Pride and Prejudice - Thoughts - Lost in Austen

I loved this series when it was on TV and as soon as it was released it was proudly added to my Austen collection. If you are an Austen fan who has wished time and time again to jump head first into your favourite Austen novel I would highly recommend this series - although you may change your mind about the wisdom of wanting to pay 18th Century England a visit by the end of it.

We follow Amanda an avid fan of Pride and Prejudice who has spent her whole life measuring up every man she has ever been involved with to Mr Darcy. And then she meets Elizabeth Bennett in her bathroom and she gets to experience her favourite novel more up close and personal than she ever imagined.

This is utterly brilliant. I think we all have some romanticized idea of what the time was like and how we would act if some magic event whisked us into the pages of our favourite Austen novel and the hero of the moment fell head over heels in love with us. Well it is a lovely dream and makes for some nice swoon worthy imaginings on our part but chances are we would be beating at the pages trying to get back to flushing toilets and electricity.

To begin with we just wouldn’t fit in. To everyone else we would act funny, talk funny and even walk funny. We would stick out like a sore thumb. And that is just what happens to Amanda. She gets herself into one embarrassing situation after another and at times has no idea what is going on. And that is what I love about the series. I usually cannot stand embarrassing bit in programmes – it is one of the reasons I do not watch reality TV, but seeing Amanda facing situations and reacting in a way that any 21st Century woman would was priceless.

And, to top things off, this turns everything we know about favourite characters on its head, chucks it in a blender and zaps it up a bit.

To quote Amanda ~~

“Duh-uh-uh! Hear that George? That’s Jane Austen spinning in her grave like a cat in a tumble-dryer”

And the thing is that all of Amanda’s dreams of Mr Darcy go up in smoke when she meets him. After all at the beginning he is an arrogant, pompous prat and it is funny having Amanda seeing him this way and not as the romantic hero of her dreams.

“Elizabeth, what can I say? You’re welcome to him. Miserable sod”

But, my most favourite spin has to be the tilt that is put on Wickham. He is a darling in this and is a true support to Amanda when she needs it.

“Everyone you love, Miss Price, will one day prise your finger from the raft and watch you drown. Everyone Miss Price. Except for me”

I cannot recommend this show enough. It is only 4 hours long (1 hour an episode) but is an Austen fans dream come true.



**The images do not belong to me**