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Your take on the relationship between Marianne and Brandon aligns with mine. I am now a grandmother with a granddaughter Marianne’s age. I would be flying mad if a man in his mid thirties had design on my 16 year old granddaughter. It is sick and disturbing (disgusting)! I am not against bigger age differences in a relationship, but not when one of them is a teenager. That is not healthy. Brandon should have waited until Marianne was at least 20 before pursuing her. You and I are probably among the minority in our view on Marianne and Brandon. It seems like most think it is so romantic and also normal in that era. Maybe! You are also astute in your thoughts on whether Marianne would be happy in the long run. She would mature and settle down, but there could very well be a lingering desire fore something more…

If convicted felons were sentenced to read Jane Austen the crime rate would drop like a rock....horrible.

I don't knoow I think Thorpe might be worse than Wickham. At least Wickham had some charm and could have lively conversation. Thorpe can only talk about horses and carriages. He's more like a young Mr. Hurst.

I love your content! ☺️💗 Your book reviews are delightful. Thank you!

You are too generous in your review. This adaptation was the most horrific thing I've ever seen. I asked the library to make a warning about the sexual content and you'd have have thought I'd asked them to burn it. I just thought that the obscene pictures should have a warning. This movie had very little in common with the book

Please - cut the musical background.

The film is a masterpiece and one of my favourite movies. I have read the book but the casting was so good that they remain in my mind as the characters. This is an excellent account and analysis of the story,its character and plot. I really enjoyed it!

This movie had so many problems. I honestly think that the actresses playing Fanny and Maria should have been switched. Frances O’Connor is prettier (sorry, just my opinion) and would have been more convincing as the wealthy socialite, while Victoria Hamilton would have been more convincing as the shy wallflower treated as a doormat. More importantly, they messed up the character of Fanny by trying to mix some of Jane Austen herself into the character. That doesn’t work! It felt like they couldn’t decide if they wanted to make her loyal to the character from the book or make her more like Jane. And I agree, making Uncle Bertram into a monster didn’t work either. While I didn’t like him in the book, I don’t think that he was much (if any) worse than lots of other Austen characters.

Why do you do this to yourself? Why bother? No movie, television or stage adaptation of a novel is going to accurately follow it, page by page. That is not how filmmaking and creating a stage play works. One has to consider the time limits of the production in question. Brandon's interest in Marianne made you creepy? I don't understand that criticism. But I guess you're entitled to it.

Great video

I've been trying to figure out why Mary didn't get sick from Cholera, considering she was described to be sickly already and ate some of the food from the table. I've always wondered how she managed to avoid it.

I loved this movie and your comparison ❤

There’s no question that Emma Thompson is a monumental talent, but she was way too long in the tooth to play 19 year old Elinor. Honestly, the egos of celebrities know no bounds. She really had to be delusional to take on the part of a woman who was twenty years younger.

The 2008 version with Dan Stevens, Hattie Morahan, Charity Wakefield, and David Morrisey is far superior in my opinion.

there's a difference between girl, woman, mother, and lady coming from on old fashioned soul who tries to be a gentleman it is refreshing to see that there are still ladies out there who appreciate romance

“Amplified” is a good summary of this movie versus its book. For many modern audiences, I think these choices were within the characters’…characters and adequate for communicating all the subtleties in the book.

I found Colonel Brandon to be more odious and repugnant, as much as Henry Crawford.

I always thought Colonel Brandon and Elinor made a much better couple. I was baffled that it didnt go that way. Glad I'm not the only one.

For how particular u are referencing accuracy ur mispronounced Maria's name

Girl, you’re feeling nauseous about Fanny marrying her cousin (when that was common or at least acceptable in those days) but expect her to accept Henry’s proposal based off of helping her family because it was more “common” in those days?? (Also idk if it was all that common, I know that when people married without love it was usually frowned upon by society)

We only hear about Fanny questioning Sir Thomas when she's discussing it later with Edmund - and Edmund says he was disappointed that she didn't ask more...which she didn't because Maria & Julia seemed disinterested & she didn't want to 'put herself forward". If Edmund wanted Fanny to continue, surely the suggestion is that Sir Thomas didn't take offence and her question was answered?

The book has Fanny looking forward to going back to Portsmouth, only to be disappointed when she see's the state it's in; but my recollection is that Sir Thomas always meant it to show Fanny the difference between Portsmouth and Mansfield Park: i.e. what she was giving up by refusing Henry.

Don't think it can be accused of "queer-baiting"; think rather the film was directed (& possibly adapted) by a man-hating lesbian!

Who came here from watching the film, "Love & Friendship" (2016)? 🖐️🖐️🖐️

I thought just about the same as you! I was disappointed with the characterization of Sir Thomas, the Mansfield house, queer baiting, and also that Fanny had accepted Henry. I wish they had shown Fanny more as she was in the novel, but I understand that a woman like Fanny is hard for modern audiences to love. Similarly, I think Jane Austen’s appreciation of the Church is hard for modern western audiences, as well.

I enjoyed this video 🫶🏻

I love this book. Lady Susan is one of the great characters in English Literature in my opinion. A perfect example of a manipulative narcissist portrayed with tremendous skill and wit. I recommend it to anyone who hasn't read it.

Anne is alone in ways that no other Jane Austen heroine is. Lady Russell could have been a confidante but she is away most of the time. I think that's part of the reason there is so little dialogue and leads to many people's dissatisfaction with this book. It's actually one of my favorites, though I don't know why. I love Persuasion and Northamger Abbey even though they are pretty much opposites as far as communication between the two main characters.

Remember the movie isn’t a faithful retelling or the book. Especially the slavery. There’s nothing said about this. This book is an important social cometary. Slave trade was abolished, in UK, 1807. Sir Thomas would never have discussed such things in front of his wife and daughters. It’s a crap movie.

In my opinion Wuthering Heights is very readable, but I do not like the story.

I have only seen that film "Dracula dead and loving it."

I really wanted someone to tell Mrs. Norris off. Henry got in a couple shots and Sir Thomas did as well, but not enough to knock her down some pegs. Jane Austen was hilarious with Mrs Norris in showing her to be a phony and a leech, but I would’ve loved it if she were really put in her place. She saw the writing on the wall when she chose to leave, and I know the gentlemen are gentlemen, but still.

Excellent summary! I think it could be improved if you made it clear that Catherine had not read any Gothic novels before she was introduced to them by Isabella. Too many people think she has been reading them at home and arrives in Bath ready for Gothic situations. Also, if I had been doing a summary I would have pointed out how many of the situations in the story really are the same as in the Gothic novels Catherine has been reading. They are just translated into real life. John Thorpe really does kidnap Catherine when he "laughed, smacked his whip, encouraged his horse, made odd noises, and drove on," just like in the novels. (BTW John Thorpe has always struck me as the Regency equivalent of a used car salesman. “Curricle-hung, you see; seat, trunk, sword-case, splashing-board, lamps, silver moulding, all you see complete; the iron-work as good as new, or better.") And when Catherine interprets General Tilney's behavior as "slowly pacing the drawing-room for an hour together in silent thoughtfulness, with downcast eyes and contracted brow, she felt secure from all possibility of wronging him. It was the air and attitude of a Montoni!" She is right!

Yea, modern readers always wants to see Sam's and Frodo's friendship as "something above friendship", and like to interpret it as that of modern sexuality. Modern readers are coloured by the sexuality, identity and gender politics of their times, and - importantly - *has never been to war!* Real war, where most of your friends die. Tolkien fought at The Somme, nuff said, and if you travel to Ukraine today, you will see friendship like that in the trenches here and there. It is hard to explain, but it is just friendship. And no there is definately nothing wrong with same-sex attraction, and all that (a good friend of mine is no longer the gender which body she was in when I befriended her), but maybe we should not let modern thought patterns dominate our view of the past?

Well it is Charlotte Bronte writing this novel. Does she really know how to write from a man's perspective on the whole affair? I doubt it since she and her sisters lived a mostly sheltered life. It's a wonder that the book is as great as it is and the characters are as nuanced as they are.

This is my least favorite of all Jane Austen's works. Although, I love Fanny, as a character. She saw through Henry Crawford when no one else did. I don't like Edmund because he saw all the red flags and chose to ignore them and seemed to just, settle for Fanny in the end. So, even looking past the first cousin thing, AND the growing up like siblings; he still doesn't deserve Fanny. Maybe if he had just a brief infatuation with Mary, and then had him slowly show how his affection for Fanny grew over the course of the novel, I'd have enjoyed it more.

in this platform full of how to be rich, how to succeed in life, how to be good at work.. sometimes you just really want to rest and immerse yourself in a book like the old days. Just when your dilemmas are the stories you'd like to finish, and you have all the time in the world to ponder about what you've just read. I dont have the time now to read, and your summary saved me from corporate boredom. So, thank you.

I think Catherine was trying to play nice with John; he's her brother's friend and her friend's brother and if James and Isabella were planning to marry, she doesn't want to completely alienate one of her future in-laws.

Very intriguing list-fully agree with Pride and Prejudice, it’s absolutely perfect. It gets a lot harder after that. Emma is delightfully funny, so great for when I’m in that mood, but I’m very partial to Persuasion so I switch back and forth between those two. I love the quiet and dignified strength of Anne Elliot, but her sisters are hilarious, each in their own way. Northanger Abbey is fourth, then Sense and Sensibility. I have that down on the list because there’s a darkness to it that keeps me from wanting to reread it as often as the ones ranked higher. Mansfield Park is next. Fanny is not my favorite heroine; contrary to what JA would say, I really like her Emma. Lady Susan is last because much as I like the story, I’m just not a fan of the epistolary style, so not inclined to go back for a read the way I do the others. My movie rankings might be quite different! I’m also a big fan of a trilogy by Pamela Aiden which tells the P&P story from Darcy’s point of view. The books are “An Assembly Such as This,” “Duty and Desire,” and “These Three Remain.” Lots of fan fiction out there, some of it pretty awful, but I do like this set. What do you think of the Sanditon series?

Thanks for doing this-I owned Lady Susan but found it difficult to follow the epistolary style. Then I saw Love and Friendship in a theater with my mom, who has since passed, and we both loved it, so it’s become special to me. I’m also a great fan of Kate Beckinsale. Her “Emma” is my favorite version, and she’s also delightful in “Cold Comfort Farm.” I was at first confused by the pronunciation of Mainwaring, but when we visited England we found that ‘w’ is often skipped over: Norwich is pronounced Norich, for example, so it seems consistent. Having seen the movie, I was able to go back a read the book and follow it just fine. Thanks for all these videos. Love them!

I have just been re-reading Northanger Abbey, so of course I had to see what you had to say about it. I very much agree that the Felicity Jones/JJ Fields version is far superior to the one with Peter Firth (who really creeps me out, BTW). You presented a challenge as to whether Isabella and James Tilney were “naughty” to use your theme of the day. I’m on the side of movie version here, although this is not directly from the pages. I give as evidence that James tells Catherine that Isabella is engaged to Tilney (movie Isabella assumes the same.) Henry and Eleanor give pretty candid assessments of the Captain’s character, that no woman is good enough for him to marry-a dalliance hardly seems out of character however, based on their side glances to each other (in the book). This hardly seems out of place for Austen, either, considering other villainous characters: Wickham, Willoughby, and Crawford. Austen doesn’t shy away from this behavior. Now here’s my question for you: James is promised 400 pounds per annum, which seems pretty meager, but understandable in a family with 10 children. But then when Catherine is allowed to marry Henry, she gets a settlement of 3000 pounds. Does that make sense? On the subject of Henry’s attachment to Catherine, I know Austen said it originated in gratitude, and her partiality to him, but I think she’s teasing her readers. It wasn’t long before he was enchanted by her demonstrating her own character by assuming that others would of course think and feel as she did. She was also eager to learn whatever he wished to teach her. I loved the passage where Henry describes to Eleanor the character traits she is to expect in her new sister-in-law (Isabella), that in fact describe a different sister-in-law (Catherine), and she readily agrees. Those siblings were definitely on the same page! I’m enjoying all your Austen analyses-thanks!!

Honestly, I'm almost done with this right now and I'm watching this because I've seen many adaptations. An interesting character to me is Yates, when everyone clears out during the play, he sticks around to clean up the mess he helped make and to meet Sir Thomas, that's a stark contrast to Henry who leaves Mansfield Park immediately. I know it's probably to highlight stupidity versus his moral character but it's something that's stuck out to me, none the less.

I think the 2008 version is much closer to book. Both 1995 and 2008 version have their own merits. 1995 has Emma Thompson's award winning tight screenplay which makes the pace of the movie much enjoyable. The 2008 version hits right at so many levels, especially the actress who played Elinor did a stunning job. I like the carpet beating scene where it is established that Elinor must have some outlet for her frustration. S & S has also been adapted into a famous Indian Tamil movie called "Kandukondein Kandukondein". They transport the action so beautifully to rural Tamil Nadu in India. It turned out to be one of the biggest hits in 2000.

MY BIGGEST QUESTION - I'm writing about NOT my own characters, but they are otherwise unknown. I'm writing real events, but also unknown, hence why I am writing it. I'm working off 30 newspaper clips from 150 years ago and doing a LOT of twisting, filling and fictionalizing. My research is exhausted and there's just not a lot of material there. Still historical fiction???

1:47 - I learned about water closets before toilets.

I started online, then before I knew it, I was corresponding with city records offices and buying documents.

This was made in 2016. Aren't you afraid they're going to put blackcs and br0wns that look like Rishi Sunak in there like they did with Wicked Little Letters?

Sense and Sensibility is the ONLY film that I prefer to the book.

evidence that romance is still alive and well in this day and age

Catherine is a silly girl who has read too many bad Gothic novels & can't tell the difference between fiction & real life.