Thursday, May 7, 2015

Jane Austen...

 I have been taking life a little slower this week after our huge road trip last weekend, and for me there is no better way to bring 'slow' to my thoughts than a little bit of Jane Austen.
I own most of the film and BBC versions  of Jane Austen's books so each day has involved my choosing one version over another to watch while I stitched or ironed.

Tuesday was "Persuasion" and I simply had to favour Rupert and Sally as Frederick and Anne  - in fact I watched the final scene twice because it's so incredibly moving.
True love is a gift to cherish deeply...

(which is your favourite Persuasion?)


Wednesday was time for "Sense & Sensibility".
I thought I'd have a hard time choosing between these two...

...but as I carried the ironing board into the living room I realised that I simply do not like Hugh Grant. In the 2008 mini-series Daniel Stevens (later to become Matthew in Downton Abbey) brings Edward alive, something Hugh couldn't do for me.
I also prefer Hattie Morahan over Emma Thompson as Elinor.
 However, I do think Alan Rickman is the better Colonel Brandon so if I had a magic wand I'd do a little switching and swapping around and get all the actors I like best in one version...

Today it's going to be a coin toss because I love both of my "Emma" movies!

I think though, that the one on the right might just pip passed the post.


I'm pondering the idea of designing a set of Jane Austen inspired stitcheries. I wonder if I could?

What's your favourite Austen?

hugs


22 comments:

Createology said...

Looks like you have found a lovely way to catch up on your Gentle Domesticity chores. I am no help in selecting a favorite as I am not familiar with them well enough to know much. However, I do know any stitchings you may design will be Creative Bliss...

Jacqueline said...

I love BBC television, but have not watched any of the Jane Austin movies. Hope you are having a great week.

Lynn S said...

Why don't you do Jane Austen quotes on domesticity? or tea--you have a wonderful tea lovers tea pot pattern.

Baa. xxx said...

Is there a vote? 'Cause Miss H would do some serious jumping up and down for some Jane Austen stitching!

Skipper said...

You are a woman of fine taste! I love the same version of S&S and Persuasion as you do. Although I prefer the Emma with Romola Garai who plays Emma. It adds so much more depth and awesomeness to the story.
All you are missing is Mr Darcy (aka Colin Firth). And if you are looking for more period dramas, make sure you check out Elizabeth Gaskell BBC collections (Wives & Daughters, Cranford, North and South)

I LOVE period dramas!

Käthe said...

Liebe Jenny,
ich liebe " Emma ", aber ich habe alle Bücher von Jane Austen im Bücherschrank und lese sie alle gerne.
Liebe Grüße
Käthe

Melody said...

Such a lovely way to spend your stitching time, I'm. Huge Jane Austen fan too.

Jo in TAS said...

Pride and Prejudice, followed by Emma.

Jenny of Elefantz said...

Skipper,I have all of those as well. I love Cranford!! Plus North & South - marvelous.

Christine B said...

I love them all and I have to say that I agree with all your observations concerning the versions you like best... even down to Alan Rickman being the better Colonel Branden.... my DVDs of all versions have had to be replaced several times due to so much use!! They are just so great to sit and stitch by!

Kubie said...

I love Jane Austen - especially, Pride and Prejudice. Second best is Persuasion...What a treat.

KatieQ said...

I agree with you. I would love to swap actors within the Austen videos to assemble my favorite casts.
I watched the 1995 version of Persuasion yesterday while ironing. Ciaran Hinds is a wonderful Captain Wentworth. There is a You Tube clip of various scenes set to music.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=223dpDa3jZw
I prefer Romoa Garai as Emma. Maybe it is because I dislike Gwyneth Paltrow so much.
I agree with Skipper. If you like Austen, you will probably enjoy North South. Richard Armitage (Thorin Oakenshield in the Hobbit) is wonderful. I have not seen the 1975 version with Patrick Stewart.
A Jane Austen inspired stitchery sounds like heaven.

Kim said...

Well, I can't say which versions I like best because I haven't seen all of them that you mentioned. I've seen the Persuasion with Amanda Root which I dearly love. I've seen only one Sense and Sensibility, the one with Emma Thompson, which I also dearly love (even with Hugh Grant, but I've not seen him in much else, so he's the only Edward I know), and I go weak in the knees when Alan Rickman speaks! Oh, my, that VOICE! *swoon* I enjoyed the Emma with Gwyneth Paltrow, but haven't seen any other Emmas to compare it with. My favorite Pride and Prejudice is the 1995 version with Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth. I don't know which Jane Austen movie is my absolute favorite. That's a hard one.

I'm with everyone who loves the Elizabeth Gaskell films. I love all of them! Have you seen Death Comes to Pemberley? A P.D. James continuation of the Pride and Prejudice story. Really well done, although it took some getting used to to accept the 2 leads (Elizabeth and Darcy actors). But watching it a second time made me really appreciate their versions of the characters.

I'm looking forward to seeing Far From the Maddening Crowd. I loved Carey Mulligan in Bleak House. Can't wait to see her in this film. She's got such an amazing screen presence, much like Romola Garai, whom I loved in Daniel Deronda.

I think it would be lovely to do some Austen quotes as embroidery, Jenny!

Anonymous said...

I've seen none of the movies, but who can resist this starting line: "No one who had ever seen Catherine Morland in her infancy would have supposed her born to be an heroine." That brought me to quite an appreciation of Jane Austen's wit. I'm glad you are enjoying your time off. =)

Lline said...

I'm with those that loved Alan Rickman's version of Branden, he could read to me any day and Colin Firth's D'Arcy is so ramrod stiff and almost shy at the same time. The pond scene was perfect. I caught bits of Rupert Penry-Jones on You tube but haven't found the full movie yet. Has anyone seen Sally Hawkins and Jonny Lee Miller in Mansfield Park? I saw another version but thought this was the better one. I have also seen a North..? Abbey. Not bad. OK now I need a Jane Austen fix.Time to go find my favorites on Netflix.
Anything you come up with in stitchery will go to the top of my to do list. Maybe some quotes with garden gates and flowers dripping over. Whatever you decide will be perfect. HE always sends you the right vision.

Vickie said...

I'm a huge Jane Austen fan also. I have all of her DVDs and I watch them regularly. I also collect Jane Austen novels. I like the idea of the quotes, but I also thought that some embroidery in the form of the clothes of that era would be interesting.
Thanks for all of your beautiful work.

Concha de Aromadetela said...

Me encantaría ver ese trabajo que ronda por tu cabeza inspirado en Jane Austen. Te animo desde aquí.
Un beso.

voyance gratuite par email said...

Ton site est tout simplement superbe. Bravo a toi bisou

Tracy said...

I'm a Mr Darcy fan, Colin Firth for me every time. Miss Eliza Bennett .. To good. I can recite most bits word for word ....

Tilly Rose said...

Absolutely LOVE Jane Austen!
I often add the quotes to my embroidery and calligraphy designs....they are so inspiring.

Lovely blog....I've only just discovered you :)
Tilly x

Unknown said...

Yes please - some Jane Austen quotes in your lovely stitchery designs would be wonderful. I have a plan for a quilt with stitched sections of Jane Austen quotes. I've stitched a couple of cross stitch pieces and have collected some other patterns. Adding some stitchery panels would be wonderful. I enjoy Jane Austen movies but IMHO nothing comes close to the BBC adaptation of Pride & Prejudice with Colin Firth, Jennifer Ehle, Alison Steadman, Susannah Harker, David Bamber, Julia Sawalha etc etc. Not only because of the superb cast and the stunning
locations but mainly because as a mini series there are few cuts made to the original story (although there are a few embellishments). As a book I prefer Emma although I love them all and my preferred way to get my JA fix while stitching is via an audio book (unabridged of course) Emma read by Juliet Stevenson is just perfection

Unknown said...

Just responding to Kimberley's comment about Alan Rickman - there is an Audible book where he narrates Hardy's Return of the Native (now added to my wish list)