Reading Brideshead Revisted, who did I find? Miss Austen, of course! In chapter two, third volume, the character Anthony Blanche gives examples of what is more English above all to the protagonist,
Charles Ryder:
“The next thing I saw was your very handsome volume – “Village and Provincial Architecture”, was is it called? Quite a tome, my dear, and what did I find? Charm again. “Not quite my cup of tea,” I thought; “this is too English.” I have the fancy for rather spicy things, you know, not for the shade of the cedar tree, the cucumber sandwich, the silver cream-jug, the English girl dressed whatever English girls do wear for tennis – not that, not Jane Austen, not M-m-miss M-m-mitford.
Phoebe Nicholls as Cordelia Flyte, Brideshead Revisited, 1981
Brideshead Revisited, is a wonderful book by Evelyn Waugh, and if you have the opportunity watch the 1981 series with Jeremy Irons in the role of Charles Ryder, Anthony Andrews as Sebastian Flyte, and Laurence Olivier (Mr. Darcy, 1940) as Lord Marchmain, you have watched an unforgettable mini-series. In the role of lovely Cordelia Flyte is the actress Phoebe Nicholls, playing the role of lovely Cordelia Flyte. More than a decade later, she portrayed Elizabeth Elliot in Persuasion (1995).
Phoebe Nicholls as Cordelia Flyte and Elizabeth Elliot.
Janeites will be happy to hear of several actors who have been previously featured in Jane Austen movie adaptations will be staring in the new movie based on Evelyn Waugh’s novel Brideshead Revisted (limited release on 25 July 2008). Further connections include the director Julian Jerrold whose interpretation of Jane Austen’s young adult life was beautifully, though creatively visualized in Becoming Jane(2007), and the writer Andrew Davies whose Austen association can be matched by no other screenwriter with his novel adaptations of Pride and Prejudice (1995), Emma (1996), Northanger Abbey (2007), Sense and Sensibility (2008) and spinoffs Bridget Jones’s Diary (2001), and Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (2004).
The Evelyn Waugh novel, Brideshead Revisited, The Sacred & Profane Memories of Captain Charles Ryder was published in 1945, and is the fascinating story of the reminiscences of Captain Charles Ryder while he is stationed at Brideshead Castle during WWII. His reflections on his involvement with the owners, the eccentric and aristocratic Flyte Family, is told through his friendship with their son Sebastian, daughter Julia, and their devotedly Catholic mother Lady Marchmain, whose manipulations by guilt and guile chisel away at the foundation of her family and at an English way of life that is quickly fading.
Enthusiasts of English period dramas will remember that this novel was brought to the screen in 1981 in an eleven part mini-series produced by Granada Television staring Anthony Andrews as Sebastian Flyte, Laurence Olivier as Lord Marchmain, and Jeremy Irons as Charles Ryder. When it aired in the US on PBS' Great Performances in 1982, it created such a brouhaha because of its mild nudity and profanity, that the series had to be re-edited for futures airings. The story line in the new movie has been pared down to 135 minuets, and will focus on the relationship of Charles Ryder and Julia Flyte. Here are the Austen actors that will be featured, and their connections.
Emma Thompson – Lady Marchmain & as
Elinor Dashwood - Sense and Sensibility (1995)
Hayley Atwell – Julia Flyte & as
Mary Crawford - Mansfield Park (2007)
Felicity Jones – Cordelia Flyte & as
Catherine Morland - Northanger Abbey (2007)
Anna Madeley – Celia Ryder & as
Lucy Steele - Sense and Sensibility (2008)
Joseph Beattie – Anthony Blanche & as
Henry Crawford - Mansfield Park(2007)
Greta Scacchi – Cara & as Mrs. Weston - Emma (1996)
& Cassandra Austen - Miss Austen Regrets(2008)
There is a fabulous official web site for Brideshead Revisited the movie which is well worth a visit, and here is a the movie trailer for your enjoyment.
