Recently, I attended a book signing for Shannon Hale's The Actor and the Housewife (which I thought a great book, by the way). As background to how A&H came about, Shannon shared with the assembled fans the story behind her first novel geared toward adult readers, Austenland. Austenland is about a young woman so obsessed with Austen novels and the BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice starring Colin Firth, that it has seriously begun to affect her love life. Personally, I loved the book, which I found really funny with the right amount of hopeless romantic. I have friends (at least one of whom is a fan of Mr. Darcy)*, however, who had a lukewarm response to Austenland. I think, perhaps, they identified a little too strongly with the heroine and felt they were being made fun of. I'm certain this was not Shannon's intention, as she shared with us her own tendency to re-read Pride and Prejudice and her reaction to watching Colin as Darcy. "That's it," I thought, "I definitely need to see this show."
I had seen the Keira Knightly P&P before. As I recall, it left me with a nice chick-flick buzz. Resolving to repent of the grievous error of having never seen the Colin Firth BBC adaptation that so many rave about, I checked it out from the library. Two DVDs, each two and a half hours (give or take a bit) long. I had to keep renewing it, trying to squeeze it in around our camping trip. Finally realizing that if I didn't start it I wouldn't get to see it, I popped in the computer (on Friday?) and watched while I sorted laundry, etc. It took most of the first day to get through the first disk. It took most of Sunday after church to get through the second disk.
Maybe watching during daylight hours, when I had to repeatedly press "Pause" to tend to various domestic responsibilities, was not a good idea. Maybe watching it independently of RM, who kept wandering in an out addressing me as "Ms. Austen" or "Dear Jane", was a bad idea. Maybe expecting it to take its rightful place as a chick-flick favorite was a asking too much. Whatever the reason, I found myself a little disappointed. Don't get me wrong. It was very well done. Colin is indeed handsome, but I found myself jealously noting how stunningly beautiful Jennifer Ehle as Elizabeth Bennet is more often than I noted Darcy's simmering stare. But, while I wasn't swept off my feet, I do think I'd like to see it again some mythical day when I can do so without interruption. Then maybe I'll finally, fully "get it." But, then again, maybe I won't...I still can't bring myself to crush on either Edward or Jacob. :)
* In the spirit of full disclosure, so am I. :)
