Is The Confessions of Frannie Langton based on a true story? The inspiration behind ITV’s LGBTQ drama
‘The Confessions Of Frannie Langton’ will air on ITV following its first stream release on ITVX last year.
The historical drama tells the unique story of former slave Frannie, played by Karla-Simone Spence, who is having an affair with her white lover, Madame Marguerite Benham (Sophie Cookson).
At the beginning of the story, she is accused of murdering Madame and her husband George (Stephen Campbell Moore).
The four-part drama bounces back and forth between the Benhams’ mansion in 19th-century London, the Old Bailey (where Frannie stands trial) and the Jamaican plantation where Frannie was enslaved.
But is The Confessions Of Frannie Langton based on a true story? Find out by reading more.
Drama: The Confessions Of Frannie Langton tells the story of the title character (played by Karla-Simone Spence, right) who falls in love with her lover, Madame Benham (Sophie Cookson, left).
Is The Confessions of Frannie Langton based on a true story?
While the events of the new ITVX drama remain as historically accurate as possible, the series is ultimately based on Sara Collins’ novel of the same name.
While not directly inspired by any specific true story, it does touch on contemporary themes such as slavery and prejudice.
Collins described the title character as “Jane Eyre, if Jane Eyre was black and shagged the crazy woman in the attic and maybe killed Mr. Rochester.”
The debut novel was released in 2019 and, like the series, is set in Georgian London in 1826, when a maid – Frannie – stands trial for the murder of her employers, George and Marguerite Benham (played by Stephen Campbell Moore and Sophie Cookson).
The novel soon found acclaim from publications and authors, winning the Costa Book Awards First Novel award the year of its publication.
Of deciding to adapt her novel for the small screen, Collins said, “I wanted to dramatize a passionate love affair between a black woman and her white lover in Regency London.”
“We were led to believe that something like this could never happen, and that’s exactly why I wanted to tell this story.”
Mystery: The immediate twist of the story is the murder of Madame Benham and her husband George (played by Stephen Campbell Moore, pictured).
“We’ve never seen a story where a formerly enslaved person experiences some sort of sexual or romantic awakening.”
“You don’t see that anywhere else in Jane Austen territory and I’m really proud of the magic of this drama.”
“I also knew right away that I didn’t want to write another historical drama where slavery only happens to the black characters.”
Sara is keen to distance her series, which features fictional characters in a historically accurate setting, from Netflix’s Bridgerton, a Regency drama starring color-blind cast and black and Asian actors in roles traditionally filled by white casts.
She said, “This is color-focused casting.” Bridgerton is a fantasy. “It’s a beautiful fantasy, but what really interests me is that we don’t lose sight of the truth.”
In this sense, the portrayal of slavery—including the depiction of brutal experiments on its enslaved kin—is based on true history.
But it’s also a drama that isn’t the “typical” story about slavery, as Frannie herself tells the viewer at the beginning of the series.
Played by Karla-Simone Spence, the character says, “No doubt you’ll think this is just another one of those slave tales filled with misery and despair.”
When is The Confessions of Frannie Langton on TV?
The Confessions Of Frannie Langton will make its live television debut on August 21 at 9pm.
This will be the first of four consecutive performances of all four parts of the historical drama, at the same time each day.
It was released on ITVX on 8 December 2022 and those who can’t catch it on ITV can still find the show on demand there.
Adored: Sara Collins’ book of the same name won the Costa Book Awards’ first novel award in the year it was published