 This is the first of Dennis Potter s adaptations from Thomas Hardy (1840-1928). It aired on WESSEX TALES, a BBC2 series devoted to Hardy dramatizations. Hardy was born in Dorsetshire, an area he called Wessex in his writings, including WESSEX POEMS (1898). As in the original short story, two brothers attained respectable positions, but then feel they must do something about their father s lowly status. Five years later, Potter did a BBC2 miniseries adaptation of Hardy s 1886 novel, THE MAYOR OF CASTERBRIDGE.