Jane Austen discussion
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The Austen Project - thoughts?
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Louise Sparrow
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Apr 13, 2014 10:38AM
Is that the attempt by modern writers to re-write Jane Austen's books in a modern setting?
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I've never heard of it. Can you give more details? Tnx
Not keen.... When you bring her stories into the modern day, it doesn't work. The manners and rules of society and everything. For me, just no.
I've read the 1st two. I'm not a purist, I generally enjoy fan fiction. The S&S was so-so(the author's comments about American JA fans were awful). As Adm Croft said about Sir Walter "There was no harm in it but won't set the Thames on fire". I enjoyed the Northanger Abbey much more. While the reviews have been mixed, I found it witty and clever. I loved that it was set in Scotland(I just completed a Scottish Book Challenge). I'm very much looking forward to Alexander McCall Smith's Emma this fall. His "The Forever Girl" seemed Austen like to me.
Emma wrote: "@samanta Basically different writers take on different Austen novels and adapt them to the modern day. It is in honour of the 200th anniversary of the novels all of which are occuring around now. ..."Thank you! :)
I'm not enthusiastic. I think my main problem with them is that unlike general fanfiction which you can take or leave on their own merits, these are being put forward as 'the' modern equivalents, and quite honestly, I'm not convinced that the modern authors selected are any where near as talented as Jane Austen was. Can they do justice to her characters? do they even understand the depth of them... perhaps that sounds a little snobbish or purist but based on the film adaptations, I'm wary.
Perhaps if they were being written by an author I already had faith in, I would look on it differently but somehow I think I would still be skeptical.
I'm also one of those people who rankles at the idea of novels being dumbed down... Austen's books are not that hard to read, I'd rather see people encouraged to try them, to debate them, or even watch an adaptation first than have them 'updated'... because they do not need updating.
I am with you Louise. I think that is sort of what I meant. And Emma I didn't quite mean that. The have stood the test of time which is why they are classics and yes we all know a Lucy Steele, try our hand at match making, know of a mrs Bennet or Lady Catherine or Willoughby. But what I mean is that all the customs of calling cards etc and how strict the rules for men and women were - being left alone with a single gentleman in a room no longer is scandalous. Nor does intimate behaviour pre marriage signify today. It is society manners and customs like that to which I refer. It just doesn't apply these days as everything is much more relaxed in that area. (I personally prefer how it used to be!)
Soph wrote: "I am with you Louise. I think that is sort of what I meant. And Emma I didn't quite mean that. The have stood the test of time which is why they are classics and yes we all know a Lucy Steele, tr..."
I agree with you, Soph! I prefer how it used to be, too.
Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. Direct adaptations of Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility just don't work. I've read and seen a few. The exception is when it's set in a culture where the values are the same as Regency England. Parts of the Bollywood movie Bride and Prejudice are hysterically funny - the parts the use Jane Austen's own words (more or less)! Bridget Jones' Diary works because it's a loose retelling. The same with Clueless. Northanger Abbey could work because of the Twilight craze. I can easily see a modern teen acting just like Catherine imagining vampires and warewolves oh my. The one that doesn't work AT ALL for me in a modern setting is Persuasion. Women have much more freedom now than they did 200 years ago and to marry a penniless man is not necessarily dooming her to a life sentence of misery and modern young people place less importance of their parents' wishes. The lost love theme could only work if it was done differently.
I agree about Bride and Prejudice, it works well.Have you read Victoria Connelly's Austen Addicts series? It's one of the loosely based ones, though the characters and plot lines are recognisable in their modern settings, but it's the work of a fan (and about fans) rather than a direct retelling.
@Qnpoohbear Much like Mr. Bennet, I wish to put in a good word for a modern Persuasion called "The Family Fortune" by 1st time author Laurie Horowitz. Most members of my Boston Jane Austen bookclub enjoyed it. Another Austen bookclub I belong to had a mixed reaction to it. It is Persuasion set in.....Boston! http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13...Have you seen the Bollywood Emma(Aisha) or Sense and Sensibility? I enjoyed both. The woman who played the Elizabeth Bennet character in Bride(Aishwarya Rai) played the Marianne Dashwood character in the Bollywood S&S(titled Kandukondain Kandukondain or "I have Seen It). Kate Winslet as Elizabeth Bennet?
Persuasion set in Boston? Might have to read that one. I didn't like Persuading Annie. It was just over the top stupid. I haven't seen any of the other Bollywood Austen adaptations. My dad came home from the video store with Bride and Prejudice one night. He enjoyed it without knowing the original story. I liked the snake dance scene and the scene where Mr. Koli shows off his crib. Jane Austen was a comic genius who understood human nature and it's amazing how her scenes work nearly word for word almost 200 years in the future.
Excellent discussion - I haven't read any of them yet......
So many good leads! I thoroughly enjoyed "Clueless" and "Bride and Prejudice." I suspect a satisfying modern adaptation must find a subculture where modern characters have analogous social conventions. Beverly Hills girls do matchmake, and Indian families want their girls to be married.
