Aurora Leigh

by RALEIGH MARCELL adapted from the novel by Elizabeth Barrett Browning period drama 113 pages WGA Registered CONTACT AUTHOR CONTACT AUTHOR'S AGENT Mary Ann Amato

HERE for PDF file of the first 10 pages of AURORA LEIGH

HOME

A young woman struggles against gender servitude in mid 19th century England to become an independent woman, successful poet, and fulfilled lover.

*   this screenplay was a Quarter-Finalist in the 2000 New Century Writers Awards   *

AURORA LEIGH is the daughter of an outcast Englishman and an Italian peasant girl. Orphaned at 16, she is brought to Shropshire, England, to live with her aunt, a cold distant woman who attempts to raise Aurora as a proper English lady. Aurora, headstrong and rebellious, composes passionate poetry in secret. On her 20th birthday, her cousin, Romney, offers to take her into service as his wife and helpmate in his quest for the reformation of the evils of society. He is a Socialist and is turning his family’s estate into a commune. She refuses his proposal and leaves Shropshire for London. After several years of effort, Aurora makes a career as a writer of light women’s verses but longs to have her epic poem published. She is visited by a Lady Waldemar who is hopelessly in love with Romney. She hopes to enlist Aurora’s aid to prevent his marriage to a girl from the lower class. Aurora refuses. On the wedding day, the rich and the poor gather to witness Romney’s marriage. The girl fails to show. There is a riot. Romney is disgraced. He sets off in a fruitless search for the girl. Returning, Romney proposes to Lady Waldemar and devotes himself to his commune. Aurora’s persistence has led to the publication and success of her Epic. On the eve of his marriage to Waldemar, Romney’s commune erupts in dissention and is destroyed. He is severely injured. These disasters and the reading of Aurora’s epic change Romney’s life. Waldemar is exposed as having caused the girl’s disappearance. Aurora’s success and Romney’s failure have paved the way for reconciliation. They meet on the ruins of his estate where Romney repents his foolish schemes and now sees Aurora as an equal. Aurora can finally express her love for Romney.

HOME

The novels of Jane Austen have produced, and continue to provide the basis for fine and successful films. AURORA LEIGH is a neglected masterpiece by Elizabeth Barrett Browning that offers female characters of much greater strength and contemporary significance than those of Jane Austen.

HOME

other screenplays: BEAUTIFUL OASIS THE LADIES OF THE SACRED SOUTH THE QUARTER-STEP WALTZ ELSIE VENNER

Hosting by WebRing.