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The Problem with Mr Darcy that North and South Fixed

Regency Rumours

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Mr Darcy is the gold standard of romantic heroes in British period drama — but what if we've picked the wrong guy all this time?

In this video essay, I'm making the case for John Thornton from Elizabeth Gaskell's North & South as the more complex, more compelling, and frankly more interesting romantic lead than Jane Austen's Mr Darcy in Pride & Prejudice.

Richard Armitage's portrayal of Mr Thornton in the BBC North & South adaptation is everything we claim to want from a period drama romance. He's a man shaped by grief, class, and industry, who learns to love through hardship.

Set against the Industrial Revolution, North & South gives us a forbidden romance rooted in real class conflict, not just sprawling estates and gorgeous ballrooms.

Gaskell's world is messier, harder, and more honest than Austen's and Thornton is a better hero for it.

If you love Jane Austen, BBC period dramas, historical fiction, and slow-burn romance than this one is for you!!

#northandsouth #prideandprejudice #perioddrama #historicaldrama

20 Comments

@regencyrumours Creator 3 months ago Pinned

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@debbieday5812 3 months ago

Mr. Darcy before his proposal : "The idea that Elizabeth won't accept me is incomprehensible to me."
Mr. Thorton before his proposal :"Mother, I daren't believe such a woman could care for me, but I must ask her."

@carriecollins6697 3 months ago

North and South is CRIMINALLY underrated!!!

@grandgriff 3 months ago

100% agree. He is hands down the most yearning, romantic character and Richard Armitage knocked it out of the park with his acting. Love Darcy but this guy…wow! The ending of North and South is *chefs kiss

@fabulousfamily564 3 months ago (edited)

Austen: women are people
Gaskell: the poor are people.

@katiekofemug 3 months ago

One of the things so often forgotten, or dismissed, in N&S is the fact that in the beginning, it was Thornton easing the way for the Hale's. They needed housing, they needed income, they needed references in the area ... Thornton went over and above the expected, as did mother and sister, though they did it in ways incomprehensible to the Hale's, at first. When the ending arrives, and Margaret is "in a position" to assist, she does so with not only new insight from her time living in Milton, but also with the same earnestness that the Thornton's did. It truly is a lovely full circle of genuine charity, emotional understanding and character growth on many sides that makes both the novel and production so worth reading and watching repeatedly.

@bibliofiliafull 3 months ago

Richard Armitage's interpretation of John Thornton ruined me for other heartthrob

@florenciasavoiardi8842 3 months ago

Finally!!! This man deserves more recognition. He was bankrupt twice, worked hard to make a name for hiself, was a respected man in Milton and still made time to read and keep learning. What else?? He is perfect

@MeredithHagan 3 months ago

And the miniseries did something amazing with changing the ending from the novel, with Margaret and John meeting each other at the train station (the crossroads) both literally and metaphorically, rather than him going to her at her aunt’s home. So, so beautiful in its simplicity and narrative balance.

@SuperMeglen 3 months ago

Yes, the current generation needs "North and South", but just plop them in front of the 2004 adaptation. I truly cannot conceive of any actor coming close to Richard Armitage's portrayal of John Thornton. It's . . . perfection. siiiiiiiiiiiiiigh

@Brego100 3 months ago

The way Thornton is secretly kind and helpful to Margaret when he thinks she hates him and he knows he has nothing to gain and she’ll never know it was him…but he’s kind and selfless anyway…sooooo wonderful!

@selardohr 3 months ago

There is a scene in the book where he's watching Margaret get the tea ready, and he is obsessed with a bracelet that keeps falling on her wrist, so much that he almost says it loud, "oh, there it goes again" before he remembers himself. Ugh! The YEARNING!!

@allisonfisher9304 3 months ago

If I’m not watching Pride & Prejudice, I’m watching North & South. If I’m not watching North & South, I’m watching Pride & Prejudice.

@BridgetMaximonis 3 months ago

The first time I watched North and South was with my sisters and Mom. During the “look back at me” scene, we were all screaming, “Oh would you just look back at him!!” 😂

You are so right, I am not emotionally ready for another North and South. Richard Armitage IS Mr. Thornton and quite simply cannot be replaced. That is in my humble opinion, of course.

@NadyaSiapin.Author 3 months ago

While I know Darcy yearned, I never felt it to the degree I did with Thornton. Richard Armitage showed it all so well!

"Look back at me. Look back."

Like...how am I supposed to be normal after that?!

@beadsbylara 3 months ago (edited)

If I recall, in the book, he yearned even harder than the TV show .

@appl_e_pie_fox 3 months ago

There are period dramas I prefer overall, but North & South has THE most romantic ending sequence by far. Both actors knock it out of the park.

@ameliedutheil9698 3 months ago

He wants to learn greek and listens to his beloved mum. What's not to love ?

@elynkennedy9249 3 months ago

Team Both, but love John Thornton and Richard Armitage's portrayal soooo deeply. I read the book after watching the miniseries and it was a fascinating read.

@AurinneA 3 months ago

This is probably an unpopular opinion, but I've never felt as comfortable with adaptations that lean into Darcy as a sexy dark and brooding type. Yes he falls in love and is rejected and has a whole lot of feelings about it, I don't mean there is no quiet yearning and heartbreak going on. I just always felt that Darcy was much more characterised as someone who did his brooding where we would never see it, and would always be thinking about how to be proper and upright in his bearing. It's a lot more challenging to play a Darcy that way while still letting the viewer know his feelings. What I always appreciated about Darcy was that he WASN'T a brooding sexy beast like a Rochester or Thornton, which was refreshing. His character and his love is filtered through a much more staid, straightforward and refined attitude and that makes it interesting and compelling in a different way.

Anyway, I love N&S and P&P in their own ways.