Dear Internet,
Today is the occasion of Jane Austen’s 238th birthday. I’m slightly embarrassed my post, which was set to publish at 10AM this morning, was published before it was finished. I am even more embarrassed because I was sure that I had set it to post later this afternoon, thus giving me time to get in cleaned up and ready before it was loved by world. Oops.
This year also marks the 200th anniversary of the publication of Pride and Prejudice, and regardless of how you feel about Ms. Austen, you’ll be hard pressed to find any author whose work has remained continually in print since its first publication and for as long.
Basildon Park (Netherfield in Pride and Prejudice 2005), England, 2008.
As many of my long time readers know, I am a huge fan of Ms. Austen’s. At one point, I had an Etsy store of my crafts that were wholly devoted to Jane. Every time I am in England, I always attempt to visit a Jane place. In 2008, I visited Basildon Park, home to Netherfield in P+P2005 as well as took in the sites of Bath. In 2012, I visited her grave at Winchester Cathedral. I’ve always fancied doing an Austen tour of England, but something I come up with on my own time and terms as the idea of Austenland is abhorrent. (Yes, I’ve read the book but not seen the movie. The book was awful, not because of the idea or content but it read like a child’s version of how they interpreted adults should be acting rather than an adult writing, even in a loving mocking form, on a particular fandom. It was very bizarre.)
To celebrate Jane’s birthday, I’ve spent the day watching (and tweeting) some of my favorite Jane Austen and Austen inspired shows. Here is my current schedule:
- Lost in Austen
- Becoming Jane
- Pride & Prejudice (2005)
- Metropolitan
- Bridget Jones’ Diary
- Emma (1996)
- Miss Austen Regrets
I also have Death Comes to Pemberley lined up on my reading list this holiday break, though reviews have not been favorable. I am, however, BEYOND excited for BBC’s adapataion of the book, which is being shown on December 26th in the UK and coming to the US, via PBS, some unknown date later.
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Other things that happened this year in regards to our dear friend Jane:
- Bank of England will put Jane on the £10 note starting in 2016
- BBC recreated Netherfield Ball
- The Pride and Prejudice Bicentenary Challenge 2013
- Jane Austen’s House Museum calendar of 2013 events of celebration
- Mr. Darcy reincarnated as a 12′ fiberglass statue
Excessively divertedly yours,
x0x0,
Lisa