Journeying with Jane
Image by Martine from Pixabay I’ve just borrowed some Jane Austen novels from the library. It’s a long time since I read any Austen, but several screen adaptations of her work are my gold standard for book-to-film adaptations: the gorgeous 1995 BBC Pride and Prejudice , Ang Lee’s wonderful 1995 film version of Sense and Sensibility (screenplay by Emma Thompson), and – perhaps the best of all – the sensitive and moving BBC 1995 Persuasio n, starring Amanda Root and Ciaran Hinds. Amy Heckerling’s 1995 comedy Clueles s also deserves recognition: set in a Californian high school, it’s a delightfully witty riff on Emma , with Alicia Silverstone as the ditzy but lovable Cher. I haven’t cared for any Austen adaptations since. Reading Northanger Abbey – it must be 30 years since I last read it – I am struck by how realistic a portrayal of a teenage girl Catherine Morland is. Catherine is naïve, easily impressed and somewhat gullible. She’s also sweet-tempered, genuine, honest, and has...