Dear Friend of AustenBlog Kathleen managed to snag one of the free passes for an advance screening of Becoming Jane, and was kind enough to provide us with a review. Longtime Gentle Readers may remember her as the authoress of the infamous “Dude, Where’s My Hairbrush?” review of P&P05, in which case, this review may surprise you. We are rather grasping it like a lifeline. There are major spoilers, so click wisely.–Ed.

Following the Editrix’s command to be as ‘quick as a bunny,’ I hopped off and got tickets to a preview of ‘Becoming Jane’ for this evening in London. I took with me a dear Janeite companion. We sat in the theatre before the film began, playing ‘Spot the Janeite’ as we scanned the audience. You really could do this…then again, who am I to talk, I had a copy of ‘Persuasion’ in my bag (in my defence, due to collecting the Daily Telegraph set for the Editrix). My gentleman companion did snark about about the ‘overpowering estrogen’ in the audience, but then, ‘Becoming Jane’ is being marketed as a ‘period chick flick’ so this isn’t surprising.

I will confess I was expecting the worst, I had assumed that I would have to use my spork at regular intervals. I blame the ghastly publicity, with the concerned participants blabbing the most inane nonsense under the sun (and Mr McAvoy, I haven’t forgiven you for that ‘Northanger Abbey’ crack…which is probably why I looked favourably upon Mr Laurence Fox, who played a Mr Wisley, a Made Up potential suitor of Jane and looked nice in a well cut coat and hunting boots. Besides, at least if I ever danced with Wisley, I could at least look up to him, rather than Mr Lefroy, who would hardly reach my bosom…hang on, that’s unfair. Sorry). ANYWAY, to my great surprise (since the massive sporkage of P&P05), ‘Becoming Jane’ is not at all that bad. It’s rather watchable. And for a Made Up Film, I didn’t groan that much at all. (more…)

The Editrix is feverish (and not with love for Mr. Tilney) so it might hard to bring teh funneh tonight, but we’ll give it the ol’ Janeite try.

Plenty of news and reviews about Becoming Jane in the press. Alert Janeites AmandaJ and Lisa sent us a link to an article about James Cromwell, who plays Mr. Austen. Hints about the Cluebat were included, but we are not convinced it is necessary, though of course that might just be the fever talking. (more…)

(Thanks to Alert Janeite Sylvia M. for sending us the lovely illustration for our post! (Click to see the full-size version)

More about “Flirtmail” from a business news site in the UK:

Iris has developed an interactive game dubbed ‘Flirtmail’ that allows females to score their personality traits and discover the male Austen protagonist they are most suited to. Adverts will be placed on a number of female-targeted websites including Handbag.com and the Hello magazine site.

Sounds like fun. The ITV microsite also will include trailers, behind-the-scenes footage, and a contest to win a weekend in Bath.

The article also mentions podcasts and audiobooks on ClassicFM, and Alert Janeite Marian found the link. You can subscribe to the podcast (which is the audiobooks) and enjoy the other microsite offerings after March 12.

Many readers have asked about the music in the ITV1 Jane Austen season trailer. This is royalty-free production music, created for use in film, video, and other multimedia work. Unless it turns up on a soundtrack for these films, it isn’t available for personal purchase … at least, I haven’t been able to find the CD or MP3s for sale through the usual vendors. If anyone can find it for sale, please post in the comments or contact AustenBlog and we’ll add the purchasing information to the news. With that out of the way, here’s what my search produced:

Title: Crystallised Beauty
Composer: Phillip Sheppard
Publisher: Marlowlynn/Chappell Recorded Music Library
Disc: Pure Piano (CHAP309)
Label: BMG Zomba

To listen to Crystallised Beauty at BMG Zomba’s web site:

• Click the link above, then click Enter. A new browser window will open.
• Type “Crystallised Beauty” into the Quick Search field (lower right-hand corner).
• Click on the title to listen (controls are on the lower left of the screen) or click Details (on the right) to learn more about this piece of music. There are two versions: full length (2:37) and short (:32).

Many thanks to ITV1 for providing the title, composer, and publisher information!

“I want to tell you that I have got my own darling Child from London.” - Jane talking about receiving her copy of Pride and Prejudice in a letter to Cassandra Austen, 29 January 1813

Because the Editrix is a hopeless geek, behold the Unboxing Photo of “her own darling child,” messengered to le travail du journée late this afternoon. Apologies for the quality of the photo. Our hand was shaking just a bit.

(Obligatory Shameless Self-Promotion: Available for preorder at all online and brick and mortar booksellers! Consult the right menu for all the relevant links.)