I have to say there are very few period piece movies I actually like much less love and adore. And I’ve figured out why. It is very difficult to translate a historical romance novel to film (actually, a straight romance period). Movies tend to lend themselves to historical fiction where there is much more action than internal dialogue and there’s no happy ending. A couple making love is somehow taboo unless it’s wrapped in intrigue, comedy or blood and gore.<\/p>\n
Thank goodness for Jane Austen. She created historical romance before the term was coined. Yes, her novels are very chaste but high on conflict, angst and tension. Her novels have managed that almost insurmountable feat of being translated so perfectly to the small and big screen.<\/p>\n
I’ll admit, I only discovered Jane Austen and her works in late 2006, so I’m a relative newbie. At first, I tried to read Pride and Prejudice. I don’t know about you but books weren’t written the same as they are now, so I found the pages upon pages of telling too much for me. But like Cliff Notes, along came a slew of her movies airing on PBS in January – March of 2007. That’s when the love affair began. I fell hook line and sinker. The first movie I saw was PERSUASION<\/strong>. All I have to say is Rupert Penry-Jones<\/strong><\/em>. Sigh. Swoon. The first time they meet on screen is one of my favourite scenes in the movie.<\/p>\n