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 →
Austen at Large: Darcy and Davies: Adapting Mr. Darcy from the Novel to the Screen
Pride and Prejudice is Jane Austen's most popular if not most adapted novel, and its famous hero Mr. Darcy has been interpreted in many different ways. There have been several excellent period adaptations of Pride and Prejudice which present Darcy's character differently, particularly Fay Weldon's 1980 and Andrew Davies 1995 versions. These two adaptations master... Continue Reading →
Sense and Sensibility (2008) Episode Two on Masterpiece Classic PBS – A Review
"I, and only I, knew your heart and its sorrows; yet, to what did it influence me? -- not to any compassion that could benefit you or myself. -- Your example was before me: but to what avail? -- Was I more considerate of you and your comfort? Did I imitate your forbearance, or lessen... Continue Reading →
Sense and Sensibility (2008) Episode One on Masterpiece Classic PBS – A Review
 Marianne began now to perceive that the desperation which had seized her at sixteen and a half, of ever seeing a man who could satisfy her ideas of perfection, had been rash and unjustifiable. Willoughby was all that her fancy had delineated in that unhappy hour and in every brighter period, as capable of... Continue Reading →
A Preview of Sense and Sensibility (2008) on Masterpiece Classic PBS
"I am afraid," replied Elinor, "that the pleasantness of an employment does not always evince its propriety."Â "On the contrary, nothing can be a stronger proof of it, Elinor; for if there had been any real impropriety in what I did, I should have been sensible of it at the time, for we always know... Continue Reading →
A Preview of the Complete Jane Austen on Masterpiece Theatre PBS
PBS TO AIR ALL SIX JANE AUSTEN ADAPTATIONS IN THE NEW YEAR I am all anticipation of the new Masterpiece Theatre presentation, Sundays with Jane: The Complete Jane Austen, which airs on PBS starting January 13th at 9:00 pm. It will include four new adaptations of the Jane Austen novels Persuasion, Northanger Abbey, Mansfield Park and... Continue Reading →