Overview
- Frankfurter Rundschau argues the 1980 BBC adaptation sentimentalizes aristocracy by portraying elites as redeemable, downplaying structural inequality.
- The critique links the film’s comforting story to the Victorian Tichborne affair, with Zadie Smith’s The Fraud (Betrug) offered as a sharper counterpoint and its German translation honored with a 2025 prize.
- Writers contend such narratives normalize concentrated wealth and political influence, citing Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos, while noting how Donald Trump presents himself as a champion of ordinary people.
- Despite the renewed scrutiny, the film remains a fixture on German television, with ARD and regional networks scheduling reruns through December 28 and a stream available in the ARD Mediathek.
- Background reporting highlights author Frances Hodgson Burnett’s 1888 lawsuit over performance rights and a public life that complicates the image of a conventional Victorian writer.