Falling for Austen!
Spend your autumn with Austen
and Austen-inspired books and flicks.


Emma. Austen, Jane.
Emma Woodhouse is a wealthy, exquisite, and thoroughly self-deluded young woman who has "lived in the world with very little to distress or vex her." Thinking herself impervious to romance of any kind, Emma tries to arrange a wealthy marriage for poor Harriet, but refuses to recognize her own feelings for the gallant Mr. Knightley. What ensues is a delightful series of scheming escapades and delicious irony. Ultimately, Emma discovers that "Perfect happiness, even in memory, is not common."
The DVD stars Gwynth Paltrow and Toni Collette.

Pride and Prejudice. Austen, Jane.
'It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.' Austen's own 'darling child' tells the story of fiercely independent Elizabeth Bennet, one of five sisters who must marry rich, as she confounds the arrogant, wealthy Mr. Darcy. What ensues is one of the most delightful and engrossingly readable courtships known to literature, written by a precocious Austen when she was just twenty-one years old.
Try the movie version starring Kiera Knightly or the mini-series starring Colin Firth.

Persuasion. Austen, Jane.
Persuasion follows the romance of Anne Elliot and naval officer Frederick Wentworth. They were happily engaged until Anne’s friend, Lady Russell, persuaded her that Frederick was “unworthy.” Now, eight years later, Frederick returns, a wealthy captain in the navy, while Anne’s family teeters on the edge of bankruptcy. They still love each other, but their past mistakes threaten to keep them apart.
The DVD stars Amanda Root and Ciaran Hinds.

Mansfield Park. Austen, Jane.
True virtue triumph's over superficiality in this distinguished BBC production of Jane Austen's celebrated novel set in 18th century England. Young, impoverished Fanny Price arrives at the elegant estate of her uncle, Sir Thomas Bertram. Snubbed by Everyone except her cousin Edmund, she begins her long struggle for accceptance by her shallow relatives who believe wealth automatically means quality.
The British mini-series stars Sylvestra La Touzel and Bernard Hepton and is on video.

Sense and Sensibility. Austen, Jane.
With her mother and sisters, Elinor struggles financially after the death of her father, who bequeathed the Dashwood estate to his oafish son by an earlier marriage. While sorting out the family's affairs, the shy, self-sacrificing Elinor secretly falls for her stepbrother-in-law, Edward Ferrars. The grateful Dashwoods are offered a modest country home by family friends, which they accept. Once relocated, Elinor's brash, spirited sister Marianne falls for a dashing local, John Willoughby, a womanizer who nevertheless seems to share her affections.
The DVD is directed by Ang Lee and stars Emma Thompson, Kate Winslet, Hugh Grant and Alan Rickman.
 
And for Austen Inspired fiction...

The Dashwood Sisters Secrets of Love. Rushton, Rosie.
Their parents' divorce, followed by their father's remarriage and sudden death, have forced Dashwood sisters Ellie, Abby, and Georgie to leave their posh family estate for a hayseed burg--a transition that feels "like finding yourself in the middle of a Jane Austen novel."

Jane Austen in Scarsdale : or love, death, and the SATs. Cohen, Paula Marantz.
At age 21, Anne Ehr-lich was persuaded by her family to break up with her poverty-stricken boyfriend, Ben Cutler. Thirteen years later, Anne is working as a guidance counselor at a competitive high school when Ben, now the well-known founder of a travel guide series, walks back into her life.

Compiled from various reviews by Joy Foust. 8/06

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