The 1940 film version of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice premiered in the United States on the 26th of July. Greer Garson and Laurence Olivier played Elizabeth Bennet and Mr Darcy, though originally Norma Shearer and Clark Gable were to star.
Polish poster.
The film was intended to be filmed in England, but the outbreak of World War Two meant production was moved.
Also posted HERE
Jane Austen died aged forty-one in Winchester, Hampshire on the 18th of July, 1817.
Signature from Austen’s will. 1817.
Discover Jane Austen’s England
Immerse yourself in the vanished world inhabited by Austen’s contemporaries. Packed with detail, and anecdotes, this is an intimate exploration of how the middle and upper classes lived from 1775, the year of Austen’s birth, to the coronation of George IV in 1820. Sue Wilkes skilfully conjures up all aspects of daily life within the period, drawing on contemporary diaries, illustrations, letters, novels, travel literature and archives.
•Were all unmarried affluent men really ‘in want of a wife’?
•Where would a young lady seek adventures?
•Would ‘taking the waters’ at Bath and other spas kill or cure you?
•Was Lizzy Bennet bitten by bed-bugs while travelling?
•What would you wear to a country ball, or a dance at Almack’s?
•Would Mr Darcy have worn a corset?
•What hidden horrors lurked in elegant Regency houses?
Put on your dancing gloves and embrace a lost era of corsets and courtship!
A Visitor’s Guide To Jane Austen’s England by Sue Wilkes
There are many books like this one, a “travel guide” of sorts through the day to day events of Georgian, Regency and Victorian England. However, there aren’t many that pack as much information in as this one does, and so I really enjoyed it.
The thing the author of A Visitor’s Guide To Jane Austen’s England does right is that she uses primary sources for her information, and quotes letters and journal entries of the time from all sorts of people. There’s no guessing about things here; everything we’re told comes from something recorded back in the day.
The anecdotes taken from day to day life in the Georgian and Regency days Jane Austen lived are interesting, taught me more than a few things, and painted a stronger picture from the era than pretty much any book I’ve read.
Any historical fiction reader worth their salt is going to know quite a bit of what is in here, especially so for fans of Jane Austen. However, there was so much I learnt that I even found the rehashing of more commonly-known facts interesting all over again.
If more authors consulted primary sources rather than learning the world of the Regency from other Regency romances, there would be far fewer mistakes (with language, for example) turning up in books, and there would be a much more historical “feel” to the stories.
An interesting read for fans of history and historical fiction.
Jane Austen’s most famous novel, Pride and Prejudice, was published on the 28th of January 1813.
Elizabeth Bennet and Mr Darcy. 1894 illustration.
Here is the title page from a first edition copy of the book:
Jane Austen’s Emma was first published on the 23rd of December, 1815.
However, the title page of the first edition of the book (below) gives the publication year as 1816.
If the majority of people are to be believed, the 1995 BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice is The One. The definitive, one, the perfect one. It is the reason Colin Firth has a career, and the reason there are so many Jane Austen fans to this day.
I’ve seen it ninety gazillion times. I’ve been to some of the filming locations. I enjoy it.
And yet I don’t love it the way most other people do.
I have the “Making Of” book and have a great deal of respect for what they did with this production. (It’s still very much in print. Read it! If you’re a writer or reader of the Regency, read this great book!) It’s imperfect, but when you’re researching your show to the point you’re having period-appropriate fabrics made specifically for secondary characters’ gowns, then you know you’ve done a good job.
Even if there’s a whole lot of cleavage on display in the middle of the day!
Also, credit must be given for the locations. Unlike the anachronistic 2005 version, they don’t have the Bennet family living in a filthy, falling down hovel, and they haven’t gone crazy and moved Darcy into Chatsworth House.
I have to appreciate how much of the book they managed to get onto the screen. Still, some of my favourite scenes have been omitted, but this is by far the best adaptation if you want to see the whole story unfold. So, credit given there.
Not my Elizabeth Bennet!
However, Jennifer Ehle’s interpretation of Elizabeth Bennet used to be my favourite, but now I don’t really like it at all (the 1980 version is by far my favourite now). Ehle doesn’t resemble the character from the book at all, (something highlighted more each time I read the book and remind myself what she’s supposed to be like), except for her sparkling eyes.
She also plays the character much, much older than Lizzie’s twenty years, making the scenes of her literally frolicking about the countryside look mildly ridiculous. Mind you, the blue suits her much better than the curry colour (the costume designer’s word, not mine) she wears for half the production. They decided her character was “earthy”, but that doesn’t mean she needs to actually look like the earth!
And then there’s the fact she spends so much time smirking and rolling her eyes you have to wonder how Darcy was ever deluded into thinking she even liked him, let alone wanted to marry him!
Some of Miss Elizabeth’s death glares for Mr Darcy. No wonder he thought she loved him!
I believe in Darcy’s side of the main relationship, if not so much Elizabeth’s. Unfortunately they the all-important final proposal scene is one of the weakest scenes in the entire production.
The best scenes Ehle gives us are those with her sister, Jane. There is genuine affection and camaraderie there, and it’s the only time I find her character likeable in this version.
Colin Firth is a good actor, and I find it interesting to read about how he approached the character. He did a great job with it. I sort of resent the fact this is known as “the Colin Firth version” because they’ve added so much extra Mr Darcy to the story he has become the star of the show.
My problem is that I don’t find him attractive (by the way, he’s a natural blond, and I prefer him that way). I moved to London not long after this version came out, and the number of times I was forced to endure other women re-watching the ridiculous and anachronistic Darcy diving in the scummy pond scene…
The producers doing their best to turn Darcy into Fabio.
However Firth makes Darcy infinitely more likeable than Ehle makes Elizabeth.
The Jane in this version cops a lot of flak for not being pretty enough, but I do like the way Susannah Harker plays her. She captures her sweetness even if the Regency era styles don’t make her look as nice as she does in other shows.
I actually think the majority of the casting is a bit off. By far the worst offender is that screeching harpy Mrs Bennet. I’ve seen her portrayal compared to a Monty Python actor in drag, and that’s pretty accurate. She also reminds me of the mother role in the ballet La fille mal gardée – an over the top character role played by a man:
While on the other hand Mr Bennet in this version is made so likeable it’s easy to forget he’s an irresponsible father who buries his head in the sand – when he’s not being outright cruel to his younger daughters.
Bingley waxing poetic about Jane.
Bingley is a bit of an overly optimistic doofus, but at least he’s not a total blathering fool like the Bingley in the 2005 version. The actress playing Lydia is not only a decade older than her character, but also older than the lead actress. Kitty – a pretty woman in real life – has the world’s ugliest hairstyles. Mary has been turned into a nerdy cliché, and they deliberately gave her bad skin and greasy hair. Because, you know, you can only be smart if you’re ugly!
Mr Collins – who should be tall and young – is small and slimy and acts like he might be a paedophile. They also deliberately made him greasy!
Charlotte Lucas is one of the prettiest members of the cast (no matter how hard they tried to make her ugly with severely-styled hair), and she’s supposed to be plain!
Then you have Wickham, whose weird facial hair might be period-appropriate, but who must have got all the girls of England drunk in order to convince them he was a heartthrob!
I have plenty of dislikes about this adaptation, and yet it is highly watchable and introduced Jane Austen to a much wider audience. It deserves credit for a lot of things, but since I first watched it during its original broadcast, and then in nonstop repeats when we got it on VHS, I’ve sort of gone off it a bit. I suppose I’m more familiar with the book and the era than I was then, and now I like it rather than love it.
I think it would be accurate to say that at first, with its low production values and the I feel like I’m watching a play sense it gives off, I didn’t love the 1980 Pride and Prejudice. However, it has grown on me so much I now consider Elizabeth Garvie and David Rintoul to be the real Elizabeth and Darcy, and each time I watch it I find another little moment that makes me enjoy the production more.
The second proposal.
This version is often touted as the one that is closest to the book, and I think people mean in spirit rather than page by page, as there are plenty of differences. The silliest one would have to be Elizabeth running all the way to Pemberley when she finds out her sister has taken off with a man, though the scene that follows really works for me.
Despite occasionally looking like a young woman straight out of the late 1970s, complete with shoulder-length frizzy hair, Elizabeth Garvie captures the archness and the manners of the Elizabeth Bennet of the book. She is polite but also witty, and she has the youthfulness and growth that I find sorely missing from Jennifer Ehle’s interpretation in 1995.
I can see why Darcy was confused when she rejected his first proposal, as unlike Ehle, who scowled and rolled her eyes whenever Darcy was within shouting distance, Garvie’s Elizabeth is a lovely young woman trapped in an embarrassing family with poor finances.
Darcy sees Elizabeth at Rosings
David Rintoul is the only Darcy I find physically attractive (though don’t do what I did and Google recent images of him!). He is tall and intimidating and oh so aristocratic. Criticisms of him playing the role too stiff and dull are probably justified, but the more I watch him, the more I catch his subtle smiles and his meaningful looks. By the end, when he is shocked and happily surprised Elizabeth wants to marry him, he does much more with the scene than fan favourite Colin Firth ever did in the 1995 version.
You see him change over the course of the story, and gradually see what’s going on beneath that exterior and that posh, posh voice. I’d marry him. Even if this version of his house is in desperate need of a clean! Those black stains on the exterior!
Elizabeth runs to a rather dirty Pemberley!
Together, they work perfectly for me. They didn’t toss all the social rules out the window, and when Elizabeth starts crying about Lydia’s elopement, all Darcy can do is hover, unable to touch her to comfort her.
I love when period dramas can capture that total absence of physical contact and the strain it causes, and I’d love to see more of that in historical romance books.
Elizabeth and Jane
Jane and Bingley work for me in this version. Jane is pretty and smiling and has lovely manners without being insipid. The scene where she first glimpses Bingley from a window and starts waxing poetic about him after two seconds is utterly ridiculous, but I don’t have any other complaints.
Bingley is a bit of a dorky oaf, but he is also a genuinely nice man. He is the only Bingley out of the 1980, 1995 and 2005 versions who isn’t a bumbling idiot. While I don’t think he’s even remotely handsome, he’s a good person, has a physical presence, and is the only one who is a match for Darcy.
Mr and Mrs Bennet are the closest to the characters from the book. Most adaptations make Mr Bennet too nice, and I like what was done in this version. It should never be forgotten he has made some selfish decisions that have put the ladies’ futures in jeopardy.
As for Mrs Bennet, she over-talks without being a screeching idiot (a la 1995). She remembers who she is and what social customs need to be followed – as she would have! – but still manages to overdo things. She’s the best version of this character I have seen.
A very old-looking Lydia!
The rest of the Bennet girls are not so good. Though I believe the actresses were close to the ages of the characters they were playing, both Lydia and Kitty look middle-aged and I can never tell them apart.
God only knows what they were thinking giving Mary that hairstyle. She looks out of place in the family. Could they have made the nerdy one look any more clichéd? It’s a little offensive.
Mr Wickham is too unattractive for his role, sorry!
I loved what they did with Charlotte Lucas and Mr Collins. This is the ONLY Mr Collins who matches the description from the book. And he’s a dope without being a slimy paedophile. Charlotte is not ugly, but plain, and she is a lovely friend for Elizabeth.
There’s a totally made-up scene where the two girls laugh over a floatation hat, and though it’s a huge departure from the book, it gets a laugh out of me every time.
I believe the actress playing Miss Bingley is a direct descendant of the aristocracy, and I think she was perfect in her role.
Just as I think this Lady Catherine de Bourgh is perfect in hers.
A shared smile as Lady Catherine drones on.
The way she holds court in her scenes is perfect, and I especially love the smile shared between Elizabeth and Darcy when the woman just keeps droning on.
Questionable costuming and décor:
Elizabeth Bennet and Mr Bingley at Netherfield Park
It has to be said that overall this production looks pretty dreadful. It’s not grand enough, and some of the costumes are odd. Though I am glad they didn’t try to make all the day dresses for the girls overly sexy, because that just wasn’t how it was (there’s A LOT of cleavage on display during the day in the 1995 version). However, the buildings are rundown and the filming looks cheap.
I suppose though, in the end it doesn’t matter. This is a character-based story, and I fell in love with this Elizabeth and Darcy more than any other.
New Jane Austen waxwork uses forensic science to model ‘the real Jane’
A few months ago I watched a documentary about finding a “real” portrait of Jane Austen, and some of her fans who were featured got really upset when it was suggested she wasn’t as beautiful as they imagined her. Which was just stupid – do you get upset if some famous male author from the past wasn’t sexy?!
Anyway, this model looks a bit like the Jane Austen from that show.
Something that bugged me about this miniseries – though I know it wasn’t really anybody’s fault:
It was filmed in cold weather and it’s supposed to be summer! Everyone is prancing about outside in their pretty, floaty, short-sleeved dresses and it’s so cold you can see their breath!
Anyway…
So much to resolve and only one episode to do it!
Amanda’s appearance in the middle of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice world certainly caused a mess. Jane is married to Mr Collins, Mr Bingley is the one acting like Mr Wickham is supposed to and Mr Darcy is in love with Amanda instead of Elizabeth (who he hasn’t even met).
Even though I knew it was the final episode, I did double and triple-check, because I expected happy endings for everyone and didn’t see how it could be done in one episode. It didn’t help that there was more drama heaped on top of everything else that had gone wrong so far!
My two favourite parts of this episode were:
#1 Mrs Bennet and Jane finally snapping and telling off Lady Catherine de Bourgh and Mr Collins.
#2 The moment everyone blasts back into the present day. As Mr Darcy says, ‘What is this dreadful place?’
What did I think of the ending? Well, it was as convenient as you would expect, and I honestly don’t think Amanda would just settle in happily in the life she has chosen.
However, this is a show about a time-travelling portal in a bathroom and a book world coming to life, and so yes, it shouldn’t be taken too seriously! There’re some massive anachronisms and some very hard-to-believe situations, but then isn’t that exactly what you’d expect from this show?
I’m glad I got over my fear of Amanda’s too-modern hairstyle and watched Lost in Austen. I’m not one to have a fit when little tweaks are made with Jane Austen’s work, and I’m always happy to see different takes on famous and very familiar characters.
Anybody with an interest in period drama wold enjoy this – but just make sure you know the plot of Pride and Prejudice first!
The episode before the finale – the one where it’s compulsory for everything to get worse so it can be fixed in the next one!
Amanda is in a lot of trouble. Mrs Bennet has kicked her out of the house, and when she goes to visit Mrs Collins, it’s not Charlotte he’s married to, but a very miserable Jane.
I have to say, there were some things here that really made no sense whatsoever (even considering the silliness of the premise). Mr Collins is seen as a sleazy, perverted man and so the nature of his marriage to Jane isn’t believable.
In the meantime, Mr Bingley is having a breakdown. He’s realised that being the happy bumbling dope was never going to get him what he wanted, but it’s a little late now!
Bingley and Jane are made out to be totally naïve to the world in this version of the story, but then I think that’s more or less how they are in the book. When you expect everyone to be good and refuse to see what’s right in front of you if it might make you unhappy, you’re bound to end up hurt. I do like that they have a wakeup call and are both changing as the series goes on.
I like that about a lot of the original P&P characters as they’re portrayed in this series, actually. Mr Bennet is well-rounded; I think he tends to be too… I suppose too nice in most incarnations. Also Mrs Bennet’s plight is shown in a way that makes her more sympathetic, as we can see where her desperation stems from. She has to push her daughters on men because her husband is more or less absent from the marriage.
Meanwhile, Darcy has had to admit his love for… Amanda (whoops!). He hasn’t met Elizabeth Bennet yet, so this could get interesting.
He indulges her with recreating one of her favourite Pride and Prejudice moments.
Yes, it’s an incredibly silly scene, but I do love how the scriptwriters managed to sneak 1995’s gratuitous scene into the actual Austen book!
I finished this episode and checked to see there really was only one more. There’re so many big storylines that need resolving and not much time to do it!
In Times Gone By... 