Book Review: Death Comes to Pemberley

From Goodreads: The year is 1803, and Darcy and Elizabeth have been married for six years. There are now two handsome and healthy sons in the nursery, Elizabeth's beloved sister Jane and her husband Bingley live nearby and the orderly world of Pemberley seems unassailable. But all this is threatened when, on the eve of the annual autumn ball, the guests are preparing to retire for the night when a chaise appears, rocking down the path from Pemberley's wild woodland. As it pulls up, Lydia Wickham - Elizabeth's younger, unreliable sister - stumbles out screaming that her husband has been murdered. Inspired by a lifelong passion for the work of Jane Austen, PD James masterfully recreates the world of Pride and Prejudice, and combines it with the excitement and suspense of a brilliantly-crafted crime story. Death Comes to Pemberley is a distinguished work of fiction, from one of the best-loved, most- read writers of our time.

Thoughts: Having recently come to discover the joy that is Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, I was curious to see what other authors could do with it. Let's face it, one  of the biggest problems with finishing a well loved book is the want, even the need to know what happens next! Do they live happily ever after? Do they have children? Does everyone else come to terms with the fact that Darcy married not only a woman who was seen as beneath him, but also appeared to hate him? So many questions!!
And yes, they were mostly answered, but as to whether it was satisfactory or not may be up for debate. For me, this lacked...something. The plot trudged along, neither slackening it's pace or picking up. Elizabeth seemed to have lost some of her fierce independent mindedness that I loved in the original. Darcy was a little lacklustre too, although Lydia and Wickham lived up to expectations.
If you're a fan of P&P, by all means read it. Just don't expect to fall in love with it or with James' interpretation of the characters. 

Pride and Prejudice Wrap Up Post!

Welcome to the end!

Today is the last day of winter and therefore the deadline for the Pride and Prejudice Challenge! So here's how it went for me.

First off I watched the Keira Knightley movie.

As I've said before, I struggle with the classics and always do better when I know what is going on. Otherwise I find myself fighting the language to understand the story.

I didn't mind this movie - it was OK, but then I watched the BBC production.

This was superior in every way. Longer, but covers the whole story and the acting was vastly improved (even if Mrs Bennet did drive me completely mad!) As for Colin Frith as Darcy - now that was swoon worthy!

Hmmmm...eye candy...

My recommendation? If you want to watch Pride and Prejudice, take the extra time and go the BBC version.

Next to finished was the book.

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this. I have started to understand the fuss made about Jane Austen. Dare I say, I can even imagine re-reading this...voluntarily. I love the way Austen managed to write strong female characters in a time when women were not meant to be strong and independent minded. I also love how she had male characters who found that trait to be attractive.

And finally, the modern day adaptation, The Lizzie Bennet Diaries.

This was really well done. I think knowing the original storyline made it more enjoyable and interesting. I'm not sure I'd recommend it to someone who had not at least seen the BBC version or read the book. This covered the whole story and if you were simply relying on the movie, there is too much storyline you would be confused about, where it came from and how it fit in.

So there you have it, my Pride and Prejudice wrap up. Did you take part? What did you watch/ read? Have you done a wrap up post? I'd love to know what others have done, so please post a link below!

P&P Challenge: Lizzie Bennet Diaries

So my final task for the P&P challenge was The Lizzie Bennet Diaries. The LBD (as it will be known from here on in!) is a modern day adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. It's presented as a video blog (or vlog) by Lizzie Bennet, about her life.

I think LBD may have been the catalyst for the whole challenge. It's the first time I've ever watched anything like this, but I can see the appeal and can imagine the form of media has the potential to become huge. Since I didn't watch it live, I didn't get into the transmedia side of things - so I didn't get the characters Twittering or Instagraming or stuff like that. (Thank you to Miss Dove for explaining what Transmedia was!) LBD also spawned spin offs such as Lydia Bennet's vlog and Sandition.
It was really interesting to see how they adapted the story to modern day ideals. I mean really, no modern audience was going to give a toss if Lydia and Wickham ran off to shack up together. The scenario they came up with for that part of the story was extremely well done and fitted the overall tone of the show well.
I think it would have been better to watch it as it was released - too much at once did lead to a little bit of LBD overload!
It has also spawned a new adaptation of Emma, called EmmaApproved. Miss Dove over at Little White Dove, has come up with the Emma Challenge. I have, of course, signed up!
As for now, all I can call the P&P Challenge complete! Yay!

Book Review: Pride and Prejudice

From Goodreads: "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife."

So begins Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen's witty comedy of manners--one of the most popular novels of all time--that features splendidly civilized sparring between the proud Mr. Darcy and the prejudiced Elizabeth Bennet as they play out their spirited courtship in a series of eighteenth-century drawing-room intrigues. Renowned literary critic and historian George Saintsbury in 1894 declared it the "most perfect, the most characteristic, the most eminently quintessential of its author's works," and Eudora Welty in the twntieth century described it as "irresistible and as nearly flawless as any fiction could be."

Thoughts: Yay! I finished! And ahead of time! As you may or may not recall, I was reading this as part of a challenge I set back in May. The idea was to have read the book by the end of August, but I found I was losing momentum by sticking to a timeline so in the end I just kept reading until I was done!
It was worth it. As I got closer to the end, I got more and more engrossed .I knew what was going to happen (I'd watched the Keira Knightly movie and the BBC production), but I wanted to know how Austen had written it. In the end I loved it. I still don't find the classics easy to read, but knowing the story via movies or television definitely makes it easier and makes me stress less about the language.
I've also finished the last part of the challenge - watching the Lizzie Bennet Diaries  - but that's another post! In the meantime, I've signed up to Miss Dove's Emma Challenge. Bring it on!

Challenges: eBook challenge, P&P challenge

Pride and Prejudice update

Remember the Pride and Prejudice challenge I set? Well it's going along swimmingly.

Car over at End'o the Road come up with a rather wonderful schedule to follow to make sure the book and Lizzie Bennett Diaries are read and viewed by the end. I've adopted it - no reason to do the hard work when it's already done for you! Thanks Car!

Car's wonderful schedule that I have adopted with love.

I'm up to date on the book, but behind on Lizzie Bennett...

I have also managed to watch the second production of Pride and Prejudice - the one done by the BBC.

I was worried at first - it's 5 hours long - but it was easy to watch and excellent. In fact, it was superior to the movie it just about every way. Jennifer Ehle was a far better Elizabeth, Colin Firth was the perfect Darcy and Julia Sawalha, I think, stole the show as Lydia. My only complaint about the whole thing Mrs Bennett played by Alison Steadman was too shrill, too over the top. I winced every time she spoke.

If you want a comprehensive dramatisation of the the story, take the time to watch the BBC production. It's divided into 6 episodes of about 50 minutes each, so doesn't need to be watched in one sitting. I know I'll be looking to the BBC for any other Jane Austin adaptations.

Pride and Prejudice Challenge - Part 1

Hello challengers! You will be pleased to know I have completed the first part of my challenge - or at least one of the parts.

Taking my commitment to this challenge seriously, I sat myself down on the couch to watch the 2005 movie starring Kiera Knightly.

Now my friends have varied opinions on this movie - some love it, some think it's horrendous. Personally I didn't mind it, although I wasn't completely convinced by Keira Knightley. But the main reason I watched it was so I can read the book.

I struggle, a lot, with the classics. The formality of the language quite often leaves me struggling to absorb the story. In recent years I have found that if I watch a movie or dramatisation of it first, I struggle less. So although I also plan to watch the BBC version, I chose to watch this first, simply because it is shorter and will allow me to get to the book sooner. At the end I will do a bit of a comparison, but for now I can go to the book having at least the basic story line sorted out!

Bloggers Boogie: P&P Edition

In honour of my Pride and Prejudice challenge, Miss Dove over at Little White Dove has themed her Bloggers Boogie challenge after P&P.

This is the first Bloggers Boogie I have participated in, but the rules are simple. Post a couple of songs that are related to the theme and then link up over at Little White Dove. Check out everyone's links and get your boogie on!

I am slightly challenged by the fact I have not yet read or watched P&P, but this is what I've picked up from reading summaries and trawling the net!

 

 Balle Balle from Bride and Prejudice - a bollywood version of Pride and Prejudice.

We Are Family by Sister Sledge - lots of family in P&P - and lots of sisters!

You're so Vain - Carly Simon. Seems to be a bit of vanity in P&P..

Darcy's Letter from the movie - just 'cause I like it!

Hope you like my boogie selections! Feel free to join in and link up!

Challenge Anyone??

So it's a matter of opinion who you want to blame, Miss Dove over at Little White Dove or Miss Car over at Carrose Creations, but for me it all started with this post and specifically this part of that post

I blame Miss Dove - she somehow managed to get a few of us into the Lizzie Bennet Diaries (a modern day adaption to Pride and Prejudice) over on you-tube. This is all good and well but I've never read the original books and feel a bit fraudulent - so I decided it WILL happen.

Now, I've been meaning to read Pride and Prejudice myself for awhile, so I thought I would extend a challenge, specifically to Miss Car amd Miss Dove, but also to anyone willing to play along, to read Pride and Prejudice.

(here's a little secret, Miss Car finds it impossible to refuse a challenge - her response to the word itself is almost Pavlovian, just with a lot less drool...maybe)

So here's the nitty gritty.

I hearby extend a challenge to anyone who cares to take part to read Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austin. Given the general craziness of most people's lives, I suggest a time period of just over 3 months - from now until August 31, 2013 - consider it the perfect winter challenge.

You may also choose in those three months to do the extended version of the challenge and watch what started this all - The Lizzie Bennet Diaries which can be found on the official site, on tumblr, or YouTube.

.

If you are really brave, you can go the super deluxe version and also watch the movie or BBC production or any other production you know of.

The 2005 movie version starring Keira Knightley as Elizabeth and Matthew Macfadyen as Darcy

The 1995 BBC version with Jennifer Ehle as Elizabeth and Colin Firth as Darcy

As challenge issuer, I will of course be going the super deluxe version - possibly with both movie and BBC version. I will make a start on the LBD as soon as I can work out where the sound on the computer has gone!

So, who's in? Who is willing to say Challenge accepted?? Simply leave a comment and commence your reading and viewing!