10 Most Popular Posts of 2012

#1. Yes, ladies my number one most popular post of the year was the rather attractive and talented Tom Hiddleston. He has quite a following now after an exciting few years starring in The Avengers (Loki), War Horse and Midnight in Paris. He was already on my top 10 list for Miss Austen Regrets and Cranford. You will see much more of this talented actor in the future!

#2. The hunks were ruling this year with Jonny Lee Miller coming in second. He had quite a year as well, with his take on Sherlock Holmes, Elementary, set in NYC with a female Watson (Lucy Liu) doing quite well on CBS. Elementary is absolutely worth seeing, although as you can see from the photo above, he will always be Mr. Knightley to me (but his Edmund Bertram was pretty hot too)!

#3. Again, here we have another cutie. Matthew Macfadyen was wonderful in Anna Karenina in which he was working again with Keira Knightley and Joe Wright from Pride and Prejudice 2005. You will see him again soon in Ripper Street, as a Victorian police detective working on the Jack the Ripper case. I have to say that his role as Sir Felix Carbury in The Way We Live Now is still one of his best, IMHO.

#4. Michael Gambon was my fourth most popular post of 2012. He certainly belongs in my hall of fame with his appearances in Emma, Wives and Daughters, Gosford Park, Cranford, and The King's Speech among many other period drama roles.

#5. Great Expectations 2011/2012: Battle of the Miss Havishams was my 5th most popular blog post. I still can't comment on the Ralph Fiennes/ Helena Bonham Carter version as it has not yet had a wide release in North America. Here's hoping we get to see it in 2013. The miniseries version with Gillian Anderson was very good. Not earth shattering, but very good.

#6. One of my favourite posts of the year was a comparison of Sense and Sensibility 1995 vs 2008. Lots of comments on this post as so many of my readers have a definite opinion on which is the best version! And there was not a consensus of opinion by the way. Just what I was hoping for. A spirited discussion, as both versions are worthy of the designation of "best".

#7.  Although Benedict Cumberbatch was in the public eye for much of this year for his modern day Sherlock series, I prefer him in his many period roles. Although perhaps not in a powdered wig. And yet, the longer I stare at that photo, the hotter he seems to get...
Other films to get your Cumberbatch fix include Atonement, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and War Horse. Yum!

#8.  Happily, Castle Howard was my 8th most popular post of 2012. One of the most wonderful locations for shooting period drama, it is a main character in both Brideshead Revisited versions as well as the brilliant The Buccaneers from 1995. Having been there myself a few years ago, it is well worth the visit.

#9.  Romola Garai is one of the best actresses in England today. The fact that she does lots of period work is very lucky for a fan like me. Emma, Daniel Deronda, Amazing Grace, Atonement, Vanity Fair, I Capture the Castle...the list goes on and on. That reminds me, I still haven't seen her in The Hour. It looks brilliant!

#10.  Last but not least, Helen Mirren gets the nod as my 10th most popular post this year. Well deserved for films such as The Queen, Elizabeth I, The Last Station, Gosford Park and The Passion of Ayn Rand. I can't wait to see her with Anthony Hopkins in Hitchcock.

My Jane Austen Book Club meets The Jane Austen Film Club

Richard Armitage as Mr. Thornton in North and South

When Maria Grazia asked me to write a guest post for her blog My Jane Austen Book Club, I knew which photo I would lead off with. For any of you who don't know Maria Grazia too well, she has another blog Fly High which often features items about Richard Armitage, to the delight of those of us who share her taste in men.

Anyhow...I have a blog called The Jane Austen Film Club (I know, eerily similar) which I have been writing for about 2 years now. I am an optometrist during the day, so this is a part time gig for me. How, I hear you ask, does a Canadian optometrist decide to start blogging about period drama? Well, it all started with these two people:

Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth in Pride and Prejudice 1995

Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth were in a photo similar to the one above which was plastered on the front of our weekly TV guide in 1995. As someone who had grown up avidly reading and watching Anne of Green Gables and Little House on the Prairie, my interest was piqued. I was also the mother of two young boys aged 4 and 1 at the time, so I needed a bit of television which didn't involve Winnie the Pooh.

And the rest, as they say is history. I taped the series on our old VCR, and subsequently wore out the video tapes. Thankfully, there were more films and mini-series on the way!

Sense and Sensibility 1995

By the time I heard that Sense and Sensibility was coming out, I had already devoured Jane Austen's wonderful book Pride and Prejudice, which is what many of you did after being captivated by Jennifer and Colin. For Sense and Sensibility, I had time to read the book first before seeing the film. With the book fresh in my head, I remember thinking what a genius Emma Thompson was to transform such a wonderful book into such a wonderful film. I was thrilled when she won the Oscar for her screenplay.

Persuasion 1995

Well, you can see where this is leading can't you? Again, like many other females in the 1990s, I was delighted that Hollywood and the BBC were anticipating the needs of an emotionally frazzled working mother by pumping out film after film that seemed like they were made just for me! Sigh!

Emma 1996

Even the big Hollywood movie makers were getting in on this phenomenon. Jane Austen was the new "It Girl" 200 years after she had written her books!

But, back to the story of my blog. As my children grew, so did my book and video (then DVD) collection. My two weaknesses are books and films and Amazon and IMDb were just enabling me! When the internet came along, I noticed that there were a lot of Jane Austen related blogs, but not many on the film adaptations of her books and other 19th century novels. And then I got a laptop!!!!

Wives and Daughters 1999

So finally, I stopped writing in my head (usually in the shower) and started writing on my new laptop. And then my sister suggested a blog instead of a book or a website which were my first ideas. So this blogging thing has been a journey for a woman with no writing experience, but just a lifetime of reading and enjoying film adaptations of my favourite books. I will admit that I prefer to see a film version first before I read the book. The book is always richer and often easier to follow after seeing a film version (especially with Dickens' many characters).

The Buccaneers 1995

Along the way, I have discovered other brilliant authors like Mrs. Gaskell and Edith Wharton and George Eliot and the Brontës. Charles Dickens and Anthony Trollope have become my friends along with Thackeray and Hardy and P.G. Wodehouse. So many great books and so many great films! I get teased by my readers sometimes that I love ALL period drama and am not critical enough. I guess I am just so happy that they are making these films and mini-series AT ALL and I think even the worst period drama is better than the best reality TV. But I do have my faves of course, as do you I am sure.

I love the fact that my readers are always making suggestions of films I have yet to see. If only there was more time in the day!

Anne of Green Gables 1985

So if you would like to join the fun at The Jane Austen Film Club, come on by and add to the conversation. There are so many of us period drama junkies living all over this amazing planet and as far as I can tell, they are all really great people!

Thanks again to Maria Grazia for this opportunity to blather on about my favourite topic. It keeps me sane. And if you haven't read her hilarious account of going to see the village where the Vicar of Dibley was filmed, go take a look here.

Jenny Allworthy

P.S. Don't forget to visit Maria Grazia's My Jane Austen Book Club to see all of her other wonderful Austen related posts. Cheers!
P.P.S. Many thanks to my big sister for her encouragement and occasional editing and guest blogging. It has been a lovely way to spend time together.

Jane Austen's Birthday Soiree- The Gift of Film and A Giveaway

Today, December 16th, is Jane Austen's Birthday. In her 41 short years she was able to make such a mark in the literary world that here we are celebrating her birthday 236 years later. I think I speak for many of us when I say that she has enriched our lives immeasurably and for that we are truly grateful. In this spirit of gratitude, 30 other bloggers and I will be offering some gifts in the first ever Jane Austen's Birthday Soiree.

In order to honour our esteemed author, I would like to give her The Gift of Film to demonstrate how her beloved books have been dramatized over the past 20 years or so. She liked going to the theatre and had put on amateur productions with her siblings as a child, so I will show her what the world has done with her novels 200 years later.

Pride and Prejudice 1995

I would love to show her Andrew Davies's adaptation of her favourite heroine Elizabeth in Pride and Prejudice from 1995. Although she might think that Mrs. Bennet is a bit shrill, I think she would approve of the rest. I would hope that she would swoon over Mr. Darcy come to life on the screen. I would try to explain the wet shirt scene and the thrill that this gave to women worldwide. I think she would understand, don't you?

Mansfield Park 1999

I would show her Mansfield Park 1999 but with qualifications and apologies. I would try to explain that the filmmakers thought that if they injected a little of Miss Austen herself into Fanny Price, that the character would appeal more to a modern audience. I would also explain that her true fans are still waiting for a really faithful and satisfactory film or miniseries to be made of Mansfield Park. I would not show her the bottle blonde abomination of Mansfield Park from 2007. I know some people liked it but not me.

Northanger Abbey 2007

I think she would get some enjoyment out of Andrew Davies's adaptation of Northanger Abbey from 2007. The mischievous Mr. Tilney would appeal I think, as would the wide eyed portrayal of Catherine Morland by Felicity Jones.

Emma 2009

Although she may find Romola Garai's Emma  from 2009 a little too likeable, I think this is the best screen version of Emma and I love all the characters in this miniseries. OK, I especially love Jonny Lee Miller and I hope that the author would approve of his Mr. Knightley. Actually, I should probably show her the Emma with Gwyneth Paltrow from 1996 and the Emma with Kate Beckinsale from 1996. It would be a lively discussion afterwards, as to which version is truer to her original vision and which version she liked best (and they may not be one and the same).

Persuasion 1995

I think she would love Persuasion 1995  with it's nautical music and filming locations of Bath and Lyme Regis. It might amaze her how little has changed in 200 years. I would love to watch her taking in the magical scene of the letter...“You pierce my soul. I am half agony, half hope...I have loved none but you.”

Sense and Sensibility 1995

Lastly, I would love her to see the masterpiece of Sense and Sensibility 1995 adapted by Emma Thompson and Directed by Ang Lee. I think she would be impressed by how well her novel springs to life on the big screen. I would point out how the music in this production stays with you long after the film is over. I might even show her Emma Thompson's Golden Globe acceptance speech afterward, although it might require some explanation!



None of us know what Jane Austen would think of what modern society has done with her "darling children". But I hope that she could appreciate the way her novels so easily adapt to the screen, and the fact that we love to see them acted out as much as we enjoying reading them after all these years.

Happy Birthday Miss Austen! We only wish you were around longer so that we might have more of your "darling children" to enjoy.

THE GIVEAWAY

Please post a comment below about your favourite Jane Austen film adaptation to be entered into my giveaway draw for a DVD copy of Northanger Abbey 2007. I am opening the giveaway worldwide (draw closes December 23) and I will announce the winner here. The winner can choose a region 1 or region 2 DVD. Don't forget to add your email address!

Please also visit the rest of the participants in the Jane Austen Birthday Soiree. The list is so extensive, it may take you a week to enter all of the giveaway draws. But please do. There are so many wonderful websites on this list and lots of great gifts!

•  Sharon Lathan  Sharon Lathan

•  Emily Snyder  O! Beauty Unattempted

•  Laurel Ann Nattress Austenprose 

•  C. Allyn Pierson SemiTrue Stories

•  Cindy Jones First Draft 

•  Farida Mestek Regency stories set against the backdrop of Regency England

•  Marilyn Brant Brant Flakes

•  Prue Batten Mesmered’s Blog

•  Erin Blakemore The Heroine’s Bookshelf

•  Velvet vvb32 reads 

•  Karen Doornebos The Fiction vs. Reality Smackdown

•  Regina Jeffers ReginaJeffers's Blog

•  Alyssa Goodnight Alyssa Goodnight  

•  Deb Jane Austen in  Vermont

• Laura Hile,  Susan Kaye, Pamela Aidan, and Barbara Cornthwaite Jane Started It!

• Juliet Archer Choc Lit Authors’ Corner

• Jane Greensmith Reading, Writing, Working , Playing

• Sitio Jane Austen El Salón de Té de Jane

• Kaitlin Saunders Kaitlin Saunders 

• Becky Rhodehouse One Literature Nut

• Patrice Sarath Patrice Sarath

• Adriana Zardini Jane Austen Brasil

• Jane Odiwe Jane Austen Sequels

• Courtney Webb Stiletto Storytime 

• Jennifer Becton Jennifer W. Becton

• Vera Nazarian Urban Girl Takes Vermont

• Abigail Reynolds Pemberley Variations

• AustenAuthors

• Katherine Cox November’s Autumn

• Maria Grazia My Jane Austen Book Club