It's mentioned in the first episode of series 3 that Emma Timmin's maiden name was Dibber meaning that Emma's father's name was Dibber now since Emma's father and Dorcas Lane's father are brothers and Dorcas never married...wouldn't that make Dorcas a Dibber too?
Or have I missed something?
It's a bit late to reply to this, I know, but... are you quite sure that Emma's and Dorcas' fathers were brothers? If it is as you say, and unless one of them changed his name for whatever reason, miss Lane should indeed be called miss Dibber. However, is it ever mentioned in what way they are cousins? Could be on either one's mother's side. (Sorry, maybe they do explain this, haven't seen the first episodes in a while for instance.)
shareHeya,
It's not a problem i'm glad that someone has replied :)
I am quite sure, at the end of episode 8 in series 2 when Emma's father visits and she offers him a bed at the end house when he retires, Dorcas comes to Lark Rise with some news and says "Emma look at this, my father's birth certificate, he was two years older than his brother Edmund. My father (God rest him) would've been seventy this year making Edmund only sixty-eight."
It doesn't even his name clear on the IMDB cast list, as he's listed as 'Old Edmund'.
At the episode I mentioned in my first post when Daniel goes to see Emma and Robbert Timmins about a family member's will, Daniel asks "Sally Dibber?" Emma replies "Why yes, my aunt Sally she went to live in Australia when I was no more than a girl. I lost touch with her...years ago now." (perhaps same Aunt that Emma talks to Laura about on the very first episode.) Sally Dibber's surname might be her married name but we know it wasn't...as before that scene, when Daniel goes to the post office to find the relatives of the Aunt who made the will, Laura says (with some alarm :P) "Dibber? Why that's my ma's name, before she married my pa."
It's quite a big over-sight of the TV producers and I can't believe no-one has mentioned this before now. (or that it took so long for me to put two and two together.) It's possible that Dorcas changed her last name...perhaps to her mother's maiden name when her father died? I can't think for what reason though and not one point in the series do we get an indication that she had changed her name.
Ah, yes, I too watched Season 2 episode 8 recently, and I remember that they made clear that Old Edmund is Dorcas' uncle. However, they also refer to him once in this episode as "Edmund Lane" (I don't remember who does, but I do remember noticing it after first reading your post here). We know that miss Lane's father was also called Mr Lane, confirming that they were indeed brothers and none of them changed their name.
I have not yet seen the episode where they mention the name Dibber, but I'm re-watching all seasons so I'll get there eventually. This definitely sounds like a mistake on the script writers' part. Good point. :)
Maybe a Mrs Lane was widowed while pregnant with her son then married a Mr Dibber having Edmund a couple of years later hence 2 brothers with different names.
Or in the way of Victorian melodrama's Dorcas's father was left the post office/forge by a relative by the name Lane but stipulated to get the inheriance he must assume the last name Lane ;p
Lol! Perhaps :)
shareGood catch. There's a fair amount of sloppy writing in other series by show creator Bill Gallagher (less in this one, I think, bc he was guided by Flora Thompson's books).
I've read that Flora Thompson was the child of Emma Dibber Timms and Albert Timms, so it could be that Gallagher's zeal to use those names overtook his allegiance to logic.
"All you need to start an asylum is an empty room and the right kind of people."
We are presently watching Lark Rise to Candleford, and that is exactly what I was asking myself.
Did you have a reply?