We've been hovering around various bicentennial moments to do with
Jane Austen for a couple of years now (four of her novels were published
between 1811 and 1815; she died in July of 1817; the two others of the six of
her major works were published posthumously in 1818), so I thought I'd share
some of my favorite Austen-related media. *whispers* It's all going to be Pride
and Prejudice related, you guys. P&P
is my very particular jam.
Recommendations
Pride and Prejudice (2005)
I gather this is somewhat of an unpopular opinion, but I like this
version of P&P, starring Keira
Knightley and Matthew MacFadyen, much more than the 1995 BBC
version with Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth (wet shirt scene not withstanding).
The BBC version is certainly more accurate, in that it includes much more of
the original story and its portrayal of the characters is a fairly direct
interpretation of the book. But the Knightley/MacFadyen movie, to me, is a much
more enjoyable experience. I also like the interpretations of the characters
and the situation the movie provides, making everyone (especially the Bennets)
just a bit earthier than the earlier version (and the book). I’m also quite
fond of the way the 2005 movie depicts Mr. and Mrs. Bennet’s relationship—Mrs.
Bennet is still a meddling, irksome, hard-to-live with irritant and Mr. Bennet
is still too little interested and invested in the lives and realities of his
daughters, but you can see that there is some affection between them. I cannot
stand Mrs. Bennet in the BBC mini-series, like to the degree I kind of don’t
ever want to watch it again. *shrug* Just me, perhaps, but I recommend the 2005
movie for a lovely couple of P&P
hours.
Lost in Austen
Lost in Austen is a four-part British television show that
follows Amanda Price, a twenty-something who adores Pride and Prejudice
and especially Mr. Darcy. She’s in a
relationship with a perfectly all right bloke—no Mr. Darcy, mind—and both her
mother and the bloke think it’s about time they got married. Then one day she
finds a portal in her bathroom into the attic at Longbourn and stumbles into
the world of P&P just as the story is getting started. Elizabeth is
missing, having gone through to modern-day London, and Amanda takes the place
of a visitor among the Bennet family. And then things ensue. Sounds kooky,
right? Oh, it is, in the best possible way. Every time I watch it, I
think, “This is just silly.” And then I get completely caught up in the re-imagining
of the story and Amanda’s commentary on it. For the most part, it’s just light
and frothy and wonderful, but watch out for a short scene in the last episode
where Darcy slips into the modern world briefly. If you ever needed a visual
for “poleaxed,” you’ll get it. The actor playing Darcy (Elliot Cowan) does an
amazing job in that moment, conveying approximately eleventy-billion emotions
in Darcy all in one small moment. Also, Amanda’s utter desire to leave the
modern world and all the advances she enjoys in it as a woman in favor of the
early 19th century is nicely balanced by the way Elizabeth
absolutely *thrives* in the modern world. Watch it. I know you’ll love it.
An Assembly Such as This, Duty and Desire, and These Three Remain,
Pamela Aiden
This trilogy of novels retells Pride
and Prejudice from Mr. Darcy’s point of view. Aiden follows Darcy
throughout the entire time covered in P&P,
which means she has a good deal of story to invent from whole cloth, as there
are great swathes of P&P during
which Darcy is not only not on the page, but we don’t really know what he’s up
to. Then there are all the delightful bits of the original where we *do* know
what he was doing, but we don’t get to see it (his search for Lydia and the
subsequent events, for instance). This is the first straight-up retelling of Pride and Prejudice (rather than
something modernizing and/or inspired by it, such as Bridget Jones’s Diary) I ever encountered, and it’s still my
favorite.
Pride and Prejudice audiobook, read by Rosamund Pike
Rosamund Pike’s performance of the unabridged Pride and Prejudice on audio is stunningly good. (She played Jane
in the 2005 movie, too, if you’re trying to place why that name already seems
connected to P&P.) She does an
excellent job at the narration and breathes particular and exquisite life into
each of the characters. I full-heartedly recommend it.
Illustrated Pride and Prejudice,
illustrated by Shiei
Published by Seven Seas Entertainment, this edition of Pride and Prejudice contains manga-style
black-and-white illustrations throughout (about two per chapter) and features
full-color details of some of those illustrations at the front of the book as
well as drafts at the back. It’s just delightfully fun and a neat mash-up of
two different media styles.
On My Radar
Heartstone,
Elle Katharine White
I haven’t gotten to this one yet, but this fantasy novel has been
described to me as “Pride and Prejudice
with dragons.” And, I mean, sold. From
the back cover: “They say a Rider in possession of a good blade must be in want
of a monster to slay—and Meybourne Manor has plenty of monsters.” This one is
high on my TBR.
Pride and Prejudice graphic novel, illustrated by Robert Deas, text adapted by Ian
Edington
I’ve been getting more and more into graphic novels and some
comics over the last couple of years, so I’m excited to get to this graphic
novel retelling of Pride and Prejudice.
The art looks great, and I look forward to sitting down with the book and
getting wrapped up in this interpretation of the world of Elizabeth Bennet.
Not My Jam But Possibly Yours
Well Played, Katrina
Ramos Atienza
This short novel is a modern retelling of Pride and Prejudice set at a university in the Phillipines and features
a soccer-playing Lizzie-character and a math nerd Darcy- character. While the
premise really appeals to me, I couldn’t get into the swing of the story. YMMV.
Before the Fall (2016)
I watched this movie retelling of Pride
and Prejudice literally within a few hours of finding out it existed. In
this modern version set in Virginia, the Elizabeth (Ben) and Darcy (Lee)
characters are both men. I love, love, love, this kind of swapping around of
genders and/or roles and/or sexualities in retellings. Unfortunately, I thought
the film was kind of uneven. So much of the touchstones of the story were
changed that I found the whole thing very muddled. In addition to the change in
setting and time period (givens, of course, in a modern retelling) and
genderswap of Elizabeth and having the love story between two men, the
particulars of Ben and Lee’s misunderstandings of one another and their
situation bring in two thorny issues I don’t think the film adequately accounts
for (domestic abuse and alcoholism), and it class-swaps Jane and Bingley
(Bingley is poor; Jane is wealthy). It was just too much to be going on with.
But. In my opinion, worth watching to see what they’ve done with the story and
to support the film. (I’m still waiting for a movie where Elizabeth is a man
(or Darcy is a woman) and not. one. other. thing. (except maybe the pronouns—or
not) is changed about the story or the language. No explanations. Just
genderswapped. Give it to meeee.)
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