****Major Spoilers**** not only for this drama but for the trilogy of books.***** I have enjoyed other mini-series based on Catharine Cookson's melodramas, but I guess Tilly Trotter just was not my cup of tea. I liked the Tilly character: she was strong and good. But the men in her life were head swivelingly weak and unreliable. Her first love, the farmer, is dumber than dirt to begin with but a very good kind person. Then, when he is finally free of his unhappy marriage out of the blue, we learn in the last episode, we see him nailing the county nymphomaniac. In the barn. Instead of finding Tilly. Now, I understand, reading about the trilogy of novels, he ends up being her enemy and a really bad guy.Luckily, the 2 sequels were not made into movies, because, indeed, some pretty upsetting things happen there. She ends up marrying one of the children she was governess to? Hello, Mary LeTourneau? No. Just no. No wonder they stopped at the first novel. I'm not even going to start on the detour to Texas.The man she ends up with in this drama gets set up as the bad guy by yelling at his boisterous children and having an affair. We hardly can blame him when learn more of his evil wife. Tilly saves his life in the mine, and he becomes a good guy once he is permanently crippled and amputated. His wife leaves him, and he basically lets her take the children with her without fighting for them. Given the rights of mothers and women back then, he had a good chance of winning custody. Then he mopes about it throughout the rest of the movie. He is a great father when they visit him, but he never gets the kids back and his wife never gets her comeuppance. Their mother and their grandmother were just left to warp those poor kids, practically with the blessing of our hero and heroine. Then we have the ending. After her childhood crush disappoints her she immediately decides to become her employer's mistress. She get in his bed, and the whole series ends. Just like that. Although Tilly Trotter end on a positive note, there is little hope for a long term happy future. By taking her as his mistress, (and in the books, getting her pregnant,) he will ruin her reputation and doom her to bad times ahead. I don't mind tragedy, melodrama, or death in my historical dramas. Really, I don't. But I like my heroes to be either redeemed or strong and good all the way through. They can be flawed, but their other positive character traits or good actions must vastly outweigh the bad. And I like my heroines to end up with happy secure futures. I like my villains to get justice. I like closure. Call me crazy.

Tilly Trotter is the story of a Northumberland girl's struggle to survive. I read a synopsis that described it as a story about witchcraft, but this aspect is pretty weak throughout - although she is accused of witchcraft initially, and it is brought up from time to time, it's hardly the focus of this series.The focus is Romance with capital "R" - Tilly is beset with both peasant and gentleman attention from the get-go. Literal bodice-ripping scenes, and plenty of ravishing going on. At about part three it gets a little much, as even the children she watches fight over "who gets to marry her". I suppose this sort of thing does happen to the very good-looking...I did enjoy the story, and found Tilly's character to be very likable; the acting in the series was great. This can make a huge difference in a period romance.One very unrealistic part (SPOILER!): when Tilly's grandma's house is burned down, the grandma was in it. When Tilly rushes to the house, it is already completely burnt to the ground, with just the chimney and a few sticks remaining. However, the grandma is lying on the ground, not even her shawl is singed! Did the grandma get magically transported out of the window while the house burned? Not like I need to see a burnt body, but showing her completely untouched on the ground was a little bit unbelievable.In all, if you love period romances, this is a fine one - not quite BBC caliber, but very watchable and definitely will satisfy the romance seekers out there!

A fantastic story one of Catherine Cookson's best novels . A brilliant production very moving and heart warming . I loved it very much. I would recommend it to all . Great cast , great film , great story. Definitely 10/10. However I wish it was a little longer. The ending was a bit too brief but overall a delightful film. Please read and watch. It is a lot like The rag nymph another one of her fantastic novels. It too is also a film. I would recommend that also to read and watch. Tilly Trotter is slightly better in my opinion though. Depends on your personal taste but the are both very enjoyable and tragic! Thanks for reading hope you enjoy it

I am a big fan of Catherine Cookson's work, and have seen all movies based on her books. I read the Tilly Trotter trilogy about a year ago, and ordered this movie the minute I learned of it. I was not disappointed! The movie, Tilly Trotter, is one of the finest interpretations of a Catherine Cookson novel, definitely as good or better than The Girl. It's a great story, which deals with class divisions, overcoming adversity and the power of love.As with the first book in the Tilly Trotter series, I was left wishing the story would continue. I hope there are plans to make movies based on the second and third books in the series, with the same cast, of course! I'll be waiting and hoping!A tip for US viewers: To defray the cost of purchasing this and other Cookson movies, consider donating them to your public library for a tax deduction. They'll be there whenever you get the urge to see them again. Meanwhile, others are sure to enjoy these movies.