EMMA APPROVED

The creators of the fabulous Lizzie Bennet Dairies are doing it again - they are adapting Jane Austen's Emma into a web series!  

Episode 1 of Emma Approved has finally been uploaded:  

Be sure to check out the website and subscribe, you do not want to miss this!  What makes these series' unique is that it is very interactive. You can follow the characters (and subplots) on Twitter.  Currently the only main characters we have been introduced to are Emma and Knightley.

While episode 1 does not have me completely hooked as The Lizzie Bennet Diaries did, I will definitely be watching every single episode.  I think Emma and Knightley are perfectly cast and true to character, and I think as a whole the series is going to be fabulous. Making Emma a professional matchmaker? Brilliant!  

From the comments on Youtube and Facebook, people who haven't read the book are complaining a lot about Emma's character.  That's the point, people! This is a coming of age story as much as a romance - it's about Emma growing up. Austen herself said in Emma she created a heroine nobody but herself would like very much. Emma might be hard to like now, but give her a fair chance.  She gets better.  Eventually ;) 

One thing though, I don't understand the necessity of changing his name from George to Alex?  I'm sure, however, that there is a reason, and we'll get to it in time.  My guess is because in the book Knightley is almost 20 years Emma's senior - maybe George will be Alex' father?  I know he doesn't have one in the book, but maybe they will create one to explain Knightley's significant change in age?  

Anyhow, I'm sure Emma Approved will turn out to be every bit as popular as LBD.  

REVIEW: PRIDE'S PREJUDICE ~ MISTY DAWN PULSIPHER

Beth Pride really can’t stand William Darcy: he snubbed her at the Hartford College Children’s Benefit Auction; he has an infuriating propensity for pushing her buttons; his actions are frequently at odds with his words; and even his melting chocolate eyes and impressive physique don’t quite make up for his deficient personality.

Beth’s plan to avoid William backfires when her roommate falls for his best friend. As the unlikely duo are thrown together time and again, Beth begins to second guess her earlier assumptions about William.

Will Pride’s prejudice keep her from a happy ending, or will Beth discover that first impressions aren’t always what they seem?

As I am sure you could infer from the synopsis, Pride’s Prejudice by Misty Dawn Pulsipher is a modern day adaptation of Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice.  There are several adaptations and Austen inspired works, but quite frankly I’ll probably never get enough.  If it involves Jane Austen, chances are I am going to love it – and love it I did. 

Beth and William are wonderfully entertaining characters, and personality wise they are very true to Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy.  The verbal sparring between the characters is no less entertaining than the original Lizzie and Darcy, and their interactions are also a pleasure to follow.  Beth and William are like magnets; they constantly find themselves drawn to each other even though they find it difficult to get along.  I appreciate the fact that while William’s personality and actions are very true to Darcy’s character, William is a bit more open than Darcy, and once he realises he likes Beth he makes a move.  I also appreciated that Beth and William get together before the very end of the story and that the author gives the reader the time and opportunity to appreciate them as a unit.  The supporting characters are also interesting and very true to their original counterparts.

While this version sticks closely to the original storyline, there are enough changes to make the book refreshing and interesting to follow, and while lovers of Pride & Prejudice will have a general idea where the story would end up, certain aspects are unpredictable and it is a joy to see where the author will take you next.  I love the many ways the author spun events from Pride & Prejudice to make it realistic in modern times, and she did a wonderful job of portraying the progression of Beth and William’s relationship.  Beth and William have great chemistry… and I can’t help but wonder what Ms Austen would say about the sexual tension!  The author took great care, though, to not overdo anything and she cleverly managed to stay true to Austen’s sense of propriety while keeping a modern romance realistic and giving the readers some passion.

Pride’s Prejudice is a fresh take on a classic that respectfully portrays events in a modern light.  Any Austen fan will enjoy this take on the beloved classic.

Product information:

Title: Pride’s Prejudice

Author: Misty Dawn Pulsipher

Pages: 360

Publisher: Misty Dawn Pulsipher

Year: 2013

ISBN: 1484917847

THE LIZZIE BENNET DIARIES

Last April saw the commencement of The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, an online adaptation of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice.  I’ve heard of it, of course, but never bothered to watch because I’m generally not a big fan of modernising a classic.  Anyhow, with yesterday’s celebration of P&P’s 200^th anniversary I came across the home page and finally gave in – just one episode.  I watched ten.  In quick succession.  I am now hooked!

Ashley Clements as Lizzie Bennet

I really love this modern-day Lizzie Bennet video blog.  The cast is amazing, and I especially love Ashley Clements who plays Elizabeth, and Mary Kate Wiles who plays Lydia.  Elizabeth's impersonations of Mrs Bennet are hilarious.  If, like me, you have not given this web series a shot yet – do yourself a favour!  I’m sure any fan of P&P would enjoy this.

Mary Kate Wiles as Lydia Bennet

Here are the first few episodes to get you started:

Episode 1:

Episode 2:

Episode 3:

Episode 4:

Episode 5:

Episode 6:

Episode 7:

(Lizzie's reaction to Darcy's comments is fabulous!)

Episode 8:

Episode 9:

Episode 10:

The remainder of the episodes are available on the website.

200 years of Pride and Prejudice

28 January 2013 marks the 200^th anniversary of one of my all-time favourite books; Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, which was first published in three volumes on 28 January 1813.  

First Edition

A special website has been launched to commemorate this special occasion, and events are being held, especially across the UK, in celebration. 

Anne Hathaway as Jane Austen writing Pride and Prejudice in Becoming Jane

In celebration, here are some of my favourite quotes from the book. 

 “From all that I can collect by your manner of talking, you must be two of the silliest girls in the country. I have suspected it some time, but I am now convinced.” – Mr Bennet to his daughters, Kitty and Lydia

Kitty and Lydia with Mrs Bennet (Pride and Prejudice - 2005)

“An unhappy alternative is before you, Elizabeth. From this day you must be a stranger to one of your parents. Your mother will never see you again if you do not marry Mr. Collins, and I will never see you again if you do.” - Mr Bennet

Mr & Mrs Bennet (Pride and Prejudice - 2005)

“I could easily forgive his pride, if he had not mortified mine.” - Elizabeth about Mr. Darcy

Elizabeth Bennet (Pride and Prejudice - 2005)

   

"Occupied in observing Mr. Bingley's attentions to her sister, Elizabeth was far from suspecting that she was herself becoming an object of some interest in the eyes of his friend. Mr. Darcy had at first scarcely allowed her to be pretty; he had looked at her without admiration at the ball; and when they next met, he looked at her only to criticise. But no sooner had he made it clear to himself and his friends that she hardly had a good feature in her face, than he began to find it was rendered uncommonly intelligent by the beautiful expression of her dark eyes. To this discovery succeeded some others equally mortifying. Though he had detected with a critical eye more than one failure of perfect symmetry in her form, he was forced to acknowledge her figure to be light and pleasing; and in spite of his asserting that her manners were not those of the fashionable world, he was caught by their easy playfulness. Of this she was perfectly unaware; to her he was only the man who made himself agreeable nowhere, and who had not thought her handsome enough to dance with" - of Elizabeth & Darcy

“Your conjecture is totally wrong, I assure you. My mind was more agreeably engaged. I have been meditating on the very great pleasure which a pair of fine eyes in the face of a pretty woman can bestow.”  - Mr. Darcy to Miss Bingley

Mr Darcy (Pride and Prejudice - 2005)

"Darcy had never been so bewitched by any woman as he was by her. He really believed, that were it not for the inferiority of her connections, he should be in some danger." - Mr Darcy regarding Elizabeth

“There is, I believe, in every disposition a tendency to some particular evil— a natural defect, which not even the best education can overcome.” - Darcy

“And your defect is a propensity to hate everybody." - Elizabeth

“And yours,” he replied with a smile, “is willfully to misunderstand them.” - Darcy 

Elizabeth & Darcy (Pride and Prejudice - 2005)

   

"I certainly have not the talent which some people possess,” said Darcy, “of conversing easily with those I have never seen before. I cannot catch their tone of conversation, or appear interested in their concerns, as I often see done.” - Darcy

 “My fingers,” said Elizabeth, “do not move over this instrument in the masterly manner which I see so many women’s do. They have not the same force or rapidity, and do not produce the same expression. But then I have always supposed it to be my own fault- because I would not take the trouble of practising…” - Elizabeth

Elizabeth & Jane (Pride and Prejudice - 2005)

  

“I am the happiest creature in the world. Perhaps other people have said so before, but not one with such justice. I am happier even than Jane; she only smiles, I laugh.” - Elizabeth

Thank you Ms Austen for this timeless literary masterpiece - Happy 200th anniversary Pride and Prejudice!

THIS IS YOUR BRAIN ON JANE AUSTEN

It is an indisputable fact that reading makes you smarter.  Researchers at Stanford University are now observing people's brain patterns while they are reading books by our beloved Jane Austen! The MRI images suggest that literary reading provides "a truly valuable exercise of people's brains".  No kidding :) 

Researcher Natalie Phillips positions an eye-tracking device on Matt Langione.

The researchers discovered that the blood flow in the brain increases during leisurely reading, but in different areas of the brain than when reading the novel more closely.

After reviewing early scans, neuroscientist Bob Dougherty, research director of CNI, said he was impressed by "how the right patterns of ink on a page can create vivid mental imagery and instill powerful emotions." Doherty was also surprised to see how "a simple request to the participants to change their literary attention can have such a big impact on the pattern of activity during reading."

The researchers expected to see pleasure centers activating for the relaxed reading and hypothesized that close reading, as a form of heightened attention, would create more neural activity than pleasure reading. If the ongoing analysis continues to support the initial theory, Phillips said, teaching close reading (i.e., attention to literary form) "could serve – quite literally – as a kind of cognitive training, teaching us to modulate our concentration and use new brain regions as we move flexibly between modes of focus."

With the field of literary neuroscience in its infancy, Phillips said this project is helping to demonstrate the potential that neuroscientific tools have to "give us a bigger, richer picture of how our minds engage with art – or, in our case, of the complex experience we know as literary reading."

See the complete article of the Stanford University News here.

JANE AUSTEN

Jane Austen. ‘Nuff said.

Jane Austen

Even if you’ve never read any of her works (if that’s the case, shame on you!) you still know exactly who I’m talking about. You know exactly who she is.
Jane Austen. Beloved author.
Jane Austen. The original independent woman.
Jane Austen. The queen of the novel.

I believe that Jane Austen is the greatest writer who ever lived. An unaware reader can read right over all of her subtle sarcasm and wit. Jane Austen demands her reader's undivided attention, and her skill makes it impossible to disappoint. You can't help but be sucked into the worlds she created so flawlessly. In Elizabeth Bennet, Anne Elliot, Emma Woodhouse, Elinor Dashwood, Fanny Price, and Catherine Morland, Jane Austen gave us what many an author of the 19th Century didn’t understand we needed. Heroines.

The beauty of the Austen heroines is that they are real, believable women. They are, by no stretch of the imagination, perfect. Let’s face it, these ladies are flawed. Elizabeth Bennet is too proud and prejudiced after a poor first impression of Darcy to give him a second chance. Anne Elliot is too persuadable - she gives up the man she loves simply because he’s her social inferior, not trusting him to become successful (which he does, by the way). Elinor Dashwood has absolutely no clue how to regulate her feelings. Emma Woodhouse is a snob. Fanny Price is terrified of everyone and everything. Catherine Morland is too naïve. But along with these flaws that make Austenian heroines human, they are also quite remarkable, especially for their time. Elizabeth Bennet is headstrong. Anne Elliot has calm and capable. Emma Woodhouse really does have everyone else’s best interests at heart. Elinor Dashwood is sensible. Fanny Price is insightful. Catherine Morland sees only the good in people (except Henry's father, of course). All Austenian heriones are intelligent women, which was a bold move for an author of Jane's time. Jane herself is famous for saying "A woman, especially, if she have the misfortune of knowing anything, should conceal it as well as she can." (Remember what I said about wit?) In these six characters Jane Austen has given generations of women six inspiring women who can teach us a lot. They teach us that first impressions aren't always correct. They teach us the importance of following your own heart. They teach us that when it comes down to it, nothing (not even a sadistic family, a snob of an aunt, or pride) can stand in the way of true love. Among the many things Miss Austen has taught us, my favorite is this: “All the privilege I claim for my own sex (it is not a very enviable one; you need not covet it), is that of loving longest, when existence or when hope is gone" (Persuasion).

Jane Austen’s work is so beloved it has been adapted for the screen several times. Although a movie or mini-series never lives up to the novel, these adaptations are always fun to watch. The best adaptation is widely accepted to be BBC’s 1995 6-part adaptation of Pride and Prejudice starring Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth. It also happens to be my favourite.

Jennifer Ehle is the perfect Elizabeth Bennet, and of all the Elizabeth Bennets she is by far my favorite. Her portrayal was flawless. It astounds me how very much Keira Knightly’s 2005 performance is based on Jennifer Ehle’s. Even the way Knightly speaks, pronounces her words and the way she moves her mouth when she does is a direct copy of Jennifer Ehle! I have frequently found myself thinking that this being the case (surely you cannot argue?!) that Knightley didn’t actually deserve all of the praise she got for this role. Untill the day I die I will maintain that Keira Knightley’s Elizabeth Bennet is an attempted carbon copy of Jennifer Ehle’s. Jennifer’s being the supreme, of course.


Having said that, I really enjoy watching this adaptation. The Bennet sisters are brought to life beautifully by Jena Malone, Carey Mulligan, Keira Knightley, Rosamund Pike and Talulah Riley.

In my humble opinion the worst Austen adaptation (unpleasant, I know, but we must discuss these things) must be the 1996 made for television movie of Emma starring Kate Beckinsale. I love Kate Beckinsale as an actress, I really do, but this was a horrendous adaptation, and if it weren’t for the fact that I was hoping it would get significantly better, I would not have been able to sit through the whole catastrophe. Frankly, I want my 107 minutes back! Now, I firmly believe that you reap what you sow. I don’t want to put negativity into the universe, so I hope you don’t mind that I will leave it at that.

Then there are the countless Austen inspired works. It is said that Jane Austen's greatest love story was her own. The one Austen movie you simply have to see is Becoming Jane. "Between Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice was a life worth writing about" The story follows the possible but unconfirmed romance between Jane and Tom LeFroy. "Their love story was her greatest inspiration". Though an unconfirmed love, any Austen fan will adore the possibility of such a great love story for Jane herself. Personally I choose to believe that Jane did experience such a magnificent, powerful (though tragic) love. You know what they say; It's better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all... whoever they are.

As for the written works, to name but a few, there is firstly The lost memoirs of Jane Austen by Syrie James (which was a thoughtful gift from by best friend, Erika). This book chronicles a fictional love story for Miss Austen, but is interwoven with true Austen history, which makes it truly remarkable and interesting to read. Syrie James herself stated “I felt a great responsibility to remain true to Jane Austen's known history, and to accurately represent not only her, but her real-life friends and family members. It was a challenge to interweave my love story with the known dates, times, places and facts of Jane Austen's life. When I was finished, I hoped it would be difficult for even the most discerning Jane Austen scholar to determine where fact ended and fiction began”. Succeed she did. If you’re an Austen fan, this book is definitely worth a read! Then there is Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahame-Smith which more or less places the characters and events of Pride and Prejudice smack bang in the middle of a zombie invasion. Now, I love Jane Austen way too much to touch a satire of her work with a stick, but I must say that I haven't heard a bad word about this book. The AV Club, for instance, commented that "what begins as a gimmick ends with renewed appreciation of the indomitable appeal of Austen’s language, characters, and situations...", Maybe I’ll get around to reading this someday. If I do, I promise to keep you posted! My personal favorite Austen inspired work has to be Laurie Viera Rigler’s Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict, wherein a 21st Century American Jane Austen addict wakes up to find herself in Regency England. This book is a very clever take on the times of Jane Austen. For instance, I always imagined I would have loved to have lived in Jane’s time, but Laurie reminded me of some flaws in this plan, the biggest of which (to my mind) has to be the limitation of one bath per week. Tops! Best of all, Confessions features a hilarious cameo of Miss Austen herself. This is my top Austen inspired recommendation for you. It's fun, clever, and, well... addictive! Well worth the read to see how modern Courtney deals with the constraints (social and otherwise) of 19th Century England.

Sense and Sensibility
Pride and Prejudice
Mansfield Park
Emma
Northanger Abbey
Persuasion

One brilliant author and six brilliant novels that changed my life.

When all is said and done I can think of many words to describe the works of this author, but the most appropriate seems to be timeless.

A picture of The Jane Austen Centre sign in Bath, thoughtfully taken for me when Erika visted Bath