Pride and Prejudice Round Up – Bridal Book Club

I last watched this about 9 months ago and I still get “No life without wife” in my head regularly. 

Ask me about how I once saw Charles Dance walking on a cliff-top in Devon. That’s literally all there is to it, but I can talk about it for *hours*.

It’s charming, funny, and awkward by turns, and arguably, it’s Pride and Prejudice in name only. So many liberties are taken with the frocks and the story, but it’s just so *nice*.

One of my favourite anecdotes about this film is that, despite there being no push whatsoever for historical accuracy in costumes, the props department had other ideas. They spent a fortune on original period antiques, many of which were broken or damaged by the completely inappropriate, southern belle-style hoop skirts which kept knocking them over. Ah, the magic of Hollywood.

Darcy is 2D, boring and completely unknowable. I couldn’t bring myself to care about any of the characters, except for Mary. Why? Because she’s played by Tessa Peake-Jones, AKA Raquel from Only Fools and Horses. 

Fun anecdote: apparently Colin Firth was asked to dye his naturally reddish hair dark brown for the part. Clearly, the look worked for him. 

There’s this wonderful tracking shot which follows various characters through the Netherfield Ball, as all the embarrassments happen and the damage is done. It must last a couple of minutes, and is just magical. It also has an amazing cast. I wasn’t convinced Matthew Macfadyen would be a good Darcy, he won me over. 

From Amazon:

England is overrun by dragons of all shapes and sizes. Most people are blissfully unaware of them and the Pendragon Treaty that keeps the peace between human and dragon kind.  Only those born with preternatural hearing, like Fitzwilliam Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet are able to hear and converse with dragonkind.

Pride and Prejudice gets remixed in this smart, funny, gorgeous retelling of the classic, starring all characters of color, from Ibi Zoboi, National Book Award finalist and author of American Street.

Zuri Benitez has pride. Brooklyn pride, family pride, and pride in her Afro-Latino roots. But pride might not be enough to save her rapidly gentrifying neighborhood from becoming unrecognizable.

When the wealthy Darcy family moves in across the street, Zuri wants nothing to do with their two teenage sons, even as her older sister, Janae, starts to fall for the charming Ainsley. She especially can’t stand the judgmental and arrogant Darius. Yet as Zuri and Darius are forced to find common ground, their initial dislike shifts into an unexpected understanding.

From Amazon:

A modern retelling of Pride and Prejudice set in Pakistan

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a girl can go from pauper to princess or princess to pauper in the mere seconds it takes for her to accept a proposal. But Alys Binat is resolute she will not marry.

This warm and witty tug-of-love between mothers, daughters and rich, eligible bachelors is a fresh take on Jane Austen’s original.

From Amazon:

Elizabeth Bennet is the wittiest and most attractive heroine in English literature. And for the first time, in Being Elizabeth Bennet, you are given the opportunity to star in the most popular novel in the English language: Pride and Prejudice.

You will be faced throughout this book with delicate challenges and dangerous choices. Whether you’re accepting Mr Darcy the first time he professes his attachment, deciding to elope with Mr Wickham or avoiding a murderous Lady Catherine de Bourgh, this is a chance to rewrite Austen’s most famous book. You decide who to marry and when. And if you have always preferred Mr Knightley’s sophistication or have a sneaking admiration for the odious Mr Collins then you can marry them instead.

However, make choices with caution: Being Elizabeth Bennet is packed with characters and plot twists to thwart your happy union with Pemberley’s most eligible bachelor. You must complete five stages – and successfully negotiate your way through Austen’s five other novels – before you can choose to accept Mr Darcy. But if the outcome does not suit, simply return to page 1 and create a new Jane Austen adventure.

I don’t think I need to say much about this one! Although in traditional book snob style, I preferred the book.

From Amazon:

A dazzling urban satire of modern relationships?
An ironic, tragic insight into the demise of the nuclear family?
Or the confused ramblings of a pissed thirty-something?

As Bridget documents her struggles through the social minefield of her thirties and tries to weigh up the eternal question (Daniel Cleaver or Mark Darcy?), she turns for support to four indispensable friends: Shazzer, Jude, Tom and a bottle of chardonnay.

From Amazon:

• It is a truth universally acknowledged, that lovers of Pride and Prejudice want to marry Mr. Darcy.
• Marrying Mr. Darcy is a strategy card game where players are one of the female characters from Jane Austen’s novel Pride and Prejudice.
• Ages 13+
• 2 to 6 players
• 60 minute playing time

There is a great range of literary prints and cross stitch patterns on the Mrs Peggotty Arts store on Etsy. This is in no way an ad – I just think they’re really lovely.