This novel is based on Sense and Sensibility. I have been disappointed in the past with sequels, prequels, etc, but being eternally hopeful (or just wanting more Austen) I’m always prepared to try another one.

Here’s a synopsis

Jane Austen’s beloved Sense and Sensibilityhas moved to Westport, Connecticut, in this enchanting modern-day homage to the classic novelWhen Joseph Weissmann divorced his wife, he was seventy eight years old and she was seventy-five . . . He said the words “Irreconcilable differences,” and saw real confusion in his wife’s eyes.“Irreconcilable differences?” she said. “Of course there are irreconcilable differences. What on earth does that have to do with divorce?”Thus begins The Three Weissmanns of Westport, a sparkling contemporary adaptation of Sense and Sensibility from the always winning Cathleen Schine, who has already been crowned “a modern-day Jewish Jane Austen” by People’s Leah Rozen.In Schine’s story, sisters Miranda, an impulsive but successful literary agent, and Annie, a pragmatic library director, quite unexpectedly find themselves the middle-aged products of a broken home. Dumped by her husband of nearly fifty years and then exiled from their elegant New York apartment by his mistress, Betty is forced to move to a small, run-down Westport, Connecticut, beach cottage. Joining her are Miranda and Annie, who dutifully comes along to keep an eye on her capricious mother and sister. As the sisters mingle with the suburban aristocracy, love starts to blossom for both of them, and they find themselves struggling with the dueling demands of reason and romance.

I enjoyed reading this novel. The author didn’t try to emulate Austen’s style but took the situation (mother and two sisters in reduced circumstances) and made a whole new (modern) story from it.

It is one of the better re-interpretations that I have read.

Here are some reviews …

http://janeaustensworld.wordpress.com/2010/05/19/the-three-weissmanns-of-westport-by-cathleen-schine-a-review/

http://mrsodellreads.com/2010/06/23/the-three-weissmanns-of-westport-by-cathleen-schine-review/

http://austenblog.com/2010/06/07/review-the-three-weissmanns-of-westport-by-cathleen-schine/

As part of my Mansfield Park re-read, I’ve read the Mansfield Park chapter of The Improvement of the Estate by Alistair M Duckworth. It is very accessible I recommend it to anyone interested in Austen’s novels.

To my mind his chapter on Mansfield Park is really a defense of it and to prove that is has the same themes as her more popular novels, i.e. Austen is trying to define a proper relationship between an individual and society.

Duckworth believes people dislike Mansfield Park for two reasons; first it follows directly after Pride and Prejudice both in publication date and people’s reading experience and secondly we hope for a double marriage at the end (like Pride and Prejudice) and this is ‘wrenched’ from us with the marriage of Fanny and Edmund. The issues at stake in Mansfield Park are not different from her other novels, however, the representatives of individuals (i.e. the Crawfords) are corrupt and those that represent society (the Bertrams) are deficient.

As we know, estates in Austen can be used as indexes to the owner’s character and social responsibilities thus Pemberley is well-situated, has fine timber and has not been unsympathetically improved. Whereas the renting of Kellynch Hall shows Sir Walter’s dereliction of his responsibilities.

Improving estates figures prominently in Mansfield Park. Mr Rushworth wants to improves Sotherton, Mrs Norris did a ‘vast deal’ to the parsonage, Henry Crawford has improved Everingham and Mary Crawford likes improvements once they are completed.

Austen is concerned with the negative social implications of a certain type of improvement. Drastic alterations to the landscape, for example, moving entire villages. Such changes create dangerous consequences to the continuity of a culture. To ‘improve’ was to treat the deficient or corrupt parts of an established order with the character of the whole in mind (good); to ‘innovate’ or ‘alter’ on the other hand was to destroy all that had been built up by the ‘collected wisdom of the ages’ (bad). Hence Mrs Norris’s ‘vast improvements’ and the fact that ‘it was quite a different place from what it was when we first had it’ is a bad thing and a mark against her character.

Sotherton has begun to atrophy and is in need of improvement. Rushworth is aware of the aesthetic short comings but nothing else. He improves the road to Sotherton but does nothing to fix the ‘disgraceful’ cottages. Maria’s pride in the handsome spire shows a love of display equal to her future husband’s plus she is happy with the distance the church is from the house. Which implies that the physical gap might become a spiritual gap.

Crawford’s plans for Thornton Lacy are radical; the farmyard must be removed, the principal rooms rotated, the church yard shut out, etc. He wants to change the nature of the place make it into something it’s not (bad). Edmund states that very little of this will happen and that it does need a bit of improving, but very little to make it a comfortable gentleman’s residence.

This idea of excessive change being dangerous to an estate highlights the problems with the theatre – the actors are trying to turn Mansfield Park into a theatre (i.e. a whole culture is at stake). All of the characters are revealed by their conduct in the play, Mr Yates plays a seducer an ultimately he will seduce Julia, Maria plays a fallen women which she comes by leaving her husband for Mr Crawford, etc. Henry Crawford the best actor of them all continues to play roles; even in his courtship of Fanny he enjoys the public display of it.

After having read this chapter on Mansfield Park I feel like I understand it more and I have a greater respect for Austen’s skills as an author. Not an incident is wasted they all highlight character and lead to the inevitable conclusion (even the game of Speculation – Mary plays had and wins the game but it’s not worth the cost, Fanny wants to cheat herself but can’t and Henry Crawford tries to manipulate them all).

In the past I have thought Mary very similar to Elizabeth Bennet, but after my last reading I have decided she is too worldly and materialistic.

‘Matrimony was her object, provided she could marry well, and having seen Mr Bertram in town, she knew that objection could no more be made to his person than to his situation in life.’

and

‘Tom Bertram must have been thought pleasant, indeed at any rate; he was the sort of young man to be generally liked, his agreeableness was of the kind to be oftener found agreeable than some endowments of a higher stamp, for he had easy manners, excellent spirits, a large acquaintance, and a great deal to say; and the reversion of Mansfield Park, and a baronetcy, did no harm to all this. Miss Crawford soon felt, that he and his situation might do. She looked about her with due consideration, and found almost everything in his favour, a park, a real park five miles round, a spacious modern-built house so well placed and well screened as to deserve to be in any collection of engravings of gentleman’s seats in the kingdom, and wanting only to be completely new furnished – pleasant sisters, a quiet mother and an agreeable man himself – with the advantage of being tied up from much gaming at present, by a promise to his father, and of being Sir Thomas hereafter. It might do very well; she believed she should accept him; …

and

‘I shall understand all of your ways in time; but coming down with the true London maxim, that everything is to be got with money, I was a little embarrassed at first by the sturdy independence of your country customs.’

and

A large income is the best recipe for happiness I ever heard of.

Edmund is completely blinded by her charms – he even deludes himself about her true nature.

‘The right of a lively mind, Fanny, seizing whatever might contribute to its own amusement or that of others; perfectly allowable, when untinctured by ill humour or roughness; and there is not a shadow of either in the countenance or manner of Miss Crawford, nothing sharp or loud or coarse. She is perfectly feminine, except in the instances we have been speaking of. There she cannot be justified. I am glad you saw it all as I did.’

It is clear she dislikes the idea of marrying a clergyman.

‘A clergyman is nothing.’

She determines never to dance with him after his ordination and she writes to Fanny about Tom’s illness …

It was a foolish precipitation last Christmas (Edmund’s ordination), but the evil of a few days may be blotted out in part. Varnish and gilding hide many stains.

I’ve been reading Mansfield Park - I’ve changed my mind about Mary. In the past I thought her witty and interesting, but this time I’ve noticed her selfishness and worldly views.

I’ll try to write more on this in another post.

Episode 4 – the final episode.

In this episode Mr Darcy announces his engagement to Caroline Bingley (because she is ‘a maid’), Mrs Bennet receives a letter from Lydia informing her that she has gone off with Mr Bingley. Mrs Bennet believes they are to be married (Amanda and Jane let her think this until she reaches home) and returns to Longbourn. The Bennets and Amanda then travel to Hammersmith to find Bingley and Lydia (Wickham is already there and he helps them find Lydia). Darcy also arrives and tries to convince everyone that Lydia and Bingley have not spend the night together. Mr Bennet challenges Bingley to a dual (even though nothing has happened) in the process he cracks his head and starts copiously bleeding. Amanda bursts out of the room and finds herself in modern London (her need for Elizabeth is so great she created a portal). Her boyfriend drives her to Elizabeth (who is working as a nanny) on the way Amanda notices that Darcy has also come through the door (because he loves her). Together they catch a bus to Elizabeth. Amanda convinces Elizabeth to return to Longbourn. They all return to Amanda’s flat and through the ‘shower door’ back to Longbourn. Meanwhile, Wickham has found a nurse to stitch Mr Bennet’s head and they have also returned to Longbourn. Mr Bennet and Elizabeth are re-united. Lady Catherine arrives at Longbourn and agrees to have Jane’s marriage to Mr Collins annulled (it hasn’t been consummated) if Amanda agrees to disappear and never return. Elizabeth agrees to try to like Mr Darcy and Amanda plans to return home. At the door that leads back to he bathroom she finds a note from Darcy telling her that he remembers his experience in modern day London (i.e. that it’s not a dream) and she races of to Pemberley to be with him and Elizabeth returns to modern London.

There are some great bits in this episode …

Amanda Price: Hear that sound, George? Duh-uh-uh-uh! That’s Jane Austen spinning in her grave like a cat in a tumble-dryer.

and

Mr Bingley: Miss Lydia and I came yesterday and have spent our hours philosophizing. Although her father would have it, we’ve been making the beast with two backs.
Mr. Bennet:  Time to take the weapons from the wall, Mr. Bingley! Pick up your damn spear and take guard!

and

Amanda Price: Wickham. You are a bastard, but you are the right bastard at the right time.
Mr. Wickham:  One does one’s best.

and

Michael: What do you mean Darcy? Darcy’s some ponce in a book! Some todger-twitching nancy boy!
Mr. Darcy: What is this curious peron? Is it some sort of village idiot… or a clown?

and

Amanda: The rest of us are gonna say goodbye nicely and watch you step through all that plumbing into fictional Georgian England and that’ll be it. And then we’ll all spend the rest of our lives in therapy. It’s going to be fine.

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In Episode 3 Amanda is forced to leave Longbourn and she turns to Mr Wickham for help; he prepares her for society (essentially teaching her how to bluff her way) and tells her to visit Jane Collins. At Rosings she is reunited with Mr Darcy and they argue about Bingley’s and Jane’s unhappiness. Meanwhile Mrs Bennet leaves Longbourn to visit Jane taking Lydia with her. Darcy invites Amanda to visit Pemberley, which Mrs Bennet overhears and thinks was meant for her, thus Amanda, Lydia, Mrs Bennet, Jane and Mr Collins all travel to Pemberley. At Pemberley we meet Georgiana (who turns out to be a bit of a minx) and we see Mr Wickham in a whole new light. Bingley has taken to drinking and Jane tells him it is his moral duty to be happy for both of them. Darcy and Amanda fall in love but because of Caroline’s meddling he discovers that she is ‘not a maid’ and so, of course, cannot marry her. Amanda rips the pages out of her copy of Pride and Prejudice and flings it away. Darcy finds it and can’t believe her perfidy (to use their names in a novel!).

There is a fabulous scene in this episode where Mr Darcy re-enacts the famous Colin Firth diving into the lake scene.

]]> http://janeaustenreviews.com/2010/05/10/lost-in-austen-episode-3/feed/ 0 http://janeaustenreviews.com/2010/04/28/lost-in-austen-episode-2-2/ http://janeaustenreviews.com/2010/04/28/lost-in-austen-episode-2-2/#comments Wed, 28 Apr 2010 09:03:22 +0000 admin http://janeaustenreviews.com/?p=218

In the second episode Amanda tells Mr Bingley she is a lesbian (to avoid his advances). She entertains Mr Darcy, Mr Bingley and Miss Bingley with a rendition of Downtown – unfortunately this is edited from the DVD – you can find it at Youtube.

Returning to Netherfield they encounter Wickham when their carriage breaks down and he comes to their rescue. Mr Collins visits Longbourn, Amanda tells Miss Bingley that she has ‘£27 000′ a year, she becomes engaged to Mr Collins (to stop Jane from marrying him), Mr Wickham tells everyone she is the daughter of a fishmonger, Mr Collins breaks of the engagement, she ‘assaults’ him and Jane marries Mr Collins. It is all going horribly wrong.

Some great moments …

Amanda telling Mr Bingley she is a lesbian

Mr Bingley: I am drawn to you! I am a man.

Amanda: And I am a woman! And I am drawn … to other women.

Mr Bingley: You mean there really are ladies who… steer the punt from the Cambridge end?

After Amanda sings Downtown

Mr Bingley: Brava, Miss Price! And whenever life is gettin’ me down, I shall be sure to go ‘downtown’. Eh, Darcy?

Mr Darcy: With alacrity

I think it’s extremely clever the way the plot is spiraling out of control.

I think this (very loose) adaptation of Pride and Prejudice is fabulous; witty, clever, lovely to look at and well cast.

In Episode 1 Amanda Price (Jemima Rooper), a keen Janeite, finds Elizabeth Bennet in her bathroom (in Hammersmith).

She passes through the secret door in the bathroom and finds herself trapped in Longbourn. She then tries to ensure that the novel progresses as it should.

Mr Bingley (Tom Mison) visits Longbourn and admires Amanda more than Jane (Morven Christie). At the Meryton Assembly Amanda claims to be engaged by Mr Darcy (Elliot Cowan) when asked to dance by Mr Bingley. They share an extremely awkward dance. Amanda drinks too much and kisses Mr Bingley.

Mr Darcy is suitably tall, handsome and proud. Miss Bingley is nasty, Mr Bennet delightful and Mrs Bennet is scheming to get her daughters well-married (or at least married).