How I Met P&P95: Banríon An Gheimhridh

The story of how Pride and Prejudice 1995 came into my life began before my life began.  What I mean is that even before I was born, I was in a way destined to meet the ‘95 version of P&P.  This story begins with my mom when she was eighteen.  I know this story is supposed to be about me, but I must tell that story as well, because it all is connected, and in a way, all part of one huge story about how much P&P ‘95 means to me.

When my mom was eighteen years old, she went on a trip to Britain with her grandparents.  When they were doing some shopping in the shopping district in London, they came across a posh new video store, gleaming, and two stories high, as my mom describes it whenever she retells this story, that was very hip at the time.  It was June 1986, and VHS tapes and VCRs were fairly new.  My great grandma and my mom found a shiny brand new VHS box set of the 1980 version of Pride and Prejudice.  It was exciting for both of them, as they had only ever seen the 1940 version with Laurence Olivier and Greer Garson.  They brought it over to a young blond salesclerk who stood behind the cashiers counter.  In later years my mom would recall seeing a strange look fliter across his eyes, when they told him they were from Canada.  When my mom and great grandparents returned home to Canada, to their disappointment, the tape wouldn’t work in their VCR.  VHS tapes in Great Britain use a different format to the one used in North America, but they hadn’t realized that when they bought it.  That was when it dawned on my mom that the look in the salesclerk’s eyes had meant that he had known the tapes wouldn’t work in Canada.  He had sold it to them anyways.  My great grandpa sent it back for a refund.  Later on in life, my mom thought that they should have kept it anyway, since she and my great grandma liked looking at it and owning it, even though they couldn’t watch it - that’s how much they loved it.  Sadly, my great grandma never got to see it.

Fast forward to years later, when my mom just turned twenty nine and now had a six month old baby, me.  It was the year 1996, when P&P ‘95 was a new and recent series by the BBC.  My mom was shopping on that fateful day.  She came across a complete VHS box set of all 6 episodes of P&P ‘95.  She didn’t make the purchase that day.  My great grandma had had a stroke but insisted on going with my great grandpa on one last road trip to visit me, her new great granddaughter, and the rest of my family.  While my great grandma was visiting, my mom mentioned to her that she had seen the ‘95 P&P while shopping, and my great grandma asked her how much it was.  It wasn’t until four years later that my mom acquired the box set of P&P with Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle.

This brings me to why everything in this story is connected - if my mom had not experienced losing the opportunity to see the ‘80 version with her grandma as an eighteen-year-old, she may not have made so sure to buy the ‘95 version.  And if she had not bought the ‘95 version, it would never have become one of my childhood favorite movies, and therefore, I wouldn’t know to love it to the extent I do now.

My mom has always regretted that she did not buy the P&P ‘95 the first time she saw it, so that she could have watched it with my great grandma.  If my mom had purchased the ‘95 P&P earlier and brought it to Canada when we came to look after my great grandma, watching Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle’s Pride and Prejudice would have brought my great grandma joy when she was immobile in her last months.  My great grandma died when I was five years old, never having seen the 1980 or the 1995 version of Pride and Prejudice.  This is why the story of how P&P came into my life is a bittersweet one.  The happy part is that I have grown up with P&P ‘95 and love watching it to this day.  And I have loved watching it ever since I first pushed the VHS of the first episode into my T.V., as an eight-year-old, and fell in love with the world of Jane Austen’s characters.  All my childhood I had seen scenes of it from all of the times my mom watched it, but it wasn’t until I was eight that I got to see all of it from start to finish for myself, and it quickly became my favorite.  I have loved it ever since.  That is the story of how I met Pride and Prejudice 1995. :)

How I Met P&P95: Deryn Joy

It's odd to remember a time when I wasn't acquainted with Jane Austen, she's been such a huge part of my life for the past few years. (Okay, that sounded creepy. Guys, I don't know her personally or anything.)

Of course, though, once there was a time before I knew the words, "there is a truth universally acknowledged," or fully understood their import...and shockingly, that was a mere 4 years ago. I distinctly remember being at church one Sunday evening and having a friend reference some person called "Mr. Darcy"; I gave her a blank look ("oh, this is, like, one of those obscure-celebrity crushes *sigh*") and had to admit, no, I've never read Pride & Prejudice...nor any other of Jane Austen's works...nor have I even heard of Mr. Darcy. Frankly, he sounds like a fuddy-duddy. -- NO, I didn't say that out loud, thank heavens. My rep would be virtually unsalvageable if I had.

In the course of human events, however, I had to read P&P for school and... I could say 'the rest is history,' but that would hardly be satisfactory.

I was hooked and dangerously obsessed by the second page. I ate, breathed, slept, swore by, and spoke nothing but Pride & Prejudice for weeks. ...the book, I mean. Not the actual manifestations.

My ravings over everything Mr. Darcy and the book finally induced one of my friends to ask if I'd ever seen The Movie (by which she of course meant the miniseries, though she wouldn't have, had she known where it would lead me).

"I'll bring it next week," she said. "You'd probably like it," she said.

Well, okay, she was a little more emphatic than that. I think the word "obsessed" figured in her description; but we can understand the gist without the details.

The rest is, pretty much, history: I read every other Austen novel out there within the year; I own two 'complete works of' and an extra each of P&P and Sense & Sensibility; I happen to have both movies. (...and lest you think I am a traitor to the cause, I present to you a little DISCLAIMER: my poor sainted grandmother only knew that her poor crazed granddaughters were nuts about this story and she sweetly bought us "the movie" as a present. yes, "P&P"05. Pestiferous & Pathetic would be a better title; but I digress. She couldn't have known how we'd say... mean, unprintable things about the actors, laugh it to death, and execrate it. AND IT'S NOT MY FAULT WE HAVEN'T BURNED IT YET! My dear grandmother can't help that  Matthew Mcfadyen looks like a horse and acts like a donkey. We sent her very sweet thank-you notes.)

Anyway, my wonderful friend brought me The Real Movie. As I watched all the glorious hours of Colin Firth's face it, I knew that my life would never be the same. Innumerable marathons later, I'm not sure what "my life would never be the same" really means, but it's got to be true, because all my productive-life plans have been trashed in favor of asking people how their families are and cracking up over "WHAT. -- excuse me."

So. That, my friends, is the story of how I met P&P95.

And I lived happily ever after.

Find out more about the blog series by clicking the "how I met P&P95" tag below.

How I Met P&P95: Kathleen

My parents love literature. Over the years, they have accumulated an enormous library because of this love, even when their finances were stretched thin. So of course in their hours of reading, they had both encountered the world of Jane Austen. My mother had read Pride and Prejudice, and my father had read Emma, and both admired her wit and style. They discovered the BBC/A&E version of Pride and Prejudice when I was four years old.

And so it happened. I was hit by a huge dose of Jane Austen. Yes, at the tender age of four, I watched for the very first time the timeless Pride and Prejudice 1995.

We were enthralled. I was entranced. We had never seen anything like it. I admired the beautiful Jennifer Ehle and the handsome Colin Firth, and felt very content when they married at the end. My parents admired the humour and the superb acting of all the cast members, from Mr. Darcy and Lizzy to Lydia and Wickham. I fell in love with the costumes.

And so, that started it. We have watched it almost every year, and I have never ever gotten tired of it. Every year I become more mature and find more details I had never noticed before, more subtleties that had escaped my noticed. And I have learned the dances danced at the Meryton Assembly Hall and at the Netherfield Ball. I even held my own ball at my Regency-themed birthday party. And I still love the costumes.

I have even attempted to show it to my friends. And you know what? They absolutely adore it. And if anybody even mentions or whispers about the 2005 version, I cringe. I throw rotten tomatoes (yes, sure I do!).

And so that started my love of everything Jane Austen.

And now I am a proud member of the P&P95 Forever Club.

Find out more about the blog series by clicking the "how I met P&P95" tag below.

How I Met P&P95: Miss Darcy

And here is another story from a member of our club who goes by Miss Darcy. :)

Firstly, I must say that was I very, VERY glad I met with P&P95! :)

My story starts when I was about eight or nine years old. I had never read a great deal (as a pastime), and I think Jane Austen's books had a part in inspiring me to read more for pleasure.

I had never read the book Pride & Prejudice, but I had heard of it and knew that Jane Austen wrote it. It wasn’t until one time when my Mum bought the first part of P&P95 at a sale or something and watched it with us.  I sort-of watched it then out of mere interest, but then I got to like it. I’m not quite sure what appealed to me at the time, maybe it was that I liked Mr. Darcy, or Lizzy, or that I thought Mr. Collins was funny and Mary stupid – I don’t know! But then, (we only had Episodes 1-3 at the time) I knew enough to know that Elizabeth had to marry Mr. Darcy, so I just couldn’t let it end like that! After we watched episodes 1-3, Mum read out the book where Episode 3 left off....And Mr. Darcy’s letter was most interesting......

Once we got the second part, I was really eager to keep watching, and my expectations were not let down! I then had to read the book, of course, and I enjoyed it very much. After that I sought other books by Jane Austen. I found  Emma at the library, and Mum bought a copy of Sense & Sensibility (which, obviously, I have read) and watching three versions of the former and two of the latter. P&P95 is one of my favourite movies, and Jane Austen is now my favourite author. Mum acquired  both the paperback and kindle versions of Northanger Abbey and a kindle version of Mansfield Park. I am reading both at the moment, and I am greatly enjoying both. I am certain P&P95 will remain a firm favourite for a long time to come!

You can visit Miss Darcy at her blog, Jane Austen & Her Kind.

How I Met P&P95: Rachel Olivia

This week we will be hearing the story of how Rachel Olivia (Rose Petals and Faerie Dust) met P&P95.  (Sorry the last two weeks were neglected, folks! I am determined to be more consistent.)

Note: This story was received on the Fifth of July, so please keep that in mind when any time references are made. :)

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My introduction to P&P95 was my first introduction to Jane Austen period.

Some of our friends the M’s mentioned the ’95 S&S when I was about 13 (about a decade ago), but we rarely watched any movies then. By rarely I mean only Veggie Tales, some Disney movies, other animated films (Thumblina, Swan Princess maybe), and the occasional real-people-movie (the ‘80’s Heidi and ‘60’s Hans Brinker are all that come to mind at the moment).  We had not reached grown up classics in reading at this point either.

The sister after me watched it with some acquaintances when I was about 14 and within a year-ish after that the M’s brought their taped-from-the-television-copy over to a sleep over. We watched part of it at night and part in the morning.

Shortly after, my mom borrowed Pride and Prejudice from the library for us. The same friends introduced us to the Ciarán Hinds Persuasion, the Emma Thompson, Hugh Grant, Alan Rickman, Kate Winslet Sense and Sensibility, and the Kate Beckinsale Emma. I received the entire Jane Austen finished works (seven novels) for Christmas when I was 16 or 17. I have read them all plus some of her juvenilia and her two unfinished drafts The Watsons and Sanditon (kill me now, I know that the hero in this one could have been one of her best even though he wasn’t even introduced yet). I have attended three Jane Austen festivals in our area and will attend a 4th in the next two weeks. So, needless to say I greatly enjoy Jane Austen’s works, period drama films, and the Regency time period, but DON’T call me a Janeite or Austenite. I think it is sooo silly and limiting.

I have since seen the 2008-ish Mansfield Park, Sense and Sensibility, and Persuasion. I will admit to seeing and enjoying…as. a. movie…the 2005NOTP&P, but it hardly bothers me (compared to my raised hackles over the Emma triumvirate) since it is so very much NOT Pride and Prejudice that it cannot seriously be considered a rival…just a poorly done more-of-a-chick-flick-than-period-drama film.

Here are my favorites besides the REAL Pride and Prejudice: the REAL Emma (or MY Emma as I call it) with Mark Strong and Kate Beckinsale, and I am likely one of maybe 10 people in the world that prefers this version (I can enjoy the 2009 Emma but I HATE Emma herself; however I cannot enjoy the Gweneth Paltrow version), the Persuasion with Rupert Penry-Jones (I admit the this has flaws such as seasick making camera work, but he is AMAZING and the film blends both her original, discarded ending with her final, published ending), and the ’95 S&S (I can enjoy the newer one and prefer that Elinor and Edward because they are younger like they are supposed to be and Edward is sooo handsome and not awkward like the other one, but Marianne was poorly acted and Willoughby looked like a blackguard-also, and this is a big pet peeve-it was too modern feeling).

Side note: During breakfast of the famous sleep over we discussed how awful Lydia was…and my then quite annoying 7ish year old little sister Lydia turned purple. We assured her that we were not discussing her. I promise you she was never, ever like THAT Lydia, and she now is about my age when I first watched it and quite enjoys the Jane Austen films and books herself (she emphatically prefers the 2009 Emma above the other Emma’s and is madly in love with that Mr. Knightley…so even my sisters aren’t on my side about Emma)!

***

Back to me (Miss Marianne). Thank you, Rachel Olivia! Although I must put a disclaimer or two on behalf of myself and the Club--I, for one, am an unashamed Janeite and don't think it is silly at all, and as for being limiting, I'm sure we all understand that one can be a Janeite and still be fans of other things. (Though for myself, it goes above and beyond all others.) But far be it from me to call anybody a Janeite who does not actually feel themselves to be one! ;)

And we are not one of the ten who prefer the 1996 A&E Emma, as we find 2009 practically perfect in every way.  But I do like the "brown-haired Emma" in its way. (Not Mark Strong, though. :P) It has some unique elements to offer which none of the other adaptations captured.

If you're interested in participating in this blog series, you can read about it here.

How I Met P&P95: Jane

The story begins back when I first read the book Pride and Prejudice.  Having never read it, I chose it for a book comparison, in English. In fact, I'd never read any Jane Austen at all. So, at the tender age of sixteen, I began the journey that all Janeites have taken. To my delight, I found the book easy to read, humourous and the story captivating. (I then went on to read the rest of Jane Austen!)

It was only a very few years later that friends lent us the BBC mini series. From what they said, I realized that this series was something special.  The picture of Mr Darcy on the front cover was not very reassuring, as he looked nothing like how I imagined him to look. Nevertheless, I approached it with an open and eager mind. And it was all and more than I had hoped for!

The opening music was beautiful. And Jennifer Ehle as Lizzy was perfect. Needless to say I soon discovered that the front cover picture of Colin Firth was merely an unflattering, bad angle and although he did not quite look like the Mr Darcy of the book, he certainly acted the part to perfection. As I base the worth of a movie on accuracy to the book, especially how the close the characters are to my imagination, P&P95 was perfection! Not only was Jennifer Ehle exactly as I imagined Lizzy but also many other characters including Mr Bingley, the Bennets, Georgiana.....I could go on! To this date, P&P95 is the most accurate adaption, I have ever seen.

We eagerly watched the entire series, night after night and when it finished, we knew now of the special hold it had over our friends. It became something of a tradition to watch it at least once a year. Suddenly our computers had desktop backgrounds of P&P95, pictures of Darcy & Lizzy were drawn, the piano music was acquired and learned by the more accomplished of us ...a mini fan-base was born.

(We did watch P&P2005 a little bit later but merely for comparison's sake. It was not true to the spirit of Jane Austen and we never have and never want, to watch it again!)

How I Met P&P95: The Elf

I was unaware of the existence of P&P 1995 and even of the existence of Pride & Prejudice, the book, until I was about 14.  My sister chose to study the book for a school project - first time she read it too - and later told me in detail all about the story she had come to love.  Shortly afterwards, some friends lent us several movies that they thought we might enjoy.  Among them, was P&P95.  Since I prefer to read the book before seeing the screenplay, I sat down and read Pride and Prejudice.  Although I was expecting a writing style similar to that of Charles Dickens - 1800s and all that - I was most pleasantly diverted.  The freshness, wit and appeal of Pride and Prejudice were a joy to read.

Although the picture of Darcy on the front cover of P&P95 was slightly disconcerting - "He's very hairy" was my sister's comment - I eagerly anticipated watching the TV series.  I have to say, it surpassed my wildest dreams.  The delight or realizing after the first episode that there were 4 more hours was a highlight.  The fact that the movie stuck so closely to the book was a thrill.  The novel experience of seeing actors who actually looked like they should, the stunning scenery, the beautiful music.... There is no doubt about it, when it comes to a period drama adaption, BBC does it best!

--The Elf

Would you like to contribute your own story or see what this series is all about? Please visit the main post here.

How I Met P&P95: Miss Jane Bennet

To explain the way that I met P&P95, I first have to explain how I met Jane Austen.  It all began when I was sitting next to a bookcase, wondering what to read next.  You see, I had read all of the books on its shelves.  Such is the life of a bookworm…

Anyway, I asked my mom if she had any reading suggestions.  She, to my eternal gratitude, suggested that I read Emma, by Jane Austen.  I vaguely remembered hearing something about Austen being a great writer and figured I’d give it a try.

At first, to be honest, I didn’t like Emma.  I found it (sorry for the sacrilege!  I’m a Janeite now!) dry and dull and boring and way too long.  When I finally finished it, I put it away with relief.  But a few weeks later, I found myself in the same predicament as ever.  I had nothing to read.  So, with nothing else to do and feeling certain of further boredom, I began Sense and Sensibility.  I found it more interesting than Emma and admired Elinor Dashwood greatly, but I still didn’t like it much.

However, I liked it enough to give Jane Austen another chance, and I began Pride and Prejudice.  That was the turning point for me.  The witty dialogue, the ironic comments from Mr. Bennet and the wonderful characters all combined to make me fall completely in love with Austen and become a Janeite.  In rapid succession, I read the rest of her novels (Mansfield Park, Northanger Abbey and Persuasion), reread Emma, P&P and S&S, and searched frantically for other sources to feed my Austen obsession.  It was around this time that I discovered Yet Another Period Drama Blog.  Some of the posts on it mentioned Austen adaptations.  I wondered whether any movie could really do Jane Austen justice and decided to find out.

My favorite of Austen’s works at that time was S&S, so I looked up a movie version of that at my local library.  I found the 1971 BBC version and watched it ASAP.  Yes, it wasn’t a very good quality movie.  Yes, some of the acting was bad and the costumes were a little strange.  I was hooked on Austen adaptations nonetheless.

I found the 2009 BBC adaptation of Emma next, and loved it even more.  Romola Garai and Jonny Lee Miller were perfect in their roles, and the costumes and sets were gorgeous.  So, I began searching for a P&P adaptation.  I discovered both the 1995 and the 2005 ones at the same time.  My parents were getting a little sick of 5-hour adaptations by this time, so I decided to get the 2005 one first.  I watched it and found it reasonably good.  It was nowhere near the 1995 one, of course, but I didn’t know that at the time.

As I’ve mentioned before, I had discovered Yet Another Period Drama Blog several weeks before I watched the 2005 P&P.  I naturally heard Amy praise P&P95 a lot, and so I was eager to watch it.  I checked it out of the library and waited impatiently until Friday, when I could watch it.

As soon as the opening music played, I fell in love with the movie.  I was already in a fair way to do that, but the horses galloping across the field…and Jennifer Ehle looking like *my* Lizzy…I couldn’t help it.

I watched three episodes of it that night, but then I had to go to bed.  I had to wait for over a week before I could watch the rest of it, which just made me like it even more.  At the ending, my heart went all Wicked Witch of the West on me, and all of a sudden I was more of a Janeite than ever.

And that is how I met P&P95.

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This story was submitted by Miss Jane Bennet of Classic Ramblings.
We plan to post one every Friday. Yes, this is Saturday--Amy's visit has thrown everything a little out of whack but it should return to normal soon!
To find out more about this blog series, go here.

How I Met P&P95: Miss Dashwood

"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife."  So said the first paragraph on the first page of my paperback copy of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice.

"Snicker-snort."  So said I.  Er, snicker-snorted I.  Highly unladylike, I know.  But you must remember that this exchange took place when I was but the tender age of fourteen, and not half as grown-up and sophisticated as I am now.  (snicker-snort)

In other words, I was hooked.  Hilariously hooked.  From the very first page--nay, the first sentence.  The hilarity of the narrative, the fascinating characters, the funny and suspenseful situations... I had to pace myself to make the book last and not gobble it all down too quickly.  I carried it around the house and read bits and pieces out loud to the family, cracking up over Mr. Collins and Mr. Bennet.  Who'd-a-thunk early-nineteenth-century literature could be so funny?

I'd picked up Pride and Prejudice at my mom's suggestion.  I think she was tired of hearing me complain about the lack of good books to read (having just finished eighth grade, I was feeling too old for the Juvenile Fiction section at the library but uninterested in the vampires and werewolves roaming the shelves in Young Adult), so at last she said, "Why don't you try Jane Austen?" and the very next day she took me and the gift card left over from my birthday to our nearest Borders.  Whereupon I purchased this volume and took it home to devour. 

Like I said.  Hooked.

Then, and only then, did I watch the 1995 miniseries with my mom.  I'm a stickler for reading the book first and THEN seeing the movie, and once I'd finished the novel I was chomping at the bit to see the film.  We checked it out from the library (one DVD at a time) and I. Was. Enthralled.

Perhaps it was the superb acting, perhaps it was the hilarious wit, perhaps it was the lovely Regency costumes, perhaps it was the way the script stuck so closely to the book (an instant win in my mind) but I think it was a combination of all of those plus the fact that this was my current favorite book, come to life, that made this movie my favorite of all time.  (For those curious, Sense and Sensibility is my favorite Jane Austen book, but P&P ranks very high after it.)  And once I'd seen it, my love for Jane Austen took flight.

And now... here I am, co-running a blog all about that movie.  Who would have thought it?

I was going to say "who'd-a-thunk it," but I am TRYING to be grown-up and sophisticated.

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!