August is for Austen
First up is the new non-fiction book AMONG THE JANEITES: A Journey Through the World of Jane Austen
Fandom by Deborah Yaffe which an enjoyable look at the Jane Austen fans who
read her books religiously, belong to JASNA, love to wear the regency clothes, the
very people that the new movie AUSTENLAND lovingly spoofs. Along the way, she meets a Florida lawyer
with a byzantine theory about hidden subtexts in the novels, a writer of Austen
fan fiction who found her own Mr. Darcy while reimagining Pride and Prejudice,
and a lit professor whose roller-derby nom de skate is Stone Cold Jane Austen. Yaffe does a nice job of inviting the reader
on her own personal journey with Jane Austen as well as the world at
large. My only quibbles with the book
are that I wish she had gotten a chance to interview the creators of The Lizzie
Bennett Diaries, or to examine a bit more of the explosion of Jane Austen
sequels, prequels and alternative novels such as Lynn Shepherd’s MURDER AT
MANSFIELD PARK or Stephanie Barron’s Jane Austen mystery series. Most of the authors that she spoke went the
self-publishing route although some were picked up by Sourcebooks who were the foremost
publishers of Jane Austen paraliterature.
I took exception also to her calling some of the writers hacks. Given
how much time it takes to write a novel, and to get someone to publish it, I
think they should be patted on the back.
I did love that she spoke to the founders of The Republic of
Pemberley. I remember when I was first
started re-reading the books and watching the various TV miniseries, the
Republic of Pemberley was the only community where you could discuss the novels
and Miss Austen. I also loved that she
focused on the early bloggers who focused not just on Jane Austen but her world
as well. If would have been nice if she
had also mentioned the Channel 4 series REGENCY HOUSE PARTY as well. All in all though, it was a lovely book and a
love letter to Jane Austen. This book would
be a nice companion to Claire Harman’s earlier book JANE’S FAME: How Jane
Austen conquered the world.
Last night I went to see a screening the film adaptation of
Shannon Hale’s AUSTENLAND starring one of my favorite actresses Keri Russell as
Jane Hayes. I haven’t read the book on
which the film is based. I do remember picking it up when it came out in 2007
in the bookstore but I put it down because I have a love /hate relationship
with Jane Austen fan fiction. I did enjoy Laurie Viera RIgler’s book
CONFESSIONS OF A JANE AUSTEN ADDICT which is more of a time travel novel. Having now seen the film, I’m not sure that I
want to go back and read the novel. The
film was cute and very well cast, the costumes were stunning particularly some
of the ensembles that Jane Seymour wore as well as Keri Russell, the stately manor was to die for, but there
was something off about the film and I can’t quite put my finger on what it
was.
Perhaps it was the secondary characters in the film. Jennifer Coolidge plays a variation on the
usual over-sexed, not very bright woman of a certain age that she always plays.
I wasn’t quite sure why she was even at
Austenland to tell the truth, since she didn’t know anything about Jane Austen
nor had she read any of the books. Jane
Seymour plays the owner of Austenland but again I wasn’t sure what the purpose
of her starting the project was about and if it was to capitalize on the craze
for all things Austen she did a pretty slap-dash job of it. JJ Feild plays Henry Nobley who is the Darcy
character of the piece. He’s handsome but not too handsome, and he
wears the costumes well. I did like his
eventual backstory when it was revealed.
There were some amusing scenes showing the behind the scenes
shenanigans with the actors who are participating in the week at Austenland,
and it was amusing that Keri Russell’s character bought the cheapest package so
she has to ride on the outside of the carriage and stay in the servant’s quarters. They changed the impetus for her going to Austenland. In the book, her great-aunt books her the trip. In the movie, Jane decides to book the trip so that she can get over her Austen obsession once and for all. I have to say that I liked this change because it made Jane more active. She knows that she has a problem and she's trying to deal with it. Of course, she has a sassy but wise best friend who constantly berates her about how she's wasting her life dreaming about Darcy. No romantic comedy would be worth it's salt without the down to earth best friend.
I did enjoy the film but I’m not sure that it
was worth paying $14.50 for it. It’s more
the type of thing that you would expect to see on the Hallmark Channel or
Lifetime. I did like that the movie was
written, directed and produced by women.
Shannon Hale co-authored the screenplay with the director Jerusha Hess,
and the film is produced by one Stephanie Meyer who wrote a little trilogy
about vampires. I would suggest that
unless you really are dying to see this movie on the big screen, I would wait
and rent it when it comes out on DVD or watch in on-demand.
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