Doctor Thorne will follow, well, Dr. Thorne (Hollander). He lives with his poor niece Mary (Stefanie Martini), who falls in love with Frank Gresham (Harry Richardson), a member of a formerly wealthy family that recently lost all of their money. McShane plays railway tycoon Sir Roger Scatcherd, who provides the Gresham family with a loan because he has all that sweet, sweet railroad money. Frank is faced with the task of marrying up to guarantee his family’s financial stability. In steps Frank’s mother Lady Arabella (Rebecca Front) to assist the lad with finding a suitable suitor. She sets her eyes on Miss Martha Dunstable, a young and wealthy American heiress played by Alison Brie. Lady Arabella is no dummy. Who wouldn’t want to marry Alison Brie?
The story, with its class struggles and courtship woes, certainly sounds right up Fellowes’ alley, and he has an impressive cast at his disposal for the three-part miniseries. “Doctor Thorne is a wonderful example of Trollope’s gift for understanding the tangles we humans get into,” Fellowes said in a release. “He is sharply observant, critical and merciful in equal measure and, above all, highly entertaining. With the cast we have assembled, I am confident we can bring all of these qualities to the screen.”
The miniseries begins filming this month and will be directed by Niall McCormick, and additional cast members include Phoebe Nicholls, Gwyneth Keyworth, Kate O’Flynn, Edward Franklin, and Cressida Bonas. The Weinstein Company has acquired the North American rights to air Doctor Thorne.
