Brideshead Revisited

Abstract

The book will aim to place Brideshead Revisited in the context of television history, while considering the influence of various films on its style. Informed by art history, I will also discuss the serial’s use of locations (especially Castle Howard’s landscape architecture) and its pictorial allusions: in particular, its references to the work of artist Felix Kelly. Brideshead Revisited is about an artist’s relationship with a country house, so its depiction of art and architecture are central to an interpretation of its style. The serial is also a period drama, so my book will address its portrayal of social and aesthetic histories. My main concern, however, will be with the serial’s exploration of the way these histories are refracted through the mind of a highly flawed narrator.