Nieuws

ITV kondigt nu ook een Jane Austen serie aan: Lost in Austen met Jemima Rooper, Alex Kingston, Lindsay Duncan, Hugh Bonneville and Elliot Cowan als Darcy. Het verhaal doet erg denken aan Bekentenissen van een Jane Austen verslaafde! De serie bestaat uit vier delen en zal dit jaar (2008) worden uitgezonden. Helaas kunnnen we in Nederland geen ITV ontvangen..   wachten dus.

Een korte beschrijving van de serie ( ITV ):

If only Amanda Price’s life was as exciting and romantic as the novels she reads. Poor Amanda is fed up with her life in London and losing patience with her boyfriend.
She may be a thoroughly modern girl but she longs for a man who can spark the fires that lie within. One day she is alone in her flat, reading a book. She hears a noise in the bathroom.
From that moment on her life will never be the same. Before she knows what has happened she has travelled back in time over 200 years. Jemima Rooper stars as the beautiful modern day heroine who enters the world of Lizzie Bennet and her family, the famous characters from Pride and Prejudice.
Realising she’s joined the action at the very start of the classic novel, she gets to know the remaining Bennet sisters, and prepares to meet Mr Darcy (Elliot Cowan).
How will she keep the greatest love story of all time on track when Elizabeth Bennet is stuck in the modern world?
The ‘true’ story is in danger of being thrown off track by her presence. Because Amanda knows Jane Austen’s book so well she realises that she could ruin literary history for ever.

***

De volgende verfilmingen zijn inmiddels uitgezonden::

Andrew Davis (bewerker van de klassieke Pride and Prejudice verfilming) heeft een nieuwe versie van Sense ans Sensebility gemaakt. De hoofdrollen zijn voor de onbekende sterren Hattie Morahan (Elinor) en Charity Wakefield (Marianne). Het tis een driedelige serie uitgezonden in 2007. Tegelijk werd een een Jane Austen biopic verfilmd; Mrs. Austen regrets. In deze laatste film wordt (net als in Becoming Jane) de nadruk gelegd op het feit dat Jane Austen ooit een huwelijksaanzoek aannam, maar na een nacht overleg met haar zuster Cassandra daar toch weer vanaf zag. Olivia Williams speelt Jane en ook zijn er rollen weggelegd voor Adrian Edmonson (Bottom) en Hugh Bonneville (Tipping the Velvet).

Meer klassiek drama van de BBC...

Cranford Chronicles naar drie boeken van Elizabeth Gaskell met niemand minder dan dame Judie Dench, een gloednieuwe verfilming van Oliver Twist met een moderne, duistere sfeer en rollen voor Anna Massey, Julian Rhind-Tutt (Green Wing!) en William Millar als Oliver en een verfilming van Fanny Hill, naar de 18e eeuwse klassieker van John Cleland met Alison Steadman, Hugo Speer and Samantha Bond, eveneens bewerkt door Andrew Davies.

***

De Engelse zender ITV heeft drie nieuwe Austen verfimingen gemaakt.

Mansfield Park, Northanger Abbey en Persuasion zijn in een nieuw jasje verfilmd, met jonge en frisse hoofrolspelers als Billy Piper (Dr.Who) en Sally Watkins (Fingersmith).

Voor ITV's Emma, in de 90er jaren verfilmd met Kate Beckinsale heb ik een lichte voorkeur boven de verfilming in datzelfde jaar met Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate B. vind ik een meer nuchtere Emma. De BBC verfiming van Persuasion uit diezelfde periode met Ciarian Hinds en de super grijze muis Amanda Root ligt me erg na aan het hart. Ik ben dan ook erg benieuwd wat ITV ervan maakt. Northanger Abbey is in de 80er jaren door de BBC verfilmd maar wel tekenkrommend slecht dus ITV kan het denk ik alleen maar beter doen.

Inmiddels ook uitgezonden door de Nederlandse NCRV, op een vrij laat tijdstip in de vakantiemaanden...niet zo handig dus. Graag herhalen!

Ook nieuw in de bioscoop is de verfilming van Jane Austen's eigen leven en liefdes met de Amerikaanse Anne Hathaway in de hoofdrol. Becoming Jane is de titel. De premiere in Nederland was in augustus 2007.

De nadruk ligt op de relatie die Jane Austen had met de jonge Ier Tom Lefroy.

Hier wat dialogen uit de film (bron:Wikipedia)

“The most disagreeable, insolent, arrogant, imprudent, insufferable, impertinent of men!” – Jane Austen’s first comment on Tom Lefroy

“If you wish to practice the art of fiction, to be the equal of a masculine author, experience is vital. Your horizons must be…widened.” – Tom Lefroy

“Flirting is a woman's trade. One must keep in practice.” – Eliza De Feuillide

“Jane!” – Mrs. Austen
“What is she doing?”– Lady Gresham
“Writing. ” – Mr. Wisley
“Can’t anything be done about it?! ” – Lady Gresham

“Affection is desirable. Money is absolutely indispensable!” – Mrs. Austen

“How can you of all people dispose of yourself without affection?” – Tom Lefroy
“How can I dispose of myself with it? ” – Jane Austen

“What value will there ever be in life, if we are not together? ” – Tom Lefroy
“My characters shall have, after a little trouble, all that they desire.” – Jane Austen

Het schandaal van het seizoen
Gee, Sophie

Een 'Austen' achtig boek aan, geschreven door de Australische Sophie Gee. De korte inhoud:

Het schandaal van het seizoen is een unieke historische roman, gebaseerd op een waar verhaal, die zich afspeelt in Londen, aan het begin van de achttiende eeuw, waar ’s nachts de straten tot leven komen. Het is een wereld vol mysteriën, gemaskerde bals, uiterlijke schijn, geld, avances en risico’s.
In deze schitter ontmoeten we de oogverblindende Arabella Fermor, die wordt verleid door de onweerstaanbare Robert Petre, baron van Ingatestone. Voor Arabella zitten er risico’s aan hun verhouding. De raadselachtige, katholieke baron spant namelijk samen tegen de protestantse koningin Anne en zal zonder twijfel worden opgehangen als de samenzwering uitkomt.
Het verhaal van Arabella en Lord Petre wordt verteld door de man die in het werkelijke leven een van de grootste kunstenaars van zijn tijd zou worden: de gehandicapte dichter Alexander Pope, die vanuit het Engelse platteland naar Londen reist om daar beroemd te worden. In werkelijkheid doet hij dat met een satirisch gedicht, The rape of the lock, dat het gevaarlijke liefdesavontuur op satirische wijze becommentarieert, en dat nog steeds tot de meestgelezen Engelse gedichten behoort.

Deze debuutroman deed me erg denken aan Les liasons dangereuses van C. de Laclos. Veel intrige, ondeugende 18e eeuwse dames en heren, veel waaiers en kant en een toch wat verrassende held; de gebochelde jonge Alexander Pope die eigenlijk een buitenstaander is maar raak kan observeren. Ik ken trouwens geen mens die zijn satire  gelezen heeft -incluis ikzelf!- maar waarschijnlijk is het verplichte kost in Engeland. Het is wel erg leuk om de achtergronden van het gedicht te lezen in deze roman.

Het schandaal van het seizoen is een boek dat je met smaak uitleest. Zeker Austen fans kunnen hun hart ophalen, alhoewel het verhaal zich afspeeld zo'n 100 jaar voor de Recency verhalen van Austen. Het enige wat me af en toe stoorde was het vrouwlijke personage, Arabella. Misschien iets te nuffig en tuttig naar mijn smaak, zeker geen Lizzie Bennet of Franny Price!

Emma Watson: The Watsons Completed
Aiken, Joan
The fourth of Joan Aiken's "Jane Austen entertainments",

(the other titles are: Mansfield Revisited, Jane Fairfax  and Eliza's Daughter).  

It describes the fortunes of 19-year-old Emma who, after being adopted by her aunt after her mother's death, has rejoined her ailing father and sister Elizabeth.

Sanditon: Continued and Completed by Another Lady
Jane Austen wrote 11 chapters of Sanditon  before her death in 1817. The portrayal of a small seaside society and its inhabitants is concluded here by Marie Dobbs. In finishing it, completes a tale of comedy and romance, of social aspirations and secret engagements.
 
Darcy's Story
Aylmer, Janet
Darcy's Story reveals at last the truth about Jane Austen's most famous hero, Fitzwilliam Darcy. Pride and Prejudice is the most popular romantic novel in the world, yet it says little about how Darcy is changed from a "haughty, reserved and fastidious" young man to the ardent and humble suitor for the hand of Jane Austen's delightful heroine, Elizabeth Bennet. Darcy's Story  reveals what you always wanted to know. It explores Darcy's thoughts and actions, and the reasons behind them, and demonstrates that the hero is just as interesting a person as Elizabeth Bennet herself. Millions of people over the years have been intrigued by Mr Darcy, the handsome, proud but enigmatic hero of the novel, and the story of how he meets, misunderstands and finally is united with Elizabeth Bennet. However, Pride and Prejudice reveals surprisingly little about Darcy himself. Darcy's Story reveals how he overcomes the problems and misunderstandings that threaten to separate him from Elizabeth, so that he is able to say to her towards the end of the story "By you I was properly humbled. I came to you without a doubt of my reception. You shewed me how insufficient were all my pretensions to please a woman worthy of being pleased."
 
Jane and the Stillroom Maid
Barron, Stephanie
Jane Austen as a detective! Barron catches Austen's tone amazingly well. Details of early 19th-century country life of all classes ring true, while the story line is clear, yet full of surprises.Jane Austen is enjoying August, 1806, among Derbyshire's craggy peaks, sparkling streams, and cavernous gorges. That is, until she discovers the corpse of a young gentleman whose blond curls and delicate features suggest the face of an angel. More shocking still is the coroner's revelation: the deceased is no man but a maidservant - clad in the garb of her master, Mr. Charles Danforth of Penfolds Hall. Tess Arnold had ruled the stillroom at Penfolds for many years - until she was labeled a witch and dismissed for indiscretion. Was Tess the prey of a madman loose in the hills, or perchance the cast-off impediment to a gentleman's marriage? As usual, Jane's acute perception and her nose for trouble place her supremely at risk - from a killer who may strike as violently by day as he once did by night.... -

Bridget Jones's Diary
Fielding, Helen
As her search for true love reaches its dizzy, near-farcical, climax, Ms Bennett (Bennett, Darcy... haven't I, wasn't there a...?) brings flesh to the bones of a disparate (and desperate) group of people in Bridget's life. For example, menopausal Mrs Jones and her dumped-on husband; the boss whose opinions of Bridget's publishing prowess stand little higher than a gardener thinks of slug's ability to enhance overall appearance of flower-bed; reluctant boyfriend who prefers to draw curtains and watch cricket all weekend than be seen in public with Bridget; television producer whose salacious interest in visually sensational involves Bridget and a fireman's pole. A fun, frolicking listen, guaranteed to be lapped up by all single girls looking for Mr Right (or a Mr Darcy), and the "Smug Marrieds", Bridget Jones's Diary began as a column in the London Independent and struck a chord with readers of all sexes and sizes. In strokes simultaneously broad and subtle, Helen Fielding reveals the lighter side.

Bridget Jones : The Edge of Reason
Fielding, Helen
Picking up where Bridget Jones' Diary  left off, everyone's favourite singleton has finally landed her love, Mark Darcy. However, she's finding--among other things--that her dreamboat is less than ideal. Aside from never doing the washing up or foraging through the isles at Tesco, Mark, it seems, has taken an interest in the viperous "jellyfish" Rebecca, who has "thighs like a baby giraffe" and a penchant for boyfriend snatching. If that isn't enough, Richard "I'm thinking bunny girl! I'm thinking Gladiator! I'm thinking canvassing MP!" Finch, Bridget's smarmy, cocaine-encrusted boss and Executive Producer of Sit Up, wants her to be the show's clown, in effect making her the arse of television
 

The Jane Austen Book Club

Fowler, Karen Joy
Five women and one man meet periodically to discuss the work of (arguably) the greatest novelist in English. Six people, one for each Jane Austen title. It is California, a hot summer in the Central Valley early in the 21st century, and these are ordinary people, neither happy nor unhappy, but each of them hurting in different ways, all of them mixed up about love. Together they form the Central Valley/River City all-Jane-Austen-all-the-time book club. And with them Karen Joy Fowler creates a novel that is so winning, so touching, so delicately, slyly witty that admirers of Persuasion and Emma will simply sigh with happiness. On the surface, the novel looks like elegant chick-lit. (But, in some lights, so does Pride and Prejudice). Not surprisingly, we hear mainly about first love, youthful identity crises and middle-aged angst. But somehow Fowler invests high school crushes, the gift and burden of older sisters, a restless dreamy father, a mother's devotion, previous marriages and all the common heartaches of life with unforced pathos. As a result, the reader inevitably bonds with the group as much as its members do with each other. Meanwhile, Fowler only gradually unfolds her true plot, even as she worries us (at least a little) with possible betrayal, injury, death.  Including book club questions!

Ladies and the Mammies: Jane Austen and Jean Rhys
James, Selma

The text of a speech in which the writer sees Jane Austen as someone who broke the ground for the independence an intelligence of womankind.

Obstinate Heart: Jane Austen - A Biography
Myer, Valerie Grosvenor
This biography of Jane Austen examines the author's life and work, drawing on Austen's letters and family papers. It reveals how much of her work was based on her own family and life, and also describes the social scene: fashion, food, travel, dancing, love and money in 19th-century England.
 
Persuading Annie
Nathan, Melissa
Annie Markham has a secret - she's never fallen out of love with her first boyfriend, despite their bitter parting. Jake Mead has a lot on his mind, he's about to come back into the life of the girl who once rejected him. Now it's his chance to prove to Annie what a mistake she made... Inspired by Persuasion.
 
Pride, Prejudice and Jasmin Field
Nathan, Melissa
It starts as a lark for Jasmin Field, the charming, acerbically witty columnist for a national women's magazine.  She joins a host of celebraties gathering in London to audition for the season's most dazzling charity event:  a one-night only stage production of Jane Austen's immortal Pride and Prejudice, directed by and starring the Academy Award -- winning Hollywood heartthrob Harry Noble.  And nobody is more surprised than Jasmin herself when she lands the lead of handsome Harry's love interest, Elizabeth Bennet.  But things start to go very wrong very quickly.  Ms. Field's delicious contempt for the arrogant, overbearing Harry Noble goes from being wicked fun to infuriating.  Her brief moment of theatrical glory looks as if it's going to be overshadowed by the betrayal of her best friend, the disintegration of her family and the implosion of her career. And suddenly she can't remember a single one of her lines.  But, worst of all, Harry Noble -- who, incidentally, looks amazing in tight breeches -- has started to stare hard at Jazz with that sort of a glimmer in his eyes... Fresh, wild, wonderfully romantic and absolutely hilarious, Pride, Prejudice and Jasmin Field  is Jane Austen as the great lady herself never imagined it.
 
The Mysteries of Udolpho
Radcliffe, Ann Ward
Ann Radcliffe (1764-1823) was the leading writer of Gothic fiction of her time. During her lifetime, she published five novels as well as a collection of European travel writings, though she only made one foreign journey.  With The Mysteries of Udolpho, Ann Radcliffe raised the Gothic romance to a new level and inspired a long line of imitators. Portraying her heroine's inner life, creating a thick atmosphere of fear, and providing a gripping plot that continues to thrill readers today, The Mysteries of Udolpho is the story of orphan Emily St. Aubert, who finds herself separated from the man she loves and confined within the medieval castle of her aunt's new husband, Montoni. Inside the castle, she must cope with an unwanted suitor, Montoni's threats, and the wild imaginings and terrors that threaten to overwhelm her.  In Northanger Abbey Jane Austen refers to this first novel of ghotic horror, a enormous hype in it's time.

Jane Austen, a life

Tomalin,Claire

The author of Pride and Prejudice, Persuasion  and other comedies of manners gets a biography similar in tone to her own books: intelligent but not intellectual, witty without being nasty. Claire Tomalin, author of four previous biographies of notable British women, treats Jane Austen (1775-1817) with the respect her genius deserves. Tomalin eschews gossip and speculation in favor of a sober account of the writer's life that nonetheless sparkles with sly humor. Perceptive analyses of each of Austen's novels, with autobiographical links suggested but never insisted upon, add to the value of Jane Austen.

The Friendly Jane Austen: A Well-Mannered Introduction to a Lady of Sense & Sensibility
Tyler, Natalie
Like an Austen novel, the depths of this work are easy to miss in its light tone, which screens a panoply of Austen paraphernalia. Part of the "Friendly" pop reference series, this title marries in-depth information about Jane Austen's work and world with an easy-to-read and fun format. Full of quizzes, illustrations, quotes, and interviews with scholars and actors, this work can be read straight through or dipped into at leisure. Tyler provides the reader with concise, valuable information on Austen's juvenilia, her novels, and the films based on those novels. Also included are notes on period ideas and items that will increase the reader's understanding and appreciation of the novels, among them recipes for syllabub and Bakewell pudding and the differences between a rake and a rattle.

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