Ruth Rendell Mysteries

"Vanity Dies Hard" is an episode of the television anthology Ruth Rendell Mysteries It tells the story of Alice Whittaker who has married Andrew Fielding, a handsome man several years her junior. She is wealthy with a tragic past and works hard to create a blissful, happy life for her and her new husband. She buys a country house, which she shows him for his approval after the fact. She presents him to her uncle for approval. She secures him a job with her uncle. She buys him a sporty car. She schedules his time and workspace. She tries to fit him into her family, her life, and her circle of friends.

But after she insists that her husband drive her best friend Nesta home on Nesta's last night in town, Nesta disappears. Then she has bouts of dreadful illness. As time passes, she suspects that her friend is dead. She suspects that someone is trying to poison her, she suspects that her husband is keeping something from her, and all the while, he becomes more frustrated with her obsession over her friend.

Mark Frankel portrayed Andrew Fielding, the groom who slowly comes under suspicion.

Unfortunately, this episode "Vanity Dies Hard" is not available on video tape. It is through a personal copy that this site brings a bit of Ruth Rendell Mysteries to you.

Ruth Rendell is ©1993 Meridian Broadcasting, Ltd.