Period drama has never been my cup of Earl Grey tea. I’ve seen Austenland (exclusively driven by my celebrity crush on Keri Russell) but in general when The Mrs. cues up Downton Abbey or Call the Midwife, the noise-cancelling headphones go on. The courts and landed gentry can keep the 18th Century. I’m all set here in the present.
More surprising, perhaps, is that all through a top notch English curriculum in high school, including an AP class, I managed to avoid even a single tome written by the late, great Jane. My wife owns them all. And by owns, I mean they are falling out of the binding, earmarked to tatters and bent and beloved the way only a true fan can appreciate. I spent two years on the Presidential biography quest and was needing something…… lighter. Fiction. Outside my wheelhouse. It was time to see what all the fuss was about in the well-manicured countryside. Who is this Mr. Darcy and why do the ladies swoon so? Was Clueless really based on Emma? Do I have to learn to play whist before I start reading? Fraught as I was with these dilemmas, I dove in headfirst. I intended to start with the gold standard of Pride and Prejudice, but as The Mrs.’ copy was out on loan, she thought Northanger Abbey was a good place to start.
It was an okay place to start. It showed the promise in flashes of the wit to come, but mostly it was hard to get over Catherine’s naivete, the trifling hoe-ness of Isabella (obvious to all but the protagonist) and honestly the letdown that the forbidden upstairs bedroom of the late Mrs. Tilney didn’t take a Bluebeard-esque left turn into the macabre.
But then, oh but then fellow bookworms, I got my hands on Pride & Prejudice. This would tell the tale. This would make or break the continuation of this quest. To say I opened the book with skepticism is like saying Mr. Wickham played cards once in a while. But a funny thing happened on the way to Pemberley. I loved it. Not liked. Not, “Oh I can see why women read this.” I L-O-V-E-D it. Unabashedly. It was funny. It was smart. And I too fell in love with Elizabeth Bennet. I also think asking what Mr. Darcy’s first name is would be a great book nerd trivia question. (Spoiler alert: Fitzwilliam). Many times the classics are overhyped or are so out of context for me that I don’t understand the hubbub. This was not the case here.
After finishing the novel itself, I was eager to watch the Keira Knightley movie version since The Mrs. said that was her favorite and, she felt, the most true to the novel. I thought the casting was spot on (Carey Mulligan’s first movie?!) and Keira snagged a deserved Oscar nod for the performance. But it still couldn’t quite compete with the book. I was taken aback, AGAIN, at my affection for the novel. I’m usually a movie guy, but the added richness of detail in the book was necessarily hurried along at several points (as it had to be) and we couldn’t get into the depth of Wickham’s depredations, the development of Elizabeth’s understanding of Mr. Darcy’s character or the lengths she was willing to go to find out it was, in fact, Darcy who saved the day.
I can say now with sincerity that I look forward to completing the Austen Quest. Jane Austen rules, and I don’t care who knows it.
Quest Checklist:
Northanger AbbeyPride & Prejudice- Persuasion
- Sense & Sensibility
- Mansfield Park
- Emma
- Lady Susan – doesn’t really count, but I did already watch Love & Friendship!