Click here to watch a video about Chilham, the village in Kent where BBC One's new adaptation of Emma is being filmed. Old Fashioned Girl pointed us to a series of images from the set at this Republic of Pemberley link. 
Of seven Naxos audio books in my possession, five are read by Juliet Stevenson, the actress who so brilliantly portrayed Mrs. Elton in 1996’s Emma and whose comical performance as Keira Knightley’s cleavage loving mother in Bend it Like Beckham is my favorite character in the film.
In the interview, she mentions that her favorite Jane Austen novel is Sense and Sensibility and her least favorite is Pride and Prejudice (read by Emilia Fox, the actress who played Georgianna Darcy in the 1995 film adaptation of P&P). Juliet also enjoyed reading Emma, which she describes as delicious. “The structure is miraculous,” she adds. “[Emma’s] snobbery is completely unforgivable, but miraculously you are on her side.”
In her interview Juliet reveals why she likes reading for audio book: “You can play anything – an old man, a girl of seventeen. It is really liberating but it is also difficult.” Being able to take liberties with characterizations also attracts her to the medium. In order to be an effective reader she must know the heart and soul of the book, an experience Juliet found enriching.
Oh, yes, Little Dorrit had a purply happy ending that culminated in Arthur's and Amy's wedding. If you missed crucial episodes this past month, PBS Masterpiece Classic will be showing the series in its entirety online until May 3rd. Click here to watch Little Dorrit all over again. 
Most favorite minor character? In my estimation, Russell Tovey's interpretation of John Chivery as an earnest young man who could not hide his feelings for Amy was masterful. The tender love he expressed in a restrained but vulnerable way simply bowled me over, and the hurt he revealed as he escorted Arthur Clennam to the very same room where the Dorrits were incarcerated in the Marshalsea broke my heart. I will be following Russell's career as an actor with avid interest.
My second favorite minor character in this adaptation was Flora Finching. Poor deluded woman. Ruth Jones's sympathetic yet comic interpretation gave this sad character dignity. Yes she was pathetic, but she was sincere in her love for Arthur and good natured about having lost him to Amy. The fact that Flora was based on a real relationship in Dickens's life made Flora an even more interesting character to my mind. Keen observers will recall Ruth as Mrs. Durbeyfield, Tess's mother, in Tess of the D'Urbervilles. 
Mrs. Bennet, Pride and Prejudice
Mr. Woodhouse, Emma
Don't forget to watch the final installment of Little Dorrit on PBS's Masterpiece Classic this Sunday (April 26) at 8 p.m. Believe it or not, all the loose ends will be tied up and most of your questions will be answered. And, yes, there is a happy ending when all is said and done.
Inquiring Readers,
Rejoice Austen movie fans! April 14th was a monumental day heralding the release of the digitally restored Blu-ray edition of Pride and Prejudice (1995) and Lost in Austen (2008) Region 1 release in North America.
Old muddy DVD quality
The trick is; do you have a Blu-ray player? They are not cheap and you must have an HD capable television to enjoy the benefits. I am not a techie, so you can get the lowdown on an industry review and the geeky stuff here. You can see by the before and after pictures what a remarkable job that they did restoring the original film negatives. It is not as fabulous as new movies on Blu-ray, but it is probably the best we will see for a while, or maybe ever! In addition to the two disc set of all five episodes, brand new bonus materials including a fascinating short film about the technical restoration process. Have fun, and enjoy!
Our Jane, no shy retiring spinster, created a Facebook page that you can join. Click here to view it. She also has a page on My Space, and offers a newsfeed on Austenbook where her many characters and friends can leave comments. Oh, how droll and delightful! Is there no end to Jane's talents?
Inquiring readers,
As you can see from this image, even Mary Bennet has been turned into a babe 21st Century Style. And what's with the vampira lipstick?
Mr. Darcy
Captain Wentworth
Elinor Dashwood
Marianne Dashwood
The Jane Austen Centre has announced the nominees of the 2009 Jane Austen Regency World Awards today. There are some interesting selections of actors, adaptations and books to choose from, and a new category the Best Ever Mr. Darcy. *cough* David Rintoul. No influence intended!
In a Daily Mail Interview, "Sir Tom Courtenay calls her 'a wonderful discovery'. Matthew Macfadyen says she's 'no less than brilliant.' The trade magazine Screen International lists her as one to watch and Vogue tips her as this autumn's brightest star." Twenty-four-year-old Claire was chosen to play the plummy role of Amy Dorrit less than a year out of drama school. Her vulnerable face and delicate acting style are a perfect combination to play a heroine who has never known life outside Marshalsea debtor's prison. Click here for a video interview with Claire Foy. For our reviews of the film, click on the links below. Catch episodes you missed online at this PBS Masterpiece Classic link.
Vic's reviews:
Giveaway!
Christine Sweetman Photography: Christine works in Totes, Devon, "a beautiful market and ancient Saxon town with its own castle." For a photographer, the location must be ideal. One day, Christine took photos of a Jane Austen group, who seemed to have a lot of fun putting on their costumes. As a client later wrote, "When once we had all been transported to the late 18th century, we took our places in the drawing room, lit the candles, served imaginary tea, prompted each other to exhibit proper demeanours." They were thrilled with the results. Wouldn't you be too? Click on Gallery to see more regency era photographs.
A Review and Guide on a Regency Wardrobe for a Lady: This succinct guide of a Regency Lady's wardrobe is surprisingly quite comprehensive. The author discusses underwear, day wear, evening wear, and accessories, and creates a list of necessities for those who would like to assemble their own regency costume.
British actress Romola Garai (Atonement, Daniel Deronda) will star as the "handsome, clever and rich" Emma Woodhouse in BBC One’s new production of Jane Austen’s comedic masterpiece Emma. The four hour miniseries adapted by Sandy Welch will be filmed on location in Kent and Surry and will air in the UK next autumn. There is a good chance that it will be picked up by PBS for its Masterpiece Classic season next winter, so keep your fingers crossed.
Mr. Edward Ferrars, Sense and Sensibility
Mr. Edmund Bertram, Mansfield Park
Inquiring readers,
have issues with this concept and vomit, which is a subtext of the book. My rating system goes as follows:
Rosemary’s and Henry Tilney’s Baby – Inspiration: Northanger Abbey and Rosemary’s Baby
The book opens with Catherine Morland feeling she is the luckiest woman alive in England. She has married her Mr. Tilney, who turns out to be as witty in bed as out of it. Better yet, General Tilney died of apoplexy upon hearing that his son was to wed her, and Captain Tilney died in a duel over cheating at cards, making Catherine the mistress of Northanger Abbey. She has spent her days and nights dismantling General Tilney’s improvements, including the Rumford fireplace, and returning Northanger Abey to its Gothic, spider-webbed origins. One day Catherine follows the sound of mewling down a long, dark, and dank corridor. Opening a creaking door, she enters a redecorated space that is light and airy and (quelle horreur) modern. Catherine approaches a cradle and peeks inside. She gasps when she sees the baby – a miniature Henry, only with yellow slanted eyes, two horn buds sprouting from its forehead, and cloven feet. Catherine doesn’t know which emotion affects her more: the one of betrayal or disappointment that the nursery has been remodeled in the modern neoclassical style.
Willoughby’s Tell-Tale Heart – Inspiration: Sense and Sensibility and The Tell-Tale Heart
After Willoughby’s rejection, Marianne Dashwood falls ill. When she awakens from her fever, she overhears Willoughby reveal to Elinor that he loves Marianne but that he has no choice but to marry for money. The knowledge takes the poor girl over the edge. While everyone is asleep, a still weakened Marianne sneaks out of the house, rides to Comb Magnum, creeps into Willoughby’s bedroom and stabs him in the heart as he lies snoring. She cuts out his still beating heart, wanting something of Willoughby to remember him by. Marianne tries to live a normal life and agrees to marry Colonel Brandon. But not once can she take her mind off Willoughby (whose murder goes unsolved), or his heart, which has now shriveled and dessicated to 1/10th its size. Regardless, she can hear it beating 24/7. Desperate to get away from the sound, Marianne encases the organ in a cement box and buries it under the floorboards in a hole in the basement, but the constant thump thump thump of Willoughby’s heart drives her wild. Colonel Brandon, not knowing what is wrong with his crazed bride, tries to tempt her with sweetmeats and poetry and lovemaking. One day, a wild-eyed Marianne hands the colonel a small cement box.”There”, she cries out. “There is Willoughby’s beating heart!” Upon opening the box, the colonel sees only a shriveled up prune and has his wife committed.
Dr. Jekyll and Fanny Price – Inspiration: Mansfield Park and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Angered that Fanny has attracted the attentions of rich Henry Crawford, Mrs. Norris arranges for Dr. Jekyll to create a potion that will turn the sweet girl into a vicious and nasty harridan. Unbeknownst to Dr. Jekyll as he was making the potion, drops of Mrs. Norris’s sweat plopped into the boiling cauldron as she watched him stir it, infusing her evil personality into the liquid. After Fanny drinks some tea (which to her mind was foul and bitter, but which she politely sipped anyway), she feels Mrs. Norris's anger and spite invade her bloodstream. While she remains sweet and tractable during the day, she turns loathsome at night, waking the servants at all hours to do her bidding, clean every nook and cranny in the house, and muck out the stalls. One by one the staff drop dead from exhaustion or quit, unable to perform double duty without a moment’s rest. While Edmund is turned off by the new Fanny, Henry is enthralled with her transformation, for he had harbored some doubts that she’d be capable of overseeing the staff of his houses. Servants come a dime a dozen, but a capable wife comes only once in a lifetime.
Persuading Moby – Inspiration: Persuasion and Moby Dick
Captain Wentworth and his new bride Anne are sailing the high seas on his fine boat as they ply the waters defending England’s shores from pirates, boot-leggers, and invasions. Anne revels in her life on board ship, loving the rocking motion of both the boat and marital bed. Then one day Captain Wentworth spies a white whale and Anne’s life changes. Her husband becomes obsessed, wanting to hunt the whale down and kill it, for, as he tells his bride, albinos lead a tough life out in the wild. They can’t camouflage their color and hide from danger. “We might as well put the poor creature out of its misery,” he gallantly says. But the whale, whom Anne had secretly named Moby, was not easily persuaded to swim within catching distance. The captain, consumed by his obsession, begins to neglect Anne. After a few weeks of putting up with the Captain’s distraction and lack of amorous advances, Anne decides to take matters into her own hands. She commandeers a rowboat and heads towards the whale, who, not scared of a puny boat with a mere woman in it, stays around long enough to listen. This provides Anne with ample time to persuade Moby to leave under cover of night and go blow his blowhole elsewhere.
Bride of FrankChurchillStein – Inspiration: Emma and Bride of Frankenstein
Jane Fairfax is no longer beautiful, having fallen asleep in her tester bed waiting for Frank to return from a night of gambling, carousing, and drinking. The spark from a sputtering candle ignited the bedsheets, burning the house down and rendering poor Jane lifeless and burnt crisp to the bone. Frank, distraught and feeling guilty for neglecting his long-suffering bride, directs a dissipated priest to unearth Jane from her grave and return her to him by enacting an undead ritual he found in an ancient Egyptian manuscript. Jane does indeed come back to life, but she is not quite herself, looking more like a roasted quail than a human. Angry that Frank yanked her out of Heaven to resume her life of living hell with him, she extracts her revenge with cool and deliberate calculation, murdering all of Frank’s cronies and mistresses. Frank, desperate to undo the spell, discovers to his horror that Jane has killed the priest. Frank sinks into despair knowing his cushy days of debauchery are over for as long as his reconstituted Jane roams the earth.
Posted by Vic, Jane Austen's World. Read all our Pride and Prejudice and Zombies posts at this link.
Gentle Readers: We are happy to welcome author Kathryn Nelson today to chat about her new Jane Austen inspired book, Pemberley Manor: Darcy and Elizabeth, for better or for worse. This continuation of Pride and Prejudice is a new twist on the story of Darcy and Lizzy after the nuptials. It has received solid reviews and was nominated for Best New Fiction in 2007 by the Jane Austen Regency World Awards. It is an engaging tale that not only reveals the story of their new life at Pemberley, reuniting us with many familiar characters, but introduces an intriguing psychological subtext for one of the main characters.
Thanks again for the opportunity to join you on this beautiful site. I look forward to your comments or questions.
Images of the sets used in the recent film adaptation, like the ones below, came from this interesting site: Trine Taraldsvik - Props and Dressing
This Saturday, TCM will be airing the 1988 Jacobi/Guinness version of Little Dorrit in two parts.