I didn’t manage to fit a Jane Austen into my reading last year, so made sure I got one in early this year!
The 1995 adaptation of Persuasion is my mum’s favourite, but not one I was ever that familiar with. I ended up watching both the ’95 (Amanda Room & Ciaran Hinds) and ’07 (Sally Hawkins & Rupert Penry-Jones) versions last year though, ready to try out Netflix’s version, so I was all warmed up and ready to give the book a go!
Anne Elliot was in love at 19, but persuaded to refuse an engagement proposal due to his being a naval officer. We meet her now age 27 (shockingly old to still be single!) as their paths cross again; he’s now a captain. Anne finds she still has feelings for him, but it seems his interest lies in her sister Mary’s sister-in-law.
Mary is probably the character who provides the most humour in the story; she is one of the main things I remembered from the ’95 adaptation because she is played so wonderfully by Sophie Thompson – “I am so ill!”. The problem with adaptations from the pre-internet era is that I cannot find you a clip of her in this role on YouTube, but it’s worth watching for her alone, I promise. (When looking for a trailer I could only find one for the ’07 version even then!)
There’s a relatively well known part of the story where some of them go to visit Lyme [Regis], and walk along The Cobb. The Cobb is one of the places where I had one of my worse reactions to heights, we were going to walk along it, but my legs went to jelly and I had to get down pretty quick and walk along the bottom while everyone else went along the top. I don’t understand how they still let people up there with no health and safety given the regulations applied to so many other things! Hah! (If you’re not familiar with The Cobb, do Google it or go on Google street view).
Of Austen’s six completed novels, I’ve now only got Mansfield Park to go! But have still got Sanditon etc to try after that.
ineke.co.uk 