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Small Island

Small Island

★ 6.1/10•2009•1h 30m•Drama
Similars

War, romance, infidelity and social unrest.

Follow three intricately connected stories of Jamaicans and Londoners involved in World War Two. Hortense yearns for a new life away from rural Jamaica, Gilbert dreams of becoming a lawyer, and Queenie longs to escape her Lincolnshire roots. Hope and humanity meet stubborn reality as we trace the tangled history of Jamaica and the UK.

Sarah Williams · Screenplay

Paula Milne · Screenplay

StatusEnded
Runtime1h 30m
LanguageEN
First Air DateDec 6, 2009

Episodes

Episode 1 - Episode OneE190m

Episode One

London 1948: Hortense joins Gilbert, her new husband, in England, where he is lodging with Queenie Bligh. The women have both married in unpromising circumstances as love is a luxury neither can afford. As Hortense remembers her life in Jamaica and the profound love she had for Michael and his betrayal of her, Queenie also remembers her night of passion with the same Michael when her husband was away at war. Initially suspicious of each other, will they uncover the secret they share?

Dec 6, 2009

Episode 2 - Episode TwoE290m

Episode Two

The emotional and moving climax to the stories of Hortense, Queenie and Gilbert whose lives entwine in post Second World War London. Hortense begins her new life in England and soon learns it is not the golden land she hoped it would be. She and Gilbert suffer racism and ignorance, but in adversity they discover new qualities in each other and begin to fall in love. Queenie is shocked when her husband Bernard returns to her after years away. When she goes into labour and has a baby by a mysterious father, the lives of all four are changed forever.

Dec 13, 2009

Actors

David Oyelowo

David Oyelowo

Gilbert

Ashley Walters

Ashley Walters

Michael

Benedict Cumberbatch

Benedict Cumberbatch

Bernard

Naomie Harris

Naomie Harris

Hortense

Ruth Wilson

Ruth Wilson

Queenie

Shaun Parkes

Shaun Parkes

Winston

Hugh Quarshie

Hugh Quarshie

Narrator

Roger Sloman

Roger Sloman

Mr. Todd

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