The Wingless Bird

4.5

1997•1h

On the eve of World War I, Agnes Conway manages both the business and the problems of her troubled family. She finds the strength to break class barriers and help her sister Jessie marry a good boy from a family of dockside toughs. Is she strong enough to break them again when Charles Farrier, a gentleman, courts her over his parents' opposition? Agnes faces an added dilemma when she finds her heart divided between Charles and his soldier brother Reginald.

Production

Available For Free On

Seasons

3 Episodes • Premiered 1997

Three-part Catherine Cookson period melodrama, following the fortunes of three very different families - the Conways, who own a sweet shop, the altogether grander Farriers and the infamous Feltons.

1. Part 1

As 1913 draws to a close, Charles Farrier's romantic interest in shopgirl Agnes Conway makes him the butt of his sister and elder brother's teasing. And although the attraction is clearly mutual, Agnes soon has more pressing things on her mind as a family crisis erupts which sets her young sister at odds with her hot-tempered father.

2. Part 2

Agnes, lost in thought walking by the river at Durham, is hailed by Charles from a rowing boat, and persuades her to join him for tea with his brother Reg. Agnes' sister, Jessie, elopes with a docker, and her father is furious. During a confrontation, he is shot dead, and Agnes inherits the family business. Charles plans to marry Agnes, but his parents are determined to stop him marrying below his class. He moves to shabby accommodation to be near her, but the dampness gives him pneumonia.

3. Part 3

Charles has tuberculosis, but recovers enough to marry Agnes. They move to the Hall when Colonel and Mrs Farrier die, and look after the estate while Reg is at war. Reg survives the war, but is badly injured, and refuses to face the outside world. Reg plans to sign the Hall over to Charles and Agnes, but soon Agnes again faces tragedy.