The Masterpiece Theater version of Mansfield Park is my first foray at watching this particular novel come to life. True Austen purists will find the film a disappointment. Too many characters are left out and several are given so little back story that newbies to Mansfield Park will be a bit confused at the beginning. But I honestly enjoyed it despite its flaws.
Quick Story Overview:
Fanny at the tender age of ten was sent to live with her aunt and uncle, Sir Thomas and Lady Bertram. She soon ran across four cousins, two male and two female. Life eight years down the road depict them to be thus: Tom is the eldest son, but he parties and gets drunk in excess; Edmund is the second son who is destined for life as a clergyman; Maria is engaged to be married to Rushworth; and Julia is the youngest daughter. The story starts when Sir Thomas leaves freeing the occupants of Mansfield Park from his tyranny.
The actors and actresses were engaging and you even like the slimy characters. There is no trouble at all in locating the Mr. Wickham in this novel/movie. It’s plain as the nose on your face. Henry Crawford and his sister Mary are both trouble at a glance. Henry is told to focus on Julia, but his attentions turn inevitably to the more beautiful Maria. Can we say scandal in the making? Why yes, we surely can. Mary is disappointed to learn that Tom is not at home and has in fact run off to London, where she can’t follow because her father has installed his Mistress into their home. Instead she focuses on Edmund, much to Fanny’s displeasure.
I found Edmund, the hero, to be wonderfully cast with Blake Ritson. Very Byronic hero. He was handsome, of good character, a little blind to what was going on around him perhaps but eager to throw off his unfortunate decision to love Mary Crawford and start anew with what was right under his nose the whole time. His epiphany scene is really quite phenomenal and will surely make your heart leap out of your chest. For no other reason, you should rent the movie to see that scene.
Fanny, played by Billie Piper, is the heroine and she is lively with a wonderful smile. At some points you think she’s holding an orange peel over her teeth when her mouth is closed. Is this something that the British do? I noticed this in BBC’s Persuasion
that characters held their mouths funny. Her dark eyebrows and blond hair is a bit of a distraction too. She wears her hair down for the movie so if this Regency inaccuracy is going to bug you, you are now forewarned. Over all I found that Billie played her part quite well.
Rating: 3.5 Stars
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Originally posted 2008-10-11 09:38:28. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
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Gothic romance is a genre you can't find all too easily today. It was a popular genre a few decades ago and lovers of this romance sub-genre will have to troll secondhand bookstores to find titles. Classics of this genre are novels such as Wuthering Heights and Scarlet Letter. Well known authors of Gothic romance/horror include Ann Radcliffe of the past and Stephen King of the present.
A typical Gothic romance revolved around conflict and mysteries. It made the heroine choose between two male characters for love. One is bright, sunny, cheerful and charming. The other was dark, mysterious, secretive, and brooding. Plotlines of cursed leads and daring adventures took place on wind-swept moors, and places that were haunted. The heroine would embark on a thrilling journey to discover if her hero was worthy of love. Her task usually boiled down to find out if the hero really murdered his first wife, brother, mother, insert other relation.
It is interesting to note that Radcliffe introduced this brooding male as the Gothic villain, which developed into the Byronic hero. She is considered a pioneer of the genre. The movie Becoming Jane
shows a meeting between Radcliffe and Jane Austen but there's not basis for this meeting. However it does provide an interesting backdrop on the dual rise of the two types of popular novels.
As Gothic or dark romanticism developed it became more distinctly separated. The first direction of Gothic novels glorifies gore. The second took on the key aspects of modern romance. This new evolution made the focus on the romance instead of the mystery. These are the romances that disappeared after the eighties.
So what is a Byronic hero?
Trivia: The name of this hero comes from the English poet Lord Bryon.
The hero himself is highly intelligent, urbane, sophisticated and introspective. In other words he's arrogant, mysterious, seductive, and moody (see bipolar). We see male figures like this all over, you could make the argument that Mr. Darcy is a Byronic hero on top of being a Regency hero, as Byronic heroes dislike social formalities and functions. Of course Mr. Darcy doesn't have a troubled past or flippant air towards the wealthy and privileged, as he is one of that set. While Mr. Darcy was disliked he was not a complete social outcast and exiled from polite company. All these things are attributed to the Byronic hero.
What's a good modern Gothic romance?
Some titles of the modern Gothic romance include: Bells of Widow's Bay by Miriam Lynch, Castle Midnight by Evelyn McKenna, and Satan's Rock by Marilyn Ross.
Authors to look for include (past and present authors): Victoria Holt, Dorothy Daniels, Theresa Weir, Phyllis Whitney, Barbara Michaels, Allison Knight, Mary Stewart, Joanna Challis, and Megan McKinney, Kay Hooper, Eve Silver... to name a few.
Trivia: In the 1980s Harlequin had an all Gothic line of books. See here for Gothic titles. Harlequin Intrigue also contains several titles that could satisfy your craving.
Originally posted 2008-09-24 15:10:30. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
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