Your online source for Jane Austen and her legacy
“Why not seize the pleasure at once?” Emma (2009), the new mini-series staring Romola Garai as the clever, handsome but misguided Miss Emma Woodhouse premieres on Sunday January 24th on Masterpiece Classic. Join me as co-host with Vic of Jane Austen’s World, Kali of Emma Adaption Pages, Austen enthusiasts, bonnet drama lovers and the good folks... Continue Reading →
The Masterpiece Classic season premiered last night on PBS with Return to Cranford. For those of us who loved Cranford, the award winning 2007 miniseries set in an idyllic English village populated by bustling bonnets and a bit of melodrama, this new two-part period drama was tagged as must see TV. Dame Judi Dench reprises... Continue Reading →
“A comparison (of Elizabeth Gaskell) to Jane Austen for its combination of humor and moral judgment in the observation of character and conduct is often made, not unjustly, though Mrs. Gaskell's canvas is larger than Austen's bit of ivory.” Edgar Wright Victorian-era author Elizabeth Gaskell (1810-1865) has been said to have a “wit to challenge... Continue Reading →
The Masterpiece Classic season premieres on Sunday, January 10th with Return to Cranford, a two part series based on the stories of Victorian-era writer Elizabeth Gaskell. Dame Judi Dench reprises her role of the compassionate Miss Matty Jenkyns, the heart and soul of the small insular Cheshire village resisting the encroachment of the industrial revolution... Continue Reading →
The encore presentation of Cranford concludes tomorrow night at 9:00 pm (check your local listings) January 3rd, 2010Â with the third episode on Masterpiece Classic on PBS. Here is a brief synopsis from the good folks at PBS. Dr. Harrison formally asks the Reverend Hutton for permission to court Sophy. Meanwhile, Caroline Tomkinson and Mrs. Rose,... Continue Reading →
Just a reminder to all to tune into the second episode of Cranford (2007) encore on Masterpiece Classic on PBS tomorrow night at 9:00 pm. Here is a brief synopsis: As winter approaches, Cranford is beset by sorrows and struggles to regain confidence. Dr. Harrison's housekeeper, Mrs. Rose, discovers a leg of mutton has been... Continue Reading →
An encore presentation of Cranford (2007) a three part mini-series begins this Sunday, December 20th at 9:00 pm ET on PBS with the first episode. Here is brief synopsis: Mary Smith (Lisa Dillon) arrives in the small, rural town of Cranford to stay with two spinster sisters, Deborah (Dame Eileen Atkins) and Matty Jenkyns (Dame Judi Dench).... Continue Reading →
Affairs of the heart populate episode two with hopes and aspirations for all of the unattached characters in Masterpiece Classic's miniseries of Little Dorrit. The episode opens with a wrenching blow to John Chivery (Russell Tovey), when Amy Dorrit (Claire Foy) rejects his tender marriage proposal. The touching scene played out with chilling sadness as... Continue Reading →
And so the mystery begins as the opening episode of Masterpiece Classic's Little Dorrit puts us on the trail of whodunnit. Arthur Clennam (Matthew Macfadyen) the anti prodigal son returns home from abroad after several years to fulfill the mysterious death bed wish of his father "to put it right" by promising to place his... Continue Reading →
Episode two of Masterpiece Classic's Oliver Twist on PBS concluded last night with a dull thud. It also did not help that it was competing in the same time slot at the 81st Academy Awards ceremony, so viewers like me who taped Oliver watched it after an anti-climatic new and improved Oscars that also left... Continue Reading →
You can knock that silly notion right out of your head that Oliver Twist is a toe tapping cheery musical with the cute blonde kid -- cuz it ain't no more. Not after viewing the new Masterpiece Classic version of Oliver Twist presented last night on PBS. There's no mistakin' this 2007 BBC adaptation by... Continue Reading →
"All that she wants is gossip, and she only likes me now because I supply it." Marianne Dashwood, Sense and Sensibility, Chapter 31 Jane Austen around the blogosphere for the week of February 1st Hot News of the week Definitely the upcoming release of the book Pride and Prejudice and Zombies which was taken the Internet... Continue Reading →
