Casting
Are we really supposed to believe the 40 year old Keeley Hawes has grown-up children? The real Louisa was 49-50 when the family moved to Corfu.
In the first episode, it was mentioned that the oldest is 21, so I don't think it's completely unbelievable. I thought she looked about 43 in this, which would have meant she was 22 when the oldest was born, which is believable.
sharethe real Louisa durrell was 26 when larry was born and 49 when they moved to Corfu, so it is stretching it a bit to have her played by a 40 year old.
shareIt's easy to forget that women tended to marry younger in those days, and started families very quickly - also that they often looked older than their actual age (largely due to fashions - teenagers hadn't been 'invented' then, you turned from a girl into a woman). I've only got to flick through an album of old family photos to spot that! (It also follows for men - Josh O'Connor looks much older than his real age, dressed in his 'tropical suiting'.) With the benefits of good food and modern skin care, Keeley Hawes probably looks much younger than the average 40-year old woman in the 1930s - she's also extremely slim for her age (as regards that era).
Having said all that, it would have made sense to cast somebody who was older anyway - particularly if the real mother was actually nearer 50 than 40? I think Olivia Williams would have been a good choice - she looks more the right age, but is still attractive (which would fit in with the "Let's get a man for mummy" theme...).