'Louis Mazzini’s Postcard: the Genius Loci of Kind Hearts and Coronets'

Abstract

Kind Hearts and Coronets is about an arriviste, Louis Mazzini, working his way up through the English class system. Concomitantly, the symbol of English landed wealth, the country estate, is central to the film. However, publications about Kind Hearts and Coronets have largely disregarded the way it approaches the theme and image of the country estate. This oversight is symptomatic of histories of British cinema, which have tended to neglect the representation of landscape, particularly in relation to plot. This paper traces the way in which Louis Mazzini’s rise through the English class system is appositely articulated through a series of landscapes. The paper contextualises the film’s deployment of landscape aesthetics in terms of both the history of the picturesque and other English narrative films about country estates.