A Regency Chick-Flick Fest

After the oh-so-tasty h'ordeurve that was Jane Eyre a few weeks ago, I am presently besotted by the Regency Chick-Flick Fest on PBS. The novels of “Sweet, sweet Jane” Austen having been lovingly and sumptuously produced (the British are SO good at this kind of thing), are being aired on Masterpiece Theatre Sunday evenings (be still my beating heart).


Lineaments

The casting of the heroines particularly is brilliant. Their “lineaments,” as Bronte would write, are perfect; a mixture of the kind of character and imperfection which results in a beauty which is far more interesting than the Hollywood kind. As regards the heroes' lineaments, they look okay to me, but you ladies would be better judges.

Most Recent Episode

The most recent episode was Mansfield Park, a novel I have not yet read. It was wonderful. You know Fanny's going to get her guy in the end, but it still feels so good when she does. My favourite line was from Lady Bertram who reminded her husband, Sir Thomas, that wives are “heaven's last best gift.” Never a truer word...

By the by, I enjoy the way in the which the Christian faith is a natural and reasonable part of life in these stories. And they're Anglican!

Check out a neat Austen Blog here.

A Tiny Glowing Screen

So affected was I by Jane Eyre, I decided to re-read it. Since I was able to download it as a free e-book thanks to Project Gutenberg I decided to read on my Treo using e-Reader. I am happy to report that it was a good experience. I could even set it to scrolling all by itself so I could read as I toiled on the treadmill! I didn't have to carry the book with me so when I found myself with a moment in some waiting room, I could get out my Treo and read. Not only that, but I can read it in bed with the lights off! In fact, I enjoyed the experience so much that I'm now re-reading War and Peace, this time using the free Plucker reader. I'm saving Sweet, Sweet Jane's novels until the Masterpiece Theatre memories fade a bit.