One day in Mr. Browder’s 7th grade English class*, I was pursuing his classics shelf. I came across one with a man and woman dancing on it in Regency-era clothing. It was Pride & Prejudice and within a few short pages, I fell in love with the wit and world of Jane Austen. It was to be a life-long relationship.

Like countless other 13-year-old girls through the centuries, I quickly tore through all of her books. Then I came across the BBC version of Pride & Prejudice. It was wonderful. Six hours of Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy*. Did it get any better?

About this time, Hollywood saw the dollar signs in Austen. P&P wasn’t a stranger to film adaptation. There’s a very odd black and white version that takes place in Victorian times. It rewrites the ending so that everyone gets married, including Mary and Kitty. Kitty is only 14 or so in the book.

Clueless came and changed the pop culture of the Millenials. (Maven Mom saw the movie with me and exclaimed, “Teenagers will never have their own cell phones.” Clairvoyant is she not.) How many people realize that it’s an adaptation of Emma (my favorite)? Bridget Jones entered the scene (an adaptation of P&P) and the chic lit genre was born. Helen Fielding became the voice of a generation of women in their 30s who were desperate to get married. (Ok, I read it in high school and still loved Bridget. My klutzy, awkwardness identifies with her). Sense & Sensibility soon won Emma Thompson and Oscar and other adaptations soon followed including a much politicized Mansfield Park, a very young Gwyneth Paltrow version of Emma and several other BBC versions. If there was an Austen adaptation, I searched until I saw it.

More than a decade later, I’m tired of the knock-offs. Just click her to see a basic Amazon search. Bridget Jones and Clueless were original and instantly became pop culture classics. However, the “sequels” to P&P and strange adaptations are wearing thin. Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife is nothing more than a bodice ripper and the series on the Darcy daughters saving the world is just laughable. While this t-shirt is cool and fitting for me, I just can’t take much more. A copy of a copy of a copy is just getting old. Where are the fresh books and movies? I’ve stopped reading chick lit entirely just because it’s gotten so bad. If a book comes in a pink cover, it’s 50% more likely to suck.

Over the weekend, I watched the The Jane Austen Book Club. I read the book a few months ago, and hated it. Actually, loathed would probably be a better word. I read a lot of books. Sometimes a couple a day. (Those who have helped me move can attest to that). Very few elicit strong responses from me. Some I adore and become life-long favorites (Charms for the Easy Life, Anne of Green Gables). Most I sell back to McKays and instantly forget that I ever read them. (I’ve bought a few books two or three times forgetting that I’ve read them already.) There are very few books that I actually hate. The Jane Austen Book Club was one of them.

It was simplistic. The characters were selfish and whiny. I just couldn’t muster any empathy with them. Elizabeth Bennett would have mocked them mercilessly. I knew that I would hate it when the author completely misinterpreted Emma by calling her insipid and spoiled. Sometimes, when I hate the book, I love the movie. It worked with Ya-Ya Sisterhood and Under the Tuscan Sun. The movie was well-cast and the screenplay was very similar to the book. However, I just couldn’t like the characters. They didn’t make me care about them.

I can’t help but wonder when will the Jane madness end? PBS rebranded Masterpiece Theater this year by releasing six new movies based on the novels and a fictionalized movie based on Austen’s life. (I wasn’t able to watch all of them, so I reserve judgment). Is the craziness helping further the Austen name? I fear that more people are just watching the movies and not cracking open the books.

Before I left DC, someone raved about how much they loved Jane Austen. I asked what her favorite book was. “Oh, I’ve never read her books. Just seen the movies.” Is that a fan or a movie-goer?

It strikes me as ironic that Austen would have mocked this type of worship. All of her books contain commentaries on early 19th century society. Every time I pick up a book or see a preview of a movie that relates to Austen, I can’t help but wonder what she would think. Somehow, I doubt that she would be pleased.

*I’ve always preferred Mr. Knightley to Darcy. Although Colin Firth was a perfect Mr. Darcy.

This entry was posted on Saturday, May 10th, 2008 at 9:11 pm and is filed under books. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.