Tuesday Open Thread: Wednesday Edition
Welcome to Tuesday Open Thread, now with more delicious Wednesday! Last night we were too busy and tired to post even an open thread, and not much else is going on, so have it a day late. For those of you who are just here for the zombies, in our weekly open thread we highlight stories that don’t quite rate a full post but that we thought our readers might find interesting nonetheless.
Across the pond, some bright young things won the 2009 Fully Booked Trophy literature competition by answering questions about (among other books) Jane Austen’s novels. Well played, ladies and gentlemen!
This doesn’t really have anything to do with Jane Austen, but we were amused by a review of the new TV show Southlands last week on Open Salon. Take out the police procedure and insert bonnets and pigs in the kitchen, and it could have been us snarking a couple of recent films. There even are complaints about the costumes. Think anyone will call him an Uptight Cop Purist?
Something else that doesn’t have anything to do with Jane, but we think she might have approved of a certain proud gentleman getting his comeuppance for incorrectly judging a book by its cover.
And if you’re still grooving on the zombies, have a bit of old-school Austen mashup: Lizzy the Vampire Slayer. Back in the day, this story had your Editrix desperately reloading the DWG every morning checking for a new chapter. Pray note the date stamp: 1998. We Uptight Janeite Purists have been having meta fun with Jane for a long time; the rest of the world is just catching up!
Remember, this is an open thread! What’s new in your patch of Janeiteville?
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Thanks for the Vampire Slayer link—clever so far. I haven’t yet taken the plunge on Zombies—the bookstores are out of copies, so I’ll have to get it online.
Here in Italy, where all the news about Jane Austen arrive from abroad, we are lucky enough to have 3 movies broadcasted on the channels of the Sky platform.
“The Jane Austen Book Club” and “Becoming Jane” in Italian on Sky 1, “Jane Austen Regrets” in English on BBC PRIME.
Check your “Sky Life” magazine for the programme’s times.
Loredana
WOW!! That singer, Susan Boyle!!! Just fantastic.
Hope she has some success or the other after this.
First, I just have to say: it shouldn’t take a gorgeous voice (which is what Susan Boyle has) to prevent people from laughing her or anyone. It shouldn’t, but apparently it does. Anyone else find that dismaying? Sorry, but I just had to get that off my chest…
Now, on a lighter note (and one of shameless self-promotion), I’m reading Pemberley Shades by D.A. Bonavia-Hunt and chronicling my reading experience on my blog. I’d be pleased to have visitors if you want to stop by!
While greatly enjoying Little Dorrit on Masterpiece, Amy and Arthur have at times made me think of Fanny Price and Edmund Bertram.
Rosa: Yes! I’ve been thinking that Claire Foy (is that her name?) would have been a good (non-feisty) Fanny Price.
Mags: Yes, it is Claire Foy.
Hopefully we’ll see a lot more of her in the future. I, too, can see her as (a more faithful to the book) Fanny Price. Too bad it will likely be 10 years until the next adaptation of MP comes around.
*pouts* I wish it would take less than ten years. I’ve started to think that the only way MP would be done correctly is if one enterprising Janeite takes initiative
jemima-p, I agree with you. I thought it was terrible the way the audience laughed and the judges scoffed before she began to sing. And if she had not been a wonderful singer, they would have humiliated and destroyed her on television, in front of that huge audience. I know that is the way of such shows, and that is why I don’t watch them, but I am so happy she made them eat crow.
We have a decent MP 1983. It’s NA that I want an enterprising Janeite to take a stab at. We basically don’t have any good versions of that book to film.
The 1983 MP is the best of the three versions IMHO. I was pleased to discover that my library just got that version on DVD.
Sylvia, I agree that MP 1983 is the best we’ve seen so far, but I’m still hoping for a newer version that gets it right. My cassette tapes look washed out in this age of digital clarity… (Hint hint to all the directors and producers out there.)
As for NA, we only have two choices, and I gladly go with the 2007 version (though being a dutiful Janeite, I own the other).
I’m reading “Two Guys Read Jane Austen” which is not laugh-out-loud funny as I had expected. But it’s not half-a$$, as they are two well-read guys who frequently refer to other authors and JA biographic material they read for this project. They are reading P&P and MP, and they also watched various movie versions of each with their wives.
The Guys are super impressed with JA’s masterful wordsmithing skill, which they think is far underrated by various critics. They think it was brilliant to have Lady Bertram pipe up and tell Henry Crawford (when he is openly courting Fanny), “You have a great turn for acting, I am sure, Mr. Crawford…” (Vol. 3, Chapter III 34) The Guys read much more meaning into that than I ever did, and they conclude that it was brilliant to have Lady B utter the line from her perpetual stupor, giving it more meaning and impact than if any other character in the room had said it. Hmmmm.
Another of their ideas that sticks with me is that Mary Crawford is Elizabeth Bennett’s evil twin — Lizzy without a conscience. Both MC and EB are outspoken and opinionated, but EB knows deep down what is right and wrong. That comparison had also evaded me. So perhaps “Two Guys” is a better book than I think. Double hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.
I like that about Lady Bertram, Deb R. Never noticed it that way before.
The audience initially rejected Susan Boyle because of her appearance and comments. When she began to sing, however, she suddenly had great value in their eyes. How shallow our culture can be. It makes me think of scenes in “Mansfield Park.”
Darcy in my mailbox today! P&P Blue-ray. Austen rush. Overshadowed by Susan Boyle who had me bawling. Watched it several times. Still bawling. One of those life stopping moments when we are lifted out of ourselves in wonder and awe. Lived a few years. Seen a few things. But moments like that are rare.
If anyone is interested, I’ve posted the talk on Jane Austen I gave last night at the Northfield Public Library, as part of National Library Week celebrations. The title is “Disappointment: A Jane Austen Tour.” Part of the talk appeared here on AustenBlog as a guest blog post (on Stoneleigh Abbey) a couple of years ago.
Rob, great post! I heartily encourage everyone to go read it – NOW.
And this sentence is the succinctly PERFECT summary of Northanger Abbey: “Arguably, the entire novel is about not seeing what you expect to see.” I’ve never heard it put that way, and all I can say is WOW!
I’ll have to think a little more on your idea that JA’s constant theme is “disappointment.”
Pride and Prejudice is mentioned in a post called Uncomfortable Plot Summaries. It is summed up as “Woman with gold-digging mother nags wealthy man into marriage.” Made me smile.
The only thing worse than Mrs Bennet as a mother in law would be lady catherine.Walter Elliot would be loads of laughs.