We all have our obsessions. A few minutes scrolling through your friends FB feeds will probably clue you in on what your friends are passionate about. It might be Game of Thrones or The Avengers. You might notice their passion for a specific sports team, music group, or health product. My passion is Jane Austen novels. Jane Austen has an amazing way of writing people. She was a true artist whose characters are complex and real that despite the fact that life has changed so very much since her day, we can still find ourselves swept away in her stories. Will Darcy and Edward Ferris are the men every woman is looking for and not because of their wealth, but let’s admit that it doesn’t hurt. Unlike other classic romances like Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights, Jane Austen gave us romance that still included pain and sorrow but without the dark overtones. Let’s be honest, do we want to add more darkness to our lives with our reading?
For the past few years, I have read much of Austen’s original works, but numerous remakes and Austen inspired fiction. I am completely wiling to lay down my hard earned money for a knock off novel or remake of a movie. In the past year I have read 6 Austen inspired novels and listening to the audio version of Northanger Abbey. Let me share my passion with you with a few of my Jane Austen favorites.
Books:
Obviously there are the six original Jane Austen novels, Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, Emma, and Northanger Abbey, all of which I have read and enjoyed. I have read some of her additional unfinished works, none of which I loved, but all of which were enjoyable. My true loves are Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice.
Here are my top picks for modern retellings.
Jane of Austin by Hillary Manton Lodge was excellent novel retelling Sense and Sensibility. This is a great place to start if you’re jumping into the world of modern Austen.
Engaging Mr. Darcy: An Austen Inspired Romantic Comedy by Rachel John. This is probably my favorite version of Pride and Prejudice, and I am excited to have just picked up her newest release, Emma the Matchmaker: An Austen Inspired Romantic Comedy.
I was a little hesitant to read First Impressins: An Amish Tale of Pride and Prejudice by Sarah Price, but I was pleasantly surprised at how well the author fit the story into the Amish community. I am looking forward to reading her other novels, of which she has all except for Northanger Abbey.
Honorable mentions should also go to Gigi Blume for Love and Loathing and Confessions of a Hollywood Matchmaker.
My all-time favorite Austen inspired writer is Katherine Reay. Her works are not retelling of Jane Austen novels, but rather novels with connections to her works. Jane and Lizzy, Dear Mr. Knightly, and The Austen Escape were all fantastic must reads. Katherine Reay has several other novels which as just as amazing so don’t stop with these three. I pre-ordered her next novel months ago.
Movies:
Sense and Sensibility with Emma Thompson is perfect in every way. Not only does Emma Thompson give us one of the best crying scenes in cinematic history, but she wrote the screenplay version for which her work won an Oscar.
From Prada to Nada and Scents and Sensibility are very enjoyable, though clearly lower budget modern day versions of Sense and Sensibility. Both of these I have seen over and over again.
Pride and Prejudice with Kiera Knightly is my favorite authentic version of this story. I know I’m going to get some backlash on this one. It’s shorter than the completely amazing BBC version. For those of us who like to watch a movie in one sitting and are too tired to watch five and a half hours of bliss at the end of a long work day, Keira Knightly will not disappoint.
Bride and Prejudice is my all time favorite take on the classic. This modernized, Indian musical version is nothing less than 111 minutes of joy. While an Indian version of Sense and Sensibility exists, it was less enjoyable due to the subtitles.
Unleashing Mr. Darcy is a Hallmark movie version of Pride and Prejudice. I watched this version with low expectations, but in the end found their take on the story very charming. It’s much anticipated sequel was disappointing, so stop after the classic.
Emma with Gwyneth Paltrow was a great movie, and I must admit I was nearly halfway through the movie before I realized that Clueless was in fact a remake. (Warning: is not wholesome like the other versions I have mentioned; therefore, I am not recommending it. ) I saw Clueless long before my Jane Austen obsession began, hence I never made that connection,
Jane Austen Inspired movies:
Austenland is a comedy about a woman who goes on vacation to a Jane Austen inspired immersion resort where visitors experience life in the Jane Austen era. My entire family enjoyed this movie which says a lot because that included two teenage boys. Lost in Austen is a well made time traveling drama that is listed as a mini-series. It was a very creative story and well worth a Saturday binge.
If you finish all of these, don’t worry. There is no shortage of additional books and movies to keep you entertained. My youngest has been encouraging me for years to rewrite Sense and Sensibility based on our family, but I have visions of my own take on Pride and Prejudice which I hope to put down on paper this summer.