Regency/Edwardian Fashion Throwdown

Gentle readers: As you might have noticed, I have had Downton Abbey on my mind. If you haven't watched the series, do tune in tonight on PBS and watch the second installment. If you have fallen behind, you can watch the first episode online at this link. The sets and fashions of this mini-series are simply and outrageously gorgeous.

Your decision this week is rather simple: to decide which period fashions you like best. Edwardian, such as shown in Dowton Abbey, or Regency, as in the recently aired Emma, or both. You decide.

Downtown Abbey Costumes

Emma 2009 costumes

Regency-Edwardian Fashion Throwdown
	Edwardian, as in Downton Abbey
	Regency, as in Emma
	Both. I love costume dramas, period.
pollcode.com free polls

Jane Austen Movie Throwdown

The third episode of Emma 2009 will be shown tonight on PBS (in competition with the Super Bowl!) You have had the opportunity to visit a number of fabulous houses used for the location shots. This week we ask you,

Whose drawing room best suits your taste?

Mr. & Mrs. John Knightley, Brunswick Square, London

The Woodhouse's drawing room, Hartfield in Highbury

Mr. Knightley's drawing room, Donwell Abbey

Whose drawing room in Emma 2009 best suits your taste?
	Mr. and Mrs. John Knightley's, Brunswick Square
	The Woodhouse's in Hartfield
	Mr. Knightleys in Donwell Abbey
pollcode.com free polls

Last Episode of Emma, Last Twitter Party

Yes, it's super bowl Sunday. But why not slip away from the big beefy body bashing on the field of artificial warfare, and join us for a splendid and civilized hour of Twitter chatter! Click here for the details and remember to use the hashtag: #emma_pbs.

Click on image to view a super large wallpaper size.

Editing PBS Masterpiece Presentations

Have you ever wondered why so many original BBC adaptations of the classics we love, including Jane Austen's, are cut down for PBS Masterpiece Classic? Erin Delaney, an editor at PBS, explained in a Barnes and Noble discussion thread last year, why so many scenes seem to be cut out, such as the donkey scene with Mr and Mrs Elton at the Strawberry picking party at Donwell Abbey in the current production of Emma or the bath tub scene in which Catherine fantasizes about Henry Tilney in Northanger Abbey 2007:

Masterpiece gets involved in these productions at various points in the process, depending on the show. Sometimes, yes, we generate suggestions for which books are ripe for adaptation. Sometimes we get involved at the scripting/casting stage. And sometimes we do buy the shows after they're finished. Basically we're looking for, well, Masterpieces!

The air dates on PBS differ from those in England primarily because whichever channel in England is airing the program has its own schedule to manage, as does PBS. Masterpiece airs on Sunday night and we might want to make sure, for example, that we have five Sundays in a row, uninterrupted by holidays, to air something like Little Dorrit. There have been occasions when Masterpiece has aired a title in the U.S. before it aired in England.
Regarding the question about editing to time... Sometimes we might feel that the show would benefit by being slightly tighter. But more commonly, editing is due to odd lengths. The BBC has long had a very free-wheeling schedule. If you've travelled in England, you may have noted that programs might start at 5 minutes past the hour, 10 minutes past, etc. This flexibility allows the BBC to air shows of odd lengths. American television, by contrast, is really ruled by the clock! We need Masterpiece to begin promptly at 9:00. And whatever show is airing next needs Masterpiece to end promptly as well.

Because these films are works of art in their own right (yes, I do believe this), decisions have been made all along, about what to leave in and what to take out. The book's author made such decisions, the screenwriter made more, each performer makes decisions about how to say each line, the director makes still more choices, and so forth. Each iteration of the film is its own piece of art.

Reading some of the books has helped me on occasion to understand parts of the puzzle that may have gotten altered throughout this artistic process...

For the DVD's that you can purchase and whether you receive the full versions or not, please read Cinthia's answer in the comments.

Deconstructing Miss Emma Woodhouse: Vote today!

Who is that spoiled “troublesome creature” that we love to hate in Jane Austen’s classic novel Emma? The handsome, clever and rich Miss Woodhouse of course. Who is your favorite Emma Woodhouse, Jane Austen’s original or one of the several screen interpretations? Join in the deconstruction of Miss Emma Woodhouse and vote for your favorite Emma today at Austenprose.

What others are saying about Miss Woodhouse too!

Cheers, Laurel Ann, Austenprose

Jane Austen Movie Throwdown

Tonight PBS will show the second installment of Emma 2009, and Laurel Ann and I will once again co-host the Twitter Party along with the staff from PBS from 9-11 PM EST. (This week west coasters will have their own party from 9-11 PM PT with Kali and Laurie (Viera-Rigler). Remember to use the hashtag #emma_pbs. For more details, click on this link.

This week we ask you: Which bachelor from Highbury suits your fancy? You can take the quiz on PBS's website to see who will best suit your personality!

Mr. Churchill

Mr. Elton

Mr. Weston

Mr. Martin

Mr. Woodhouse

Mr. Knightley

Which Bachelor of Highbury Do You Like?
	Mr. Churchill
	Mr. Elton
	Mr. Weston
	Mr. Martin
	Mr. Woodhouse
	Mr. Knightley
pollcode.com free polls

Emma Twitter Party Redux on Sunday, January 31st 9-11 PM

Emma (2009), the new adaptation of Jane Austen's classic novel Emma premiered last Sunday and continues for the next two Sundays on Masterpeice Classic PBS. (check local listings) The Emma Twitter Party during the broadcast was such a screaming success that it will be duplicated in a bi-coastal celebration on January 31st 9-11 PM ET & PT at TweetGrid. Use hashtag #emma_pbs.

In conjunction with Masterpiece Classic PBS, Vic & I will be hosting the east coast party and Laurie Viera Rigler and Kali Pappas will be hosting the west coast party. In addition to all the great commentary and reactions by Tweeters, Masterpiece PBS and your co-hosts, there will be an Emma quiz and giveaway contest of Jane Austen Action Figures drawn from Tweeps who answer correctly. PBS is also offering a special 25% off merchandise at ShopPBS.org for the participants of the event. The special purchase code will be revealed during the event, so you can pony up and buy that Emma (2009) DVD which is released on February 9th, 2010.

Visit the Emma Twitter Party page at the Masterpiece Classic for details.
Join us at TweetGrid or your favorite aggregator for the Emma Twitter Party.
Vic tweets as janeaustenworld
Laurel tweets as Austenprose
Kail tweets as magicskyway
Laurie tweets as austen_addict
Masterpiece tweets as masterpiecepbs

Don’t miss out on all the merriment. “Seize the pleasure at once” and join the fun!

Cheers, Laurel Ann Austenprose

Emma 2009 in Print

Last October, when Emma 2009 was shown on BBC in the UK, the Times Online reviewed the film, which A.A. Gill felt came up short. He sounds like a curmudgeon, for he practically wished Jane Austen's work to perdition.

Last week in this newspaper, I read that Mark Twain had said if he knew where Jane Austen was buried, he’d dig her up and beat in her skull with her own femur. My sentiments entirely. The world can be, and indeed should be, split between those for Jane and those for Twain.

However, the article did leave us with this memorable graphic. Click on this link to read the scathing review.

Radio Times, in a more flattering portrait, showcased Emma on four pages and discussed the end of the bonnet costume dramas on BBC. Click on the images to read the article.

Click on the images to read the article.

Posted by Vic, Jane Austen's World

Want to Make the 2009 Emma Wedding Cake?

At Miss Taylor's wedding, Mr. Woodhouse had earnestly tried to dissuade the guests from having any wedding cake at all, and when that proved vain as earnestly tried to prevent any body's eating it ...
To create this cake, take a Nordic Ware Cathedral Bundt Pan, conveniently available at Amazon.com. And find another round pan for the bottom layer.

For the top layer, use a recipe popular during Jane Austen's day, such as Mrs. Perrot's Heart or Pound Cake, which is a pound cake recipe that includes nutmeg, cinnamon, and currants. And for the bottom layer use a plainer version of the recipe, to give it a lighter color. Embellish with flowers and leaves, and frosted grapes. And voila! Any other suggestions for making this cake? Is that frosting between the two layers? And what do you think the little white rolled up bundles are made of?

Recipe for sugar frosted grapes

Posted by Vic, Jane Austen's World

Great new Emma (2009) music video

Beautiful montage video of stills from the new Emma (2009) miniseries which begins tomorrow night on Masterpiece Classic set to soundtrack music The Last Dance by Samuel Sims from the production. Amazing! Created by Katherine of November's Autumn. Enjoy!

Cheers, Laurel Ann, Austenprose

Follow Friday: Kali of the Emma Adaptations Pages

Kali Pappas is the preeminent online authority of movie adaptations of Jane Austen’s novel Emma. On her lovely and informative website the Emma Adaptations Pages, you will find a hub of resources including production information, casting, images, reviews and her insights and impressions on all of the Emma adaptations and variations such as Clueless.

Be sure to take her popular Austen Heroine Quiz to discover if you could be an Elizabeth Bennet or Elinor Dashwood. (I am Fanny Price! Surprised?)

You can follow Kali on Facebook, Twitter and at her strangegirl blog. She will also be co-hosting the Emma Twitter Party along with Vic and myself on Sunday, January 24th, 9:00-11:00 PM ET on Twitter and Tweetgrid brought to us by the great folks at Masterpiece Classic PBS.

Visit the Emma Adaptations Pages
Read Kali’s post here on Fashionable Emma Woodhouse
Visit the official Emma Twitter Party page at Masterpiece Classic

Cheers, Laurel Ann, Austenprose

Emma (2009) Music Video to Crystallised Beauty

This week is all about Emma (2009) the new adaptation of Jane Austen's 1815 novel of the the same name which begins on Sunday, January 24th on Masterpiece Classic/PBS. Enjoy this music video by cherrycakesbaybee featuring scenes from the mini-series set to the beautiful music Crystallised Beauty by Philip Sheppard.

"Why not seize the pleasure at once?" and join the red carpet premiere Emma Twitter Party on Sunday, January 24th 9:00-11:00 PM ET on Tweetgrid and Twitter presented by Masterpiece Classic. Use hashtag #emma_pbs to join in the fun.

Cheers, Laurel Ann, Austenprose

Emma (2009) begins next Sunday on Masterpiece Classic

The wait is almost over! Emma (2009), the new 3 part mini-series adaptation of Jane Austen's classic novel staring Romola Garai and Jonny Lee Miller will premiere on Masterpiece Classic next Sunday, January 24th, 2010 at 9:00 pm on PBS. Read a preview and see a slide show of the production stills at Austenprose.

Visit the official Emma website at Masterpiece Classic
Join the Masterpiece Classic red carpet premiere Emma Twitter Party

Cheers, Laurel Ann, Austenprose

Jane Austen Movie Throwdown

PBS Masterpiece Classic will be showing the new adaptation of Emma with Romola Garai from January 24 - February 7 . Jane Austen declared her to be her favorite heroine, yet observed: " I am going to take a heroine whom no-one but myself will much like."

Indeed, this intrusive, interfering and meddlesome woman dominates Jane's longest novel. Jane described her as "handsome, clever, and rich, with a comfortable home and happy disposition...[she] seemed to unite some of the best blessings of existence; and had lived nearly twenty-one years in the world with very little to distress or vex her." She is pretty, but she is not vain about her looks, for her faults lie in an entirely different direction.

This week we ask you: How much are you looking forward to watching Emma?

How much are you looking forward to watching Emma next week?
	Very much. I love the heroine.
	Somewhat. I don't like Emma, but I do like the story.
	I'm curious to compare it to the other film adaptations
	A little. She's too meddlesome for my taste. I can take it or leave it.
	Not at all. Emma and the book turn me off.
pollcode.com free polls

Masterpiece Classic 2010 Season

The Masterpiece Classic new winter-spring season will begin this month. Check out all the great bonnet & contemporary drama's in the line-up previewed at Austenprose and this new Emma 2009 video.

Enjoy! Laurel Ann, Austenprose

Emma 2009 Screencaps

The BBC serial of Emma 2009 is over, but the memories remain, and so do the screencaps -- a bazillion of them! Rawr_caps at Live Journal has posted literally thousands of high resolution screencaps by episode to view and download. Here are few great ones from the Box Hill picnic scene. What a treasure trove. Have fun!

More on Emma 2009

Charles Moore from The Telegraph delighted in marking the mistakes in Emma 2009 in his article, This misdjudged Emma is a pendant's dream. His observations include:

Why, for instance, on a single day of the story, were we offered the horticultural miracle of daffodils out, oak in full leaf and mature wistaria flowering (the last did not even acquire its name until two years after the book was published in 1816)?

Emma speaks of an "exercise regime", and Mr Knightley (I think) of an "expansion project". They enjoy "a mystery honeymoon", with Mr Woodhouse complaining about "wanderlust". The famous piano is called a "surprise gift", and the rooms chosen for a dance are admired as a "space".

Some of the actors – often in the minor parts, such as Robert Bathurst as Mr Weston or Tamsin Greig as Miss Bates – successfully imagine themselves in Austen's milieu. Others stumble around as if they have just rented the kit from Bermans and Nathans for a fancy-dress party.

Click on the above link to read the entire, not so fullsome article.

Verdict on Emma 2009

Donwell Abbey on Strawberry Picking day

Polls on Jane Austen's World indicate that viewers voted in favor of Emma 2009. I conducted four polls, one for each week of the series, and from 70-80% of viewers loved or liked the episodes. These numbers do not reflect the ratings, for after the first week, Emma lost over 1 million viewers and its overall performance in the UK was dismal. The first episode seemed to be the most problematic, with its many alterations from Jane Austen's plot, modern gestures, and people disliking the main actors (or getting used to them, which they eventually did). When the series comes to the U.S., I recommend that audiences remain patient, for Episodes 3 & 4 are just lovely.

On Box Hill, the picnickers are hot, bothered, and peevish

At the end of the film, 16% of viewers still had some problems with Romola Garai, who was not universally liked, especially in the first few episodes, and with Laura Pyper, who portrayed Jane Fairfax as a mouse. I was not thrilled with Rupert Evans, and have yet to see an actor who I have as Frank Churchill. Though Rupert was suitably sleazy, he just did not look like the Frank of my imagination. See the results of the polls in this link with peoples' votes for the actors who portrayed the main characters.

The interiors are shot in a way that remind one of a Vermeer painting

Speaking of lovely, I pulled a few visuals. The scenes and settings are breathtaking, and among the best of the Emmas. Viewers who recently watched the series rated it overwhelmingly as their favorite Emma adaptation. (This could be because they have not seen the other versions.)

Emma's just rewards, her own Mr. Knightley

U.S. viewers can look forward to a January 24th airing on PBS Masterpiece Classic. For other lovely images, visit Laurel Ann's slide shows, which are breathtaking.

• Poll: Episode One
• Poll: Episode Two
• Poll: Episode Three
• Poll: Episode Four

• Slideshow One
• Slideshow Two
• Slideshow Three
• Slideshow Four

In this comic scene, the viewer knows that the real donkey Mrs. Elton is riding is not the obvious one.

Jonny Lee Miller Makes a Splash on Both Sides of the Pond

When you're hot, you're everywhere. This Sunday Jonny Lee Miller will appear in the last episode of Emma 2009 on BBC One. Viewers are warming up to his Mr. Knightley, and deservedly so. US fans will have to wait to see this visually lovely series for a few months more.

On the same day, across the pond in the US, Jonny will make an appearance in PBS's Masterpiece Contemporary in Endgame, a political thriller about negotiations that led to the end of apartheid in South Africa. Jonny plays a British businessman and negotiator, Michael Young.

Jonny also recently received fairly decent reviews from NY critics for his first appearance on Broadway in After Miss Julie. View a slide show and listen to Jonny in this New York Times podcast.

It seems that 2009 might well be his year. Read an interview with Jonny about beating his shyness to become an actor in Arts and Entertainment.

Emma 2009: Episode 3 Slideshow

Emma 2009 continues on BBC One in the UK with episode 3 which aired on Sunday, October 18th. This very different interpretation of Jane Austen's masterpiece has more than a few tongue's wagging. And shockingly, the ratings have plummeted! I feel for the BBC and its co-producers PBS, as I never like to see any Austen adaptation take a beating in the ratings, but it may be an indication that modern audiences do not like their Jane Austen adaptations tampered with. For all you non-UK viewers, you can check out a slideshow of episode 3 at Austenprose. The serial concludes next Sunday in the UK and I am hoping that the last installment will pull everything together and redeem all the blunders!

Cheers, Laurel Ann, Austenprose