I'm a bookworm, and as such I pride myself on being able to say that I've read all of Jane Austen's novels. But I also love seeing screen adaptations of her work. It just never gets old, and I enjoy being able to picture more richly the stories she tells of love, hate, society, and scandal (with a good bit of snark thrown in for good measure).
So here are my favorite (so far) screen adaptations of Jane Austen books!
#1: Sanditon (2019 TV Show)
Have you seen it?? If you haven't, go watch it. Then come back and tell me you love it so we can fangirl about it together.
Sanditon is an unfinished novel (yes, I've read it) set in an up-and-coming seaside resort. The TV show, aired on PBS, uses up all the material that Austen wrote in the first three-quarters of the first episode (or so I've heard), and after that the creators ran with the story. And did a fantastic job, in my opinion! They modernized it just enough, but not so much that it doesn't resemble Austen at all anymore.
If you've watched it, I'd love to know who your favorite character is! Mine is Esther Denham (hence the picture for this post).
#2: Emma (2020 Film)
I loved this! The music was great, the casting was great, the sets were great, and it followed the storyline of the book, even down to Austen's trademark irony. The only thing I felt could have been better was the portrayal of Mr. Woodhouse. His vim and vigor in the movie took the irony a little too far; in the book, he not only believes that he's prone to illness, he acts like it too. Overall, however, I thought this was a brilliant retelling of Emma (and I'm a little bit obsessed with Anya Taylor-Joy now).
#3: Emma Approved (2013 Multi-platform Web Series)
Yup, Emma again. This one hooked me from the very first episode. So creative and addictive! Even though I've read Emma (twice), I kept wondering how they were going to incorporate and modernize the next plot point. The romances were also adorable.
#4: Pride & Prejudice (1995 TV Mini-series)
It's hard to improve upon Pride and Prejudice. There are so many adaptations of this, Jane Austen's most well-known book. Most directors treat it like a fairy tale that can be bent any way they please, and there is nothing stopping them from doing that, but I'd prefer to just read it. The 1995 mini-series, however, is the exception to this general preference. To be honest, I don't think I've ever watched the whole thing, but I've loved what I have seen of it! It stays very true to the book (and can we just agree that Colin Firth is cute).#5: The Lizzie Bennet Diaries (2012 Multi-platform Web Series)
... Okay, this Pride and Prejudice retelling is also pretty great. I think the creators of this web series did an especially good job of modernizing the Lydia-and-Wickham subplot.
That's all from me for today! Let me know if I missed any of your favorites.
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