More on the Jane Austen Extreme Makeover

A few more articles surfaced in reference to the makeover Jane Austen received for the new Wordsworth Edition of the J.E. Austen-Leigh Memoir. Kathryn Hughes points out that this sort of thing has happened before:

A few years ago, I published a biography of George Eliot. Now, if Austen was average looking, it’s only fair to say that Eliot was a bit of a dog: a huge nose, mannish chin and crumbling teeth did not make for a great look.

When it came to deciding on a cover for the book, my publishers gave me no option: there was one passable portrait of Eliot, painted by a man who probably had a crush on her, which would form the basis of the cover image. Even then, the image would be touched up: out came the Bobbi Brown lipstick again, not to mention a bit of Touche Eclat. By the end, she looked like a proper princess.

Barbara Ellen writes that biofilms of famous authors do pretty much the same thing–and worse. (Thanks to Alert Janeite Rob Hardy for the link.)

If even the literary establishment thinks one of its biggest female hitters is a dog, what hope does Austen, or any ‘ordinary woman’, have in Hollywood? Of course, what used to happen quite a lot was a reworking of the madonna-whore routine, sexing everything up to ludicrous degrees (recall, if you will, Jennifer Jason Leigh panting her way through Mrs Parker and the Vicious Circle). However, this doesn’t seem to be the case with Zellweger or Hathaway. Rather, in a direct reversal of ‘sexing’ prominent women up, Hollywood appears to have taken to toning them down, rebranding them (or should one say re-blanding?) as wispy, likable, ‘fragrant’ characters. All resulting in less a reworking of a woman’s life story and character than a near-evaporation.

At thespoof.com, they get downright silly.

“Look, I don’t want to offend any feminists out there…” said Helen Trayler of Wordsworth, “… but Mr. Darcy wouldn’t have given this chick a second look. She’s just dog-ugly. So, we decided the best way to start the true book of her life was to lie on the front cover.”

Colin Firth was asked to look at the original picture, with his insight into Mr Darcy, and to give an honest opinion.

“They say you can’t judge a book by it’s cover. But how can you not when the woman was so clearly covered with ugliness?” Said Firth.*

Hilarious. We’re rolling on the floor here.

*Disclaimer: We’re quite certain Mr. Firth said no such thing–that piece is meant as a parody.