Series / Belgravia

Belgravia is a 2020 historical miniseries created by Julian Fellowes (Downton Abbey) as a joint production between Carnival and Epix, adapted from the 2016 novel written by Fellowes.

The story begins at the Duchess of Richmond's ball on June 15, 1815, three days before the climactic battle of Waterloo where Napoléon Bonaparte was defeated. At the ball, Sophia Trenchard, the daughter of businessman James Trenchard, caught the eye of Viscount Bellasis, nephew of the Duchess of Richmond. 26 years later, the consequences of that night play out in the newly developed area of London named Belgravia.

In October 2022, a follow-up series was announced titled Belgravia: the Next Chapter, picking up 30 years after the first series. The series premiered in January 2024 on MGM+.

Tropes that appear in Belgravia:

• Adaptational Attractiveness: Schmidt, the moneylender Stephen is indebted to, has a large dent in his forehead in the book which is absent in the miniseries.
• Adaptation Distillation: The book has a scene where Lady Templemore searches Maria's desk at home and finds that Lady Brockenhurst is planning another visit to Charles' office with Maria, which prompts her to announce Maria's engagement in the newspapers and intercept Maria before she and Lady Brockenhurst can take another visit. This scene is partially left out and instead has Lady Brockenhurst deduce that Lady Templemore's presence at her house is because she searched Maria's correspondence.
• Adaptation Expansion: The miniseries features a few scenes not in the novel.
  • Episode 2: Stephen and John talking in a chop house where John admits that he's unhappy with having Maria Grey as his wife.
  • Episode 3: Susan and Speer going to meet John Bellasis in Kensington Gardens where they decide to have their first tryst. This is accompanied by a scene where Susan suggests going to Isleworth (where John's apartment is) and offers Oliver the chance to accompany her. He refuses, so she goes with Speer and starts the affair. All these scenes are only discussed in flashback in the novel after John and Susan sleep together for the first time.
  • Episode 4: Stephen and John visiting Emil Tomaszewski and being unable to borrow money from him.
  • Episode 4: John having dinner with his mother Grace, where she tells him about the silver she's hidden from his father which John later steals.
  • Episode 4: Stephen giving a sermon with Peregrine and Caroline in attendance. After the sermon, Peregrine pays Stephen some money to pay off his debtors so Stephen won't go to prison.
  • Episode 4: John having dinner with Lady Templemore and Maria, where John notes that Lady Templemore is really pushing for the match between him and Maria by contriving them to be alone. This is intercut with Ellis talking with Stan about Princess Feodora and how the Upstairs aren't much different from the Downstairs.
  • Episode 5: Stephen attempts to blackmail Lady Brockenhurst in exchange for money, which backfires.
  • Episodes 5 and 6: James investigates the claims against Charles in Manchester and finds them false.
• Adaptation-Induced Plot Hole: In the book Anne's visit to discuss Charles' future with Lady Brockenhurst after Oliver's slander coincides with Lady Templemore's visit to grill Lady Brockenhurst about Charles. In the miniseries the order of scenes is flipped around where the decision to acknowledge Charles is later in the episode so Anne's visit looks like it was for no apparent reason.
• Adaptational Jerkass: In the miniseries Reggie Grey is much more dismissive of Charles Pope than he is in the book where he supports Maria's choice off the bat (it helps that he dislikes John Bellasis' character); instead he threatens to bring her back to Ireland with him and show her that a life removed from her current station in London isn't what it's cracked up to be.
• Adaptational Modesty: John's conversation persuading Susan to go to Glanville is conducted post-coital in the novel, while in the miniseries it takes place right after John walks in the door from Bishopsgate and they have sex offscreen afterwards.
• Adaptational Name Change: Emile Kruchinsky, the Polish man who Stephen and John attempt to borrow money from, has his name changed to Emil Tomaszewski.
• All There in the Manual: The novel has some background information that isn't mentioned in the show.
  • Peregrine and Stephen had a younger sister named Alice who died as a child.
  • Turton's first name is Amos.
  • Ellis's first name is Mary.
  • Reversed with Richard Bouverie and Reggie Grey where their names are mentioned in dialogue but they are credited by their professions (Bouverie as parson/soldier and Reggie as Earl of Templemore).
• Alternative Character Interpretation: In-universe, Lady Brockenhurst and Maria discuss the brief time between Edmund and Sophia, about whether or not Edmund was brave in going against the tide to Marry for Love or Sophia a Gold Digger who caught Edmund as Lady Brockenhurst originally believed.
• Ambiguous Situation: When Mrs. Pope figures out that John Bellasis is trying to grill her for information on Charles and James Trenchard, she starts writing to James but it's unclear whether or not the message reached him.
• And Starring: The miniseries' opening credits list "And Tom Wilkinson" in episodes 2, 3, 4, and 6.
• Artistic Licence – Religion: An Anglican wedding likely requires at least one other witness than the priest; whether or not Edmund or Sophia had one isn't mentioned.
• Ascended Extra: Emile Kruchinsky/Emil Tomaszewski, the Polish moneylender, is The Ghost in the novel but makes a full appearance in the miniseries.
• Awful Wedded Life:
  • Stephen and Grace Bellasis; Stephen is a gambler and womanizer (in the novel) who has plunged them into debt while Grace is powerless to stop him. While less elaborated on in the miniseries, John is fully aware his parents are unhappy together; when Stephen says that John could grow to like Maria, John replies that he doesn't set a good example.
  Stephen: Well, you'll grow to like her.
  John: Really? The same way you like Mama?
  • Oliver and Susan's marriage has been described as dull for a number of reasons, not helped by the fact that they don't have children, which greatly distresses Susan.
  • Lady Templemore's husband was in a constant state of anger (he even died angry) and had no head for money, which fuels her efforts to force Maria to marry John so she can spend her remaining years in comfort.
• Bearer of Bad News: James Trenchard tells his daughter Sophia of Viscount Bellasis' fate, having seen his body in person.
• Big "NO!": John does one in the miniseries when he realizes Susan took his papers on Charles Pope.
• Big, Screwed-Up Family:
  • Downplayed with the "big" part for the Trenchards. While James and Anne are Happily Married, his naked ambition drives her to distraction at times. Their son Oliver is an aspiring Upper-Class Twit who frequently clashes with James, and his wife Susan is a self-admitted Stepford Smiler who is unhappy with her lot and embarks on an affair with John Bellasis to liven things up. It's also made clear that James and Anne (plus Oliver to a lesser extent) have never gotten over their daughter Sophia's death. Press releases for the sequel series indicate the family will be bigger... and more screwed up.
  • Also downplayed with the "big" part for the Bellasis family. Lord and Lady Brockenhurst are okay people, if morose at the death of their son, though Lady Brockenhurst proves to have a conniving streak. Lord Brockenhurst's heirs, his brother Stephen and nephew John, are gamblers and womanizers, while Stephen's wife Grace is powerless to stop him. And then John tries to murder Lord Brockenhurst's grandson Charles.
• Big "WHAT?!": John does this twice in the miniseries, first when Stephen mentions that John's aunt is financing Charles Pope and again when Turton fleeces him for more money.
• Birds of a Feather: Charles Pope and Maria Grey instantly bond with each other over a mutual interest in India.
• Blackmail Backfire: Stephen and John Bellasis' attempts to extort money from Lady Brockenhurst blow up in their faces, particularly in the adaptation; Stephen's attempt is outright rejected because Lady Brockenhurst can out-leverage him until her husband dies while John's discoveries reveal he won't inherit anything.
• Blue Blood: There are a few ranks depicted.
  • The Duke of Wellington and the Duke of Richmond appear in the prologue; the latter's wife shows up later.
  • The Bellasis family are the Earls of Brockenhurst and according to John can trace their history as far back as the Crusades. Lord Brockenhurst's deceased son Edmund was styled Viscount Bellasis from birth.
  • The Grey family are the Earls of Templemore in Ireland.
  • Richard Bouverie was a younger son of an unknown aristocratic family; his father was referred to as Lord Tidworth.
• Bootstrapped Theme:
  • Charles Pope's theme, heard when he's introduced, is used for the main theme for the miniseries.
  • "Sophia's Letters", mainly used as a theme for the Stephen Bellasis branch of the family, is frequently used in trailers for ''Belgravia: The Next Chapter".
• The Butler Did It: Invoked when Stephen suggests getting information on the Trenchards through their servants. John goes to Speer who knows who he is and points him in the direction of two servants, one of whom is the butler.
• Call-Back: The first line of the book, "The past is a foreign country", is repeated as a chapter title for Chapter 9 when Sophia's former maid meets with Mrs. Trenchard to hand over some documents from Sophia's ill-fated marriage to Viscount Bellasis.
• Cannot Spit It Out: While having lunch with Charles, James admits that he badly wanted to tell Charles that he, James, is his grandfather, rather than have it whispered wherever he goes.
• Canon Foreigner:
  • The miniseries features a young man named Stan not present in the books, whom Turton takes on as a second footman. Stan's main function is to serve as a Satellite Character and sounding board for Ellis, who regales her story about Princess Feodora losing her chance to become queen and why the people upstairs aren't much different than those downstairs.
  • Every character in The Next Chapter, with the exception of Susan, Oliver, Susan and John's illegitimate child Frederick, and John Bellasis himself.
• Casting Gag:
  • Tom Wilkinson, Harriet Walter, and James Fleet all appeared in the Ang Lee adaptation of Sense and Sensibility as members of the Dashwood family; Wilkinson played Henry Dashwood, Walter played Fanny Dashwood, and Fleet played John Dashwood.
  • Richard Goulding, Adam James, and Nicholas Rowe all appeared in the original Almeida and West End productions of King Charles III: Goulding as Prince Harry, James as the Prime Minister, and Rowe as Stevens, the leader of the Opposition.
• Chekhov's Gun: The silver kept hidden by Grace Bellasis becomes one in the miniseries when she mentions that it's the only thing in the house worth selling to John. He steals it to pay Turton and Ellis.
• Chekhov's Gunman:
  • Jane Croft, Sophia's maid in the opening, shows up much later with information on Charles Pope.
  • When Oliver goes to Charles' mill in Manchester, the camera focuses on a particular worker named Riley. Riley approaches Oliver later and tells him to meet two men who also have a quarrel with Charles.
• Chubby Mama, Skinny Papa:
  • Mr. and Mrs. Pope, Charles' foster parents. The Reverend Pope's portrait shows him to be lean while Mrs. Pope is plump.
  • Inverted with the Trenchards. James is consistently described as portly while Anne is regarded as relatively pretty; when Lady Brockenhurst recalls her sister describing James and Anne's daughter Sophia, she immediately deduces that she got her looks from her mother after meeting James for the first time.
  • Also inverted with Stephen and Grace in the novel; Stephen is repeatedly noted to be heavyset while Grace is presumably leaner.
• Church Militant: Trope name-dropped in the novel when Hugo Wentworth describes Richard Bouverie's status as a minister while also being a soldier at Waterloo.
• Clashing Cousins: Played with. Charles Pope and John Bellasis are first cousins once removed (Charles is the grandson of John's uncle Lord Brockenhurst), but the antagonism is mostly isolated to two different spheres, both with almost no overlap; John sees Charles as an interloper infringing on his inheritance due to Lady Brockenhurst's financial backing, and Charles sees John as an insurmountable obstacle to his feelings for Maria Grey because Maria is engaged to John. Admittedly Charles doesn't see what problem John has with him until John attempts to murder him when it's discovered Charles is the legitimate heir of Lord Brockenhurst's son.
• Composite Character: In the miniseries several footmen who declare the presence of various characters in the Brockenhursts' house are taken by their butler Jenkins.
• Contrived Coincidence: At the same moment John Bellasis is discussing the lack of information about his wedding with his parents, his fiancee Maria is arguing about the same topic with her mother. This is lampshaded in the novel.
• "Could Have Avoided This!" Plot: Oliver points out that his parents should have told him Charles was his nephew and therefore he wouldn't have been so foolish as to slander him.
• Covers Always Lie: The poster for the miniseries appears to imply Oliver Trenchard is a member of the Brockenhurst family, which he isn't.
• Cut Himself Shaving: Stephen gets a cut on his nose thanks to getting slammed facefirst into a table and a bottle smashed near his head, which he passes off as a window breaking near him on the street. In the book he passes this off as a bad shaving job from the barber, to which Peregrine sarcastically responds that he should avoid said barber.
• Dances and Balls: The story opens with the Duchess of Richmond's Ball three days before the Battle of Waterloo. Sophia Trenchard manages to secure invitations for herself and her parents through her relationship with Viscount Bellasis.
• The Dandy: John Bellasis; one of his first lines is about how many clothes he has to have to keep up with the fashion in London, specifically billing the tailors.
• Dark Secret: Several.
  • The most plot-relevant is that Viscount Bellasis and Sophia Trenchard had a child together, named Charles Pope. Anne revealing this to Lady Brockenhurst is the direct catalyst for many of the story's events.
  • Stephen Bellasis' gambling debts; apparently Lady Brockenhurst's friend Lady Templemore has no idea of this issue.
  • The Trenchards' butler Turton runs a Black Market Produce business.
  • Susan's child is sired by John Bellasis.
• Death by Childbirth: Sophia Trenchard died giving birth to Charles Pope.
• Deceptive Legacy: Charles Pope knows he's an orphan adopted by the Popes; his mother died in childbirth and his father killed at Waterloo. Just who his birth parents are and how that secret is revealed forms the crux of the main plot.
  Anne: James, when we put the child away from us and turned our backs, we chose a life of lies. Now those lies have returned to haunt us and we must manage the best we can.
• Demoted to Extra: Billy, the Trenchards' senior footman in the novel who gets promoted to butler after Turton's dismissal, is mostly silent, leaving the second footman Morris as the primary footman and introducing Canon Foreigner Stan as a temporary second footman when the Trenchards stay at Glanville.
• Destroy the Evidence: Subverted twice with the same set of evidence.
  • John Bellasis orders Ellis to take Jane Croft's papers so he can burn them as proof of Charles Pope's parentage, but the maid is unable to get to the papers before Jane shows them to Anne.
  • Sophia Trenchard had ordered Jane to burn her papers about her secret marriage to Viscount Bellasis, but Jane never did because she felt they were not hers to destroy.
• Distant Prologue: The first chapter takes place in June 1815 before skipping ahead over 25 years later to 1841.
• Distant Sequel: The Next Chapter takes place 30 years after the events of the original series.
• The Dog Bites Back: Susan after John Bellasis rejects her. Once she's alone with the documents legitimizing Charles Pope, she pockets them, takes a cab home, and shows them to her in-laws... who have the original versions.
• Dramatic Drop: When Charles Pope reveals he's been working with Mr. Trenchard, the latter drops his glass in surprise.
• Dramatic Irony: John Bellasis believing Charles Pope is James Trenchard's son while the audience knows the truth.
• Elopement: Discussed. Near the end, Maria Grey, determined not to marry John Bellasis, decides to elope with Charles Pope. It turns out not to be necessary because Charles is the heir to his grandfather Lord Peregrine, forcing Maria's mother Lady Templemore to back down.
• Every Man Has His Price: Reversed; James Trenchard figures out that the slander against Charles is false because as far as he's concerned, nobody would have to be bullied into accepting more money.
• Everyone Has Standards: The staff member at the Athenaeum reprimands Mr. Trenchard for showing business papers at luncheon, but even he stops and helps him after Oliver throws more papers on the floor.
• Every Scar Has a Story: Early in episode 3, Stephen is shown cleaning a cut on his nose. While Stephen begs Peregrine for money, the scene flashes back to the night before and shows how Stephen got that cut.
• Exact Words:
  • Lady Brockenhurst agrees to keep Anne Trenchard's secret about her grandson Charles on her honor as a lady; after all, she has nothing to gain from saying anything degrading about her son. However, that doesn't stop her from meeting with Charles under the pretense of investing in his business and inviting him to one of her receptions, which piques everyone's interest. She wants people to connect the dots that Charles is her grandson and have him recognized as her husband's heir.
  • Charles is already aware he's been adopted by the Popes, being the son of a dead soldier and that his mother died in childbirth. All of which is true... From a Certain Point of View.
• Fat and Skinny:
  • Peregrine and Stephen in the novel. Peregrine is a tall, lean man, Stephen is considerably shorter and heavyset.
  • William Brent and Jacob Astley, the two businessmen who accuse Charles of cheating Mrs. Girton. Brent is heavyset, Astley is lean. They also form a Big, Thin, Short Trio with Joseph Riley, a mill worker who resents Pope for allegedly snubbing him for management.
• First-Episode Twist: In the miniseries, the end of the first episode reveals that the Trenchards' late daughter Sophia bore a son with Viscount Bellasis, a Dark Secret where the slow revelation drives the plot.
• Flat "What": Maria Grey in the miniseries when Lady Brockenhurst reveals the truth about Charles to her; the audience isn't able to see more of her reaction because it cuts away to John receiving information about Richard Bouverie.
• Foil:
  • Charles Pope and John Bellasis. Both grew up as the sons of clergymen and are suitors for Maria Grey's hand. However, Charles is ambitious, humble, kind-hearted, and loves Maria while John is fine with how things are, pompous, callous, and doesn't care about her.
  • Lord Brockenhurst and James Trenchard. Both are Charles' grandfathers who see their legacies as disappointments on opposite sides of the class divide; Peregrine because he has no living son and everything is fated to pass to his worthless brother's family while James is disappointed in his living son's laziness, but has reason to hope seeing Charles as his future.
  • Charles to Oliver Trenchard. Essentially, Charles is everything that James wished for in a son: hard-working, always looking to improve, willing to do everything that's legal to get what he wants. And with almost no input from James... at first.
• Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling:
  • Peregrine Bellasis and his brother Stephen. Peregrine is an upright and dutiful patriarch, Stephen is The Gambling Addict and Upper-Class Twit.
  • This dynamic is also noted amongst Stephen's children; Emma is content with the quiet life of a baronet while her brother John is a skirt-chaser and attempted murderer.
• Foreshadowing: Anne remembers she was taken aback by Jane Croft's lack of surprise when she came home without Sophia. It turns out that Jane knew why Anne and Sophia were going northward, having kept up correspondence with the latter until her death.
• From a Certain Point of View: Lady Brockenhurst is angered by Anne Trenchard stating her charges against her deceased son Edmund, given how well she spoke of him when they met at the Duchess of Bedford's tea. Anne responds that she spoke of how she'd known him before that night, before she knew what he was capable of.
• The Gambling Addict: Stephen Bellasis is a frequent gambler, to the point it's impacting his inheritance and his brother Peregrine is refusing to send him money. In the adaptation, Stephen gives a sermon about the dangers of gambling while Peregrine and Caroline are sitting in the congregation and are fighting the urge to laugh.
• Generation Xerox: Despite being intended for the clergy as his adopted father was, Charles Pope went into business like his biological grandfather. And he fell for someone of the aristocracy like his mother.
• The Ghost:
  • Emma, Stephen and Grace Bellasis' daughter and John's older sister.
  • Mrs. Girton, the elderly widow who Charles bought the mill from. James visits her in the adaptation when he goes to prove the allegations against Charles false, but it isn't shown.
• Give Him a Normal Life: Charles Pope; his grandparents the Trenchards gave him to the Popes so he would not live with the stigma of being born out of wedlock.
• Hair-Trigger Temper:
  • The late Lord Templemore was apparently in a constant state of rage from his widow's accounts; he even died angry when he whipped his horse too much and it threw him.
  • Oliver Trenchard; according to Susan he can always find a reason to be angry at something.
• Heir Club for Men: It's mentioned that the Brockenhurst estates and title are entailed, so they will pass to the Earl's nephew John Bellasis eventually if his father Stephen predeceases his uncle Lord Brockenhurst. In the miniseries, Stephen attempts to use this to force Caroline to give him money but to no avail.
• Historical Character's Fictional Relative: Caroline Bellasis, Countess of Brockenhurst, is a fictional younger sister of the Duchess of Richmond. The same holds true for her son Edmund as the Duchess' nephew.
• Historical Domain Character:
  • The Duke of Wellington appears in the prologue, as do the Duke and Duchess of Richmond, William, Prince of Orange, and Sir William Ponsonby. The Duchess of Richmond later appears a chapter later in the afternoon tea hosted by the Duchess of Bedford (another example of this trope).
  • William Cubitt, the brother of famous builder Thomas Cubitt, appears talking business with James Trenchard, trying to bring Oliver into a larger role. Both Cubitts are mentioned in dialogue as to how Anne was invited to the Duchess of Bedford's tea.
• Homage: Fellowes mentioned in an NPR podcast that the novel is one to the serialized novels of the Victorian era such as the works of Charles Dickens.
• Honor Before Reason: Charles Pope. He refuses to deny untrue allegations against him because he doesn't want to create another rift between James and Oliver Trenchard and his attempt to make amends with the latter nearly gets him killed by John Bellasis.
• Hope Spot: Discussed. When evidence is found that Charles is legitimate, James tells Anne to stay silent on the matter until it can be settled in the courts rather than have their hopes dashed.
• I Coulda Been a Contender!:
  • It's discussed between the staff at Lymington Park that Viscount Bellasis could have been a great Earl of Brockenhurst had he not been killed at Waterloo.
  • In the miniseries, Ellis tells Stan the story of Queen Victoria's older half-sister Feodora of Leiningen (via her mother), who could have been Queen had John Conroy not arranged a marriage between her and a German prince.
• Impoverished Patrician: The Earls of Templemore; according to Reggie, they haven't had a man with a good head around finances since the Middle Ages. This has fueled Lady Templemore's efforts to have Maria marry John Bellasis as his family has money so she can spend her last years in comfort.
• Inheritance Murder: When John Bellasis realizes that Charles Pope is the legitimate child of Edmund and Sophia, he attempts to throw Pope off a bridge.
• Innocently Insensitive: Differs between the book and miniseries; Peregrine thinks that whenever Stephen makes a dig at him about his dead son, it's to insult him, while Caroline thinks when Grace does one it's because she doesn't know better. In the book, Grace says that her son-in-law wants a second son as an "heir and a spare". This line is given to Stephen in the miniseries, making it more mean-spirited.
• Insult Backfire: When Lady Templemore accuses Lady Brockenhurst of corrupting Maria by helping her defy her mother, Lady Brockenhurst smiles and replies that she hopes she has.
• Intrafamilial Class Conflict: Stephen Bellasis greatly resents the fact that his elder brother Peregrine inherits everything because he's two years older, while Stephen has to be told to live within his means (and not without reason given his gambling addiction).
• Irony: Lady Brockenhurst introducing Anne Trenchard to Charles Pope, especially since Anne is the reason why Lady Brockenhurst knows anything about Charles.
• Jock Dad, Nerd Son: Inverted.
  • James Trenchard is a businessman who is Good with Numbers, Oliver wants to be a country landowner who gallivants from his present work to go hunting.
  • Lord Brockenhurst is mentioned to a Bookworm, his son Edmund traversed Lymington Park (the Brockenhurst estate) and was a soldier.
• Last Episode, New Character: Maria's brother Reggie, the Earl of Templemore, appears in the last episode as an additional voice against marrying Charles Pope (in the book he supports Maria against their mother).
• Law of Inverse Fertility: Oliver Trenchard and his wife Susan have been trying for years to have a child without success. It's heavily implied that Oliver is sterile, since Susan becomes pregnant from her affair with John Bellasis.
• Leitmotif:
  • Charles Pope has a bright piano underscored with driving strings which serves as the series' main theme.
  • John and Susan's affair is represented by the track "Quite a Secret".
  • The Templemores have a more melancholic piano line.
  • Charles and Maria have a love theme called "Monument to Love" which is first heard when they meet for the first time and discuss India.
  • Stephen Bellasis' family generally has a fast-paced violin line in the track "Sophia's Letters".
• Like Father, Unlike Son: James and Oliver Trenchard. James is an active, industrious businessman, Oliver is sullen, disinterested, and just wants a simple life of being a country squire.
• Love-Obstructing Parents:
  • Anne openly expresses disapproval over Sophia's relationship with Lord Bellasis, believing nothing good will come of it. It turns out she's proven correct when Sophia discovers the parson who married them was also a soldier, even though his status as a parson was unchanged despite being a soldier.
  • Lady Templemore tries to force Maria to marry John Bellasis by making their engagement public, though she lightens up when Charles is installed as Viscount Bellasis.
• Love Triangle: Two separate ones.
  • Charles Pope and Lady Maria Grey fall in love with each other. However, Maria is engaged to John Bellasis, the nephew of Charles' grandmother Lady Brockenhurst. Admittedly, John shows no active dislike of Charles for that (he has other reasons), but Maria's mother Lady Templemore forces the issue when Maria refuses to marry John.
  • John, on the other hand, has an affair with Susan Trenchard, the wife of Charles' uncle Oliver. John gets Susan pregnant and rejects her. Susan retaliates by stealing papers on Charles, proving his legitimacy.
• Luke, I Am Your Father: Subverted; James badly wants to tell Charles that he's his grandfather rather than have it whispered wherever he goes.
• Malicious Slander: Oliver attempts to find dirt on Charles Pope by listening to reports about Charles acquiring his mill through underhand means, cheating customs, and cheating someone out of a supervisory job. Mr. Trenchard finds these to be all false; Pope paid the original mill owner's widow four times (actual market price), the resentful worker clearly wasn't cut out for the job and Pope gave him one so his children didn't starve, and cheating customs was due to a clerical error, an honest mistake.
• Mama's Baby, Papa's Maybe: In the book, John Bellasis mulls over a couple combinations of who might be Charles Pope's parents, either James Trenchard and Lady Brockenhurst or James Trenchard and Jane Croft.
• Mama Bear: Despite their children being dead for over 25 years, Lady Brockenhurst and Anne Trenchard are willing to lock horns over how each child acted towards the other. Anne accuses Viscount Bellasis of being a lecher who duped Sophia into a false marriage while Lady Brockenhurst does the same by accusing Sophia of being a Gold Digger scheming to advance her family beyond her father's wildest dreams.
• Massive Numbered Siblings:
  • The Duchess of Richmond mentions she has 14 children. She actually did have that many in real life.
  • It's mentioned in the novel that Grace Bellasis is the eldest of five sisters. Her daughter Emma is pretty close as well; she has four children and another on the way.
• The Mole: John Bellasis bribes the Trenchards' butler Turton and maid Ellis into spying on their employers.
• Money Is Not Power: Alluded to by James. When Charles says he has all the money he needs after Lady Brockenhurst agrees to fund his ventures in India, James replies "Nobody has all the money they need." In James' case, he's been made wealthy through his business but is still looked down upon by the upper classes he wishes to ingratiate himself with.
• My Own Private "I Do": Viscount Bellasis and Sophia Trenchard had a secret wedding in Brussels just before the Battle of Waterloo. However, the parson who married them was also a soldier, making Sophia believe she'd been duped into a false marriage.
• Named by the Adaptation: The mill hand who contacts Oliver to speak with Brent and Astley (and has his own beef with Pope) is named Joseph Riley in the adaptation.
• Nature vs. Nurture: Discussed in the novel where James wonders if Charles' humble upbringing by the Popes has made him the kind young man he is.
• Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: John Bellasis' attempts to blackmail his aunt through the Trenchards' secrets just lead to solving the legitimacy of his rival Charles Pope as he places all the evidence into a single spot.
• Not Actually His Child:
  • Susan reveals to Oliver that her unborn child isn't his. Oliver is angry but Susan cows him because her child is the only chance he has to live the life he wants to live.
  • Subverted by way of Dramatic Irony. It's made quite plain to the audience that Charles Pope is James Trenchard's grandson through his daughter Sophia, but John Bellasis gets it into his head that Charles is James' son, cycling between at least two possible women (Lady Brockenhurst and Jane Croft).
• "Not So Different" Remark:
  • Speer says that Turton and Mrs. Oliver (Susan) are alike because they find country life (in this case at the Trenchards' estate Glanville) boring. Turton doesn't agree, snarling "I am nothing like Mrs. Oliver."
  • John says that he and Maria are similar because they wish for a proper place in society where they can do as they please.
• Nouveau Riche: The Trenchards, who have recently moved into the affluent Belgravia as tradesmen (James Trenchard developed much of Belgravia alongside the Cubitts). His wife Anne is a lot better at hiding their background than James is.
• Old Retainer:
  • Jenkins, the Brockenhursts' aged butler, has served them for almost all his life, having started at the age of 13 as a hall boy. According to Lord Brockenhurst Jenkins knows more about the family than he does.
  • Ellis, Anne Trenchard's personal maid, has been the Trenchards' longest-employed servant, and the only one currently on-staff who served before 1815.
• Only in It for the Money: In the novel, James's valet Myles is mentioned to work for the Trenchards because they pay better than his last masters who were more Impoverished Patrician.
• Oop North:
  • Anne and Sophia Trenchard go to Derbyshire so Sophia can give birth to her child in peace.
  • Charles Pope owns a mill in Manchester. Oliver goes up there to find dirt on Charles Pope and sometime later James follows to verify the dirt... which turns out to be false.
• Outliving One's Offspring:
  • Peregrine and Caroline Bellasis's son Edmund was killed in the Battle of Waterloo.
  • James and Anne Trenchard's daughter Sophia died giving birth to Charles Pope.
• Parental Abandonment: Charles Pope lost both his parents early on; his father Viscount Bellasis was killed at Waterloo and his mother Sophia died giving birth to him, so he was adopted by the Popes.
• Parental Favoritism:
  • Anne Trenchard admits that Sophia was the child of her heart.
  • The Duchess of Richmond doesn't pretend that she has children she favors over others; she's very fond of some, on good terms with most, but two are The Unfavorite.
• Penny Among Diamonds: Charles Pope is this on two fronts as a young businessman who is invited to suppers by a Grande Dame (who is actually his grandmother), while he embarks on a romance with a young lady of similar station to the Grande Dame.
• The Place: Belgravia refers to the affluent district of London which James has recently developed.
• Poor Communication Kills: The main plot kicks off because Edmund neglects to tell Sophia that the clergyman he had marry them was a soldier in his regiment who also really was an ordained clergyman. When Sophia sees the priest who had married them dressed in his soldier's uniform later that night, she assumes that Edmund deceived her into a false marriage with help from a friend and neither man is able to rectify things before they're killed in battle. So Sophia is forced to give up her baby to avoid scandal, not knowing that their union was legitimate.
• Posthumous Character:
  • Viscount Edmund Bellasis, the Brockenhursts' son who died at Waterloo.
  • Sophia Trenchard, the Trenchards' daughter who died in childbirth.
  • The Reverend Benjamin Pope, Charles' foster father. He died a year before and when John Bellasis meets with his wife, she's about to move out to make room for the new clergyman.
• Professional Butt-Kisser: James' valet Myles is described as being obsequious.
• Pull the Thread: James and Charles are already aware that Oliver is trying to make trouble for Charles via Malicious Slander, but Charles is unwilling to just tell James that Oliver's lying because he doesn't want to widen the gulf between father and son. James decides to go to Manchester and figures out that the allegations against Charles are false because the accusers say Charles bullied the widow into accepting more money.
  "Would you have to be bullied and terrified into taking an increase of four hundred percent? I know I wouldn't."
• Race for Your Love: Late in the story, Charles receives a message to meet with Maria before her mother forces her to marry John, wherein he rushes to a bookshop in Piccadilly to meet with her.
• Rags to Royalty: Charles Pope, while not impoverished, qualifies as a "Sleeping Beauty" style. As a supposedly illegitimate son of an Viscount and gentry as the foster son of a clergyman, he isn't in line to inherit anything from his grandfather the Earl of Brockenhurst. However all that changes when it's discovered that he's the legitimate son of the Viscount.
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: James to the men who slander Charles Pope when he proves their claims false.
  "You gentlemen are liars and jealous cheats who profit from frightening old ladies. As for you, you pathetic runt, Charles Pope saw you could no more be a manager than a Lord High Admiral! He gave you a job that your children might not starve and this is how you repay him! If I hear one more word of this from any source, I will bring charges that will strip you to your last penny piece."
• Red Oni, Blue Oni:
  • James Trenchard and his wife Anne. James is blustery and nakedly ambitious (Red), Anne is shy and more concerned with what she has (Blue).
  • James is also a red with Lord Brockenhurst as the blue; James is again blustery and active while Peregrine is bookish and morose.
• Red Right Hand: Schmidt, the moneylender Stephen is in debt to, has a prominent indentation on his head due to being struck in the face with a hammer as a child.
• Regency England: The first chapter takes place in 1815, just before the Battle of Waterloo.
• Repeating So the Audience Can Hear: In the second-to-last scene of the miniseries with the exiled John Bellasis, the landlord of an inn says "Il pleut" in French, then says "It is raining" in English.
• Retirony: Richard Bouverie retired from the army in 1802 after the Treaty of Amiens was signed. He then rejoined the army after Napoleon escaped from Elba and was killed at Waterloo.
• Rich Suitor, Poor Suitor: John Bellasis and Charles Pope for Maria Grey. While both are gentlemen, John Bellasis is the nephew of an Earl and second-in-line to inherit (and most people believe that he will inherit because his uncle is healthier than John's father) and Charles is a tradesman by profession and a bastard, neither of which would endear him to Maria's mother Lady Templemore.
• Riddle for the Ages: It isn't really explained how and why John Bellasis entered into an Arranged Marriage with Lady Maria Grey, outside of John deciding to marry somebody. Not even Maria remembers how it happened (and John doesn't care to).
• Second Episode Introduction:
  • Several major characters are introduced in the second episode corresponding with chapters 3 and 4: Charles Pope, Lord Peregrine Bellasis, Stephen Bellasis, Grace Bellasis, John Bellasis, Lady Maria Grey, and Lady Corinne Grey.
  • In the novel, Lady Brockenhurst is introduced in the second chapter, as is Oliver's wife Susan and most of the Trenchards' staff aside from Ellis who was introduced earlier.
• Secret-Keeper: Speer is the only person who knows about Susan having an affair with John Bellasis.
• A Shared Suffering: Anne Trenchard and Lady Brockenhurst originally converse over the fact that each of them has lost a child, which Lady Brockenhurst follows up with noting that she and her husband will be the last of their line. However, Anne knows that this statement is not quite true.
  Lady Brockenhurst: Everyone claims to understand what you're going through, but I do. And I've learned that it never goes away.
  Anne: Oddly, I find that comforting. They say misery loves company. And perhaps it does.
• Sliding Scale of Shiny Versus Gritty: The book/miniseries juxtaposes the more wealthy neighborhoods of London like Belgravia with seedier parts like the East End or Bishopsgate. The scenes in Manchester take things a step further, where the cotton mills are decidedly gritty.
• Slouch of Villainy: In the miniseries, Stephen Bellasis lounges into a couch at Brockenhurst House while attempting to blackmail Lady Brockenhurst.
• Small Role, Big Impact:
  • The Duchess of Richmond. It's Edmund's connection to her that gets the Trenchards invited to her ball before Waterloo, and later on Anne stops her teacup from falling to the floor, starting a conversation observed by the Duchess' sister Lady Brockenhurst, who later initiates her own conversation with Anne about their dead children. This talk prompts the guilt-ridden Anne to reveal Charles Pope to Lady Brockenhurst and the rest of the story commences from there.
  • Schmidt, the moneylender Stephen is indebted to, only appears once via flashback, but the debts from that particular gambling round fuel Stephen and John's efforts to blackmail Lady Brockenhurst about Charles Pope.
  • The army officer who meets with John Bellasis has no name in the miniseries (named Hugo Wentworth in the novel and credits) and only one scene, but he informs John Bellasis that Richard Bouverie was an actual clergyman, meaning that Edmund and Sophia were legitimately married.
• Someone to Remember Him By: The Dark Secret at the heart of the story is that Sophia Trenchard bore a son by Viscount Bellasis after he was killed in the Battle of Waterloo.
• Speak of the Devil: Caroline is drawing Maria and wondering when Maria's mother Corinne will show up demanding that Maria marry John Bellasis when Jenkins enters and announces that Lady Templemore has arrived.
  Caroline: Talk of the devil.
• The Three Faces of Adam: Three generations of Trenchards. Charles Pope is the Hunter, a young, bright, and ambitious entrepreneur. His uncle Oliver is the Lord, albeit one with an emphasis on staying where he is in life and uninterested in being anything more than a country gentleman. His grandfather James is the Prophet, a successful businessman who is determined to help his grandson in any way he can.
• Undying Loyalty: The Brockenhursts' servants, as shown when they stonewall Ellis's attempts to get information from them.
• Unexpected Inheritance: By the end of the story, Charles Pope, a tradesman and presumably illegitimate child, is confirmed as the heir to his grandfather's earldom.
• Unknown Rival: John Bellasis and Oliver Trenchard to Charles Pope. Both dislike him for their own reasons; Oliver believes Charles will usurp him as his father James' heir and John (and his father Stephen) can't understand why his aunt Lady Brockenhurst is funding Charles' business, money they believe belongs to them. Charles is aware Oliver dislikes him, but only really realizes how much when Oliver tries to slander him, while with John Bellasis, he's unaware there's any quarrel with him until John tries to murder him.
• Unnamed Parent: Charles Pope's foster mother is only ever known as Mrs. Pope.
• Unwanted Spouse: John Bellasis and Maria Grey are this to each other; he doesn't like that she was practically served to him on a platter, she finds him dull (to say nothing of his smarmy personality). The one who's really pushing the issue is her mother, who wants his money.
• Upper-Class Twit:
  • Stephen Bellasis is definitely one, as he's viewed as a liability by his brother for his gambling and lazy as shown by the fact he doesn't want to be actually preaching. Most everyone is just waiting for him to die.
  • Oliver Trenchard wants to be one as he just wants to live off his father's fortune and shows no interest in actually working.
  • Stephen's son John is a decidedly more malevolent version. On the one hand most of his money goes towards tailor's bills and apartments, harmless enough. On the other hand he attempts to blackmail his aunt and tries to murder Charles to get his status as heir back.
• Uptown Girl: Maria Grey for Charles Pope. She's the daughter of an Earl, he's the son of a clergyman and a businessman by trade. This winds up subverted because Charles Pope is the heir of an Earl.
  Corinne Grey: Mr. Pope, there is no "Maria and I". It is an absurd concept. My daughter is a jewel, as far above you as the stars. For your own sake as much as hers, forget her. If you have a shred of honor in you.
• Victorian London: The main action of the story takes place in the newly developed Belgravia in the early 1840s; the Brockenhursts' house is at Belgrave Square, while the Trenchards live in Eaton Square. Charles Pope's office is in Bishopsgate. Lord Brockenhurst's brother Stephen lives in Harley Street with his wife, while his son John keeps an apartment in Albany and another one to have affairs in Isleworth (basically a sex apartment). His fiance Maria Grey's family has a house in Chesham. Stephen and John meet with Emil Tomazewski in the East End.
• Villain Ball: Stephen and John both pick it up. They're looking for blackmail fodder on Lady Brockenhurst's association with Charles Pope, apparently unaware that the material is staring them in the face with the resemblance between Charles and Lady Brockenhurst's son Edmund.
• Villainous Breakdown: The last episode and last two chapters are one long one for John Bellasis when he realizes that he's no longer the heir to the earldom of Brockenhurst. It culminates in his attempt to murder Charles; when that fails, he goes on the run.
• The Voiceless: Lady Templemore's maid Ryan, who accompanies Maria wherever she goes like a silent shadow.
• We Used to Be Friends: In the novel, Lady Brockenhurst and Lady Templemore are on first-name terms... until Lady Templemore discovers that Lady Brockenhurst is encouraging Maria's romance with Charles Pope, to which Lady Templemore declares her Christian name to only be used with friends. She lightens up by the end when she learns Charles' true nature.
• Wham Line:
  • While arguing about Lady Brockenhurst, Anne Trenchard says "Do we have a right to hide from her that she has a grandson?", revealing Sophia and Edmund had a child together.
  • In-universe when Anne reveals the truth about Charles to Lady Brockenhurst.
  Anne: At the Duchess's tea, you said that when you and your husband go, there will be nothing left of you.
  Lady Brockenhurst: I did.
  Anne: Well, that's not quite true.
• What Does She See in Him?: In-universe, Maria can't really recall what she saw in John Bellasis that made her accept his marriage proposal. Neither does the audience.
• White Sheep: John Bellasis' sister Emma doesn't appear to have any particular hangups like her gambler father, resentful mother, and outright villainous brother. Maybe that's why she doesn't show up.
• You Have No Idea Who You're Dealing With: Stephen attempts to use this with Emil Tomaszewski when he tries to borrow money from him, but to no avail.
  Stephen: You forget to whom you are speaking.
  Tomaszewski: I am speaking to a broken-down, old, bankrupt who is addicted to a habit which he cannot afford. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

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