Sharon Lathan, The Darcy Saga Part 1

Sharon Lathan began her love for  Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice after coming out of a movie theatre in 2005 enraptured by Matthew McFadyen and Kiera Knightly's rendition of of the book.

What started out as a fun idea for this pediatric nurse soon became an obsession that she soon titled The Darcy Saga...and a whole new world was opened up for her.

I "met" Ms. Lathan online in my Diana Gabaldon forum as her book was getting ready to be published by Sourcebooks, and I found myself friends-of sorts with a very lovely and fun lady.

Sharon's first novel, Mr & Mrs. Fitzwilliam Darcy was enchanting and romantic, a new beginning for the young couple after the fighting and the admission of love.  She spins a wonderful tale of the "Happily Ever After" sort for fans and friends alike without the need to go find an 18th century dictionary or feeling like we are on the outside of the entire world.

I am dreadfully behind in this series and not for lack of trying to get to the rest of it, but I do plan to add my reviews of the rest of the books soon.

I feel that Ms. Lathan should be recognized here as a wonderful author and a nice friend if you ever saw one!

Thank you for giving us another idea of happily ever after Sharon!

Pride & Prejudice 2005

Pride & Prejudice 2005 starring Kiera Knightly and Matthew Macfadyen is one of the most recent movies in the P&P world.  


Though shortened for movie going audiences, there are many things I loved about this version.  One was its central focus being on Elizabeth's budding romance with Mr. Darcy, and the trials and misunderstandings along the way.


On a whole, I do love this one and find it a great lot of fun to watch when in need of a quick P&P fix, but at times the things that are left out are what makes this movie confusing if you have never read the novel first.


Some of the obvious changes grated on me at times.  The missing Hursts for one, and the changes in who said what in many cases was a bit disturbing.


Mr. Wickham, played by Rupert Friend was mediocre at best, and not what you would expect from the character itself.  Rupert is meant to stand out in a movie, if his looks are to go by, not be a part of a general cast.  He is a handsome man and in my opinion out shadowed Matthew Macfadyen as Mr. Darcy which is not right at all!  I felt that Rupert didn't look or act seedy enough for the part, but the ladies seemed to love him.


Matthew as Mr. Darcy was a bit odd to take since he seemed more vulnerable than one would expect of Mr. Darcy.  He did a fabulous job  in the role though, and gave a great performance.


Kiera was good as Elizabeth, but at times I felt that she wasn't giving her all in the performance.


Mrs. Bennett was too droll in the movie for my tastes.  Not at all what I would picture her to be, but she came out funny.


Here is the worst part of my feelings...I adore Donald Sutherland and felt that on a whole, he gave the role his all but it just wasn't there in my mind or heart.


As I said, this is a good movie to watch when you need a quick P&P fix, but it is like the Reader's Digest version of the book and not entirely on the mark or as true to the book as you would want it to be.


~Wnjoy

Pride & Prejudice Viewing

I have been making a lot of changes  here so that I may get further in writing my blog.

At the moment, I am re-reading P&P and spending a lovely weekend with the movies, Becoming Jane, and Lost In Austen.

This is a good weekend for this and I plan to spend as much of it as I can with Mr. Darcy.

I will do reviews of the movies soon enough, and have some plans to look into some Jane Austen biographic programmes as well.

I began with the 1995 version last night, my favorite of all time.

This is the next for the DVD player.  It is a good movie and I am glad to have the opportunity of seeing Kiera and Matthew do a great rendition, though shorter for time and audience allowance.

This has to be one of my favorite movies outside of P&P, it is something that I do love watching over and over again!

And Becoming Jane, another favorite of mine!   I cannot wait to get into this movie!  Even if it is a partial telling of Jane's life as a young woman.

First Drive Through Jane's World

My first visits through Jane Austen's world was through watching Kiera Knightly as Elizabeth Bennett, I loved this movie, but felt there needed to be more.

I had a copy of P&P which had a bunch of annoying sidebars to it that I could not get into, I wanted to read the book uninterupted, so I bought another version and started reading it.

At Christmas this year, 2010, I recieved a copy of the works of Jane Austen (seen below), and I loved this book! I treated it with so much affection that I eventually broke down and opened its brand new spine to read Pride & Prejudice in full, basically for the actual first time.

As I have stated before, I have kind of read the book before and as for the 2005 version of P&P I was not really that impressed with it, but the story idea was wonderful and amazing.

I had since bought the 1995 version of the movie and fell totally in love with it, it was an amazing adaptation and I am currently searching out other versions of the movie to watch and own. Masterpiece Theatre does a great rendition from what I hear and I look forward to finding it and watching.

I sit here now writing, but my heart is being beckoned by my new best friend and I am wondering what will be next on my read list, but for now, I am going to finish P&P and do a blog or two on it.