This BBC drama series presented the life of Nancy Astor (played by Lisa Harrow), one of the three beautiful, charismatic and talented Langhorne sisters from Virginia, USA.
Nancy went on to marry one of the wealthiest men in the world at the time, William Waldorf Astor (James Fox), and subsequently became the first woman member of the British Parliament.
During her fascinating life, Nancy suffered her share of tragedies, including her first marriage (aged 17) to a profligate, gambling womaniser named Robert Gould Shaw (Pierce Brosnan), whom she never stopped loving and a domineering love-hate relationship with her firstborn Bobby (Nigel Havers).
Throughout the series, we were also introduced to the famous personalities of the time, including Margot Asquith, Winston Churchill, Nancy Cunard, Paul Robson, Charlie Chaplin, and Bernard Shaw. During a parliamentary tour of the Soviet Union, she harangued Joseph Stalin, “When are you going to stop killing people?”.
Running for election and not wishing to hide her wealthy background, Nancy would motor around in her chauffeured Rolls-Royce from factory to slum to colliery, urging ordinary working men to vote for her. They did.
As she grew older, Nancy was never one to hold back, and her sharp tongue made her enemies within her own party. Consequently, she was never offered a Cabinet post and was passed over for many important select committees.
Despite these setbacks, Nancy never forgot her debt to the working-class Englishman and, on her death, bequeathed a large part of the Astor fortune to appropriate charities.
The series – a BBC co-production with Time-Life – was initially scheduled to be produced in 1979, but was delayed until 1981 due to a dispute with Equity over an American actress playing the principal role.
Nancy Astor/Langhorne
Lisa Harrow Phyllis Langhorne/Brand
Lise Hilboldt Waldorf Astor
James Fox Chiswell ‘Chillie’ Langhorne
Dan O’Herlihy Bobby Shaw
Nigel Havers Sam
Erick Ray Evans Robert Gould Shaw
Pierce Brosnan Philip Kerr
David Warner Robert Brand
Bernard Brown Lee
Paul McDowell Emma
Natalie Caron Nanaire Langhorne
Sylvia Syms Irene Gibson
Lillian Silverstone Harry Langhorne
William Hope Dana Gibson
Dallas Adams Reverend Neve
Neil McCarthy David Astor
David Yelland Margot Asquith
Rosalind Knight Wissie Astor
Marsha Fitzalan
Episodes
The Longhornes of Virginia | The Gentleman from Boston | Mr and Mrs Shaw | The Passenger on the Ocean Liner | A House in Buckinghamshire | The First Lady | Scandals | Guests for the Weekend | The Last of the Southern Belles
Video
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Throughout the series, we were also introduced to the famous personalities of the time, including Margot Asquith, Winston Churchill, Nancy Cunard, Paul Robson, Charlie Chaplin, and Bernard Shaw. During a parliamentary tour of the Soviet Union, she harangued Joseph Stalin, “When are you going to stop killing people?”.
