My kind of fan fiction

I recently listened to a Bookrageous podcast about fan fiction the other day. I hadn't really ever considered fan fiction other than what my son Luke tells me about the ever expansive universe that is Star Wars. I prefer my Star Wars to contain only Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, and Princess Leia. I really don't care about the back story of Boba Fett. I don't want anyone messing with the Harry Potter universe, but yet there is all kind of fan fiction about Hogwarts. There's fan fic that imagines Harry Potter without the epilogue in the final book. I originally thought that fan fiction was really relegated to the world of DC and Marvel Comics and science fiction geeks, but I learned something. There is fan fiction for everything! What is fan fiction? It's stories written by fans about characters or settings of the original work.

So, I may not be comfortable with all the re-imagined universes of other favorite books and characters, but I'm excited about almost all Austen-inspired fiction. I suppose I prefer a re-imagining of the original tale vs. a story that moves Austen's characters in a different trajectory. Longbourn, a recent book club selection has a shifted narrative of the story. While the elements of Pride and Prejudice remain the same, it's vantage point is from the help.

This is my recent book club selection. It's Pride and Prejudice from the perspective of the help. Think Downton Abbey meets Austen. 

So, I realized that I'm steeped deeply in the world of Jane Austen Fan Fiction. I never read Austen in either high school or college, but shortly after graduating from college, I realized what I had been missing. The first Jane Austen novel I read was Emma. I remember being delighted by the Gwyneth Paltrow's Emma  in 1996.

  Are you surprised that it wasn't the Colin Firth Pride and Prejudice mini-series that made me mad for Austen?

I'm pretty sure this is the reason that most women decided that Austen was irresistible. It's this iconic Darcy-in-a-wet-shirt scene.

 Emma was the reason I fell in love with all things Jane Austen in the first place. I proceeded to read all her novels and collect multiple editions of Pride and Prejudice and Emma.

Can I just say how much more I prefer Mr Knightley to Mr Darcy?

                                         Then, there were a slew of Austen-inspired movies.

As if!

Fox Books. F-O-X.

Mark Darcy!

This adaptation of Pride and Prejudice transported to India is just lovely.

The Jane Austen Book Club. The movie is WAY better than the book.

Just when you didn't think we needed another adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, we kinda did and while not fan fiction, I'm sure this new movie rekindled the Austen imagination. So, in 2005, a feature length P&P was released and guess what? The new Mr. Darcy grew on me. 

The trend continues today. Last weekend, I watched Austenland based on the novel of the same name by Shannon Hale. Remember, I'll read anything Austen-related. (Well, almost anything.) I remember thinking that the book was just so-so, but I thought it might make a delightful movie. As it turns out, the movie is so-so as well, but it did make me think about how much Austen has impacted our culture.

When Austenland landed in theaters several months back, my friends and I made plans to go to see it wearing Regency gowns. It never happened, but that doesn't mean I haven't paraded around Bath, England wearing a Regency gown during the Jane Austen Festival. Because I have! Yup. I'm that girl.

Anyway, I'll continue to read a lot of Austen-inspired fiction. I have read two (yes, 2!) YA novels that re-imagine Pride and Prejudice in the modern high school. Of course, you're dying to know the titles so that you can read them too, right?? Right? Okay, it might just be me, but these books were cute and just fun.

I have a whole shelf dedicated to Austen-related fiction on Goodreads. Check out my Austen-pastiche shelf.













So, yes, I love fan fiction. I just happen to love my particular brand of fan fiction.

Tess reads Pride & Prejudice!

Yes, you read that right. My two year-old daughter is getting a head start reading Austen. Okay, I stumbled upon this delightful board book at the library this past week. It's a counting book in which she can count fancy ball gowns, marriage proposals, English villages and more. I think I'm going to have to buy Tess her own copy just because it's so darling and well, funny too. This just might be my favorite board book in a very long time!

My birthday cake

I've been wanting to post pictures of my birthday cake forever now and I'm just now having the energy to do it. I know.  My birthday was in August, but I really wanted to post pics of this cake even if it's November.  Remember this post?  Well, I had almost forgotten it myself.  So, imagine my surprise when my best friend Stephanie surprised me with this beautiful cake.  I have to say that it's even prettier than the one in the movie. 

The new Emma

At first, I didn't really think we needed a new film version of Emma. Actually, I still don't think we need another Emma, but I'm happy that we do have one. I went ahead and pre-ordered the new mini-series from Amazon and I rarely, if ever, buy movies. I figured that I'd want to have this one on hand for cold weather and cozy knitting and I was right. I watched it this last weekend and although I don't like it as much as the 1996 Gwyneth Paltrow version, I did like this one very much. It's so bright and cheery. There's so much color and I did like this new Mr. Knightley.

On a side note, I wonder why Mr. Darcy always gets so much attention when it's Mr. Knightley who's the most appealing man in all of Jane Austen's novels.

Overall, I enjoyed it immensely even if it's a little less funny and charming than the Gwyneth Paltrow version. Oh, I definitely prefer Ewan McGregor as Frank Churchill than the new Frank (I don't know his name.) By the way, does anyone out there prefer the Kate Beckinsale version of Emma? I think that one came out at nearly the same time as Gwyneth's, but I really didn't like it very much and I only saw it the one time while I've seen Gwyneth's too many times to count. Anyway, Romola Garai makes a fine Emma and it's immensely enjoyable. It's beautifully filmed and the color is just so rich. Just grab some tea and knitting and enjoy a cozy afternoon!

All things Austen

Am I crazy? I don't really need another reading challenge, but it's hard to pass up an Austen-themed challenge. I wish the challenge started a few weeks ago because then I could include the top two books on my list. I recently read Enthusiasm and Jane Austen Ruined My Life, which I really didn't like all that much I might add, but I tend to read anything Jane Austen related. Anyway, so far, I have five Austen-themed books and/0r movies on the list. It won't be difficult to find a sixth. I admit that I've seen Bride and Prejudice many times, but I love it. It's like Grease meets Pride and Prejudice and it's just so much fun. I realize that I had posted about Austenland by Shannon Hale a while back, but I didn't get around to reading it then. So, it's on the list now. I have a couple of ideas for my sixth selection and I'll post it later.

The Secret Garden

Recently, we finished listening to The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. I then checked out several film adaptations of the book and yesterday being a snowy day, we decided to watch the Hallmark Hall of Fame version. Let me just say that I have not really seen a truly good adaptation of this classic children's book. I like for Luke to see how film adpatations change things, add things or leave things out from the books. Now, I understand that film cannot truly capture a book because books and films are two very different mediums. There are very few instances in my experience where the movie is better or at least as good as the book. Well, this film opens with a grown-up Mary Lennox returning to her beloved garden and that's when I realize that this story will be told as a flashback. In this version, Mary Lennox and Colin Craven are not cousins. I wondered why such a big deal was made until I made the connection with the film's flashback device. At the end of the film, we return to the grown-up Mary Lennox enjoying the garden and then, the appearance of the adult Colin (played by a very young Colin Firth, by the way). Anyway, Colin then proposes to Mary in their garden and we learn that Dicken has recently died. I suppose the essence of the story is there, but I was still a little disappointed. Well, next up:
the 1975 BBC version of The Secret Garden. We'll see how they compare.

By the way,
Here's my pick for a superior book adaptation: Emma Thompson's 1995 Sense and Sensibility with Emma Thompson, Hugh Grant and Kate Winslet.

Jane Austen overload

Okay, I've been reading some light and fluffy stuff over the summer. I just finished reading Me and Mr. Darcy about a young woman who just wants to find a decent man like, well, Mr. Darcy and then finds herself in a modern day Pride and Prejudice except that it takes her a while to catch on. I also read Jane Austen's Guide to Dating not because I need advice, but because it was referenced in another book I was reading earlier this summer. I just received Austenland as a birthday gift and I checked out Jane Austen in Scarsdale on the recommendation of my friend Jennifer. I've also managed to watch Persuasion, Pride & Prejudice (with Colin Firth) and Pride & Prejudice (with Keira Knightley) in the past few weeks and this from the girl who most of the time doesn't have the attention span for movies. Well, obviously, there are exceptions! But seriously, it's time for a little less Jane Austen and time for more planning for Luke's third grade year. More to come on that. There's still a little summer left!

Do you remember this?

I mentioned in this post that I was excited to see Becoming Jane. Well, I did get to see it and overall it was enjoyable, but not outstanding. I came across this review
and it pretty much sums up how I felt about the film.

Girls Gone Mild

More to come on these books...

Finally! A movie I actually want to see