'Alias Grace' news: Is it based on a true story?
Another Margaret Atwood novel is causing a buzz in TV land.
"Alias Grace" a novel from the acclaimed Canadian author is set to stream on Netflix. The story is set in Canada during the 1840's on Ontario's southern border. The book is adapted and written for television by director Sarah Polley, with Sarah Gadon playing the title role of Grace. Fans of Atwood are curious to know if "Alias Grace" follows the speculative fiction vibes of Atwood's other novel "The Handmaid's Tale."
Unlike the story of Offred and the Republic of Gilead, "Alias Grace" will be based on real events that happened in the past. As the synopsis for the series goes, "The story of Alias Grace follows Grace Marks (Sarah Gadon), a poor, young, Irish immigrant and domestic servant in Upper Canada who, along with stable hand James McDermott (Kerr Logan), was convicted of the brutal murders of their employer, Thomas Kinnear, and his housekeeper, Nancy Montgomery (Anna Paquin)."
The synopsis goes on to say that James was hanged while Grace was sentenced for life imprisonment only to become one of Canada's enigmatic female personalities in the 1840s.
Thomas Kinnear, was an actual person who did live in Toronto, Canada in the 1800's. In Atwood's postscript for the novel she said that Kinnear's housekeeper had previously given birth to an illegitimate child and was the mistress of Kinnear.
Back in the 1800', a time when "racial theory" was thought be a serious scientific study, being Irish was considered to be inferior, prompting Grace Marks to not mention about her heritage. This became worse when the Great Irish Famine happened, and the Irish people was forced leave their country in search of a better life.
While majority of the book relied on the historical events, the TV adaptation where Dr. Simon Jordan (Edward Holcroft) delves into the mind of Grace Marks is fictionalized.
All six episodes of "Alias Grace" is currently streaming on Netflix.
