05

    Runtime: 75 min

    Overview: A tragic rural romance between a soldier who hates the service, and the rustic maid whose love could save him.

  • Poster for Barbara of the House of Grebe

    Barbara of the House of Grebe (Episode 6)

    Writer: David Mercer

    Air date: 1973-12-12

    Runtime: 75 min

    Overview: Lord Uplandtowers vows to make Barbara his wife, but she has secret plans of her own.

Wessex Tales

Seasons