And the Mr. Darcy Winner Is...

Colin Firth by a landslide!

And here is my own very strong opinion: Colin Firth is the man I think of when I imagine Mr. Darcy. Although there are a few things I like about Matthew Mcfadyen's performance, he's not Mr. Darcy in the same way that Colin Firth is. And, let's face it, nobody else can do this look like Colin Firth.




You will notice that he is not actually smiling. But his eyes are screaming "I love you, Elizabeth Bennet!" That is some fine acting, Mr. Firth. A couple of people commented that they don't love Mr. Darcy. I will forgive you for that, and what's more, I will have a post about some alternate heroes if Mr. Darcy isn't your cup of tea.

If you love Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy, then you would relate to the heroine in Shannon Hale's Austenland. Jane is so besotted with the on-screen Mr. Darcy that she can't have a real relationship with a real man. A wealthy relative bequeaths her a trip to Austenland, a resort for women who are obsessed with the Regency period and want to live it for themselves. (I wish this really existed. I would go in a heartbeat.) It's a fun story with some good banter and tongue-in-cheek humor. (But I'm not sure I love the ending. You'll have to tell me what you think.)

And as a fun side note, Austenland was recently made into a movie, produced by Stephenie Meyer (who is close friends with Shannon Hale). It's in the editing stage right now. I will definitely be looking forward to it when it's released.

Have you read Austenland? What did you think about it? Or have you read any Pride and Prejudice spin-offs?