Elizabeth in the New World starts out reading like over-the-top Pride and Prejudice fanfiction – until the parade of clichéd characters and racist stereotypes began, and my initial amusement turned to incredulity, then anger, then repulsion, then disgust. By the end of the book, I was beyond done with the entire thing. We open with…
The Particular Charm of Miss Jane Austen is one of those shaggy dog books that everyone’s written and thought about sending out. The kind of drawer-fic where you and Jane Austen are super best friends and you and your internet pal are totally going to save the world with her help; also the hot professor…
Note: this is a re-release of a book that was originally published in 1972. Only a Novel is the general gold standard for Jane Austen biographies. Written in a smooth, witty tone that’s easy to sink into, the book explores Austen’s life from pre-conception (her mother wore a daring red cloak to her wedding) to…
The Shop Around the Corner is one of my favourite films. Set around Christmas time, it tells the story of two co-workers who don’t get on and bicker all the time in spite of the attraction that sparks between them – and which they ignore. He thinks she’s stuck-up, she thinks he’s crass and in…
It is a truth universally acknowledged that I will read just about any Pride and Prejudice redux that comes my way. It is also a truth that very, very few of them are worth my time, so imagine my delight when A Higher Education resoundingly was. The small changes made to the original only served…
An AAR Top 100 Romance review originally published on December 18, 2000 Blythe: Few people who knew me in high school would have guessed how much I loved Pride and Prejudice. The image I cultivated was more sarcastic and smart alecky than romantic, and I definitely preferred jeans to prom dresses. But deep inside I was…
Confession time. When I picked up The Jane Austen Project for review, I really didn’t expect it to be a book I couldn’t put down. I thought the premise – two time travellers go back to 1815 to meet Jane Austen and secure a previously unpublished manuscript – was interesting (which was why I chose…
Janeites, relax. Your beloved author’s works continue to be in great hands with the talented folks at Udon Entertainment. I couldn’t put this book down, which was really awkward considering that I was reading an advance pdf on my laptop and I had to schlep the whole computer around the house while I read it….
I had my doubts in the opening pages as the heroine spots a gorgeous naked man on her porch. When I discovered this is another homage to Pride and Prejudice I rolled my eyes. What was I in for? It turns out I was in for a fun romance in which a local theater company…
Although I enjoyed and recommended Udon Entertainment’s adaptation of Pride and Prejudice (part of their Manga Classics line), a few issues held it back from DIK status. Happily, these issues have been resolved in their second Austen adaptation, Emma. Fun, fast-paced, and visually engaging, Emma is a great adaptation that made me see the original…