History Series / Belgravia

* BigScrewedUpFamily: Downplayed with the "big" part for the Trenchards. While James and Anne are HappilyMarried, his naked ambition drives her to distraction at times. Their son Oliver is an aspiring UpperClassTwit who frequently clashes with James, and his wife Susan is a self-admitted StepfordSmiler 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.

** Lord Brockenhurst and James Trenchard. Both are Charles' grandfathers who see their legacies as disappointments on opposite sides of the aristocratic 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.

** Reversed with Richard Bouverie and Reggie Grey where their names are mentioned in dialogue but they are credited by their jobs.

* DestroyTheEvidence: Subverted. John Bellasis orders [[spoiler: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.]]

* SpeakOfTheDevil: Caroline is drawing Maria and wondering when Maria's mother Corinne will show up demanding that Maria marry John Bellasis when Corinne bursts into the room.

** Creator/TomWilkinson, Harriet Walter, and Creator/JamesFleet all appeared in the Creator/AngLee adaptation of ''Film/SenseAndSensibility'' as members of the Dashwood family; Wilkinson played Henry Dashwood, Walter played Fanny Dashwood, and Fleet played John Dashwood.

** Creator/TomWilkinson, Harriet Walter, and James Fleet all appeared in the Creator/AngLee adaptation of ''Film/SenseAndSensibility'' as members of the Dashwood family; Wilkinson played Henry Dashwood, Walter played Fanny Dashwood, and Fleet played John Dashwood.

** Lord Brockenhurst and James Trenchard. Both are Charles' grandfathers who see their legacies as disappointments on opposite sides of the aristocracy and trade; 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. 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.

** It's discussed between the staff at Lymnington Park that Viscount Bellasis could have been a great Earl of Brockenhurst had he not been killed at Waterloo.

** 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 overheard 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.

* LastEpisodeNewCharacter: Maria's brother Reggie, the Earl of Templemore, appears in the last episode as an additional voice against marrying Charles Pope.

** Charles Pope has a bright piano underscored with driving strings which serves as the series' main theme.

** Episode 4: John having dinner with his mother Grace, where she tells him about the silver she's hidden from his father.
** Episode 4: Stephen giving a sermon with Peregrine and Caroline in attendance.

* CutHimselfShaving: Stephen gets a cut on his nose thanks to getting slammed facefirst into a table, 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.

** Stephen and John talking in a chop house where John admits that he's unhappy with having Maria Grey as his wife.
** 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.
** Stephen and John visiting Emil Tomaszewski and being unable to borrow money from him.
** John having dinner with his mother Grace, where she tells him about the silver she's hidden from his father.
** Stephen giving a sermon with Peregrine and Caroline in attendance.
** 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.
** Ellis talking with Stan about Princess Feodora and how the Upstairs aren't much different from the Downstairs.
** Stephen attempts to blackmail Lady Brockenhurst in exchange for money, which backfires.
** James investigates the claims against Charles in Manchester and finds them false.

* AdaptationalJerkass: 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); 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.

** Lord Brockenhurst and James Trenchard. Both are Charles' grandfathers who see their legacies as disappointments on opposite sides of the aristocracy and trade; Peregrine because he has no living son and everything is fated to pass to his worthless brother while James is disappointed in his living son's laziness, but has reason to hope seeing Charles as his future.

* GenerationXerox: Despite being intended for the clergy as his adopted father was, Charles Pope went into business like his biological grandfather.

* NotActuallyHisChild: [[spoiler: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.]]

** The army officer who meets with John Bellasis has no name in the miniseries (named Hugo Wentworth in the novel) and only one scene, but he informs John Bellasis that [[spoiler:Richard Bouverie was an ''actual'' clergyman]], meaning that Edmund and Sophia were legitimately married.

* VictorianLondon: 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. His fiance Maria Grey's family has a house in Chesham. Stephen and John meet with Emil Tomazewski in the East End.

* VillainousBreakdown: The last episode and last two chapters are one long one for John Bellasis when he realizes that [[spoiler:he's no longer the heir to the earldom of Brockenhurst. It culminates in attempt to murder Charles; when that fails, he goes on the run.]]

** The Templemores have a more melancholic piano.

** John and Susan's affair is represented by the song "Quite a secret".

%%* BigFancyHouse: Lymington Park.

** Stephen Bellasis is definitely one, as he's viewed as a liability by his brother for his gambling. He's also lazy as shown by the fact he doesn't want to be actually preaching.

* PullTheThread: James figures out that the allegations against Charles Pope are MaliciousSlander because the accusers [[OutOfCharacterAlert say Charles bullied the widow into accepting more money]].

%%* WomenAreWiser: The wives of each aging patriarch are much more wary than their husbands.

* MamaBear: 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 accusing 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 GoldDigger scheming to advance her family beyond her father's wildest dreams.

* NatureVsNurture: Discussed, where James wonders if Charles' humble upbringing by the Popes [[UpbringingMakesTheHero has made him the kind young man he is]].

-->"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 [[UngratefulBastard 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.

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: 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 MarryForLove or Sophia a GoldDigger as Lady Brockenhurst originally believed.
* AndStarring: The miniseries' opening credits list "And Creator/TomWilkinson".

* VictorianLondon: The main action of the story takes place in 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 while Stephen and John meet with Emil Tomazewski in the East End.

* FoolishSiblingResponsibleSibling: Peregrine Bellasis and his brother Stephen. Peregrine is an upright and dutiful patriarch, Stephen is TheGamblingAddict and UpperClassTwit.

* RedOniBlueOni: James Trenchard and his wife Anne. James is blustery and nakedly ambitious (Red), Anne is shy and more concerned with what she has (Blue).

** [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Cubitt_(politician) William Cubitt]], the brother of famous builder Thomas Cubitt, appears talking business with James Trenchard. Both Cubitts are mentioned in dialogue as to how Anne was invited to the Duchess of Bedford's tea.

** Schmidt, the moneylender Stephen is indebted to, only appears once and in flashback, but the debts from that particular gambling round fuel Stephen and John's efforts to blackmail Lady Brockenhurst about Charles Pope.