Review by Claire

In general, annotated editions are the province of the true devotees, those who genuinely want to know if, say, it really was foggy on the morning of April 4, 1878, as Dr. Watson said it was when he and Holmes ventured out on the case of the blue carbuncle. This presents a challenge for an annotated Austen, since her works are famous for lack of specificity about dates and current events. Sadly, it is a challenge to which David Shapard’s Annotated Pride and Prejudice rarely rises.

When the notes are used to explain social customs, or words no longer in common use, they are quite useful and even amusing. We learn about fashions in card games, men’s coats, landscaping, and travel destinations. Occasional references are made to Austen’s letters, and to other writers of the time. The latter are especially helpful, since often those other writers are more or less unknown now. I had never heard before that when Elizabeth declines walking with Darcy and Bingley’s sisters by saying “the picturesque would be spoilt by admitting a fourth,” she is actually referring to a specific critic’s notions of how many cows belong in a picture together. My enjoyment of P&P has certainly been improved by the thought of Mr. Darcy, Miss Bingley, and Mrs. Hurst as a group of idyllic cows.

Unfortunately, the opportunities for notes such as these are not abundant, and Shapard, apparently abhorring a vacuum, has filled the rest with commentary on Austen’s characterization and use of irony. These notes simply state the obvious. I find it hard to believe that anyone who would buy the Annotated P&P needs to be told that, for example, “The formal and long-winded phrasing of [Mr. Collins'] letter, along with its obsequious substance, give a good hint of his character.” Or that “Elizabeth is being sarcastic” when she says that Darcy has no defect. Instead of these repetitive comments, I would have preferred to see notes on other scholarly opinions on the work, but there were almost none.

It is possible that I am simply wrong about the intended audience for the Annotated P&P. I had expected a meaty, obsessive tome, but that could easily scare off beginning Austen readers. If happy viewers of P&P3 are inspired to pick up this edition, it might be helpful in teaching them to appreciate the source material.

Cristina of BrontëBlog wrote to tell us that the BBC will be airing READER, I MARRIED HIM, a look at many women’s love for romantic fiction.

Daisy Goodwin delves into one of the most successful literary genres - romantic fiction. From Jane Austen and Charlotte Brontë to the earliest days of Mills & Boon, this three-part series explores the enduring appeal of the love story and the integral part it plays in readers’ lives.

We won’t get to see this, but somehow we suspect they will miss the point by a mile. We would love to hear what our readers in the U.K. have to say about it.

The Philadelphia Inquirer has reviewed AUSTENTATIOUS, currently playing as part of the Philly Fringe Festival.

This funny, well-sung show’s title, Austentatious: Pride and Prejudice, the Musical is amended in the program’s graphics to “no Pride and extreme Prejudice,” and they sure do murder Jane Austen’s novel. 11th Hour, specializing in contemporary musical theater (last season’s hit, tick…tick…Boom! was their debut), is young and full of energy and talent; once again Megan Nicole O’Brien directs with skill and wit.

Austentatious follows an amateur, small-town theater group through auditions, rehearsals and the opening night of a ridiculous adaptation of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. It also follows them through their romantic bust-ups, not to mention their ever-popular hopes and dreams. The dialogue isn’t nearly as clever as the lyrics, but just when you’re sitting through improv exercises (”be an animal”) thinking this is really stupid, they burst into song, singing, “This is really stupid.”

The director (the excellent Robert McClure) speaks in incomplete metaphors, declaring “I am not encumbered by character and text.”

Well, he wouldn’t be the first.

The stage manager (Kim Carson) is sweet-voiced and sweet-faced and underappreciated, and, like stage managers the world over, saves the day. This is clearly an insider’s show.

The rest of the cast (Mathilda McCommon, Alex Kniper, Justin Klinger, Nina Donze and William Vasseler), armed with good voices and stage faces, provide a big show. The only flaw (as is so often the case in the Fringe) is the venue: cabaret tables provide terrible sightlines, so get there early and sit up front.

Sounds like a great time!