Jane Austen Week: Pride and Prejudice

[@anat646]

It has become sort of a routine of mine, whenever I finish reading a classic novel (a Dickens, Austen, Gaskell) I come to this channel to share my enthusiasm.

[@katiejlumsden]

That's good to hear :)

[@monkEE071005]

No, Colin Firth will always be Mr. Darcy. After all, they made the Darcy statue in HIS resemblance.

[@AmandaQuotidianBooks]

I completely agree with you regarding Matthew MacFadyen!! P&P is one Austen I actually have read and, as you say, it's brilliant. I can't wait for your Dickens/Bronte/Gaskell series! I have no constructive criticism of any kind. I thought this week of videos was so enjoyable!!

[@katiejlumsden]

+Amanda Center (IntrovertX) Thank you so much :) I really enjoyed doing the series so will definitely do some more. And yes, Matthew MacFadyen, what a great costume drama star.

[@ThePaulalv]

Amazing until you said that Matthew is a better Darcy than Colin. Haha No, but really amazing review. I love Jane Austen very much and I LOVE Pride and Prejudice so much. It's nice to see someone so young so excited about it but I guess it's what you said: Austen work is timeless. :)

[@katiejlumsden]

I know that's rather an unpopular opinion :P But thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed my video.

[@almuhajera]

I went through your Jane Austen's videos and I liked them a lot (this one for Pride and prejudice however is much more elated and passionate) Keep making book reviews videos :)

[@katiejlumsden]

Thanks :)

[@EmilyHornburg]

Your love and excitement is so infectious I want to go read and watch all of the film versions immediately because it's all just so wonderful! It makes me happy that you love both of the movies though. I hate it when people are like "I HATE THE NEW ONE" when I think it was well done. There's good things about both. And also - I have a special place for the Lizzie Bennett Diaries. I think he might be my favorite Darcy. (Don't tell anyone!) Swoon.

[@katiejlumsden]

+Emily Hornburg Thanks :) And I also have a place in my heart for the Lizzie Bennett Diaries. It is beautiful and incredible.

[@figtoria1053]

I watched your "Jane Austen Week" videos today, 6 years after they were posted, and they're terrific! I love your descriptions of the novels and your enthusiasm for them. I'm in the middle of a re-read of the novels and you have encouraged me to keep at it, even though there are a couple I'm not that fond of (Northanger Abbey and Mansfield Park). Thank you very much!

[@elizabethannebooks7311]

Oh my goodness I can't believe I missed these! I love Jane Austen so much. I think my favorite book is Northanger Abbey, but Pride and Prejudice is a very very close second. :) Loved this video

[@katiejlumsden]

+ElizabethAnneBooks Thank you :) Always glad to find someone else who loves Jane Austen!

[@oliviawanderlingh]

You talk so fast. I don’t understand how you don’t need to breathe heavily. Thank you!!

[@happyreadingwatching1597]

I just found your videos and I love them. thanks so much for the book and movie reivews.

[@katiejlumsden]

+Nashelie Sanchez Thank you :) I'm glad you're enjoying them!

[@Ailorn]

I cant decide if i prefer Pride and Prejudice or Persuasion better. I haven't gotten to Mansfield Park or Northanger Abby yet. I've found Emma to be a bit difficult and unlikable until the end. Marianne was infuriating but not as much as Emma. I love how sassy and clever Lizzy is, but I felt so much of the romance and regret of Anne and Captain Wentworth

[@katiejlumsden]

I highly recommend Mansfield Park if you enjoy the depth of Persuasion. And yet Pride and Prejudice is just so lovely!

[@emilycurnow2146]

keep making videos like these Katie. They are so interesting and I find them quite addictive. thankyou x

[@katiejlumsden]

+Emily Curnow Thanks so much Emily :)

[@r.msphonics7201]

Pride and Prejudice is my absolute favorite of the Jane Austen novels. I have watched the 1980 version at least 50 times. lollol Mr.Darcy and Lizzie are the best characters in the 1980's version. I also love Lizzie's best friend that married her cousin that their house was entailed to. It is my favorite version and secondly, the version with Kiera knightly. I love it when Lizzie's best friend told her that just because she didn't think well enough of her cousin to marry him, doesn't mean that no other woman would. I love that she married him and didn't end up being a spinster. She had a good life.

[@mrgremlix2477]

So, how did you REALLY feel about Pride and Prejudice?

[@LittlePrairieLibrary]

Your enthusiasm for P&P got me all excited about it too! I haven't read all of Jane Austen's novels, but my ranking out of the 4 I have read is P&P, S&S or Persuasion (it has been so long since I read Persuasion that I don't remember how much I liked it), and Emma would be last. I plan to pick up Northanger Abbey next :) Also, I would love to see a Bronte sisters week like this, I loved this format!

[@katiejlumsden]

+Little Prairie Library Thanks very much! I'll definitely try and do a Bronte sisters week when I can (although I do need to read Shirley first and possibly reread Agnes Grey!) I hope you enjoy Northanger Abbey.

[@BohoBookworm]

YAY Pride & Prejudice :D I love this - it is also my favorite one too! You're amazing!! Love your channel so much! Thank you!!! xx

[@katiejlumsden]

+Boho Bookworm Thank you so much :) And I have a feeling it's a lot of people's favourites - because it is simply the best!

[@KnowledgelostOrgOnline]

I love how excited you got about this book, so many things to say about it. Not sure where to start; possibly my favourites include the humour, the satire and Mr Bennet. Please do more series like this in the future

[@katiejlumsden]

+Knowledge Lost Thank you :) And I certainly will - two weeks of Dickens is on the cards for February!

[@KnowledgelostOrgOnline]

look forward to it...only read one Dickens book too :/

[@katiejlumsden]

Ah, which one? (Like Pride and Prejudice, you may have told me before and I've forgotten, sorry!)

[@KnowledgelostOrgOnline]

A Christmas Carol....such an unoriginal answer to this question

[@katiejlumsden]

And yet it is a great story!

[@raelibaker6524]

My ranking: 6: Mansfield Park 5: Persuasion 4: Northanger Abbey 3: Sense and Sensibility 2: Pride and Prejudice 1: Emma But they are all so perfect in their own way!!

[@katiejlumsden]

They really are!

[@ButOneThingIsNeedful]

I love your intelligent enthusiasm, even passion, for the literary treasures that Ms. Austen and Mr. Dickens left us. Don't hide it. It is those who are ho-hum about it whose (lack of) response is unfortunate, not yours! :)

[@katiejlumsden]

Thanks very much!

[@LaurenAndTheBooks]

This was the video I was most looking forward to and you didn't disappoint! I have LOVED Jane Austen week, when is it Charles' Dickens birthday so you can do Dickens week? I've only ever seen the 2005 adaptation once at the cinema, and I didn't mind it, I feel like I would quite like to give it another go and think I will over the Christmas period! xx

[@katiejlumsden]

+Lauren And The Books Thank you! :) I'm so glad you're enjoyed Jane Austen Week - and yes, for Dickens's birthday in February there will be rather a lot of Dickens's video. And as Dickens has 14 finished novels, I think perhaps two weeks may be better than one... :P

[@thisiszahra72]

i could not stop smiling hearing you speak

[@OliviaReadinglikeamadwomanPope]

It had to be! What a great week of videos it has been. :)

[@katiejlumsden]

+Olivia Pope (Reading like a mad woman) But of course. It's always Pride and Prejudice :P And thank you!

[@coloraturaElise]

Ok, you asked for our rankings of the books: P&P, Persuasion, Emma, S&S, NA, MP. I think this is a very common order, although I'm not sure why. For me, it's how satisfied I feel at the end of the book, and how much I relate to the heroine. My satisfaction rating depends a lot on JA developing the relationships between the principle characters. For instance, though I like Henry Tilney, I feel his relationship to Catherine is more father-like than lover-like, and we never really see them have a normal courtship. Another example is Marianne and Brandon vs Willoughby. It's clearly a compromise for her to end up with Brandon; when I first read the book (age 12), I was blind-sided by how that situation turned out....I was sure she'd get her ideal in the end. When she didn't, I was very disappointed, and didn't read my next JA for 2 years. As for the heroines, I'm so much more like Lizzy Bennet (I'm an ENTJ), and Fanny is like an alien to me! She reminds me a bit of Jane Eyre, who is the poor orphan who is downtrodden, but who triumphs in the end. Bronte lets us see her Jane's indomitable spirit, whereas Austen has Fanny triumph, but in a really subdued way. I also lose patience with her never-ending submission; yes, she doesn't give in on the most important issue, but even after winning that battle, she doesn't change and still undervalues herself.

[@katiejlumsden]

Very interesting, especially as your order is quite similar to me except for Mansfield Park. I just find it such a complex and fascinating book. And I guess that I'm closer in personality to Fanny Price, or certainly was as a teenager.

[@yvettem.holland5072]

Hi! Littlespider9 recommended your channel; you both do excellent work. I'm already loving your channel.

[@katiejlumsden]

+Yvette M. Holland Hello, welcome and thank you so much :)

[@ViennaWaitsBooks]

Haha I always want to be all hipster and unique but Pride and Prejudice is my favourite too! You just can't help it, its so perfect:) My ranking from least favourite to favourite would be Sense and Sensibility, Persuasion, Northanger Abbey, Mansfield Park, Emma, then Pride and Prejudice

[@katiejlumsden]

+ViennaWaitsBooks I know, it's just so good! Intriguing - we have the same book ends of the list and a very different middle!

[@marchbros-bk9hp]

My rankings: 6 Persuasion 5 Mansfield Park 4 Emma 3 Sense and Sensibility 2 Pride & Prejudice 1 Northanger Abbey

[@katiejlumsden]

It's interesting - that's a very different list to mine! Jane Austen's novels are all quite different, so that does make sense.

[@lululatsch]

I hardly ever comment on anyone's videos, but can I just say that you would have made a really great Hermione in the Harry Potter films? I love Emma Watson to death, but you just strike me as a very accurate representation of book Hermione. Really like your videos about Jane Austen by the way. My ranking would probably be: Pride and Prejudice (and I agree that I woul also like to have gone non-mainstream, but it's just the best) Persuasion (has really grown on me lately, maybe because I'm now at Anne's age?) Emma Sense and Sensibility Mansfield Park (although admittedly this can only be a guess, as I've never q

[@lululatsch]

ite managed to finish it - it just hasn't held my attention, and I've always turned to my favourites instead of finishing it so far) Northanger Abbey (Mansfield Park is ranked higher than Northanger Abbey, because even though I've never actually read/finished it, nothing can be worse than Northanger Abbey 😂) Keep up the god work and thanks for your effort and your enthusiasm :)

[@katiejlumsden]

Ha thank you! I cannot act, though, but I appreciate the comment. I would recommend giving Mansfield Park another try - it took me a little while to get into, but I do love it so much.

[@jakobtanner2523]

Pride and Prejudice is definitely my favourite as well! All the others have little things that bug me (Mansfield Park's protagonist, Emma's lack of a moving plot, etc.) I once saw an amazing two-man play of Pride and Prejudice. But I haven't seen any of the adaptations (where should I start!!!!???)

[@katiejlumsden]

+Jakob Tanner I love both adaptations. I'd recommend staring with the film, then watching the BBC miniseries - a lot of people who watch the miniseries first then don't like the film, whereas I think if you watch the film first and then the miniseries, you're more likely to enjoy both properly :)

[@studylit]

I love Pride and Prejudice too! Definitely the most well-loved and well-known for a reason! This was such a great video-- loved your enthusiasm! And you spoke so well about the book- definitely did it justice! For me though Colin Firth is Mr Darcy- accept no substitutes haha! I do really like this format of speaking about individual books, so it would be great to see more on other authors :)

[@katiejlumsden]

+A Hermit's Progress Thank you :) Ah, it's just the best novel! I'll definitely be doing more of these kind of videos in the future - it's nice to be able to talk at length about one novel without worrying the video's getting too long! I'm going to do a fortnight of Dickens in February and then there are a few other authors I could probably speak about for a week at some point - Gaskell, the Brontë sisters, Banana Yoshimoto, maybe Evelyn Waugh (although I do have a bit of a love hate relationship with Evelyn Waugh!)

[@studylit]

Books and Things That sounds great! And I do know what you mean about Evelyn Waugh!- I'm really interested to see all these videos :)

[@bookswithpetra]

I am going through your videos and I must say that I really enjoyed your What the Dickens -videos. Actually, I just started reading my first Dickens, Great Expectations, because of your videos. Now I found out that you also have Jane Austen week which is really exciting because Jane Austen is one of my favourite authors of all the time. Now I want to reread Pride and Prejudice (which happens to be my favourite Austen novel also)! Have you been thinking of making the same kind of series about Brontë sisters? I adore them too and it would be amazing to hear your thoughts about them.

[@katiejlumsden]

+Alva Ofelia Thank you very much :) And yes, I am in the middle of making a similar series about the Brontes - 6 out of 7 videos are filmed and it'll be up rather soon! :)

[@FS-qi1kj]

I love this book!! And both the Pride and Prejudice adaptations althought I may prefer the 2005 movie over the 1995 tv show because of the way its made as you said and also because I believe that both lizzie and darcy are cast well in that unlike in the 1995 version where the actress who plays lizzie is completely unlike my perception of her. I love this format of videos and I would especially like to see one on the Brontes!! And I will now check of North and South since you said its so similar to P & P

[@katiejlumsden]

Thanks :) I love both versions. I do actually have a series like this on the Brontes and Gaskell, here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fGbQinSCrJt1d9U and here: kzbin.info/aero/PLw2Mjecd2B-OVLfLrYjwKUFbAwXQtfvr_

[@lilpoppins1001]

Lizzie Bennet here, watching books and things on her lunch break at the Jane Austen Centre with a cup of tea, naturally. Hope you're well Katie. Love your videos and will be baking your Jane Austen cake for my birthday on Sunday. I also have a strange question, out of curiosity, have you read pride and prejudice and zombies and are you going to see the film in February? Much love from Bath and The Jane Austen Centre XxXx

[@katiejlumsden]

+Lauren Thompson Why hello Lizzie Bennet :) And thank you! Hope everything is well at the Jane Austen Centre. Have fun making the Jane Austen cake! I haven't read Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, but I might go and see the film out of interest. Have you read it?

[@lilpoppins1001]

Books and Things Everything is fine thank you. I have read the marvel comic book of the zombies P+P and I got the novel for Christmas. It's quite amusing actually, the story is exactly the same except the there just happens to be a zombie apocalypse and the Bennet girls are trained fighters, the scene when Lizzie refuses Mr Darcy's proposal is actually a bit of an action scene which is funny.

[@katiejlumsden]

+Lauren Thompson Ooo interesting. I hear very mixed things about it I must say and I'm not sure what I'll think! But the comic book definitely interests me :)

[@rachelport3723]

You might like this lecture on love and marriage in Jane Austen's time, looking at Pride and Prejudice. kzbin.info/www/bejne/fYWslHahfa2SnpI I realized that this title is misleading. There is very little about love, and not much about marriage. It is actually about social class and money. Many things in the novel are looked at from a completely different perspective. Afterwards I realized that of all Jane Austen's characters, the one whose situation most closely resembles Austen's own is Miss Bates.

[@futurez12]

I really enjoyed this book, but then I read that Prof Kathryn Sutherland, of Oxford university, found that the manuscript for Persuasion didn't match up to the kind of prose shown in the finished book, thus conjecturing that her editor was likely responsible for it. The article, from The Telegraph, also mentioned that her spelling was weak, pages without paragraphs etc. It doesn't make me like P&P any less, but it has kind of put me off reading her other novels, knowing that she perhaps wasn't the one responsible for the sharpness of prose for which her books are renowned, and, let's be honest, for which her books are so well respected. I'm sure she was a very good author nevertheless, and I know almost all authors get lots of help from editors, but the article made it sound like her published novels were almost unrecognisable from her own work. ☹ I really hate Google sometimes. 😁

[@katiejlumsden]

I feel a bit spectacle about that to be honest. We also do know from Jane Austen's letters than she rewrote and edited later on, so I suppose it depends which manuscript was found and the stage it was at. The spelling think and lack of paragraphing would never both me - that's what editors are there to fix, along with many other things. In general editors of the 19th century did less than they do now. But also, as an editor myself, editors exist for a reason - I would never say an author was less good because they need editing.

[@CarolynsReadingRamblings]

I COMPLETELY agree with you about the adaptations! My favorite is Sense and Sensibility my least changes so idk. Please don't kill me but as much as I really love P&P, I do love North and South more. Please do the same with Dickens! I would love to know your rankings and have more detail on the novels I am less familiar with :D

[@katiejlumsden]

+BBCgirl520 Thanks :) Also, I have a confession to make: while I love Pride and Prejudice, I too actually love North and South more! Elizabeth Gaskell currently rivals Jane Austen as my second favourite author, and Jane Austen is probably only ahead of her because I've read more of her work and have a lot of sentimental attachment to her and her books after working at a Jane Austen museum for a year. But North and South is one of my absolute favourite books of all time - combining everything I love about Pride and Prejudice with the politics and complex social criticism of the Victorian period that I love so much! (And yes, there will be Dickens in February. So much Dickens.)

[@CarolynsReadingRamblings]

+Books and Things I feel the same way! I think once I read more Gaskell and Dickens too actually, they will both tie Austen for my love haha. and yay for more Dickens videos!

[@leslied9801]

I must say that I find the Collin Firth and Jennifer Ehle version to be perfect. I found them perfectly cast and the Mr. Collins character in that version was the funniest and most like the character in the book. But that is just my opinion.

[@katiejlumsden]

It's all subjective, of course. I find Mr Collins in the earlier version a little too silly.

[@toneiraiszh993]

You talk so fast. U convey so much in so little time.I like it😄 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

[@SunriseFireberry]

How would you describe the influence of Samuel Johnson on Austen's P&P? Have you seen all the P&P adaptations for both TV & film? I've seen the '80 BBC version in addition to the 2 you mntned. I've seen 3 adaptations of this novel but never read the whole book, only my fav parts. My fav parts are when Lizzie & Darcy are slugging it out verbally. I wish that the novel had a debaters club & L&D could have slugged it out more often, being constant adversaries on everything from the UK class system to the role of women in early 19thC society. Verbal fencing at its finest. It'll be real interesting to hear which adaptation of Xmas Carol you like best 'cause there's *so many* they have their own page on wikipedia.

[@katiejlumsden]

+TimeAndChance I don't really know that much about Samuel Johnson I'm afraid! And no, I haven't seen the 1980s version, although I hear good things about it. I haven't seen that many adaptations of a Christmas Carol actually. I adore the book and love it read aloud, but haven't got round to that many adaptations. There's a great film with Patrick Stewart as Scrooge though :) www.imdb.com/title/tt0216621/

[@SunriseFireberry]

I want to think good things about the Stewart version. I've seen several, but still a drop in the bucket compared to what's out there. My favs are the '51 Sim version, the GC Scott version & the Muppets version.

[@katiejlumsden]

Ah, I do enjoy the Muppets one. I don't think I've seen the others though, will have to have a look!

[@Grabfma040508]

Question - What happens if Mr. Collins dies before Mr. Bennett and has no sons during this period of time?

[@katiejlumsden]

It would go to the next nearest male relation - perhaps another distant cousin, I suppose.

[@katehowereads]

Haha, I agree with everything you said about the adaptations! We are twinsies. I always feel scared to tell people that I like Matthew McFayden as Darcy. Let's be honest '95 Jane Bennet kinda stinks. I also think Mr. Bennet, Jane Bennet, Lady Catherine, Mr. Bingley, and Mr. Collins all particularly stand out as better in the newer one. It's also such a feast for the eyes and the soundtrack can't be beat! But unfortunately the newer one is like watching Pride and Prejudice on fast forward...Yes, please do more videos like this! Not that many classics loving booktubers are doing videos like this so it would be awesome if you do more! I have a hard time picking favorites but I would say my top two are Sense and Sensibility and Persuasion and then tied for second are Pride and Prejudice and Emma followed by Northanger Abbey and last place goes to Mansfield Park. We'll see where Lady Susan goes in the ranking. :)

[@katiejlumsden]

+Kate Howe I love Matthew McFayden. Colin Firth is great, but he's just not Mr Darcy for me - and then the soundtrack is so beautiful... And yes, there will be two weeks of Dickens in February hopefully! I do hope you like Lady Susan :)

[@katehowereads]

+Books and Things Yay for Dickens! Do you know when the Love and Friendship movie is coming out?

[@katiejlumsden]

I think it's supposed to be April in Europe, not sure about when in the US - there's not even a trailer yet, but I will be so excited when there is!

[@katehowereads]

+Books and Things Brilliant idea of the day: Katie does a trailer reaction for "Love and Friendship"!

[@katiejlumsden]

Haha maybe I will when it comes out!

[@davidgunarso4087]

There are many words, phrases and sentences in the book that I don't understand. So, I quit reading it in the middle. Maybe, you can help me, if I come across some of them. You know, to simplify the meanings

[@katiejlumsden]

What specifically are you struggling with?

[@davidgunarso4087]

@@katiejlumsden Mostly, in the sentences, the novel is filled with old English languages and they are too poetic, thus I can't digest and fathom 'em. FYI, I'm not an English speaker. Would you kindly help me to translate them into simple meanings ? Thank you for replying my comment before 🙏

[@Ladyofshalott55]

I don't agree. Nobody can compare to the BBC's actors! Keira and Matt are quite ugly for both characters!