Sunday, September 09, 2007

This Winter: Jane Austen

I woke up this morning and had the privilege of pulling a sweater from my closet. The taste of the air was positively crisp, promising that fall is finally here. For the first time in months the weather has the subtle hint of a turn. The summer heat has been turned to the mellow, windy atmosphere of autumn. Labor Day was last weekend. School is started. My Broncos won a close season opener for football today.

As much as I love this time of year, there is certainly something to which to look forward this winter. Beginning January 13, 2008 Masterpiece Theater on PBS is airing movie adaptations of all six major Jane Austen novels. Several of the screenplays were written by Andrew Davies. I am especially excited about Northanger Abbey, an oft-neglegted lighthearted story whose heroine, I am happy to report, looks perfect for the part.

To bring excitement to a pitch worthy of surviving the intervening months, PBS released a long trailer for the series, which will also include a biographical production of Jane Austen's life. For more information, you can try the official site, and the Jane Austen Society report. Another excited blog is Austenblog. Related sites include Republic of Pemberley, Eras of Elegance, and In Timely Fashion.

Again, watch the trailer. It's exciting.

To God be all glory.
Fanny Austen-Knight (1793-1882) by Cassandra Austen
Fanny Austen-Knight (1793-1882)

4 comments:

The Warrior said...

Ha ha, the other day, I was so fascinated with what I felt when I woke up.

I was cold!!!!

Robert said...

I would like to see the new Northangler Abbey as I haven't seen a movie version of it.

I have seen some scenes of Mansfield Park on youtube and I have a problem with their version of Fanny Price.I can't picture her as a blonde.

Lisa of Longbourn said...

I saw a version of Northanger Abbey from the sixties or seventies, and it had the weirdest music. No one was beautiful or handsome, and they missed the delightful tone of the book, so I'm excited.

As for Mansfield Park, I have seen two unsatisfactory versions so far, and didn't even like the book that much, so even though I'll probably watch this one, I am not expecting much of it. Those who have seen it (it was already aired in England) thought it was very low-quality, and bad acting. But I have hope yet that it might be better than the other two. Most of the cast looks the part, though you're right; a blonde fanny is strange. They seem to have left out that she was sort of plain and sickly at first.

Thanks for commenting.
To God be all glory,
Lisa of Longbourn

Anonymous said...

I can't wait 'till January, either :) I'm a little disappointed with the new Northanger Abbey - I saw a documentary on YouTube about the new Austen movie, which included clips from NA, and I'm not sure if it's going to be a very "family-friendly" film. Which is sad, because it could've been so well done! We'll just have to wait and see how the film turns out...

Jane