So if you have been following me for a while, you know how I feel about free things.
As I always say:
“Free is always good unless it is diseases.”
So I just cannot resist a giveaway-anytime I see one I have to enter it.
So in november I entered the ReadtheWriteActgiveaway that had partnered with Six0Six Design. The winner would receive their choice of homemade pencils.
When I was contacted by Vanessa Scott-Hayward as to which set I wanted, I told her to surprise me with any of the Jane Austen ones. I was sure I would love any of them as you know how much I love Jane.
“Jane Austen on love and marriage. Austen’s wisdom on falling in love, all in one of my custom literary pencil sets. The perfect gift to give this Valentines Day. AND it is also ideal to give as a Galentines present to your bookish bestie! Taking quotes from her letters and novels I have compiled five of my favorite romantic Jane Austen quotes.”
These pencils were absolutely beautiful and very well made. And when I saw them, I thought the same thing, they are the perfect Galentine’s gift. I ended up breaking the set up to give two to my friends, one to my niece, and one to SewMelissaWrites in the giveaway I did-keeping the last one for myself.
I was going to review this later, but as this is a perfect Galentine’s gift, I know I needed to review it before, and give you all a chance to order it for your best girlfriend or galfriend!
Last month I visited with two of my friends. One of them was talking about this:
“If a woman doubts as to whether she should accept a man or not, she certainly ought to refuse him.”
So I knew it was the perfect pencil for her.
My other friend we were talking about getting back into a relationship after ending one that lasted a long time. I thought the pencil with this quote was perfect for her:
My niece is turning 13 this year, and all I can think is I hope that she doesn’t get involved with boys. 13 year old boys have a lot of growing up to do, so I sent her the pencil with this quote:
Last month I did a giveaway and I ended up mailing it later than I planned as life got in he way. So as a consolation prize to SewMelissaWrites I put one of these pencils in there, the one with this quote:
And kept the last for myself.
These are gorgeous, but they are made in Ireland. So when ordering just factor that into your shipping time! Absolutely gorgeous and a great gift to give.
So this year’s theme is “mysteries” in honor of Agatha Christie’s novel The Mysterious Affair at Styles turning 100 years old. To really have this theme be present I decided to review a mystery every month…somehow.
Mystery, you say?
So I had wanted to start the year off posting my review of the next Mr. & Mrs. Darcy mystery/ Jane Austen mystery, but didn’t get time to edit it.
My life motto right there…
I wasn’t sure what to do-when the problem was solved for me…with a mysterious package.
Ready for any case
I went to my mailbox and had a large envelope from a company I hadn’t heard of. I thought it was odd, but realized it might be a gift from a friend and they sent it from the company they purchased it from.
I opened the package and was freaked out!!!!!!!!!!! What the heck?????!!!!!!!!!
G is for goblin who lives in the mirror, when I am quiet it sneaks even nearer
I received a “notice” from a bank that they have been cleaning records and discovered a safe deposit box from a client that wants to remain anonymous. If they did not collect their items in a certain amount of time it was to be forwarded to me.
The items from 27 East Heath Road included:
1 Set of Personal Notes
1 Set of Letters
1 Mourning Card
1 Child’s Drawing and Poem
1 Page from an Orphanage’s Records
1 Notice of Foreclosure Upon a London House
1 Photograph
The note also has a warning:
“When I was growing up in London, the property at 27 East Heath Road was known as ‘The House of Death’. No one was ever sure of exactly what happened there, but it was infamous as dark and dangerous place.”
That house sounds like this one:
The story is set in 1873 where amazing architect Henry Griggs happily designs his dream house for him, his wife, and his family. But all did not go well…
Griggs starts building his dream home, but things are…strange. Unexplained things happen, items moved, a spooky feeling is over all the workers, his foreman leaves frightened, and even his wife is saying there is a evil spirit.
Laura Griggs passes away and Griggs starts to go off the deep end-his notes/memorandum gets crazier and harder to read.
Something is going wrong. The plans change from what Griggs wrote to someone else modifying them, but if not him-then who?
Hmm…
The house is almost complete, but Griggs has descended into some kind of madness.
“The madness in the walls must not escape…I fear I shall be gone altogether…I fear harm may come to her [Lizzy] if she is not sent to safety.”
You’re crazy! Crazy, am I? We’ll see whether I’m crazy or not.
So he fires Coldfield, and sets up his daughter in an orphanage with a trust when she is of age. Coldfield is against this as he would like to take Lizzy if Griggs is unable, but alas he does not and Lizzy goes into the orphanage, (as shown on the list). Griggs disappears, presumed dead.
Or is it?!
There are also some marks, like some kind of cipher. But I need more clues to figure it out.
So if you have been following me, you know I have been super excited about Modesto Jane Con. The past eight years I have seen pictures from different Jane Cons and festivals and wished I could go-but they were not possible for me to attend as it always came down to a problem of time, money, work, etc. Instead I had to be content with seeing pictures on social media.
But then Modesto Jane Con was created!
From January 10th-12th there were all kinds of workshops, activities, movies, an opera, and even a fashion show!
Your $30 ticket allowed you to attend the workshops (BOTH DAYS) and see one showing of Mansfield Park Opera (your choice of Saturday or Sunday).
That was it, I was going! And I convinced my book club + my sister to join me. I scrounged around for a costume (I’ll post on that later) and made sure to bring a notebook to take copious notes on the workshop and opera to-of course post on them later (as I am now).
So the first workshop of the day was Gowns & Groans. After that you had your choice of The Definitive Darcy or Start You Own Book Club. The third workshop was your choice of Dressing the Regency Lady or Are You a Long-Lost Austen? Searching Your Family Tree.
So after Dressing the Regency Lady, we had about an hour and fifteen mins as Layton went over the time. I wanted to look at the library, the art gallery, and a shop all featured on the Modesto Jane Con instagram, but I was vetoed as everyone was hungry.
For the past few months I had been talking to Lynne Marcus from the Modesto Jane Con Instagram page, and we hoped to meet up at lunch. I wanted to check out Mocha Magic as that is where Lynne was stopping to eat, but I was vetoed again. We had heard some volunteers and organizers talking about pizza and that is what the group wanted.
They were worried about time, as everyone wanted to get to the Opera to hear the preshow talk at 1:30, but I convinced them to stop at let me look at the library, Stanislaus County Library.
You know me, I love the library! Plus I wanted to check out their Jane Austen display that I saw on social media. Everyone was glad we did as we loved the Regency dress they made out of old book pages. So beautiful and crafty!
After that we looked over the sponsors for Modesto Jane Con to find a place that was close to the theater and served the pizza that everyone craved. We decided on Chefs of New York.
It was a cute café that quickly filled up with other people from Jane Con, (we could tell by the wristbands and what they wore). We had quite a few conversations with other fans.
I think that was one of the most enjoyable parts of Jane Con. Not only did we learn a lot, but we were able to spend time with other fans. We met people from different cities who we had never known before but instantly felt a camaraderie in having the same interests.
Here are people that if you aren’t an extrovert, you probably never would have spoken to. But knowing they are a fan of the same thing, it instantly breaks down a wall as you are kindred spirits.
Ad I don’t usually review food (I do have a few tea places I am planning on reviewing in the future but haven’t yet) but as this was part of the experience and they supported Jane Con, I felt I needed to.
Chefs of New York Downtown was amazing! If you find yourself in Modesto, stop there. This food was so good, I couldn’t eat it fast enough.
I asked the waitress for a suggestion and she recommended the vegetarian panini, which came with a choice of soup or salad. When the food came out, I was shocked at the amount of food I was given. The salad was gigantic, I mean I was expecting a tiny plate-not a huge pasta sized one.
The same was for the soup others ordered.
The sandwich was a good size and just fantastic.
So while we had great conversation, fantastic food, spent the morning in wonderful workshops, I was still feeling a little bummed. I was disappointed that we missed meeting up with Marcus and the organizers of Modesto Jane Con.
So we had been sitting and talking with a family at the table next to us, who create and sell old fashioned hats and victorian clothing. They had left when we received our food, as they had finished theirs. We were about halfway-two thirds through our food when a new group of ladies sat down in the table next to us.
We could tell they were attendees of Jane Con from what they were wearing and after a little while they asked if we attending and what we thought. We shared a bit with them and then they asked how we had heard of it. I shared that I saw it on instagram and then convinced my book club to come with us.
They then asked if I was JaneAustenRunsMyLife and I said it was and it turned out that I was right next to Marcus, the very woman I had been speaking to these past few months. What a crazy random happenstance!
What great luck! It was incredible that it happened. I mean if they hadn’t changed their plans of where they wanted to eat at, or if they had come earlier while that family was still eating we never would have met.
I know that this is kind of an unusual post, but I wanted to give props to the Library and Chefs of New York Downtown as I really appreciate their support of Modesto Jane Con.
I don’t know of the library was paid or gave them the rooms for free, I am not sure how active the staff was in the involvement of the Con, or what roles they played in putting everything together-but I really appreciate the Stanislaus County Library allowing us to use their space and made it possible to have a Jane Con. I mean parking was free, it was a central spot, and a wonderful meeting area.
Chefs of New York Downtown helped sponsor Modesto Jane Con, how much or in what capacity, I don’t know. All I know is that they were willing to help support this in some way, not knowing if they would get a return or not-people might not choose to eat there with or without their name in the program. We appreciated your sponsorship and visited there, doubly rewarded in amazing food and service.
And to Lynne Marcus and the other organizers, thank you for all your hard work. I know it took a lot of time and energy to plan all the events, schedule the speakers, find volunteers, etc. It wasn’t easy, and I’m sure stressful at times-but your end product was amazing. We learned a lot, had a ton of fun, and just all out enjoyed every minute of it!
You organizers, volunteers, and everyone who helped put Modesto Jane Con together.
And we can’t wait until next year! (If there is a next year, please!)
So we will be taking a break from the Modesto Jane Con until after Valentine’s Day as I have some posts planned for the holiday. Last year I didn’t do it, but I’m back to tradition and plan on doing 14 posts on my favorite romantic moments from film and TV shows.
I’m sure you are wondering what is there left to write about? Well-we still have my review of the Mansfield Park Opera and my costume + the Regency Fashion show.
So if you have been following me, you know I have been super excited about Modesto Jane Con. The past eight years I have seen pictures from different Jane Cons and festivals and wishing I could go-but they were not possible for me to attend as it always came down to a problem of time, money, work, etc. Instead I had to be content with seeing pictures on social media.
But then Modesto Jane Con was created!
From January 10th-12th there were all kinds of workshops, activities, movies, an opera, and even a fashion show!
Your $30 ticket allowed you to attend the workshops (BOTH DAYS) and see one showing of Mansfield Park Opera (your choice of Saturday or Sunday).
That was it, I was going! And I convinced my book club + my sister to join me. I scrounged around for a costume (I’ll post on that later) and made sure to bring a notebook to take copious notes on the workshop and opera to-of course post on them later (as I am now).
So the first workshop of the day was Gowns & Groans. After that you had your choice of The Definitive Darcy or Start You Own Book Club. The third workshop was your choice of Dressing the Regency Lady or Are You a Long-Lost Austen? Searching Your Family Tree.
Our group decided against the genealogy as we knew we were not related to Jane Austen. My mom’s side of the family is Mexican with a little bit of Chilean and Chumash Native American. On my father’s side we are Danish and Sicilian Italian. Besides that, I was extremely interested in knowing everything that goes into the outfit of the Regency Lady, so for when I get a costume made I will know what I need. I had thrown something together (more on that later) for the event, but eventually I want to get an accurate costume made.
This workshop was led by Elizabeth Layton:
There’s a lot going on beneath those deceptively simple Regency gowns. Stays long and short, chemises, petticoats, and more. Costume College graduate and Costume Society member, Layton will walk us through the layers that make a lady.
Elizabeth Layton is a Costume Historian with nearly 20 years of historical garment research. She has a degree in history and is a costume College attendee.
By the elementary school age, women would be proficient in sewing. They learned it young, and unless they were very wealthy-continued to sew their whole life. The sewing machine was invented in 1790, but a widely used model was not patented until 1830. So Regency women had to do everything by hand. Can you imagine how long that would take?
So the first thing that comes in dressing is the chemise. A chemise was your underwear, basically, and would be washed often. Most women would have a minimum of seven chemises, one for each day of the week, to last them until washday. Chemises had a gathered neckline that come close to the chest and completed the stays. Chemises had to be worn under the stays as the stays were never washed.
Women made their own chemises, unless they were very wealthy and could pay someone else to do it. The women would also make the men’s shirts. Women of the Regemcy era were very thrifty, using every bit of material. Husband’s shirt gets messed up? Turned into a Chemise. Lose or gain weight? Reuse the material to create something else. Eventually as an item became too worn they were made into smaller and smaller things-until they went into the scrap container.
“And pray, sir, what do you think of Miss Morland’s gown?”
“It is very pretty, madam,” said he, gravely examining it; “but I do not think it will wash well; I am afraid it will fray.”
“How can you,” said Catherine, laughing, “be so—” She had almost said “strange.”
“I am quite of your opinion, sir,” replied Mrs. Allen; “and so I told Miss Morland when she bought it.”
But then you know, madam, muslin always turns to some account or other; Miss Morland will get enough out of it for a handkerchief, or a cap, or a cloak. Muslin can never be said to be wasted. I have heard my sister say so forty times, when she has been extravagant in buying more than she wanted, or careless in cutting it to pieces.” –Northanger Abbey
After the chemise, the stockings and boots would go next. It is easier to put the boots on first, as after the stays were put on, bending down would be extremely uncomfortable. Stockings would have embroidery, called clocking, over the ankle and seam to hide it.
The stays would go on next and had a busk that went down the middle, the breastbone area. It is called a divorce stay, as it lifts and separates the breast-showing two instead of creating one like the previous dresses did.
After the stays, went on a “petticoat”, which was essentially a slip. The top layer dress would be sheer, so this was on for modesty. The slip might be colored, fancy, simple and depending on the weather would be cotton or wool. The slip and dress would be buttoned up the back. The buttons would be handmade with thread and were called dorset buttons.
Layton mentioned that prostitutes wouldn’t have used a slip and girls who were on the wilder, wanting-to-show-off-their-bodies side would moisten the slip with water to show their legs. In the book, Victoria and the Rogue, Victoria gets engaged to Lord Hugo Rothschild, Earl of Malfrey and he throws a party for her. In the book, here we get a glance that maybe the Earl isn’t the best person for Victoria as we see that he throws the party not only on Victoria’s dime, but that the people aren’t the most moral and had very loose behavior. I remember Victoria commenting on one of the ladies having a wet skirt and finding it odd. I thought it was weird too, but now I really understand why that lady was making hr legs wet-trying to show off to the guys.
After the slip, essentially to bags were tied on, that would be the pockets. The gown that would go on over would have big slits in the side so every dress would have pockets. The pockets she should is were quite large and it made me wonder-how come we don’t have pockets like that today.
After the pockets came the dress. The dress was kind of like a bib overall, or apron, with a fitted top that they would pin together. The dress would be patterned muslin, as mentioned in Gowns and Groans.
From Emma (1996)
Yes, that was how the dress stayed together-it was pinned, not sewed, but pinned in the front.
Huh?
I know!
Yes, my thought was that is weird that everything is sewn, except for the last part of the outfit we will just pin it. We will pin the part that covers the breasts. That seems so immodest and all I can think is what if it falls open?
That’s not good.
My second thought? OMG that’s why Mrs. Allen had the pin!!! I thought it was in the dress and she had forgotten to remove it or overlooked it, you know like back when you bought a new button up shirt and it had the pins in it and you had to remove it. No, she had the pins because that is how her dress was held together!
“They were interrupted by Mrs. Allen: “My dear Catherine,” said she, “do take this pin out of my sleeve; I am afraid it has torn a hole already; I shall be quite sorry if it has, for this is a favourite gown, though it cost but nine shillings a yard.”
“That is exactly what I should have guessed it, madam,” said Mr. Tilney, looking at the muslin.
“Do you understand muslins, sir?”
“Particularly well; I always buy my own cravats, and am allowed to be an excellent judge; and my sister has often trusted me in the choice of a gown. I bought one for her the other day, and it was pronounced to be a prodigious bargain by every lady who saw it. I gave but five shillings a yard for it, and a true Indian muslin.” –Northanger Abbey
After the gown a ribbon would be put on to tie in the back.
During the day the chest was covered with a fichu or chemise that went up to the neck. Thinking back to Gowns and Groans, there were quite a few movies who don’t follow this, especially Mansfield Park (2007), that we had watched right before Modesto Jane Con. In the evening the chemise was changed to a lower one or the fichu removed.
Elinor Dashwood in Sense and Sensibility (1995)
After that would be a long wool coat:
Death Comes to Pemberley
Or a Spencer Jacket. The spencer jacket is a short jacket that the Earl of Spencer had named after him. Supposedly, he was too close to the fire when his tails burned up-creating the jacket.
After that a hat, or Chapeau, would go next and it would have big plumes.
Mansfield Park Opera
Then that they would put on gloves and grab their fan and a reticule.
Emma 1996 AKA the Gwyneth Paltrow version.
Austenland (2013)
Northanger Abbey (2007)
The reticule wouldn’t carry much, maybe a little pin money, but usually a letter of credit from the male relative or guardian that controls their money. Some families, guardians, or husbands wouldn’t give them anything and they would have nothing.
So we enjoyed the workshop and how Layton dressed her assistant as she discussed each layer, but this workshop wasn’t as enjoyable as the others. Layton often went off subject and spoke a lot about Victorian Era clothing and herself. At the beginning of the workshop she shared that she very nervous, and I’m sure that it was led to her going off topic. With the Victorian era I’m not sure if she kept talking about because that is her favorite time period, or if she wanted people to understand the difference between the time periods.
She mentioned that she is a substitute teacher, so I know she is used to speaking in front of a group, but maybe this was her first talk on Regency clothing. She probably just needs to practice and she will be fine. We still learned a lot and I have ideas for next year.
So if you have been following me, you know I have been super excited about Modesto Jane Con. The past eight years I have seen pictures from different Jane Con’s and wishing I could go-but they were not possible for me to attend as it always came down to a problem of time, money, work, etc. Instead I had to be content with seeing pictures on social media.
YEEEEES!!!!!!
But then there was a light in the darkness! On my instagram popped up a post about a Jane Con in Modesto! Modesto! I could go to Modesto!
No horror-glee and happiness instead!
From January 10th-12th there were all kinds of workshops, activities, movies, an opera, and even a fashion show!
Your $30 ticket allowed you to attend the workshops (BOTH DAYS) and see one showing of Mansfield Park Opera (your choice of Saturday or Sunday).
That was it, I was going! And I convinced my book club + my sister to join me. I scrounged around for a costume (I’ll post on that later) and made sure to bring a notebook to take copious notes on the workshop and opera-to of course post on them later (as I am now).
So the first workshop of the day was Gowns & Groans. After that you had your choice of The Definitive Darcy or Start You Own Book Club.
I was excited for this workshop as there are so many adaptions of Pride and Prejudice, oh this will be so much fun! I mean you have a ton of Regency Darcys to choose from:
AND a ton of modern adaptions (and yes I know the above has a picture of Darcy from Bride and Prejudice. I didn’t make the image):
And let’s not forget-we aren’t just looking at Darcy. We are also trying to define the definitive Elizabeth.
This workshop was run by Erin E. Connor and Melissa Ruzika:
Why is Mr. Darcy such a big deal and why are we wild about Lizzie? Join JASNA Central California executive committee members Erin and Melissa as they delve into Austen’s most famous novel, Pride and Prejudice, and its three most popular film adaptions. Bring your own opinions and take sides in a friendly debate as to who is the definitive Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy.
Erin E. Conor is a lifelong Jane Austen fan. She is a member of the Jane Austen Society of North America (JASNA) and serves as member-at-large on the Executive Committee for the Central California region of JASNA. Her favorite Austen novel is Emma, and her favorite Austen inspired film is Austenland.
Melissa Ruzika is a long time JASNA member and Central California Region Executive Committee member. Her knowledge of Jane Austen and her works is deep, and Melissa is known for being an acute observer of JA in popular culture with solid textual backing for her opinions.
Debate you say? Okay:
I’m ready:
So one of the nicest things that Connor and Ruzika had with their workshops were handouts and a paddle with the Firth and Macfayden Darcys to engage the crowd in the debate in order so that everyone could be heard.
Connor and Ruzika started off with Historical Context, discussing what the Regency period was. You can click on the link above for more information, but a brief overview:
Crazy King George III (sorry I’m American) had to take a step down from ruling as he was suffering from a disease (believed to be porphyria) that made him mad, and his son had to become Prince Regent.
The Regency Period is believed to be 1795-1837, with the Prince Regent ruling from 1811-1820. When King George died in 1820, the Prince became King.
There was the Industrial Revolution in the North (Any North & South fans out there? It is set in the Victorian time period but shows the difference between the industrial North and the Countryside South extremely well.)
There was serious class division, with an emerging middle class (The Gardiners who reside in Cheapside
From there we got a quick overview of the book Pride and Prejudice as Connor & Ruzika had provided a handout from Playful Paths to Love and one from shmoop to give us a better idea on how rich Darcy would be today. We (book club, sister, and I) really loved that as while I am the serious Janeite, the rest of the group isn’t. One member of our group had never even read the book or seen any of the movies, only having read The Darcy Monologues for our book club. I’m not sure about the rest of the crowd, but I am certain that there had to be some others who were grateful for the refresher.
And even if you know the story frontwards and backwards, it is one that I never get tired of hearing.
We then had a brief discussion of Pride and Prejudice (1940), but they didn’t spend that much time on it. They later explained that they felt that not that many people have seen it (or liked it), and I understand time is limited.
Aw, man!
But as we have time, I’m throwing the trailer in here. It may not be accurate, but still is a great film and the first P&P adaption I ever saw. Plus LAURENCE OLIVIER! *Sigh*
I wish we could have looked at all the depictions, but that would have taken too much time. Although I’d be down for it.
Anyways-we then moved onto the debate. Colin Firth versus Matthew MacFayden, Jennifer Ehle versus Keira Knightley, Simon Langton versus Joe Wright, BBC versus Universal, etc.
Fight, fight, fight! (from Jane Austen Fight Club)
So starting with the trailers:
Pride and Prejudice (1995)
Pride and Prejudice (2005)
So now that we have seen the trailers, LET’S GET READY TO RUMBLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So after they discussed each facet they had us hold up our paddles to determine who won.
I’m in this photo.
Unfortunately, I didn’t write down who won each scene:
So I’ll just put my thoughts at the end.
Round 1: Mr. Collins, Tom Hollander Vs. David Bamber
I know a lot of people love that scene, and I admit that I love Hollander’s stone faced delivery, however, it never really struck me as much as it does everyone else.
For Bamber they showed him trying to dance. But the scenes that really sell me on Mr. Collins is when they are getting ready for the ball and he runs into Lydia, and the Mr. Collins wave. Those scenes are priceless!
IMO Winner: P&P (1995) David Bamber
Well-played!
Round 2: Sexy Darcy, Hand Clench Vs Firth in Bathtub & the Wet Shirt Scene
So the hand clench scene, I understand it but I don’t go crazy over it. First of all, as Doiel said in Gowns and Groans, they should have been wearing gloves. And not to be rude-but to me it always looks like his hand has a spasm. That’s just my view, if you love this scene then love it. I actually like this scene better.
So they started off with the Meryton Ball in 2005. Now I don’t really care for it as I am mostly distracted by how Caroline Bingley forgot to put a real dress on, she looks as if she is in a chemise not a gown. I never cared for how casual the Bennet sisters look as Mrs. Bennet most definitely would be wanting the girls to be more dressed up in order to snag a husband. It is lively, but I don’t care for the interactions between the characters:
Now the 1995 version is more subdued, but I like the costume choices better, and to me I like that it is concentrated on small scenes (Bingley & Jane along with Darcy & Elizabeth) with not so much going on in the background.
IMO Winner: P&P (1995)
Round 4: Romantic Aesthetic Vs. Accuracy
So Pride and Prejudice (2005) has a lot of romantic elements. You have these big scenic panoramas, Elizabeth on the cliff, Darcy and Elizabeth in the neoclassical building when he proposes (1st time), and the slow walk along the field in the early dawn (2nd proposal). This I personally don’t like, as Connor and Ruzika said, it is very Bronte-esque, but that is my biggest problem. Jane Austen is not Jane Bronte. And I really don’t like the scene where he finds her in the rain, as how did he know she would be there? And the field scene, they just happen to be there at the same time? Besides one of my favorite parts is at the end of the book when Mr. Darcy comes around with Bingley and Elizabeth is doing all she can to try and get his attention and figure out a way to talk to him, but is thwarted and unsure. And that longing and loss of hope-just gets me every time, will they get together ?!
And “Your hands are cold” I’ve always disliked that line as I feel it just kills the mood.
With me I love the accuracy of the mini-series, but of course there are things added in, like the Lake scene. But one of my favorite is when they are getting ready for the ball and the interaction between the sisters and Mr. Collins.
IMO Winner: P&P (1995)
Round 5: Bennet Family, “Behave Naturally” Vs. “Meet the Bennets”
So to get a view into the different relationships with the Bennet sisters, they used the “Behave Naturally” scene from P&P (2005). This is a great scene, even I love it.
The scene they chose from the P&P (1995) version is also a great scene. You really get the family dynamic in this one.
IMO Winner: Tie
Round 5: Darcy’s Flirtation, Sisterly Help Vs. Hungry Eyes
So with 2005, they chose the scene in which Elizabeth goes to Pemberley and meets Georgiana. It is a good scene as we get a new view of him from the servants, how he interacts with Georgiana, and that Darcy has been talking about her quite a bit with his sister. However, I have always hated Elizabeth skulking around and that peeping tom camera angle. I know it is partly because they had to combine different parts of the book for time limit, but her looking through the door gives me Norman Bates Psycho vibes.
For the 1995 version, they used a fan made video of Darcy staring and Hungry Eyes playing. That video is AMAZING but my favorite flirtation scene is when Darcy goes to see Elizabeth when she is staying at the Collins’ house, and Darcy comes to visit her and just stares or stares out the window because he doesn’t know what to say.
IMO Winner: P&P (1995)
So in my opinion there is a clear winner between Firth & Ehle versus Macfayden & Knightley:
But as for Jane Con? Everyone who had a paddle held it up and it came out to be 18-18
But then someone brought up the fact that not everyone had a paddle so they had us stand and count. The final result came out to be…………………………….
22-20 in favor of………
Yes Modesto Jane Con 2020 Declared Colin Firth as the Definitive Mr. Darcy.
So we all loved this workshop. They were fun, informative, interactive, and in the end we all could agree whether you love the 1995 or 2005 version, we all love Pride and Prejudice.
The only thing I would love more is if we looked at the other Darcy’s from films and TV shows, although I understand that wouldn’t be possible in one hour. I also would like to know who they think the worst Darcy is. I personally think it is the one in Austentatious (2015), which ugh, I still have to finish watching.
janeaustenrunsmylife 