The world changed enormously in the decade between the marriage of Edith and Percy Thompson and his death in 1922, at the hands of Freddy Bywaters (although Edith was wrongly convicted of the crime).
Global conflagration, the collapse of the established order, the emancipation of women and the rise of the popular press all contributed to the new morality that was presented with a mix of allure and censure by the silent cinema.
Had any of these developments come to the fore in Philip Goodhew's crusading drama, it might have been possible to excuse its shortcomings, but, its TV-movie approach lacks both the style and the period grasp that made the likes of Dance With A Stranger so memorable. Neither Ioan Gruffudd nor Nick Moran cuts the mustard, but Natasha Little is rather affecting.