Incredibly Bleak British Production

[silvertaff]

A few years ago I caught the beginning of an incredibly bleak British production of what appeared to be a TV adaptation of perhaps a 19th century novel? It began with a poverty-stricken woman giving birth to a stillborn baby in a ramshackle dwelling and wrapping the corpse in cloth before she ventured off. She came to a village (at night) and was invited in to a family home where the evening meal was in progress and things seemed pretty tense. It had the feel of Charles Dickens or Jane Austen - only much bleaker. Any ideas, anyone?

[DJHawkes]

sounds more like Thomas Hardy, he did bleak rather well.

[silvertaff]

A friend has suggested George Eliot's 'Adam Bede'. Can anyone confirm this?

[jno]

maybe

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Bede

I haven't seen it so can't say

[boxtops]

This is a duplicate post, answers on the other one http://www.theanswerbank.co.uk/Arts-and-Literature/Books-and-Authors/Question1239288.html

[saxy_jag]

Can't think of any I've seen that begin quite like this. There is a similar scene in 'Silas Marner', but it's not the opening scene.

Could it possibly be a Catherine Cookson drama?

[DJHawkes]

might have been catherine cookson, did they all speak like the likely lads?