The Jane Austen Book Club (2007)

I watched The Jane Austen Book Club as the last goal in the Everything Austen II challenge.

I honestly wasn't expecting much from it, but I ended up loving it. A movie centered around reading the books of Jane Austen? Yes, please. Plus, this film had an amazing cast.

I loved how the the storyline for the characters weren't that far off from the lives of the characters in Austen's novels. Also, how the books seemed to be helping them in their own lives, whether something inspires them, or whatever.

The film is made up of an eclectic group of characters, which makes the film more interesting. A stand out for me was Emily Brunt as Prudie. I'm already such a big fan of hers and I absolutely loved her in this. I also loved Hugh Dancy as Grigg and Kathy Baker as Bernadette.

I haven't read the book, so I had no idea what to expect from this. I'm not too into modern day-type films, but I found myself enjoying this. I found myself laughing at some points and just plain enjoying myself.

Old Friends and New Fancies by Sybil G. Brinton

The first Jane Austen sequel/continuation, Old Friends and New Fancies was published in 1914 and is indeed a charming book.

It incorporates characters from all of Austen's major novels. Everyone knows everyone. However, as far as the main plot lines go, the true 'continuations' were only of Pride & Prejudice and Mansfield Park. Although, characters from all six novels with involved somehow, from the minor to the major.

I found the book to be just a bit long, and could have been cut in several places, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. It read like an Austen novel and all the characters seemed to be true to their original creations.

A solid Austen sequel. And seeing as how it was the first of its kind, with no precedent, I recommend all Austen fans to give it a read. I believe Austen fans will enjoy Old Friends and New Fancies.

The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen by Syrie James

The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen is a fictional memoir. It does a great job at making you feel like it's a real memoir, with an 'Editor's Forward' at the beginning explaining how an old chest was found bricked up behind a wall in the attic of Chawton Manor House – a home owned by Jane's brother Edward. There are also running footnotes throughout the book. All of this giving the impression that this is a long lost memoir written by Jane. Only at the very end is the spell broken.

I really love this. It almost read like an Austen novel. And even though this was fiction, I felt like it was entirely plausible to have happened.

The book focused on two things: Jane process in novel writing, and her feelings of love for a gentleman. I don't think I need to post spoiler warnings on how both of those ended. Throughout Jane's life, traveling here and there, she has experiences and meets people that she records later in her memoirs. Many of these are similar to events that happened in all of Jane's novels. It was a neat thing, thinking that events and people in Jane's life inspired the scenes and characters in her book.

I highly recommend this to Jane fans. I found it to be a highly refreshing novel.

Captain Wentworth's Diary by Amanda Grange

I'm comfortable in saying that Persuasion is my favorite Austen book and that Captain Wentworth is my favorite Austen hero. Of course, Pride and Prejudice is just a step behind.

Seriously, I love Wentworth, so it was with wary expectations that I went into this book. Captain Wentworth's Diary isn't a continuation, but instead a book written in diary form that takes place during and before the events of Persuasion.

The first part of the book showed Wentworth and Anne's first meeting, the unexpected courtship, the short engagement, and the impending heartbreak. The second part of the book took place during the time period in Persuasion.

While some of the entires were a little run-on, this was a satisfactory view of Wentworth's views and feeling surrounding his love of Anne Elliot. I am pleased to say that it was nice to get one example of what was going on inside of Wentworth's head and seeing things from his perspective rather than Anne's.

Recommended to folks who love Persuasion.

Sanditon by Jane Austen

Sanditon is a uncompleted novel by Jane Austen. It consists of only 11 chapters. There are a couple versions out there that were completed by other authors, but I deterred from reading them. I only read Austen's original 11.

The story revolves around the fictional seaside town of Sandition. In the 11 chapters we are introduced to host of interesting characters, both major and minor, and a few already budding storylines. I had to keep telling myself not to get too invested in all this, seeing as how I'd never reach its conclusion, but I failed.

It's disappointing Austen never had a chance to finish this. No doubt it would be another intriguing and beautiful novel to add to her bibliography. I enjoyed it immensely.

I recommend it to other Austen enthusiasts who can't get enough of her words.

Sanditon and Other Stories download.

Pride and Prejudice (1980)

My first completed task for the Everything Austen II Challenge was watching the 1980 mini series of Pride and Prejudice. There's nothing like a good challenge to get you to finally watch something you've been meaning to for ages.

I've seen all the other adaptations: 1940, 1995, 2005 and although it's not technically Pride and Prejudice, Lost in Austen. I found this version, while dated, to be a very solid adequate, version.

It had all its common occurrences of an 1980s mini series: long awkward pauses and a lot of staring. The editing was a bit choppy in places, but I just accepted all this and found none of it bothered me in my enjoyment of watching.

One thing I didn't care for was Mary's character. This version just seemed to make her even more annoying than she originally was. It was sort of overdone showing how intelligent she was. And what was with Kitty coughing all the time? Was that in the book? I don't understand what that was all about.

On to the good stuff. I found Elizabeth Garvie's portrayal of Elizabeth refreshing. She was more ladylike that both Ehle's and Knightley's Lizzys. She was very headstrong and very forthcoming, but also sweet at times. David Rintoul's Darcy was most excellent. I had to remember that his version came before both Firth's and Macfayden's and that his take on Darcy's proudness and aloofness were entirely his own. He portrayed Darcy as a very hard man, a man who no one could seem to break his defenses, but as time went on his icy facade started to melt and we started to see him as his true self.

My favorite scene was Elizabeth and Darcy's first encounter at Pemberley. The surprise and awkwardness of the situation was very well done. I found both actors were very convincing in giving their respective characters the impression that their minds were racing a million miles an hour and were only hoping that what was coming out of their mouths was making sense.

Overall, a very good series. I recommend it to anyone who loves Pride and Prejudice and hasn't yet seen this. It follows very closely with the book and the acting is true to form.

Other than Garvie and Rintoul, stand out performances were given by Priscilla Morgan as Mrs. Bennet, Marsha Fitzalan as Caroline Bingley and Judy Parfitt as Lady Catherine de Bourgh. And a side note: it was rather refreshing to see a Jane that wasn't blonde.

And I'll end this post on a humorous note. While watching part three of the series, I noticed something moving around on the right side of the screen during one scene:

Whoops! Microphone in frame. Kind of brought me back to reality for a second, but I found it amusing.

Everything Austen II Challenge - DONE

I'm so glad this challenge is back seeing as how I missed out on it last year. And seeing how I've finished with the Bronte challenge, this is perfect timing.

From Stephanie's Written Word:

The details! The Everything Austen Challenge will run for six months (July 1, 2010 – January 1, 2011)! All you need to do is pick out six Austen-themed things you want to finish to complete the challenge. You have until Thursday, July 15th 2010 to officially sign up.

My list of six things:

1. Pride and Prejudice (1980)

2. The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen by Syrie James

3. The Jane Austen Book Club (2007)

4. Sanditon by Jane Austen

5. Captain Wentworth's Diary by Amanda Grange

6. Old Friends and New Fancies by Sybil G. Brinton