The Hartford Courant’s review of the film ALFIE, starring Jude Law in the title role, references Jane Austen’s novels, specifically the cads such as Willoughby and Wickham, and Daniel Cleaver of Helen Fielding’s BRIDGET JONES novels (who is, after all, based upon Wickham).

Women are clearly charmed by the cad. They are putty in his hands. They iron his shirts. They make him dinner. And they sometimes even cheat on their husbands and boyfriends for him.

But if the cad’s life looks enviable, for a time, he almost always has his comeuppance.

In Austen’s morally guided universe, cads are made to suffer the consequences of their sins. Both Willoughby and Wickham are married off to women they do not love. Helen Fielding’s Cleaver is, by the time the sequel rolls around, “getting help” for his chronic womanizing, even if the therapy is not having much effect.

We do not trust ourselves to comment.

Like Emma Woodhouse, who in Jane Austen’s “Emma” marries Mr. Knightley, only to bring him to live with her and her father, thus preserving her life’s status quo, Ryan and Seth on “The O.C.” must reject real adventure and learn how to get their excitement at home. Come to think of it, that’s not just the lesson of “Emma” and other novels of manners; it’s the lesson of television itself. No wonder “The O.C.” succeeds so adroitly. It brilliantly brings forth the spirit of the medium.

Dorothy! Our vinaigrette, and a pot of strong tea!

We’ve reported this before, but since the play is about to open, we thought a reminder would not go amiss. The Aurora Theatre Company of Berkeley, California is putting on a stage production of EMMA beginning November 12 and running through December 15, 2004.

Of all Jane Austen’s fictional heroines, Emma Woodhouse is the most infuriating, the most flawed, and all the while the most endearing. Fancying herself a young matchmaker, Emma comically meddles in the lives of her friends and neighbors, generally botching their chances at romance rather than improving them. But love does find a way, and this clever play is an absolute delight.

In this fresh, sparkling theatrical adaptation, the classic novel’s web of characters is ingeniously spun by a cast of five. Though Austen herself described Emma as “a heroine whom no one but myself will much like,” the world and time have proven her wrong. Of this adaptation, Time Out wrote, “Jane Austen herself would surely applaud.”

Do we still need to say it? Alert AustenBlog readers may send reviews to us for publication. We would love to hear about this!

A stage production of PRIDE AND PREJUDICE opens at the Haymarket Theatre in Lincoln, Nebraska on November 11, 2004.

Stuart said the Haymarket Theatre decided to try “Pride and Prejudice” after an informal poll of their audience. He discovered the crowd was mostly female and decided to try something that focused on women.

“We realized that women were mainly buying our tickets and wanted to try something women would be interested in,” Stuart said. “The plot (of ‘Pride and Prejudice’) revolves around women and their relationships. There are also a lot of female parts.”

Female parts? Would Lady Catherine approve?

As always, alert AustenBlog readers may send reviews of the play to us for publication.