Something for the Christmas List?
Merry Christmas, dear friends! Here in the Northern Hemisphere we're fast approaching the Winter Solstice - the days are short and cold, the nights are long, and it's the perfect time of year to curl up with a book. (For all you Antipodeans, of course, it's the Summer Solstice that's approaching - but maybe you're looking for some light summer reading?) Either way, books make the perfect Christmas present, and a couple of mine have just been reduced in price on Amazon.
If you're buying for a Jane Austen fan, how about Before Elizabeth: The Story of Anne de Bourgh? I've just reduced the price on Amazon, and it's an ideal holiday read. The idea of writing about Elizabeth and Darcy from Anne de Bourgh's point of view first came to me decades ago - in 1980, if you can believe that, when the BBC serialised a dramatization of Pride and Prejudice starring Elizabeth Garvie and David Rintoul - a really good interpretation actually, though it's been completely overshadowed by the 1995 'wet shirt' adaptation.
Lady Catherine's 'sickly, cross' daughter Anne, who's given not one word of dialogue in the novel, is played in this version by Moir Leslie. Yes, she remains silent in each of the few scenes in which she features, but when Elizabeth and Maria Lucas come to Rosings to bid farewell to Lady Catherine after their eventful stay with the Collinses, she suddenly reaches out and grabs Lizzy's hand with a look that says, as plain as day, 'I do so wish we could have been friends - I wanted to talk to you more, but I'm painfully shy.'
That piece of silent acting really struck me, and I began to wonder: what did Anne de Bourgh actually think about her supposed fiancé's courtship of 'the Bennet Girl'? What was her back story? What was her childhood like, and what happened to her after Elizabeth and Darcy married? Did she ever manage to escape her overbearing mother?
These and other questions are answered, dear reader, in this fictional diary in which Anne reminisces about her childhood and teenage years, takes stock of her present predicament and contemplates her options for the future. You'll meet some familiar characters, seen here from a very different, and hopefully interesting perspective …
If Sherlock Holmes is a more suitable fit, My Dearest Holmes has also been reduced in price and Amazon.co.uk are running a very tempting offer to pair it with A Case of Domestic Pilfering, Charlie Raven's hilarious companion piece in which Holmes and Watson find themselves repeatedly wrong-footed by a pair of well-meaning but reckless young admirers. A bargain not to be missed, if I do say so myself!
Anyway, here's wishing all my lovely Goodreads friends, fellow authors and followers a wonderful Festive Season, and may 2020 bring you health, wealth and happiness - and of course, good reading! xx
If you're buying for a Jane Austen fan, how about Before Elizabeth: The Story of Anne de Bourgh? I've just reduced the price on Amazon, and it's an ideal holiday read. The idea of writing about Elizabeth and Darcy from Anne de Bourgh's point of view first came to me decades ago - in 1980, if you can believe that, when the BBC serialised a dramatization of Pride and Prejudice starring Elizabeth Garvie and David Rintoul - a really good interpretation actually, though it's been completely overshadowed by the 1995 'wet shirt' adaptation.
Lady Catherine's 'sickly, cross' daughter Anne, who's given not one word of dialogue in the novel, is played in this version by Moir Leslie. Yes, she remains silent in each of the few scenes in which she features, but when Elizabeth and Maria Lucas come to Rosings to bid farewell to Lady Catherine after their eventful stay with the Collinses, she suddenly reaches out and grabs Lizzy's hand with a look that says, as plain as day, 'I do so wish we could have been friends - I wanted to talk to you more, but I'm painfully shy.'
That piece of silent acting really struck me, and I began to wonder: what did Anne de Bourgh actually think about her supposed fiancé's courtship of 'the Bennet Girl'? What was her back story? What was her childhood like, and what happened to her after Elizabeth and Darcy married? Did she ever manage to escape her overbearing mother?
These and other questions are answered, dear reader, in this fictional diary in which Anne reminisces about her childhood and teenage years, takes stock of her present predicament and contemplates her options for the future. You'll meet some familiar characters, seen here from a very different, and hopefully interesting perspective …
If Sherlock Holmes is a more suitable fit, My Dearest Holmes has also been reduced in price and Amazon.co.uk are running a very tempting offer to pair it with A Case of Domestic Pilfering, Charlie Raven's hilarious companion piece in which Holmes and Watson find themselves repeatedly wrong-footed by a pair of well-meaning but reckless young admirers. A bargain not to be missed, if I do say so myself!
Anyway, here's wishing all my lovely Goodreads friends, fellow authors and followers a wonderful Festive Season, and may 2020 bring you health, wealth and happiness - and of course, good reading! xx
date
newest »
newest »
Julie wrote: "Thanks for the tip about "Before Elizabeth", Rohase. That's not one I'd heard of. The 1980 adaptation was what first got me into Austen in the first place. I remember it fondly, and I think it st..."
Oh it's lovely to know that you also appreciate that 1980 P&P, Julie! It does stand up well, though some of the dialogue comes across as a bit stilted compared with what the 1995 version … I wasn't a great fan of the Keira Knightly/Matthew MacFadyen film, I thought it was rather chaotic … I do like the Emma Thompson/Kate Winslett 'Sense & Sensibility', that was particularly good … and there was a BBC adaptation of 'Emma' starring Kate Beckinsale which I think knocks the Gwyneth Paltrow version into a cocked hat. Oh, and one of my all-time favourites - 'Persuasion' starring Amanda Root and Ciaran Hinds. That one is brilliant, do watch it if you haven't already! xxxx
I think my Top 3 Adaptations are very similar to yours. Emma Thompson's "Sense and Sensibility", yes absolutely - and it used to be my favourite though it's slipped down to third place now. Then Amanda Root and Ciaran Hinds's "Persuasion". And holding firm in first place is Romola Garai's "Emma". I am still not tired of re-watching the latter, though I suppose everything fades in time. I do enjoy Keira Knightley and Matthew MacFadyen's "Pride and Prejudice", but I did feel they did try to do too much within the timeframe. Hence the chaotic feel? I remember one scene in which Elizabeth takes a breath after dealing with one crisis - but there's no respite! There's another crisis waiting for her on the stairs. ... On the plus side, I did enjoy MacFadyen's portrayal of Darcy as painfully shy. It's not precisely canon, but perhaps they were drawing on Georgiana Darcy's canonical shyness, and suggesting it was a family trait. In any case, it made sense of Darcy, and made him sympathetic to a modern audience.
Have you tried the Bollywood "Bride and Prejudice"? I'm very fond of that, I have to admit.
Julie wrote: "I think my Top 3 Adaptations are very similar to yours. Emma Thompson's "Sense and Sensibility", yes absolutely - and it used to be my favourite though it's slipped down to third place now. Then Am..."Ooh, I completely missed the Romola Garia 'Emma' - I see it was televised in 2009, can't think why we didn't watch it on a Sunday evening, Mr B thinks maybe it clashed with 'Lewis' … I shall now order it on DVD if I can. Yes, I did see 'Bride & Prejudice' and enjoyed it though generally speaking I'm not a fan of Bollywood - the thing it managed to do, I think, was make Mrs Bennet's desperation to find husbands for her girls believable because of course it still is a concern in Indian culture whereas it isn't any more in the West! I take on board what you say about Matthew MadFadyen's Darcy - I absolutely loved him as Arthur Clennam in Little Dorrit, a similarly repressed character xx
Rohase wrote: "Julie wrote: "I think my Top 3 Adaptations are very similar to yours. Emma Thompson's "Sense and Sensibility", yes absolutely - and it used to be my favourite though it's slipped down to third plac..."Just to update you Julie: I watched the Ramola Garai Emma and thought it was brilliant! It really took the time to get into the characters and make them believable, and Garai (who is such a brilliant actress) was on top form, her facial expressions alone made for a more sympathetic, well-intentioned, impetuous Emma than we're used to seeing on screen. Thanks so much for the recommendation! We have now passed on the DVD to our eldest daughter who's also an Austen fan! xx
Rohase wrote: "Just to update you Julie: I watched the Ramola Garai Emma and thought it was brilliant!..."Oh, that's wonderful! Thanks for letting me know, Rohase. I'm so glad you enjoyed this version. I'll have to re-watch it myself now... I like what you say about this portrayal of Emma being well-intentioned, as I definitely think that's the case in the book. She did mean well, but must learn (among other things!) that's not enough.
I meant to reply before to say I'm glad you enjoyed "Bride and Prejudice". Gurinder Chadha was aiming for a blend of Bollywood and Western approaches, and from my Western POV I feel she very much succeeds. I think you're absolutely right about Mrs Bennet. I was initially wary, but - like you - as soon as I saw Mrs B as an Indian mama, I knew all would be well! There is a rather good Tamil-language "Sense and Sensibility", too, with a fantastic Marianne and Brandon.
I am looking forward to another film of "Emma", due in February 2020, though I have to admit that the tone of the trailer puts me off! I suspect the Romola Garai "Emma" will remain comfortably in first place for me for a long while yet.
Julie wrote: "Rohase wrote: "Just to update you Julie: I watched the Ramola Garai Emma and thought it was brilliant!..."Oh, that's wonderful! Thanks for letting me know, Rohase. I'm so glad you enjoyed this ve..."
Ah yes, I'd heard there was another Emma coming! Just watched the trailer, it does look rather frantic … but I'll certainly give it a go. Don't know if I'm up to a Tamil-language S&S, but it does sound fascinating. What fun! Here's to a happy Austen-filled 2020 for both of us! xx
The 1980 adaptation was what first got me into Austen in the first place. I remember it fondly, and I think it stands up quite well with its successors. For me, any adaptation of any of the novels ends up doing some things well and some things poorly - though there are a few that stand on their own merits. Do you have particular favourites, or ones you admire as doing better than others...?