The Outcast

Yes; there were no hints at that prior to the drowning [unless I didn't pick up on them]. As with reading A Thousand Splendid Suns, I hope the ending justifies the sheer pain of watching it!

Got a nasty feeling that it is going to end badly though. Will give the book a try, although I think it will be tough going.

Like you whitewave, I really enjoyed this drama. There is so little quality drama on television these days - programmes that make me think and consider how other people sometimes have to live - with hardship and unhappiness. You are so right about the constraints of the 1950's. My parents divorced in the 50's and it was an unmentionable subject. I was so embarrassed at school and didn't want any one to know. There was no support for children. If you couldn't talk about divorce, you certainly would not talk about how you saw your mother drown. The poor boy must have been in torment and no one saw his unhappiness.
I think he may be going to form a good relationship with the young girl from the other family - well, I hope so!
I enjoyed all the furniture, clothes and hairdos of the 50's - even though both families were obviously quite wealthy. (I noticed a radiator - gosh, we didn't have those!).
I checked out the author on Amazon, and think I will try one of her other books - certainly this is a story not of the usual Sunday evening drama.

My father had been divorced before he met my mum. She took me to one side one day [not sure how old I was] and told me of it. It didn't bother me in the slightest but she was very embarrassed by it. He hadn't been married long and there were no children; I still know very litle about the marriage and divorce as it was very hushed up, although I did find a record of it when I was doing a bit of family research. But the fact that he'd married her because he desperately wanted children and she then seemed unable to have them almost drove her mad; I don't think she ever recovered mentally . I'd give anything to go back in time and talk to her about it now and try to comfort her in some way. She must have given up working when she was pregnant with the first baby, never went back and spent nearly ten years losing babies until she had me.

Things were so different in the 50 s. My father kept a cane above the kitchen door on the rim, and used it on my legs if I didn't eat my meal.
Going back further, my biological grandfather was in the navy and went awal, my grandmother met someone else who I knew as my grandfather but we think they never married. This was never ever mentioned. I only found out through family research.

Bleak, dismal total misery with no redeeming features at all to give some kind of balance. I have no criticism of the actors at all as they did a good job, but a constant portrayal of brutality, cruelty, and despair becomes unwatchable in the end.

I will have to watch the last half hour on iPlayer as DH declared he'd had enough misery and switched over to Joanna Lumley which put a smile on his face!!!

I have to say her Siberian adventure is extremely watchable.

It really was depressing, wasn't it? Hard to watch, the only glimpse of hope right at the end and that not entirely likely...

Oh I stuck with it until the end. I thought it was brilliant. Good acting too. Even though it was very bleak at times I enjoyed it. The ending was really very good (don't want to spoil it for anyone who might want so catch up). Personally I blamed the father for everything.

Fathers didn't come out of it at all well, did they?

I thought it was different, thought-provoking and very well acted .The characterisation was excellent and it was possible to empathise with almost everyone (with one exception), even the father. It held my attention from beginning to end and I still have Joanna Lumley to look forward to.

I really enjoyed it, too. Good to see a positive ending and for others to receive their comeuppance! Won't say more, as some haven't seen it all, yet.

I thought it started to get a bit daft half way through but stuck with it and glad that I did. Didn't deserve the slating it got in the Telegraph last week [or was it the Guardian?]. Did anyone else think the actress who played the blonde daughter looked a bit anorexic, though?

Having watched Countryfile, the Northumbrian coast, earlier, I was in a euphoric mood. I spent my first 20 years there, and would like to return eventually.
So I'm glad I didn't watch Outcasts. I've never heard of the book.

I watched it and thoroughly enjoyed it. And loved the book.