Jane Austen discussion

Is anyone planning to read The Austen Project books? They're modern takes on the classic novels. I just finished Northanger Abbey and it was too direct. The author took each scene and updated the references and tweaked the dialogue. It wasn't anything new or terribly exciting.

I read Sense and Sensibility and was disappointed. The characters were too nasty! And the author, Joanna Trollope, seemed to think S&S was all about the plot points--she ticked them off one by one, but didn't get to the heart of the characters or the emotion of the story, IMHO. I hear the Pride and Prejudice one is coming out in the fall.

I haven't read them. But I'm not keen on the concept. Austen's works without her character development, acerbic wit & descriptive prose; that's not Austen!

I agree with Lisa I am interested in the real thing

P.S. I hate plastic

I'm not sure I'd characterize the Project in the same way. I do think it's intriguing to see if an old story can be retold in a way that reflects and illuminates contemporary life; hence all the retellings of fairy tales and myths, the endless coming-of-age and quest stories. I grant you that a lot of the pleasure of Jane Austen's novels is to be found in their specifics rather than in their archetypes, but there are a lot of universal psychological insights that can inspire modern stories.

Full disclosure: I have myself written a retelling of Pride and Prejudice set in (almost) the present--not part of the Project. The strategy I used was to tell the story in Jane Austen's own language, as if she had traveled to the late twentieth century and written about what she found. I felt the use of her late-eighteenth-century style highlighted both what was universal in the story and what was specific to the present day. It was part homage and part intellectual exercise. I also simply love her language and wanted to wallow in it!

I plan to read more of the Project novels, in the hope that I find some that are more satisfying than the one I read.

I find modern adaptations work better when they're looser and based on the original story. I enjoyed Bridget Jones and though not directly Austen-related, the Boy series by Meg Cabot. They're very Pride and Prejudice but different.

I Agree Qnpoobbear.

I'm reading Emma now. I started it last night at a wedding and had to stop and tell everyone who asked what I was reading. I got a lot of "Ooh I loved the No. 1 Ladies/' Detective Agency" comments, especially from my aunt's sister who has the exact same taste in books as me.

I liked Alexander McCall Smith's writing style but not the way he chose to tell the story - or not tell the story as it turns out. More plot would have made this book better. Northanger Abbey isn't bad. It's the one that translates the best to modern society for the most part. Fast carriages= fast cars, gothic novels = vampire and zombie books, etc.

I totally agree with your assessment of both novels, QNPoohBear!

I just finished the retelling of Emma and it was OK but there was not enough interaction between Emma and Mr. Knightley... They spoke maybe 3 times and then decided to confess their love for each other. I am going to try Northanger Abbey next but that is probably the last one of the series I will read.

Thanks Abigail. This thread reminds me I wanted to try Alexander McCall Smith's non-Austen novels. I think my mom has some of the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency books around here somewhere.

Austenprose - A Jane Austen Blog
Cover reveal of ELIGIBLE - the upcoming (April 2016) PRIDE AND PREJUDICE retelling by Curtis Sittenfeld for the The Austen Project
http://www.ew.com/article/2015/10/09/...

https://www.facebook.com/Austenprose/...

I hope this one is better than the other retellings. I'm waiting for reviews and then maybe I'll read it.

QNPoohBear wrote: "I hope this one is better than the other retellings. I'm waiting for reviews and then maybe I'll read it."

Understandable! She certainly making at least one big change by moving it to the US....much like Val McDermid moving NA to Scotland.

I was looking for news of the Mansfield Park version of The Austen Project (because I am watching all things Mansfield Park, as I've recently published my MP variation). The author for the MP re-telling has not yet been announced, so far as I'm aware. An article has appeared in the Washington Post... about a woman who is contracted to write a modern Mansfield Park but has writer's block.... https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/s...
I wonder if her book is part of the Austen project? And yes, so far, the series has not received much critical acclaim, or as the Admiral would say, the series has not set the Thames on fire.

Lona wrote: "I was looking for news of the Mansfield Park version of The Austen Project (because I am watching all things Mansfield Park, as I've recently published my MP variation). The author for the MP re-te..."

A few people on the The Austen Project's Facebook page asked about MP or Persuasion. Alas, they didn't receive a response. I checked the coming books on the publisher's page....they have "A Jane Austen Project"(modern woman travels back in time, I think, Kathleen Flynn might be the author) book and a non-fiction Austen book. I didn't see anything about The Austen Project.

Lol, I see my last post here was on 10/17/2015. Eligible came out last spring. For me, a mixed bag but she did take multiple chances(locations, ages etc). I love that you quote the Admiral! He might be tempted to say that this series has turned out to be like the horrible painting of the non-seaworthy(not even horse pond worthy) vessel seen in a Bath shop window. Leave Jane Austen Fan Fiction to those authors(like yourself!) who really care about Austen and Austen Fan Fiction fans.

It does seem like the reaction to the series has been a big "meh" and some have speculated that maybe there will be no Mansfield Park retake. Perhaps the "Fanny problem"? The scenario of Mansfield Park might translate (metaphorically speaking) to modern China, where old-fashioned Confucian mores still prevail, so you could plausibly have a character as diffident and downtrodden as Fanny. The Chinese Edmund could still be a pastor, because there are Christians here, and the Chinese Mary Crawford would be horrified at the social and career implications. But leave out the part about them being first cousins. There is also a modern Amish Mansfield Park, called "Mount Hope" by Sarah Price, another cultural milieu that makes sense.

Lona wrote: "It does seem like the reaction to the series has been a big "meh" and some have speculated that maybe there will be no Mansfield Park retake. Perhaps the "Fanny problem"? The scenario of Mansfield ..."
I read "Mount Hope"! The Amish "expect" in Austen in Boston read a different Amish Austen book by Sarah Price and joyed it with certain reservations. The YA MP "The Trouble with Flirting" by Claire LaZebnik was interesting.

Chinese Mansfield Park...I'm willing to try that. And yes, please take out the first cousins for modern Mansfield...or at least gloss over it. The late "Holidays with Jane" series had some interesting takes on MP.