How I Met P&P Stories

Below you will find links to all the stories so far published for this blog series. (Learn more here.)

~Miss Dashwood
~Miss Jane Bennet
~The Elf
~Jane
~Rachel Olivia

Introducing: The 'How I Met P&P95' Blog Series

"So how did you guys meet??" It's a popular question posed to people who are newly engaged or newly married or newly showing up at a party and not really knowing anyone and trying to make small talk.

To the best of our knowledge, you ladies don't fit any of the qualifications listed above, but we're asking you that question anyway.  Only it's not about you and another person... it's about you and Pride and Prejudice 1995.

How did you meet our very favoritest of favorite movies? Was it through the recommendation of a friend? A desire to see the movie after reading the book? A stroll through the shelves at the library and the enticement of an eye-catching DVD case?  Do tell!  Simply send us an email at shelvesinthecloset95[AT]gmail[DOT]com and give us your story.  It can be as brief or as long as you like, but we recommend keeping it somewhere between 200 and 1,000 words.  We will post stories on the blog over the next several weeks, starting with our own to get the event kicked off.

Note: We reserve the right to change very minor grammatical issues.

Looking forward to hearing from you!

Match the Wrong Actor - Answers

1. Judi Dench - Lady Catherine de Bough (2005)

2. Maureen O'Sullivan - Jane Bennet (1940)

Ha... this is not a high-quality photo but the expression was so
un-Jane-ish that it diverted me excessively and I had to use it

3. Melville Cooper - Mr. Collins (1940)

4. Osmund Bullock - Mr. Bingley (1980)

5. Brenda Blethyn - Mrs. Bennet (2005)

6. David Rintoul - Mr. Darcy (1980)

7. Laurence Olivier - Mr. Darcy (1940)

8. Carey Mulligan - Kitty Bennet (2005)

9. Sabina Franklyn - Jane Bennet (1980)

10. Tom Hollander - Mr. Collins (2005)

BONUS:  What connexion does the humanist satirist Aldous Huxley have with Pride and Prejudice?

ANSWER: He co-wrote the screenplay! Rather shocking, that.  I never would have suspected... but then I haven't yet seen the entire 1940 film so perhaps I'll have to do so and see if I can spot any weirdness or science fiction references in the dialogue.

And our winner is... Miss Jane Bennet with 25 points!  How fitting!  Miss Laurie merits honorable mention as well because she earned twenty points by correctly guessing all the actors' names and films (neglecting only to correctly answer the bonus question).  Thanks for playing, everyone!  Check back Monday for more fun!

Game the Twenty-seventh: Match the Wrong Actor

We Club members are a snooty bunch, there's no denying it.  We hold (unswervingly) to the belief that the 1995 A&E miniseries is the be-all, end-all of Pride and Prejudice adaptations (yes, thank you Mary, I think we had all apprehended that much) and as such we believe all other adaptations to be Inferior and Unworthy.  The 1940 and 1980 versions get off rather mildly, to be sure, as they were made before the 1995 masterpiece and were just building up to The Grand One, but the 2005 butchery has no such excuse.  We have rather immaturely dubbed it FakeP&P, because P&P already exists, people.  We don't need a new one.  Especially not an American one.  Especially not one that stars Keira Not-Knightley.  (We're big fans of Mr. George Knightley, and we resent the fact that the Pirates of the Caribbean gal shares his name.)

Where were we.

Oh, yes, bad adaptations.  That's the subject of this week's game, you see.  You will be provided with a list of ten actors' names-- your job is to match each one with a) the P&P adaptation they appeared in (i.e. 1940, 1980 or 2005) and b) the character they played.  No fair checking IMDb!  You must make your best guess... and you only get one shot at it, so think very carefully before submitting your answers in a comment.  You will get one point for each correctly guessed character and one point for each correctly guessed adaptation.  You may also acquire five extra bonus points for answering the bonus question, for a total of 25 points maximum.  Have fun!

***

1. Judi Dench
2. Maureen O'Sullivan
3. Melville Cooper
4. Osmund Bullock
5. Brenda Blethyn
6. David Rintoul
7. Laurence Olivier
8. Carey Mulligan
9. Sabina Franklyn
10. Tom Hollander

BONUS:  What connexion does the humanist satirist Aldous Huxley have with Pride and Prejudice?

Double Challenge Caption Contest - Winner!

And our winner is...

Miss Jane Bennet of Classic Ramblings. 

Choosing just one was not the easiest thing in the world, for there was indeed a selection. :) Thanks to all who entered, we enjoyed them!  Keep an eye out for the post on Monday--there may just be something a little different!

Game the Twenty-Sixth: Double Challenge Caption Contest

Well, my friends, it is the week for another caption contest. Only this time, it's going to have a bit of a different twist.

Rather than giving you a picture to make up a caption for... you get to find your own. Any P&P screencap you want. The Club's stock is right here, and then for a very extensive selection, go here. It can be easier to find funny ones since the Club's screencaps don't usually freeze weird faces and that sort of thing. ;) But you can even take your own if you want to. It just has to be from P&P95. (Yes, thank you, Mary.)

There are three ways to submit your entry...
1) Comment on this post with a link to the picture in question and your caption
2) Make your own captioned picture, post it on your blog, and comment on this post with a link
3) Make your own captioned picture and send it to us at shelvesinthecloset95 (Gmail account)

Any questions? Let us know!

Please get your caption to us by the end of Friday (the 14th) so we can select a winner the next day. :)

And the winner of the 'Ask Mrs. Bennet' Contest...

...is Miss Jane Bennet of Classic Ramblings. Thank you very much! Without further ado, here is her entry.

~~
Dear Mrs. Bennet,
Oh, dear, I am in such a sorry plight!  I really do not know what to do.  I recently married Sir Percy Blakeney, Baronet.  I thought he loved me, but a mere twenty-four hours after our wedding all love for me seemed to vanish.  You see, I, in the foolishness of youth, denounced the Marquis St. Cyr and his family to the French Revolution.  He was guillotined.  As soon as Percy heard of this, he seemed to lose all love and trust for me.  He still gives me many presents and showers jewels upon me, but those don’t make me happy.  He seems to be indifferent to my sufferings.  I have practically begged him to forgive me, to no avail.  Please give me advice!  I want my husband's love back.
Very sincerely yours,
Lady Marguerite Blakeney

My DEAR Lady Blakeney,
WHAT an HONOR it is to have a correspondence with such an important personage as yourself!  My nerves are so dreadfully in a flutter.  I have such poor nerves, Lady Blakeney, and my husband has no compassion on them.  It is really terrible of him.
You are so FORTUNATE to have married such a man as Sir Percy Blakeney!  A baronet!  I wish my girls had been half so lucky.  My youngest, dear Lydia WICKHAM, recently married a Mr. Wickham.  He is such a charming, handsome man, but as he is a soldier (and a most IMPORTANT one too!) he hasn’t much money to spare.  As you are so rich, perhaps you could send him and Lydia a bit of help occasionally.  I know they could use some help with their rent, poor souls.
You get presents of jewels and they don’t make you happy?  What more could you want?  You should not be so selfish.  My poor Lydia is so poor, and yet she makes do very well.  She is always so cheerful, and never complains. 
You are really too lucky.  My girls should have caught that baronet.  However, I suppose that Jane, my eldest daughter, is much more beautiful than you are, and had he but seen her first, he would have completely forgotten you.  However, we cannot all have what we want, and my Jane has five THOUSAND a-YEAR!  So I am very happy for her, even though it really would have been better for her to have married Sir Percy.  I expect his fortune is very large.
I congratulate you on your extremely fortunate match.  It is no doubt much more than you deserve.
Wisely yours,
Mrs. Bennet, would-be baroness
~~

And for a runner-up, because I had a hard time deciding on one, I would also like to share The Elf's contribution. (Who hopefully will not think me presumptuous for having changed a couple E's for accuracy in the location names. :) )

~~

Derbyshire,

December 27, 18??

Be not alarmed Madam on receiving this letter by the apprehension of it containing anything disgusting to you. You have been recommended to me by my younger sister,, who regularly reads your column.  I must confess that although I appreciate extensive reading for the improvement of the mind, I have not yet read your columns.

I recently rescued my close friend, a wealthy gentleman who shall remain anonymous, from a most imprudent match.  The lady in question has some very strong objections on her side and I doubted the strength of her attachment to him.  However, although he has been successfully rescued, it is difficult for him to forget this brief infatuation. His appetite has suffered, he is prone to fits of daydreaming and indeed, is in a truly melancholy state.

I ask for your advice on how to "cure" him.  By what means can I help him to forget and be once again, his normal self?

Yours respectfully,

An anonymous writer

Longbourn

December 29, 18??

My dear Sir,

I am thrilled beyond words that you have sought my advice. Indeed, my nerves are all aflutter! (On a side note, you cannot imagine what trouble my nerves give me - such flutterings and tremblings I get!)

I understand most fully how this wealthy young gentleman must feel.  My eldest daughter, Jane, the most beautiful girl in the entire district (and we dine with no less than four and twenty families!) has recently been through a most difficult time.  A wealthy young man - FIIVE THOUSAND POUNDS A YEAR!!! and most obliging, all ease and charm of manner - appeared to be very much attached to her.  In fact, I was already deciding what her wedding clothes would be when without so much as your leave, he departed from our neighborhood!   Like your unhappy friend, my dear, sweet Jane is most upset and languishes. I am sure she will die of a broken heart, and then he will be sorry for what he has done!

But you say that the young lady was not suitable for your friend?  Well, then, my advice would be for your friend to come to Meryton.  You say he is young and rich and I am sure he is in need of a spouse! Why, it is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife!  My five daughters are all most charming young ladies and are sure to please your friend.  (By the by, how much does he earn? As much as FIVE THOUSAND a year?)  We can kill two birds with one stone if he and my beautiful Jane are attracted to each other as I am sure they must be.

Haye Park or the great house at Stoke (but NOT Purvis Lodge as the attics there are dreadful) will do your friend very nicely to stay in.

I am so excited!

Yours respectfully,

Mrs. Bennet

Pemberley

December 30th, 18?

Official notice to cancel Miss Georgiana Darcy's subscription to Ask Mrs. Bennet.

~~

Thanks to all who entered! 

Last Chance to Write a Mrs. Bennet Advice Column Entry!

More entries are still welcome before nighttime advances tomorrow (the 8th)! :)

(See the post in question.)

Game the Twenty-Fifth: Ask Mrs. Bennet

Hello there, my fine friends.  You have all heard of advice columns, yes? Well, that's what this week's amusement will be based on.

Your job is to come up with both an asking letter and an answering letter-- the asking-for-advice letter can be written in the style and character of... well, anybody you want. It could be yourself, it could be a character from a book, from another period drama, or nobody in particular--whatever you think is going to turn out the wittiest. The advice-giving letter must be written, of course, by Mrs. Bennet. (Yes, thank you, Mary. I think we had all apprehended that much.)

If you're confused, let me know in comments and I'll help you out, but for now I'm going to leave the explaining at that.

You can write up to three sets of question-and-answer letters. Post it/them on your blog and leave the link in a comment, or if you don't want to/cant do a blog post, just email it to me at shelvesinthecloset95{at}gmail{dot}com. I'll accept answers through Saturday the 8th, and post the winner that night or the next day.  I'll be choosing whichever one strikes me as the funniest and/or cleverest. :)

Good luck!