Episode 1
A young journalist, Daniel Parish, arrives in Lark Rise with exciting news for the Timmins family: Emma is set to inherit a fortune, enough to move the family to a big house in Candleford. Daniel plans to write their rags to riches story for his newspaper, but Dorcas is suspicious of his motives, and when the article is published, it sends shockwaves through the community. |
Episode 2 The Bishop is coming to consecrate the church font and Thomas cannot contain his excitement. But when a Lark Rise tree starts to 'bleed', the hamlet becomes rife with talk of witchcraft, and Thomas is horrified. Dorcas loses her composure and makes a blunder with terrible consequences for Pearl and Ruby. Also, Laura is thrown off balance when Daniel returns to try and win back her affections - but first he has to get around an angry Robert and Emma.
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Episode 3 Alf throws a party to celebrate moving into a cottage of his own. He entertains his guests with a new song, and its haunting words have a profound effect on all of them. Edmund rebels against his parents; Thomas and Margaret have their first marital tiff; and Dorcas's plans to prepare Minnie for marriage and motherhood backfire terribly.
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Episode 4 It's harvest time - the most important time of the year in Lark Rise, when everyone helps to bring in the wheat that will feed them through winter. So when an epidemic hits, it couldn't come at a worse time - with so many sick, how will they gather the wheat and prevent a winter of starvation? For Lark Rise, help comes from an unlikely source. But just when it looks as though their problems are solved, they discover the worst is yet to come.
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Episode 5 There's a mystery in town as Mr Reppington takes residence in the Golden Lion but remains firmly isolated from the world, and Dorcas Lane is determined to find out why. Emma Timmins fears that the romance has gone out of her marriage and worries over a possible secret admirer, whilst Daniel Parish believes there may be more to Mr Reppington than meets the eye, not least a story that could make his career. Meanwhile, Ruby Pratt agonises over whether she should at last leave Candleford to meet her suitor in Pontefract, but cannot face telling her sister Pearl.
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Episode 6 Daniel has opened a newspaper in Candleford and is on the look out for a big story. So when old Peg Leg, a Crimean war veteran, arrives for his annual visit to the Timmins', and Daniel learns he has received no war pension, he starts a newspaper campaign against this injustice. But just as Peg Leg's plight looks set to become a national cause celebre, Emma learns that he is not all he seems, a discovery that threatens to break hearts and destroy Daniel's new venture.
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Episode 7 The locals are rehearsing for their annual production of St George and the Dragon when they hear rumours that Sir Timothy has returned. They are thrilled at the prospect of performing it for the squire himself, but with the play fast approaching and no sign of Sir Timothy, Dorcas decides to pay him a visit. She finds only Lady Adelaide. As the two women come face to face they are forced to confront their shared history, learning more about each other than they could have imagined.
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Episode 8 Pearl is in a state of panic. She has received a dressmaking commission which could save her ailing business, but without Ruby, there is no way she can do the work in time. So when Enid, a talented seamstress, arrives in Candleford looking for a job, it seems Pearl's prayers have been answered. Pearl and Enid form an instant bond, based on mutual admiration and respect. But when Pearl discovers the seamstress is not who says she is, she is forced to choose between their friendship and her deepest prejudices.
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Episode 9
When the Lark Rise school loses its teacher, Emma steps in and discovers a talent she never knew she had. But Margaret also covets the role of schoolteacher, and the two women become rivals for the job. Over in Candleford, Thomas and Dorcas are at odds. The postman is agitating for better working conditions, and Dorcas isn't taking it well. |
Episode 10 When the local Lark Rise gossip Mrs Mullins discovers her daughter Emily is pregnant, she leaps to the conclusion that Daniel is the father. Everyone, including Laura, rallies round to defend him. But when Daniel's behaviour starts to arouse suspicion, and people begin to doubt him, Dorcas is determined to uncover the truth.
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Episode One
His business bankrupt and his young wife dead, Gabriel Cochrane travels to Candleford in order to make a new start - and, temporarily, find a new home. He finds a warm welcome at the Post Office from Minnie,Laura andThomas, but in particular from Dorcas, who finds herself curious about this man who has suffered so much. Gabriel is an intense, inventive, kind man, with a dry sense of humour, alive to all ofDorcas's flaws and virtues, but uncertain about whether he wants or needs her help in recovering from the pain of his past |
Episode Two
When Daniel announces that his newspaper is launching a poetry competition, the folks of Lark Rise and Candleford are thrown into a frenzy of creative writing. Pearl, Margaret and Alfie all vie to take home the trophy with their poetic offerings, but Ruby is spreading a rumour that Laura and Daniel have fixed the outcome of the competition. What can Ruby's motive be for such malicious trouble making, and what will Dorcas do with the shocking information she has uncovered about Gabriel's late wife? |
Episode 3
Postman Thomas Brown is terrified when he sees a snake as he's delivering letters around Lark Rise. But he's also keen that as many people as possible should hear his dreadful story - and Dorcas, Laura, Minnie and Margaret are more than willing to oblige. Reverend Marley, a devout but unconventional curate, takes great care of all his Lark Rise flock, and seems to take a special interest in Emma Timmins. But his offers of help to Emma, though apparently well intentioned, are not welcome. |
Episode Four
The fair arrives in town and there is much celebration. Alf ends up being the champion in the shin-kicking contest whilst Queenie wins a whole pig. Twister can't wait for the meals to come so after Queenie decides to share the pig with Lark Rise without telling him and the pig gets better treatment than him he begins to feel hard done by. |
Episode 5
Daniel is planning a cricket match against a neighbouring village team, who he is convinced cheated in their last match. He is determined to restore Candleford's honour, but most of Daniel's regular players are away, and the men of Larkrise are cricketing novices. A humiliating defeat looks certain, until Daniel discovers that the finest batsman in the county is right under his nose. The only problem is, his batsman is a batswoman, and the rules state women cannot play. Will Daniel find a way round the regulations and gain the victory he so desperately wants? And what will it cost his relationship with Laura? |
Episode 6
Gabriel has finally completed the machine which he hopes will restore his fortunes, and farmers are soon clamouring to buy his ingenious invention. Dorcas is delighted for him, until she realises it could mean his departure from Candleford. Meanwhile, Caroline has returned to Lark Rise, and Minnie assumes it's only a matter of time before Alf comes to propose, now that his ma is back to look after her children. But will Caroline settle this time, and allow Alf his freedom? And how will Gabriel react to a surprising admission from Dorcas? |