Jane, Jane, Jane...Part 2

"Perhaps after all it is posible to read too many novels."
--Henry Tilney in Northanger Abbey

This just in from Masterpiece Theater: "Sundays with Jane continues this weekend, with Andrew Davies' adaptation of Austen's parody of a gothic novel. Catherine Morland has an ordinary life and a feverish imagination. When she gets invited to Bath, Catherine is immersed in a world of elaborate balls and handsome men. When one suitor takes her to his family estate, Northanger Abbey, Catherine becomes mired in a world of fact and fantasy. Is there a dark mystery behind the locked doors of Northanger Abbey? Why has her budding romance suddenly been cut short?" I distinctly remember reading NA when studying abroad in the north of England in college. Realizing what Jane was up to when she wrote this hilarious book, I experienced one of my first literary revelations, if you will. I should see if I still have that paper I wrote....

PBS has jazzed up the official Complete Jane Austen website with more features, including an interview with director Andrew Davies and a feature on the men of Austen, oh my.

Comments

[Jenne]

I'm really looking forward to this one. It's rare to see a film version of this novel.

[Jenne]

I really enjoyed this adaptation of Northanger Abbey. I had seen an earlier version, the 1986 one from the BBC, and I think they got more of the humor in the book in this version. I do wish that it could have been a half hour longer though.

[Book Club Girl]

I agree - though this was the first adaptation I'd seen, I was glad they understood the tongue-in-cheek style in which the book was written. But I definitely did feel like it got wrapped up very quickly in the last 20 minutes. So far I like this one better than Persuasion, which I also watched via tivo this weekend. I think that perhaps that is not my favorite novel. Everything is rather sad, and minus the great repartee between hero and heroine that you get in other Austen novels.