Everything You Need to Know about The Luminaries

“Set during the New Zealand gold rush in the 1860s, [the] magical mystery drama [The Luminaries] is a heady concoction of love, murder and revenge. It follows the story of Anna Weatherell (played by Bono’s daughter, Eve Hewson), as she arrives in New Zealand to begin a new life away from England,” Danielle Lawler writes in a piece for Tatler magazine.

“Loyal fans of the original Man Booker Prize-winning novel of the same name may initially be confused when settling down to watch the show on BBC One,” Lawler writes. “This is a completely new version of events that have been re-written by the original author, Eleanor Catton. Yet it promises to be just as spell-binding as the book; its richly woven web complete with astral references, lavishly-detailed historical sets and a stellar cast, that includes former Bond-girl Eva Green and Himesh Patel.

“Catton spent five years writing The Luminaries, and another seven to adapt the novel for the screen. ‘By the time we started shooting in late 2018, I had written perhaps 200 drafts of the first episode alone, and throughout the shoot, the scripts continued to change in order to fit the budget and the schedule, both of which got tighter by the day,’ Catton said.

Original article by Danielle Lawler, Tatler, June 18, 2020.

Photo by Kirsty Griffin.