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Pride and Prejudice 2005: To Assuage Your PBS Withdrawal Symptoms

March 1, 2008 by Vic

The PBS Masterpiece Classic airing of the three installments of Pride and Prejudice 1995 is over, and Emma (with Kate Beckinsale) won’t be shown until March 23rd. For those of you experiencing Jane Austen viewer withdrawal symptoms, visit the Jane Austen blog from KCTS 9 to catch up with their insights. Or you may choose to compare the 1995 P&P version with the 2005 movie. Screen captures and movie clips sit below.


Pride and Prejudice, 2005: Click here to view a series of lovely screenshots of Longbourn, Meryton, Netherfield Park, and Pemberley, and see music videos as well. Then view the YouTube clips of some of the movie scenes below:

Was Keira Knightley perfect for the role of Lizzy? Click here to read a perspective that states she was too glamorous for the role.

This six-minute YouTube interview with Keira Knightley is about P&P and Mr. Darcy.

Posted in jane austen | Tagged , , , , , | 11 Comments »

Fashion in the Regency Era

February 29, 2008 by Vic

Estimating lace and muslin: dress and fashion in Jane Austen and her world, by Jeffrey A. Nigro is a fabulous article about fashion in Jane’s day. This conference paper was published in Persuasions: The Jane Austen Journal in 2001. Some of Mr. Nigro’s observations include:

Convenience was another reason for the increasing simplicity in dress beginning in the 1780s. Dry cleaning was not invented until the middle of the nineteenth century, and did not become commonplace until the twentieth. In Austen’s time, a silk dress that got dirty was essentially ruined. The fabrics that started to become fashionable from the 1780s onward (muslin and other cotton fabrics, linen, lawn) were much easier to care for, which was part of their appeal. Nevertheless, given the absence of modern appliances, the care and maintenance of clothing still meant much work for the servants in upper- and middle-class households.

Outerwear garments included the spencer, a long-sleeved jacket that extended only to the raised waistline. Worn by both men and women, it was named for the 2nd Earl Spencer, who, according to one version of the story, cut off the coattails of his jacket after wagering that he could invent a new fashion. For colder weather, there was the pelisse, a skirt-length overcoat, often lined and trimmed with fur, which originated in Hungary as a part of military dress. Bonnets became fashionable, essentially smaller versions of the straw hats of the 1780s, but now pulled in to frame the face. Bonnets, like shawls, would become staples of feminine dress until at least the middle of the nineteenth century.

Click here for more links about fashion:

* Jane Austen Pellise coat

* A Quilted Regency Spencer Jacket

* The Spencer Jacket

* The Importance of Wearing White, Jane Austen Centre Magazine

* Kyoto Costume Institute

* Bonnets, Caps, Turbans, and Hats

Images:

Muslin dress, Vintage Textile (top)
Jane Austen’s Pellisse Coat (middle)
Kyoto Costume Institute, Spencer Jacket (bottom)

    Posted in Clothes, Fashions, jane austen, The Spencer Jacket | Tagged , , , | 9 Comments »

    Vote for Your Favorite Becoming Jane Icon

    February 27, 2008 by Vic

    Update: Jane Austen Today is running an icon contest. Vote for your favorite icon and help its creator win one of two Becoming Jane DVDs. Click here to see the icon entries, and to vote. The contest is open until March 5. This icon was submitted last night by Sawcat.

    Edited 2-28-08

    Posted in Becoming Jane, Icon contest |

    Seen over the Ether

    February 27, 2008 by Vic

    Jane Austen Sequels, written by Jane Odiwe, has recently been featuring a series of posts on Regency Brighton, including Brighton Encampments, Donkey Riding and Sea Bathing in Brighton, Stopping for Refreshment (on a coach from London to Brighton), and Brighton Entertainments. Jane also paints lovely watercolors and sells her images, cards, and books, such as her recently published Lydia Bennet’s Journal, on Austen Effusions. Jane has begun a third blog, which will discuss all things Austen and the Regency world. I become quite dizzy when I think of all her activities!

    Image of Refreshments at a Coaching Inn from Jane Austen Sequels

    Michelle Ann Young from Regency Ramble has just completed a series of posts on Bath. Michelle Ann frequently describes the flora and fauna of the era, and fashions of the season. She is also promoting her most recent novel, No Regrets.

    Visit Jane Austen Addict.com to read Laurie Viera Rigler’s posts about PBS Masterpiece Classic’s The Complete Jane Austen series. Laurie, author of The Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict, described a JASNA ball she attended in 2004. This photo shows her with her own Mr. Darcy, and looking beautiful in her red regency gown. Such fun! Also, don’t miss her posts about Mansfield Park and Pride and Prejudice. In addition, she oversees a forum on her website, and is writing a sequel to her best-selling novel. My, my, Laurie, you have been busy!

    Posted in Dancing, jane austen, Jane Austen Novels | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments »

    Rural Life in 19th Century England: Appleby

    February 26, 2008 by Vic

    Genealogy and census records record the life in 19th century England in remarkable detail. Take Appleby, for example, a village in Leicestershire which has been occupied since the iron age. The 1841 census provides a complete record of how the inhabitants of this small village made their living at that precise time, including farmers, tradesmen, drapers and dressmakers, people in domestic service, and professional people. Descriptions for each group follow a similar pattern to this one for skilled workers:

    There was always a demand for skilled workers in the agricultural world and this is reflected in the large number of craftsmen supporting the farming community.Many were concerned with horses, the main means of providing power and transport.The particular men performing jobs which required skills relating to the agricultural world were:

    • 5 blacksmiths – shoeing horses and making wrought iron products for farm and home
    • 2 farriers – shoeing smiths also acting as horse doctors
    • 1 harness maker
    • 2 wheelwrights – making carts, wheels with their iron tyres (often fitted by the blacksmith)
    • 2 gamekeepers – looking after the squire’s game
    • 1 gardener employed in the new hall grounds
    Parish of Gorleston

    An inventory of goods during the 18th century recorded the possessions of established and prosperous middling farmers in such precise detail as: In ye dairy & kittchin, potts, kettles, one Copper, Barrills & tubes, In ye Chamber over ye house, one bed & Beding, Curtaines, chairs & table, In ye Chamber over ye dairy, 2 beds & beding, 2 bolsters & linnin, etc. I would imagine that history students and authors of history and historical romances would find such authentic descriptions invaluable in their research.

    The extract for Appleby in 1835 states that “letters arrive every morning at half-past ten, and are despatched every afternoon at three”, and that James Hatton was the Post Master. These details make history come alive again. Amazingly, records on almost every parish in England still exist. I’ve listed a few more below:

     

    Raunheim, Sleeping Kitchen Maid, 1850, Wikimedia Commons
    St. Michael’s Church, Appleby (Upper image)


    Posted in jane austen, Regency World | Tagged , , | 1 Comment »

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