A Young Amelia Havisham - Tuppence Middleton in 'Dickensian' (2015)

Miss Havisham depicted in BBC 1's 'Dickensian'

In late 2015, BBC 1 produced a new drama intertwining the lives of Charles Dickens' most famous characters in 19th century London. In this Great Expectations adaptation, the character of Miss Havisham has been seen in a new and original light - her life before Mr Compeyson's abandonment and heartbreak. The audience are allowed to explore her as a young lady. At the beginning of the series, Miss Havisham learns of her fathers death and has to figure out a life alone with the anger of her brother as she inherited most of their father's estate. The still ongoing series follows Amelia's journey through wealth and a plot of Mr Compeyson's to finically ruin her, whilst crossing paths with various victorian Dickensian characters along the way.

The royal blues and purples used in her
costumes will be interesting to incorporate
into a makeup design to reflect her past
in a high social hierarchy with Mr
Compeyson.

I found the concept of creating the iconic Miss Havisham as a young woman a very clever idea. Rather than sticking to the eery and witch-like descriptions, the makeup designer Karen Hartley and the makeup supervisor Caroline Greenough created a subtle and natural look. Although the look is heavily powdered to reflect the Victorian makeup techniques, and for screen, Miss Havisham remains looking youthful and healthy to reflect her wealth and social status. Although I admire this alternative approach, as I am focusing specifically to the novel Great Expectations and the descriptions that Dicken's wrote about Miss Havisham I feel like I would like to take a more grotesque and unusual makeup design as opposed to a wealthy beauty look. This series, however, has reminded me as a designer for makeup for motion picture to take into account the characters back story to influence how their previous life events can impact their appearance.