Your daily Austen season update
HELLO! Magazine reports in an interview with Billie Piper that Mansfield Park will air 18 March. This differs from reports from some fan sites, which have indicated a start date one week earlier, but 18 March would fit well with Amazon and Play.com’s release dates of 18-19 March.
And speaking of the DVDs, Alert Janeite Helen B. discovered Play.com’s synopses for Mansfield Park and Northanger Abbey:
At 10, Fanny Price goes to live at Mansfield Park, the estate of her aunt’s husband, Sir Thomas. Clever, studious, and a writer with an ironic imagination and fine moral compass, she becomes especially close to her cousin Edmund, Thomas’s younger son. Fanny is soon possessed of beauty as well as a keen mind and comes to the attention of a neighbor, Henry Crawford. Thomas promotes this match, but to his displeasure, Fanny has a mind of her own, asking Henry to prove himself worthy. As Edmund courts Henry’s sister and as light shines on the link between Thomas’s fortunes and New World slavery, Fanny must assess Henry’s character and assert her heart as well as her wit.
Helen B. notes, and we agree, that this summary bears a striking resemblance to the 1999 Mansfield Park. A synopsis is sometimes “recycled” between adaptations (we’ve seen the 1986 Northanger Abbey summary turn up in descriptions of stage plays) so that may be what’s happening here. With that, on to the Abbey:
Catherine Moreland [sic] (Felicity Jones,) a spirited young beauty from the country, enters into the depraved society of Bath with dreams and fantasies sparked by her love of gothic romance novels.
There she meets two men vying for her affection - the dashing and jealous John Thorpe (William Beck) and the gentle and sincere Henry Tilney (JJ Feild). Despite the advice of her mischievous new friend Isabella (Carey Mulligan), Catherine treats neither as more than a dear friend.
That is until Catherine accepts an invitation to Northanger Abbey from Henry`s grave and severe father, General Tilney (Liam Cunningham). Her passion for the dark and mysterious feeds her imagination, as tyrannical fathers and diabolical villains work their evil on forelorn heroines trapped in isolated castles, much like Northanger….
Where to begin? Depraved society of Bath? Dashing John Thorpe? Catherine treats John and Henry both as dear friends? (Sounds more like Isabella’s style.) And have they converted Northanger Abbey into a castle again? As stated above, a synopsis is not always the most accurate representation of the film, but … dashing John Thorpe? Better stop; I’m getting a little shrill.
PS: Alert Janeite Sarah G. just now sent us a link to a great photo of Michelle Ryan as Maria Bertram from the UK edition of SKY Magazine. That looks like Julia Bertram behind Maria, and could the sour-faced woman be Mrs. Norris? Thanks, Sarah!
March 1st, 2007 at 2:21 pm
The SKY article states “ITV1, SUNDAY 11, 9PM.” Hence, another inconsistency from the 18 March reports. Which is which? Anyone else find articles confirming the date (or ‘a date’, for that matter).
I agree with Heather. “Dashing” is not exactly a word I would use to describe John Thorpe. Obnoxious, uncouth, annoying - perhaps - but never ‘dashing’ (ewww).
Although I am a fan of Henry Tilney, I didn’t quite think of him ‘gentle.’ Perhaps that description would do (I suppose they mean that he was a ‘gentleman’?). In fact wasn’t he rather clever, witty and outgoing?
And I never quite thought of Bath as a ‘depraved’ city/town, even in the Georgian era. It was a far cry from Catherine Morland’s sheltered and quiet country life but I hope they won’t make it look like Rome during the reign of Caligula….! That’s just what came into my mind when I saw the word “depraved.” Rather harsh, don’t you think? I happen to love the place…….in fact it is one of my favorite cities in England.
March 1st, 2007 at 2:40 pm
Well, I think the prevailing view of Bath during this period would have been one of a town of moral ambiguities. I love it too, but all those crazy 18th century aristocrats running around is bound to have some sort of an effect on the place (and Jane disliked Bath and the aristocracy, so she probably took the same view).
March 1st, 2007 at 2:45 pm
Dashing? Perhaps literally, anyway. He certainly dashes Catherine across the streets of Bath in his “d——” fine carriage (curricle-hung, of course, as you see).
March 1st, 2007 at 2:49 pm
Hmm. Personally I’m leaning towards the 18th. It fits well with the DVD release and the full debut of the official web site on 12 March … unless it’s ITV’s practice to open up the web site after the films have been shown. I wish they would have added a line to their splash page — “The telly gets torrid, Regency-style, starting 18 March” or something to that effect. But until we hear more, it definitely wouldn’t hurt to tune in on the 11th, just in case.
Edward Ferrars and Edmund Bertram seem more like the “gentle” heroes. I’m sure Henry Tilney’s equally kind, but my first impression of him is more lively and witty. A fun guy to invite to parties, or to host them himself. The John Thorpe description disturbs me more, because it seems like the direct opposite of his character in the book.
March 1st, 2007 at 3:16 pm
Haha, dashing. They only slightly missed the mark on that one, eh?
“Gentle” when referring to Henry brings to mind Edward Ferrars, which he definitely is not. I think Henry would laugh if someone called him gentle…
March 1st, 2007 at 3:26 pm
Well, I certainly hope the synopses of MP is being “recycled.” I want the Fanny from the book.
As for NA… two men vying for her affection. Is this a liberty Mr. Davis took, turning Mr. Thorpe (dashing? certainly not!) and Henry Tilney into rivals? Catherine treats neither as more than a dear friend. Methinks she viewed the former as less than a dear friend and the latter as more than a friend.
March 1st, 2007 at 3:52 pm
*splutters*
The only fellow who should be doing anything remotely “dashing” around Miss Morland is the Rev. Mr. Henry Tilney. The High Priestess has spoken, dagnabit.
March 1st, 2007 at 4:46 pm
Oh my! Now you’ve scared me! :/
March 1st, 2007 at 6:26 pm
I always pictured Fanny Price a plain girl from start to finish. That is what I always liked about her. She was not the beauty, who men would fawn after. I always thought that Henry Crawford liked her because he thought her as a challenge and the more he got to know her, the more he liked her.
The 1999 Mansfield Park was far from this image. Would be a shame if that is taken for a true adaption and this adaption would not be from the book, but from that movie.
March 1st, 2007 at 6:51 pm
Ugh! They have got it so wrong! I know you’ve all said it, but really– Henry is not gentle (well, generally) or sincere (maybe at times, but it ain’t a word that describes Henry). In fact, he misleads into fright an innocent, impressionable girl on purpose, for his own amusement. And John Thorpe is not dashing. Are you stupid!? He’s a creep!
They pretty much have all their descriptions wrong: Catherine a beauty, Isabella mischevious (sotto voce: *biatch*), Bath depraved, Northanger a castle, Catherine treating Henry only as a dear friend, Catherine treating Thorpe as a dear friend, Henry vying for Catherine’s affection.
sorry, I just had to get that out!
Okay, I’ll stop saying it all over again
March 1st, 2007 at 8:28 pm
Once again, the press has provided me with information that makes me believe NA2 is going to (for lack of a better word) blow. Drinking, swearing, no-concept-of-personal-space John Thorpe lumped into the category of “dear friends?” And Henry may indeed be “gentle and sincere” but those are not the first two words that pop into my head when asked to describe him, and forgive me for saying so, paint a rather dull picture of Jane Austen’s wittiest and liveliest hero.
*end rant*
March 1st, 2007 at 10:49 pm
I wonder when the dvds will be released from the U.S. Amazon?
March 1st, 2007 at 11:07 pm
I think it was plain from the beginning that Catherine was head-over-heels in love with Henry Tilney almost from their first meeting. I don’t think there was a love triangle (from John Thorpe’s point of view perhaps, but Catherine never showed any interest in the creepy Thorpe).
And, Joanna, it probably won’t be until fall 2007 before we see anything on the US dvds. If they do release the adaptations here (US) in November, then we’d be lucky if we get to preorder the dvds by October. It could follow the “Jane Eyre” pattern (release a few weeks after first showing) or (heaven forbid!) “North & South.” We had to hound BBC America to release the N&S dvd here!! They showed it in July and BBCA told us that they had no plans to release the dvds….so we swamped them with letters and emails. We even put up petitions. I hope it won’t come to that with these adaptations!
March 2nd, 2007 at 6:21 am
Joanna, the US will get the DVDs after the films are shown here. And that’s not until November.
March 2nd, 2007 at 10:48 am
What everyone says about the way Henry Tilney and John Thorpe are described! Hel-lo! We’re talking about the difference between a rude, obnoxious bore and a lively, witty charmer. I hope this is actually just a ‘sloppy’ description, but I’m worried. It sounds like they might have decided that it should be more difficult for Catherine to make a choice between the two. And if they made Thorpe ‘dashing’, then they’d have to tone down Tilney to make it a ‘will-she-take-dashing & difficult-or-sweet & gentle’ dilemma. Bah! I have already ordered the DVD, but if that’s the case – I’m sending it back!!? Love, love, love Maria and Julia Bertram. They’re both absolutely perfect! That’s certainly Aunt Norris in the background, but I’m not so sure about her. She looks like they almost made her into too nasty a piece of work. I mean, I know she is, but more in the mean, officious busybody way. This lady makes me think of Lizzie Borden with a butcher knife hidden in her skirts.
March 2nd, 2007 at 12:17 pm
I’m not convinced that is Mrs. Norris behind the girls. Great casting on them though!
Everybody take a deep breath. We all know the truth about Northanger. Likely these synopses were written by interns who, if they have copies of Jane’s novels, use them as coasters. The marketing is not always a good indication of what the film will be. Even Netflix gets there facts wrong on things (names, places, etc).
I’m still looking forward to these films regardless of idiot copywriters. I just may pre-order NA. Won’t do the same with MP, have to see it first. I just refuse to believe they’ve messed up my beloved NA that badly. A case of forced optimisim perhaps.
March 2nd, 2007 at 12:33 pm
All I have to say is, I hope the synopsis people were on a tight deadline and didn’t have sufficient time to get the whole story. Or hoped that this description would draw an audience better than reality would.
Does anyone else think Maria forgot part of her ensemble? Must we see Maria’s breasts in every MP adaptation?
lol
March 2nd, 2007 at 1:31 pm
Remember all the fuss about bedroom scenes in 1995 P&P and it turned out to be Jane and Lizzy having a nice chat and Mr. Darcy taking a bath? I have faith in Andrew Davis. The casting looks spot on, the shots we’ve seen look good and so frankly I am taking it with a pinch of salt.
March 2nd, 2007 at 2:44 pm
A p.s. re the photo of Maria and Julia - don’t the costumes look gorgeous ?
March 2nd, 2007 at 3:15 pm
I have faith in Andrew Davis.
To quote Andrew Davies (via Mr. Bennet): You think that, Jane, if it gives you comfort.
March 2nd, 2007 at 3:28 pm
“… You think that, Jane, if it gives you comfort.”
Way too funny, Mags. I can hardly write for laughing. “Of whom does Jane ever think ill?”
Let’s just hope that Mr. Davies did not screw this up too badly. And is that to be my only security? Alas, alas!
March 2nd, 2007 at 5:14 pm
And is that to be my only security? Alas, alas!
Nay, I am sure you cannot have a better:
“People who like this sort of thing will find this the sort of thing they like.” (Abraham Lincoln)
March 2nd, 2007 at 5:26 pm
hee.
March 2nd, 2007 at 5:52 pm
I have only recently started to read the AustenBlog, but the comments have made me an addict! Who could help liking the rapping Henry Tilney or the above quotes?
I shall continue to cross my fingers regarding both NA and MP, I cannot decide whether to be terrified or not… I shall hope for the best and try not to think about them more than 5 times a day, but it will be difficult!
March 2nd, 2007 at 6:29 pm
Well, Andrew Davies wrote the screenplay of P&P 1995, Emma (Kate B version), Middlemarch, Wives & Daughters, Daniel Deronda, The Way We Live Now, and Bleak House…..all of which happen to be (since I’ve seen all of these, and own most of these dvds) excellent period drama adaptations. Given his track record, I am prepared to give him and NA2 credit and expect to be entertained and amused, and hopeful that he will do justice to Jane Austen’s work.
Now MP3 was written by Maggie Wadey, whose previous work was The Buccaneers (fine work though it played like a soap opera at times and there were lots of changes from the book) and the earlier NA (with Peter Firth).
I haven’t seen any of Simon Burke’s works (who wrote the screenplay for Persuasion).
So given their track record, I think I could safely put my trust in NA2 and hope that the screenplay for MP3 and Persuasion are also up to snuff. I must say I’m not worried about Persuasion - the cast and everything about it look promising. I hope MP3 will be better than NA2 and MP2 (or should I say, the movie called Mansfield Park although it bears little to no resemblance to the book), and at least comparable to The Buccaneers (which I did also enjoy).
March 2nd, 2007 at 7:15 pm
WOW! ZOE SLATER!!! Being a huge Eastenders fangirl, I can’t wait. Unfortunately our Eastenders in something like 3 or 4 years behind. Zoe just found out about her parentage last week.
March 2nd, 2007 at 10:02 pm
I’ve had a bit of a problem with the casting of Michelle Ryan since it was announced, but I can see it looks like she’ll be quite super. I just can’t get the image of that horrific fringe out of my head!
March 3rd, 2007 at 1:53 pm
Marcy, Mr. Davies also did a splendid job with Dr. Zhivago a while back. I know I’m in the minority but I always thought the ’60s version was terrible.
March 4th, 2007 at 6:21 pm
Yes, Ina, I do happen to have the newer version of Dr. Zhivago on dvd as well. Another splendid job by Andrew Davies (I had forgotten that he did indeed write the screenplay to that, too). Another feather on his cap and another mark of confidence on him.
I just watched the Peter Firth version of ‘Northanger Abbey’ again. I trust that Mr. Davies will add a touch or two of his ‘creativity’ into the new version. If the new version covers most of the scenes from the 1980’s version (though preferably less of the ‘fantasy’ scenes and better music) and hopefully - cross fingers! - a glimpse of Woodston (Henry’s estate), then I will be a happy woman.