Guest Review of Sense & Sensibility Plus a Contest to Win Jane Austen Books and a DVD!

Masterpiece's Complete Jane Austen concluded tonight with the wonderful adaptation of Sense & Sensibility. Here is a review of the film from Jill Pitkeathley, author of the forthcoming novel about Austen and her sister, Cassandra and Jane. Read her review of Emma here.

After the review, check out my Jane Austen contest!

Making a seduction scene the introduction to an adaptation of a Jane Austen novel is a bold step and one for which Andrew Davies has been much criticised. Yet the ruin of Colonel Brandon's ward by Willoughby is central to the plot of Sense & Sensibility, so illustrating how the poor young girl was deceived and abandoned by him is surely not a distortion of what Jane Austen wanted her readers to understand. Indeed, though she lived and died a virgin, Jane was by no means ignorant of both the fact and the effect of sex outside marriage. She lived, after all, in the robust days of the Regency and before the times of Queen Victoria when young ladies were not expected to know about such things. Jane was quite well aware of what loss of virtue in a woman meant and seduction features in Pride and Prejudice and Mansfield Park as well as in Sense and Sensibility.

S&S as she called it, was the first of Jane's books to be published, after Pride and Prejudice had been rejected by one publisher by return of post! It was written at the end of the 18th centurty and first took the 'epistolary' form as a series of letters between the two main characters. She was writing it perhaps when she herself had a brief romance with Tom LeFroy, a young Irishman whom she met when he was over from Ireland visiting his relatives. She may have been in love with him but his family was poor and they both knew he would be obliged to marry well--an alliance with the daughter of a poor clergyman was out of the question as Jane would have well understood. Perhaps Elinor and Marianne represent the two sides of Jane's character--Marianne the romantic and headstrong, Elinor the practical and reserved. Jane later spent a good deal of time revising the manuscript into the narrative form we know now so that it is unclear which parts were written by a 22-year-old Jane and which by the woman of 36 as she was when it was eventually published in 1811. Of course her identity was not then known at all -- it was attributed only to 'A Lady.'

Although much of the book was probably written when Jane was in her early twenties, it shows all the maturity of form and characterisation that we expct hof her novels. She allows the characters to develop and our opinions of them to change as the story unfolds. Mrs. Jennings is at first ridiculous and heartless in her teasing of the sisters but shows real sympathy and warmth during Marianne's illness. The growth of Marianne's respect and love for the Colonel is shown clearly as the story progresses and perhaps comes from the understanding of Jane herself that a man of six and thirty can still be an acceptable lover, even if he does need a flannel waistcoat!

Mrs. John Dashwood is an odious character with a grasping and callous nature which enables her to persuade her husband from his original idea of giving his half sisters one thousand pounds apiece to merely making them a present of fish and game in season--and still is able to think himself generous.

Mrs. Dashwood, the mother, is very like Marianne--driven by her emotions, and so easily overlooks the needs of her elder daughter in her absorption with Marianne and Willoughby, by whom she is also taken in. But Elinor is perhaps not a very appealing character--to judgmental and critcial to elicit our sympathy, somehow she shows perhaps a little too MUCH sense. It makes her rather dull and I sometimes think that in that respect, she and Edward are very well suited to each other!

If I have one reservation about Andrew Davies' adaptation which in all other respects I loved, it is the portrayal of Willoughby. To my mind he is not sufficiently handsome and nowhere near aristocrative enough. The meeting of Willoughby and Marianne on that rain swept hillside is the most dramatic and romantic in all Jane Austen's works and he needs to be the most dramatic and romantic person to match the occasion--the sort of whom Marianne dreams. He is a scoundrel--we suspect from the beginning, but we need to see how he can sweep a girl off her feet figuratively as well as literally!

Many a young woman identified with Marianne when S&S first came out--including the heiress to the Throne, Princess Charlotte, who remarked that 'me and Marianne are very much alike.' Sadly, unlike Marianne who survives her putrid fever to make a wise and sensible marriage, Princess Charlotte was destined to die giving birth to a still born son, leaving the throne of England to Queen Victoria though Jane Austen did not live to see this as she herself died in 1817 at the early age of 41.
--Jill Pitkeathly, author of Cassandra and Jane, coming in September 2008

As you all know, I added a poll to the blog where we can all vote for our favorite adaptation. But I want to know why you picked the one you did -- so I'm running a contest.

Tell me in the comments which adaptation was your favorite and why, and you'll be entered into a random drawing to win a collection of Austen inspired novels including Darcy's Story, an advance reader's edition of Cassandra & Jane, Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict, Lost in Austen and The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen as well as the DVD of the most popular adaptation, as chosen by all of you! The contest will end and polls will close next Monday April 14th.

Comments

[Jenn]

My favorite adaptation was Pride & Prejudice. I believe the actors picked were right-on with the characters in the book, and there weren't too many discrepancies between the book and the movie.

[Texan]

Pride and Prejudice is my favorite because it is the first Jane Austen book I read and it is where I got hooked.

[Lisa]

Pride and Prejudice is my favorite, too. I just loved the characters , the tensions between Darcy and Elizabeth, the location, costumes, language, and filming of this adaptation. I feel that they truely captured Jane Austen's written word in film and I love watching every minute of this! This is also my favorite Jane Austen novel and Sense and Senisibility is my next choice.

[Marlyn]

I'm going to be completely unoriginal and go with Pride and Prejudice as well. Although it's not my favourite Austen novel (that distinction goes to Persuasion), I think the casting for P&P was spot-on, particularly Jennifer Ehle, Colin Firth, and Julia Sawalha.

[Stephanie]

I would appreciate it if you could add my name to your drawing.

I agree with your description of the Willoughby character. I found that the actor who played him in the Ang Lee film (with Emma Thompson) was much more dashing.

I have to agree that I really enjoyed P&P, but also found the Northanger Abbey Masterpiece film to be quite well done.

[Kiara Sampson]

Wow, such a tuff choice....But Sense and Sensibility is my all time favorite with my favorite adaption as the masterpiece theater one. I wasnt very stricken with Willoughby but I thought they picked the best Marianne. Plus I did a musical of Sense and Sensibility where I was Marianne and ever since I've been hooked.

Kiara

[Susan]

Wow, this is getting redundant. But, yes, I too am a Pride & Prejudice fan. I loved watching The Complete Jane Austen, and P & P has always been my favorite of the novels. I own like 4 different cinematic adaptations of it, but the Firth/Ehle is the best. It's the one truest to the novel and their chemistry is great!

[Cheryl]

I chose Northanger Abbey because it was the one I was least familiar with and I was very pleasantly surprised that I enjoyed it as much as I did! (P&P is still the best hands down but I wanted to cast a vote for Henry Tilney and Catherine Morland)

[Ti]

Although my pick does not seem to be the most popular..I am going with Emma. It's one of the few times where the movie actually prompted me to read the book.

Ti

[Marlayne]

My favorite book is Emma, it is so romantic and funny! and i love the charachters in it.
Marlayne

[Silent D]

I think the new Northanger Abbey adaptation was my favorite -- it stands on its own as a film better than the rest.

[Kiki]

I like Emma--I love the Gwyneth Paltrow version, but the Kate Beckinsale version( the one the showed on PBS) is pretty good as well. I think Emma is light and funny; a true comedy--and I love Mr. Knightley--he is my favorite Austen gentleman, even before Mr. Darcy. Emma makes mistakes, and regrets them, and Mr. Knightley is the gentle nudge to help her see her way. And he still loves and adores her!

[Jeanette]

Picking from the new crop of adaptations, I would pick Sense and Sensibility. There were plenty of little things that I did not like but compared to all the other new adaptations we've just seen, I think this one was the best.
Of all the Jane Austen adaptations ever, I would have to say P&P 95 is my favorite. :-)

[Mer]

As much as I love P&P, I'm going to go out on a limb and say Northanger Abbey for the crop of recent adaptations--from a purist's perspective, yes, it didn't necessarily get everything right, but I think it was a delight nonetheless. It kept to the spirit of the book and the confines of the 1 1/2 hour format it was given. On a sidenote, I have read Cassandra & Jane and it's beautifully done.

[Katie B.]

I have to pick Pride and Prejudice. It's my favorite Jane Austen book, the first of hers that I read. I also think the actors were great in it, especially Colin Firth. By far the best Darcy of all the adaptations made.

[Travi]

Sense and Sensibility is my favorite adaptation. Loved the filming and photography, thought the actors were very realistic.

[Ana T.]

This is a tough question as I love P&P and the 2 Persuasions so much. I think I'll go with the first Persuasion (Ciaran Hinds and Amanda Root) because I think they captured the essence of the book beautifully.

[Rhonda Stapleton]

I have to vote for Colin Quinn--er, I mean the A&E adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. He really, really did a fantastic job portraying Mr. Darcy. *fangirl swoon*

[Joanna Y.]

My favorite adaptation ever is Persuasion 2 (with Amanda Root) but there are lots of close seconds, including the new S&S, Emma Thompson's S&S, the new Northanger Abbey, and of course P&P with JE & Colin Firth. I think I love Persuasion so much because the story is bittersweet but has a happy ending with a second chance @ love that works out. Love the adaptation with A. Root b/c she seems so sweet and good.

[Dana Huff]

I think my favorite was Pride and Prejudice with Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle, simply because it's my favorite book as well, but it is a tough choice. I really loved Sense and Sensibility with Emma Thompson, too, though. I don't think I will ever forget Alan Rickman's Colonel Brandon. Then again, the version of Persuasion with Ciaran Hinds is also excellent. So hard to choose! But for sheer faithfulness to the text, I have to go with Pride and Prejudice.

[Lois]

Well, number one favorite is always 95P&P. Even without the lake scene. LOL But as for the others. . .

my favorite Emma is the one with Jeremy Northam. . . S&S I still have to go with the Emma Thompson one, though I also loved the new one. . . Persuasion and Mansfield Park, the newer ones. . . and Northanger Abbey I only saw the newest, and liked it quite well. :)

Lois

[Andrea]

I think my favorite adaptation of the Jane Austen series has to be the new Sense and Sensibility. The storyline of Edward and Elinor completely swept me off my sweeps. It was beautifully made and just riveting.

A close second is Northanger Abbey. Well cast, beautiful story, just fantastic as well.

[Marybeth]

All-time favorite Austen adaptation is "Persuasion" '95 with Amanda Root and Ciaran Hinds. It's nearly flawless, and I can honestly say each time I watch it I notice something new. Of the recent crop though, I was positively blown away by the new "Sense and Sensibility." A few minor quibbles aside, the setting, the actors, everything made it an absolute delight.

[Felicia]

Pride and Prejudice (95) is and will probably always be my very favorite. It was my first Jane Austen novel and brought me to know and love all over her novels. However, as far as the new adaptations go, I really enjoyed the Northanger Abbey. It gave me a new outlook on the novel is now my third favorite JA adaptation. (P&P95, Persuasion95 and Northanger Abbey07)

[Kate]

Of the new Masterpiece versions, Northanger Abbey was my definite favorite. Because the novel is so dependent on your knowledge of What Jane Is Satirizing, I had never seen an adaptation that included so many jokes! (Especially Henry's smarmy little smile when telling her "all it remains is for me to smile, and...") I love that Catherine was not stupid, not even ridiculously naive, but smart and a bit in love with gothic romance. And the film made it so clear she is a reader, which is lovely!

P&P is marvelous, of course, but the new NA is almost impossibly good for a 90-minute adaptation.

[AndreaW]

I love both versions of P&P, Emma (with Jeremy Northam) and both versions of S&S. I really enjoyed the new adaptation of Northanger Abbey! It was SO much better!

[Laura]

I have always loved P&P 95 with Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle - it's so well done, it is faithful to the book yet there is still room for interpretation and an extra scene here and there. The acting and casting was also fabulous! AND the costumes were historically accurate!

Though S&S 2008 was also quite amazing...good casting (except for Willoughby), and historically accurate costumes, and good music...

I can't choose between the 2, but I've loved P&P for much, much longer. That book was what got me hooked on Jane Austen.

[Maria]

P&P has always been my favorite. It was the first one after all when I was 12, but during the adaptations, I really liked NA. Never thought it would be like that

[limecello]

Ooo - I've been recording Masterpiece Theater since they started the series on Jane Austen, but I haven't had the chance to watch any of them yet... one of my favorite adaptions is Emma with Gwenyth Paltrow. I absolutely love Jane Austen, and actually wrote my senior thesis on Mansfield Park :)

[Beverley]

I absolutely think that A&E's P&P is the best adaptation and I don't think they will ever make anything better. And I am so grateful to PBS for doing this because this January I discovered Jane Austin!

[Bee]

My favourite is probably Pride and Prejudice. Like the other people in the comments I think it was casted really well.

[BLM]

Colin Firth's Darcy is iconic and can't ever be topped, althought the 2005 remake of P&P had Matthew McFayden as Darcy, who was great. But then the new remake of Sense & Sensibility has Dominic Cooper as Willoughby, who is one of the original HISTORY BOYS. Go check that out now. You'll be glad I sent you there.

[Julie E.]

I liked all the PBS adaptations, but when making my decision about my favorite, I (like some of you) decided to only choose between the new (to U.S. viewers, anyway) adaptations. That excluded P&P and Emma. Much as I liked Northanger Abbey and Sense and Sensibility, I chose Persuasion as my favorite, not only because the story is good, but also because, um, Rupert Penry-Jones is so unbelievably hot. Sorry for my shallowness. :)

[Hope]

My favorite is the BBC production of Pride and Prejudice with Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth. The actors were excellent--especially Jennifer Ehle. Also, the fact that it is a mini-series rather than a 2-hour film allows time to fully develop the story without being rushed.

[Heather J.]

My favorite of all the Masterpiece Classic Jane Austen Season adaptations is "Pride and Prejudice." I've seen it so many times, it's what I watch when I'm stuck in bed with the flu or want to spend an enjoyable afternoon. I just love it. Of the new adaptions, I would say "Northanger Abbey." That Henry - what a guy!!!

[Jillian]

My favorite of the adaptations is Northanger Abbey, though Sense & Sensibility is a close second. I loved the daydream scenes from Catherine's overactive imagination. And, of course, I had no problem with the scenes that featured Henry. : )

[Fedora]

I'm going with Pride and Prejudice as well--I've an admittedly shallow fondness for Colin Firth. Plus that book was a favorite and the adaptation quite nicely done :)

[Dina]

I loved Pride & Prejudice, but my favorite one was with Matthew MacFadyen as Mr. Darcy. I thought Colin Firth's version was good too, but Matthew won me over.

[Lisa]

I loved Mansfield Park, especially Fanny, Edmund and Henry. I enjoyed reading this book and seeing it on screen was just as good as reading the book! Pride and Prejudice is my next favorite based on many of the comments above.

[tabitha]

i loved Pride and Prejudice it was the very first book of hers that i read and i also enjoyed the movies . the movie on pbs is the best that i have seen so far!

[Kim]

My favorite Masterpiece adaptation is Pride and Prejudice. Although, I like the version with Keira Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen better. The music adds so much to the atmosphere of the movie. Seems more dramatic to me. The scene when Mr. Darcy walks across the field to reach Lizzie is my favorite part to rewind, play, rewind, play again and again. lol

[Geri]

Heh, now I feel like saying Clueless just to stand apart from everyone else. Add me to the P&P crowd, though I also prefer the Knightley/Macfayden version.

[Maggie]

The a&e Pride and Prejudice, without question.

[Seastar]

I voted for Northanger Abby. Of all the new adaptations I liked it the most. I think P&P will always be my favorite and I enjoyed most of those that were shown but I think Northanger Abby surprised me. I liked it more then I thought I would.

[Jaimie]

I would love to be entered in the drawing! Wow those books look great!
Pride and Prejudice is my choice for best adaptation hands down.
Thank you for hosting this!

[Christina]

That's a tough choice! But I'm going to have to go with Northanger Abbey, it's not my favorite of her books but the adaptation was delightful!

Thanks for the great contest opportunity!

[Karen in Maryland]

My favorite new adaptation is Northanger Abbey. It was a lot of fun to watch, and the actors where well choosen.

[Danielle]

My all-time love is BBC's Pride & Prejudice. As someone else stated, Colin Firth as Darcy is iconic. However, I really enjoyed Masterpiece's Miss Austen Regrets. I was very much drawn into this story and found the actress portraying Miss Austen very believable.

[Cecile]

My favorite new adaptation is Persuasion. Actors have a great chemistry and the music is so beautiful. But my favorite adaptaion from the complete Jane Austen season is Pride and Prejudice (I saw it so many times). Colin Firth is perfect as Darcy!

[Kaili]

My favorite new adaptation is Northanger Abbey. I also love P&P, but of all the new ones that were done, Northanger Abbey would have to be the best. I thought the casting was perfect!

[Amanda]

I enjoyed every movie in the Jane Austen series on Masterpiece Theater. Pride and Prejudice is my favorite book, but I really enjoyed Sense & Sensibility. I loved the score and the backdrop was beautiful. I really liked the choice of actresses in this movie also. Each one fit their character well.

[Katie]

I read Darcy's story...and I really liked it! i would love to read these other adaptions as I just can't get enough of jane austen!

my favorite is northanger abbey, because i felt the old adaption was such a dissapointment, I loved this one even more. It is also my second favorite book. :) I love felicity as Catherine, and mr. tilney is dreamy!!!

[Baja Janeite]

"Persuasion" was my favorite. I did not expect to like it (as I love the Amanda Root adaptation) and was pleasantly surprised. The scenes at Lyme and the actors were splendid!

[Fatima]

I became enraptured when i read the first few portions of S & S a few years ago and watched the adaptation with Emma and Kate. From there I read P & P and Emma. I've watched every version of every novel on film and love each.

[Fati]

Of all the beautiful, delightful and charming adaptations of Jane Austen's classics, it's hard to pick one as my simple favorite. Yes, i love P & P with Coling Firth, it was trully a masterpiece. But I also love Emma with Gywneth and found a preference for the newer adaptation of S & S. Northanger Abbey, Mansfield Park and Persuasion are also lovely. When it comes down to it, I will choose Pride and Prejudice as my favorite. No matter how many times I watch the 6 hours of it, it's like I'm watching it for the first time again.

[Kimba]

Hardly unique, my favourite is & has been Pride & Prejudice. I feel the casting embodies the characters so well that is leave little room for improvement. Of the "newer" adaptations, I would have to say "Northanger Abbey" for the simple fact that the older version was just SO awful.

[Jenne]

My all time favorite is the A and E version with Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle, followed by the Keira Knightly version, then followed by Elizabeth Garvie version, followed by the Bride and Prejudice version, etc.

Having said all that, I was more than pleasantly surprised by the new Northanger Abbey. They got it right in this version. It had the humor that the book has that the 1986 version lacked. So I had to give that version a vote because that book isn't filmed as much as P and P and it deserves attention too.

I'm not surprised that Mansfield Park hasn't gotten a vote yet. That story needed more time to be told on screen than the filmmakers had used.

[I. Miller]

I voted for Emma because of all the adaptations, I think it did the best with the least amount of space. While I love Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility, they had at least one if not three more hours to play with. Northanger Abbey, while lovely, didn't have the same strength of vision that I feel this Emma has, and Mansfield Park and Persuasion I just thought were subpar. This Emma, while not as well-directed as others, has incredible acting, brilliantly sharp writing, and captures exactly my feelings and loves of the novel.

[Andrea]

I am most glad I watched Persuasion. I had never read the book, but the 2008 version delighted and intrigued me enough to do so. And I found, I REALLY like the book. That adaptation, not so much. On purely cinematic considerations, S&S was my favorite, though it didn't make me want to read the book again.

[Melissa S.]

My favorite adaptation was Northanger Abbey. I thought that Felicity Jones was perfect as Catherine.

[Lady Jane]

I think I would say Northanger Abbey because I haven't seen any other films of it.

[stephanie]

My favorite was Northanger Abbey. JJ Feild was adorable as Henry and I had just finished reading the book the night before so it was fresh in my mind. Not that I don't like P&P but I had seen it before so I wanted something new.

[Jasmine]

I enjoyed Northanger Abbey so much! That was the novel I hadn't gotten to read before the adaptations, and I absolutely loved it! Then I read the novel, and I felt like the characters from the film did an excellent job portraying the characters from the book.

I have to give a mini-vote for Pride and Prejudice. Colin Firth is wonderful as Mr. Darcy, and the costumes and set are beautiful!!

-jasmine k.

[Mary K.]

“Pride and Prejudice” is the hands-down winner, but it’s almost unfair to compare the others to it because it was the only one with a leisurely 5 or so hours to faithfully tell its tale. Of the new adaptations, I was surprised to find myself swept away by “Sense and Sensibility”. I was all set to compare it unfavorably with the Emma Thompson S&S, which I love. But before long this new production had drawn me in and I thoroughly enjoyed it on its own merits. In fact, I watched it twice within a couple of days and ended up in tears both times. The actors were all excellent, and the visuals were stunning. The characters were brought to life in such a way that they all seemed familiar, like people I knew—and though I knew what would happen, I eagerly anticipated seeing how they would bring it about. Beautiful job, all around.

[Dina]

Hi, just wondering if the winner was chosen and I just missed who won?

Thank You, :)

[Katie B.]

I've been wondering the same thing.

[Book Club Girl]

Hi all, I'm just waiting for the winner to respond and then I'll announce it!

[Dina]

Well, it must not be me then, lol.

So, congrats to whomever it is. :)