Review of Under the Greenwood Tree

I wasn't going to watch this, as although I'm a fan of Thomas Hardy,most of his stories have an unhappy ending,and i thought for Boxing Day i wanted to watch something cheery.I was really delighted as the drama was lovely from beginning to end,and it did have the ending you wanted to see.A lot of thought went into this drama,the costumes,the class stereotypes were well presented,it really put you in touch with how people lived in those days and their strange customs.The script was well written and the acting first rate.I have never read this book,but i have read others by Thomas Hardy,and it seems to me that here he has stuck to a much simpler story,without getting carried away with his pen or quill as he some times did,although that is just my opinion.I hope there will be many more dramas like this on TV,i thought this was an excellent choice to show on boxing day,i don't know how any one could have found fault in it,okay so it may not have been accurate to the book,but then what dramas are 100% accurate to the books.I think most people would believe this was a nice story to watch at Christmas.