Happy ever after?
As World War Two threatens, LINDA meets the man of her dreams...
LAST ONE
PERIOD DRAMA
The Pursuit of Love
Sunday, BBC1 HD, 9pm
HEADSTRONG LINDA HAS been on a single-minded mission to enjoy the perfect romance in BBC1’S glossy period drama The Pursuit of Love,
Now, as the series draws to an emotional close, she may have finally achieved her heart’s desire.
After leaving her second husband, communist Christian, in Spain, Linda (Lily James), was returning to England when she met dashing Frenchman, Fabrice De Sauveterre (Call My Agent!’s Assaad Bouab). This week, she falls madly in love with the wealthy duke and starts a carefree new existence with him in Paris.
DIVERGING PATHS
‘Fabrice opens her eyes and takes Linda out of her sheltered upbringing and teaches her to see the world,’ says James, 32. ‘He changes her life.’
Her devoted best friend and cousin Fanny (Emily Beecham) is concerned that
Linda is a kept woman, and begs her to return home. But she also envies the excitement Linda has found, as her own marriage to Oxford don Alfred (Shazad
Latif) is loving but predictable.
‘Linda’s a vivacious spirit who Fanny lives vicariously through,’ says Beecham, 37.‘There’s push and pull in their relationship because of the choices they make. But when you’re friends from a young age, you accept changes and differences in each other.’
But as storm clouds gather and World War Two breaks out, Fanny and Linda both become separated from the men they love. Can their powerful bond sustain them?
‘These women are deeply relatable. It’s a celebration of female friendship,’ says James. ‘Linda says to Fanny, “You’re my home. This journey I’ve gone on trying to find myself, it’s right here. It’s you.”’