This is a brilliant version of Daniel Deronda, a highly courageous and contentious novel in its day, and one that contains some of George Eliot's finest writing. The story as filmed develops slowly, and the pace of the first part is noticeably slow. But the action thereafter steadily gathers momentum, and the narrative is brought in due course to a satisfying and moving conclusion.

The acting throughout is uniformly excellent, with Romola Garai and Hugh Bonneville giving beautifully nuanced performances, and Hugh Dancy, in the central role, delivering an outstandingly intelligent and sensitive interpretation of Daniel Deronda's character. Edward Fox excels as Deronda's guardian. By comparison, Jodhi May seems a little subdued and predictable - but that's probably the fault of the novel rather than of the production.

One of the reviewers has written somewhat disparagingly about the DVD's quality, but I have to say that my disc was delivered in faultless condition, and fully does justice to the magnificent photography.

In all, a first-class rendition of Daniel Deronda and one that I would recommend without any hesitation whatsoever.