Book Review- Mr. Knightley's Diary

For the Shelf Love Challenge and the Mount TBR pile challenge I read Amanda Grange's novel Mr. Knightley's Diary.

Synopsis from Goodreads: Relive Jane Austen's Emma- from Mr. Knightley's point of view. Between managing his estate and visiting his brother in London, Mr. Knightley is both exasperated and amused by his irresistibly beautiful, outrageously mischievous neighbor, Emma Woodhouse, whose misguided attempts at matchmaking are wreaking havoc in the village of Highbury. But when a handsome newcomer arrives and catches Emma's attention, Mr. Knightley is shocked by his reaction. Amusement gives way to another emotion entirely-for his unreasonable dislike of the handsome newcomer seems suspiciously like jealousy.

Mr. Knightley is just about my favorite Austen hero (tied with Henry Tilney) so I was excited to read this one, as well as fervently hoping Grange didn't mess him up. She didn't. :) When I re-read Emma last year it became one of my favorite of Austen's novels, a place it hadn't previously held. This was mostly due to Mr. Knightley, a hero I had always liked but now had come to love. Getting his inside scoop on Emma was humorous and insightful. Going into the book I kind of felt like we (the readers) already kind of knew most of what Mr. Knightley was thinking. Amanda Grange did a great job though of bringing that out, adding her own little flair though of course. It was kind of adorable how Knightley was totally oblivious to the fact that he was in love with Emma for the longest time! It was interesting how Grange had him kind of on the lookout for a wife. Naturally he could find no one better than Emma, though it took him a while to realize that. I also liked you saw more of Emma's good qualities through Knightley's eyes as if you're like me you spent most of Emma infuriated with her. It was nice to get a fresh perspective on her. Of course Knightley is her biggest critic but he also loves her and sees her good qualities and brings them out.
Overall I enjoyed Mr. Knightly's diary and it was a great addition to Amanda Grange's Diary series.

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Book Review- Henry Tilney's Diary

For the Shelf Love Challenge and the Mount TBR Pile challenge I read Amanda Grange's novel Henry Tilney's Diary.

Synopsis from Goodreads: A charming retelling of Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey--a tale of gothic misunderstandings through Henry Tilney's eyes... At the age of four and twenty, Henry is content with his life as a clergyman, leaving his older brother Frederick to inherit Northanger Abbey. But General Tilney is determined to increase the family's means by having all three of his children marry wealthy partners.During a trip to Bath, Henry meets the delightful Miss Catherine Morland and believes he may have found the woman he's been looking for, although she has no great fortune. When the General takes an unusual liking to Catherine and invites her to visit the Abbey, Henry is thrilled. But just as in the Gothic novels Henry loves, not everything is as it seems.

Henry Tilney is one of my very favorite Austen heroes. Right behind Mr. Knightley I think.... I go back and forth. I think I could most see myself a Henry Tilney though. He's fun, he's hilarious, he's got snark galore and did I mention hilarious? He also loves reading, loves his sister, is kind, discerning and willing to tell the hard truth.
Amanda Grange does a pretty good job of brining this delightful hero back. My main problem with it would be that I never felt like she quite captured Henry's "voice".  She did a pretty good job but not a great job as I felt she did with some of her other books. I did love how she brought out Henry and Eleanor's beautiful brother-sister friendship. The author took a slightly different approach with their brother Frederick which I'm still not sure if I liked or not. It also drew a little on Eleanor's romantic interest which wasn't all bad. I felt like the book wasn't as harsh with General Tilney as it should have been until the end... and then boy was it harsh! Ugh General Tilney! We do not like him.
Overall I did enjoy it. There were definitely some moments when I went awwww and grinned like an idiot. There was one quote about that Isabella Thorpe that I especially liked.

"Miss Thorpe's mouth praise Mr. Morland, but her eyes invite everyone else." 

Spot on!
Read or not? If you're a Northerner Abbey fan... Read!

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Book Review- Edmund Bertram's Diary

For the Shelf Love challenge and Mount TBR challenge I read Amanda Grange's novel Edmund Bertram's Diary.

Synopsis from Goodreads: The retelling of Jane Austen?s novel Mansfield Park from the point of view of Edmund Bertram. At ten years of age, Fanny Price came to live with Edmund Bertram and his family at Mansfield Park. Far from the brat Edmund expected, Fanny became his closest confidante and dearest friend. But when the fashionable Crawford siblings? Henry and Mary come to town, they captivate the Bertram family. Henry embarks on a scandalous flirtation with Edmund's sister, who is already betrothed to another, while Edmund is enchanted by Mary's beauty and wit. But when it appears that Mary is not all she seems to be, Edmund will turn to the one woman who has always been at his side to find the happiness he deserves Fanny.

Edmund Bertram always frustrated me as a hero but I always did like him. This book kind of helped solidify that liking. Sure I'm still frustrated he liked Mary but I will admit she is cleverly deceptive and quite charming. But you should still have seen through her Edmund! I guess though Lizzie didn't see through Wickham....
I digress though.
One of my favorite parts of this book was how it pointed out the repercussions of the play. At face value the play might not seem like such a bad thing... especially in the present day. However the book shows clearly how because of the plan the characters were all tempted into various sins. Sure you can't blame the play for it all but facilitated the sin. I'm actually surprised Edmund didn't write to his father.... that's what I would have done in that situation I think. But maybe that commentary belongs in a review of Mansfield Park. ;)
Overall I enjoyed it quite a bit. I was just glad when Edmund woke up and realized he loved Fanny...... like duh! ;)

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Book Review- Captain Wentworth's Diary

For the Shelf Love challenge and the Mount TBR Pile challenge I read Amanda Grange's novel Captain Wentworth's Diary.

Synopsis from Goodreads: The retelling of Jane Austen?s novel Persuasion from the point of view of Captain Frederick Wentworth. During his shore leave from the Navy, Frederick Wentworth falls in love with the elegant and intelligent Miss Anne Elliot only to see his hopes of marrying her dashed by her godmother. Eight years later, Wentworth has realized his ambitions. A wealthy captain, he has pushed his memories of Anne to the furthest recesses of his mind until he sees her again. And though Anne's bloom has faded, Wentworth is surprised to find that his regard for her wit and warmth has not.

I've always loved Persuasion and Anne Elliot. Wentworth was always so-so for me though. With this book though I feel like I can like him more now. I like how the book shows his friendship with his brother who is only casually mentioned in the book. That makes sense though sense he is there when Wentworth is courting Anne the first time. Which brings me to another aspect of this book I love and that would be how they show Wentworth's and Anne's courtship. The whole thing about Persuasion is how it's is their second chance at a love that neither of them has lost and while of course Captain Wentworth's Diary of course follows along with Persuasion in that respect it also goes back to their first chance. It was sweet to see their original courtship though I did think it was a little over the top in some respects. I thought it captured each character from the original story well. Overall it was quite enjoyable. :)

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Book Review- Colonel Brandon's Diary

For the Mount TBR challenge and the Shelf Love challenge I read Amanda Grange's novel Colonel Brandon's Diary.

Synopsis from Goodreads: At the age of eighteen, James Brandon's world is shattered when the girl he loves, Eliza, is forced to marry his brother. In despair, he joins the army and leaves England for the East Indies for the next several years. Upon his return, he finds Eliza in a debtor's prison. He rescues her from her terrible situation, but she is dying of consumption and he can do nothing but watch and wait. Heartbroken at her death, he takes some consolation in her illegitimate daughter, who he raises as his ward. But at the age of fifteen, his ward goes missing. Devastated by the thought of what could have happened to her, he is surprised to find himself falling in love with Marianne Dashwood. But Marianne is falling in love with the charismatic Willoughby...

As with Mr Darcy's Diary, I really enjoyed looking at what could have been in our Austen hero's diary. Sure it's just speculation but it's well done speculation. The book begins with Colonel Brandon as a young man falling in love with Eliza, his fathers ward and the heartache and disappointment that therein followed. Then it skims over his career in the militia until we reach the events of our old favorite Sense and Sensibility.
I've always loved Colonel Brandon; he's the true hero of Sense and Sensibility, let's face it. This brings his story to life. After reading it I felt even more how perfectly him and Marianne were suited to each other. Overall it was quite well done and enjoyable. :)

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Book Review- Mr. Darcy's Diary

For the Mount TBR Pile Challenge, the Shelf Love Challenge and the Full House Reading Challenge I read Amanda Grange's novel Mr. Darcy's Diary.

Synopsis from Goodreads: Monday 9th September""I left London today and met Bingley at Netherfield Park. I had forgotten what good company he is; always ready to be pleased and always cheerful. After my difficult summer, it is good to be with him again. ...""The only place Darcy could share his innermost feelings was in the private pages of his diary...Torn between his sense of duty to his family name and his growing passion for Elizabeth Bennet, all he can do is struggle not to fall in love.Mr. Darcy's Diary presents the story of the unlikely courtship of Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy from Darcy's point of view. This graceful imagining and sequel to Pride and Prejudice explains Darcy's moodiness and the difficulties of his reluctant relationship as he struggles to avoid falling in love with Miss Bennet. Though seemingly stiff and stubborn at times, Darcy's words prove him also to be quite devoted and endearing - qualities that eventually win over Miss Bennet's heart. This continuation of a classic romantic novel is charming and elegant, much like Darcy himself.

I hadn't been much impressed with the Jane Austen spin off novels I'd read before Mr. Darcy's Diary so I had low expectations going in to reading it. However, I was quite pleasantly surprised.
This novel greatly humored me. Darcy's dry wit really seeped into his writing. Quotes like "Bingley was an optimist" were my favorite. :) I also really enjoyed seeing his character develop. In Pride and Prejudice he talked to Elizabeth about how long the words "If you had behaved in a more gentlemen like manner" had haunted him since she'd said them and you see that played out in his diary as his character improves. At the beginning he seriously is a snob but by the end you see how much he has changed. Amanda Grange writes that really well... though obviously most of the credit should be given to Jane Austen for originally telling the story. Grange just fleshes it out. Grange started the story with the summer before Darcy meets the Bennet family.... the summer Wickham tries to seduce Georgiana. I liked how that worked though as you get to see how much Darcy goes through because of that and see more obviously why he dislikes Wickham so much. Most of the dialogue included in his diary is straight from Pride and Prejudice though there is some that Grange adds between Darcy and Bingley and a little between Darcy and Elizabeth in spots where Austen just indicated that they talked but didn't say what they actually said. Grange also includes a little past the end of Pride and Prejudice into their married life, which was kind of cute. This actually reminds (SPOILER) me that she added a surprise romance.... Colonel Fitzwilliam and Anne de Bourgh! Weird but she makes it work. Anne de Bourgh is a character that I think everyone wonders about. What is she really like? Grange goes a little into that. END SPOILER
One particularly adorable quote (I thought at least) was when after Elizabeth visited Pemberly, Darcy is looking around his estates and is contemplating being married to her and thinks "I looked to the house and saw my daughters returning from a walk, their petticoats covered in mud." :D There were many other adorable quotes and funny quotes but I can't include them all!
The one thing I didn't care for so much, but really it's just a preference, is how it makes Mr. Bingley out to be kind of a lovesick idiot that goes from one girl to another as he goes from London to Bath to Netherfield, ect. I can kind of see how it makes sense from a couple things Darcy says in Pride and Prejudice but I just thought it was a little too overboard. I think Grange did that to make Darcy look better though.... to give him more justification for breaking up Bingley and Jane but it still wasn't my favorite. I do think though that Grange never underplays how much Bingely does care for Jane and she shows that his affection for her are deeper than the flings he has had beforehand. So all in all it works and it's not too bad but it kind of irks me.
Overall, if you are a fan of Jane Austen, and more specifically Pride and Prejudice, I would recommend Mr. Darcy's Diary for a fun interpretation of what Mr. Darcy's diary might have looked like.
P.S. Be sure to check out my five year blogiversary giveaway HERE!

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Top Ten Best Books I Read in 2015

These top ten lists are sometimes killers! The best? Really? I have to chose? :( Since I read and I re-read a lot I'm making a list of the top ten books I read and the top ten books I re-read. These are in no particular order.

Read

1. The Valley of Vision by various Puritans 
2. Beowulf by Unknown
3. Peace Like a River by Leif Enger
4. Trusting God by Jerry Bridges
5. The Importance of Being Ernest by Oscar Wilde
6. That Hideous Strength by C.S. Lewis
7. A Child's History of England by Charles Dickens
8. The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky 
9. All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Remarque 
10. Mysterious Island by Jules Verne 

Re-read (And there are 11... I couldn't narrow it down!)

1. Anne of Green Gables and Rilla of Ingleside by L.M. Montgomery
2. The Scarlet Pimpernel by Emmuska Orczy
3. Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott
4. Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransom (the whole series really)
5. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
6. Little Britches and Man of the Family by Ralph Moody 
7. Emma by Jane Austen
8. The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster 
9. Betsy-Tacy and Betsy-Tacy and Tib by Lucy Maud Montgomery
10. The Chosen by Chaim Potok 
11. Carry on Mr. Bowditch

All of these books I'd recommend without reservation. Read them! :)

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It's Monday! Life After Crochet

This past Saturday there was a craft fair at my church that my little sister and I participated in by selling our crochet products. We spent a hectic amount of time preparing plus my normal work so I haven't really gotten enough sleep recently. However it was a lot of fun and we made more than I anticipated so all in all I'm glad we did it.

Betsy and I at the craft fair. Yes she's taller than me. :(

But on to reading because though I've been crocheting like crazy I've also kept up with my reading

Currently Reading

• Beloved by Toni Morrison (I really dislike this book and want to be done with it) 
• Charlotte's Web by E.B.White (re-read)

Finished this Week

• Betsy-Tacy Go Downtown by Lucy Maud Montgomery (re-read) 

Coming Soon

• Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
• Othello by William Shakespeare 

Rebecca is the last book I have to "officially" finish in 2015 to complete my ridiculous number of reading challenges but I want to get a couple more books in after that. Othello is for the Classics Club spin.
I am trying to get all of my book reviews completed and published before Christmas. There's a lot in the stacks that just need to get brushed up a bit. 

To top off this post I have a couple funny memes I collected. :) 

Additionally I have a picture of some beautiful and unique bookmarks a friend of mine made for me. One has a Jane Austen quote and the other a P.G. Wodehouse quote. I use them all the time. :) 

Alright that's it for this post. I hope you all are having a great time preparing for Christmas and I hope and pray that you and I continue to keep our focus on God during the business of the season. :)

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Jane Austen Week- Top Ten Dresses from Pride and Prejudice

In honor of Jane Austen week (hosted over at Wonderland Creek!) I'm posting about my Top Ten Dresses from Pride and Prejudice! Namoi was far braver than I and did her top ten dresses from Jane Austen movies but I cannot limit my selections like that!
Now of course I wish they were all higher cut at the top but oh well. :( I tried to include other dresses besides Lizzie's to be fair but I just adore Lizzie's wardrobe! :)
So in no particular order here we go!

1. 

   I like the lacy overlay look. 

2. 

   The famous ball room scene dress! 

3. 

   Lovely sprigged dress! 

4. 

   One of my very favorite ever dresses! 

5. 

   I love both Jane and Lizzie's ensembles. 

6. 

   I'm not a huge fan of Jane's dresses but I do love this beautiful blue one. 

7. 

   I like this dress of Lydia's. It's one of her few not quite so low cut ones too. 

8. 

   I LOVE this bonnet and this dress! 

9. 

   Generally I'm not a fan of Charlotte's dresses but I do like this one. 

10. 

    The wedding dresses here are so beautiful! :) 

What's your favorite? Any of your favorites that I missed?

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Jane Austen Week 2015- Tag Answers

It's Jane Austen Week over at Wonderland Creek!!!!! Go check it out and join in the fun! Today I'll be answering her tag answers!!!!

1. On a scale of 1 to 10, how much of a Jane Austen fan do you consider yourself? 10!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Obviously!!!!!!!
2. If "they" would make a new Jane Austen Movie, and you would be able to be cast in it, which Jane Austen character would you most like to play? Catherine Morland.... because I'm the most like her. But I also think it would be fun to play a goofy character so when I'm older I think it would be such fun to play Mrs. Bennett!
3. Is there any felicity in the world superior to a walk? READING!!!! Duh! ;) But a walk is quite amazing I'll admit.
4. Who's your favourite Jane Austen 'villain'? (As in 'villain' meaning 'the bad guy.') I hate them all!!!!!!!!!! Who do I love to hate the most? Mrs. Noriss from Mansfield Park probably. Who do I think is the "best" of the bad guys? Maybe Frank Churchill though he annoys me to no end also.
5. What/Who introduced you to Jane Austen? I grew up on Jane Austen. Both my mom and my dad are big fans. We grew up watching Jane Austen movies, especially the 1995 Pride and Prejudice and when I was around ten I read Pride and Prejudice. The rest is history. ;)
6. Did you love/enjoy Jane Austen immediately, or has there been a time when you hated (um, prejudged) it? I've always loved it!
7. Who, in your opinion, is the funniest Jane Austen character? That's hard! Maybe Mr. Bennet or Mrs. Bennet but Mr. Collins cracks me up too!
8. Do you quote Jane Austen randomly in public? Yes! I quote Jane Austen randomly wherever I go! There are people who don't? ;)
9. Are children allowed to eat cake on weddings? Their health! My goodness! What would Dr. Perry say? ;)
10. What is your reaction when you hear that an aquaintance (e.g. A lady at Church) of yours loves Jane Austen? Instant friendship!!!!!!! If it's a guy..... instant marriage!!!!!! ;) Just kidding. ;)
11. Who writes better letters, Mr Darcy or Captain Wentworth? (If you forgot what the letters were, shame on you, instead tell me if you prefer Strawberries to Chocolate or not.) Well they wrote different kinds of letters so I'm not sure it's fair to compare them. Captain Wentworth does write a beautiful proposal/love letter though so I guess I'll chose him. :)
12. Which Jane Austen heroine do you relate the least to? Emma Woodhouse. She's grown on me as a character but I don't relate to her.
13. What's your favourite Jane Austen house (from one of the movies)? Pemberly!
14. What's your favourite Jane Austen dress (from one of the movies)? Hard question! Let me peruse some pictures. I love all of Lizzie's dresses but I think my favorite is her dress at the Neverfield dance. I do NOT like Miss Bingley's dress. 

15. Can you turn off lit candles with your fingers? I've never tried to because I've been too afraid but I've always wanted to since I was a child since Mr. Darcy can! 

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Book Review- Emma

For the Hard Core Re-reading challenge, the mount TBR challenge and the Alphabet Soup challenge I re-read Jane Austen's classic novel Emma. Since is did a read-along for this book and wrote lots of thought on it through those posts, I find it hard to write a full review of it here. Therefore, I would encourage you to go check out those posts from the read-along HERE but I will try to reiterate a few of those thoughts in this review.

Synopsis from Goodreads: Beautiful, clever, rich - and single - Emma Woodhouse is perfectly content with her life and sees no need for either love or marriage. Nothing, however, delights her more than interfering in the romantic lives of others. But when she ignores the warnings of her good friend Mr. Knightley and attempts to arrange a suitable match for her protegee Harriet Smith, her carefully laid plans soon unravel and have consequences that she never expected. With its imperfect but charming heroine and its witty and subtle exploration of relationships, Emma is often seen as Jane Austen's most flawless work.

Emma was always my least favorite of Austen's novels. I liked it... but it just never really resonated with me that much. However, after this re-read I find myself loving it just as much as the others.
Emma is incredibly annoying at the beginning. She's proud and controlling. One of the read-along participants compared her to other Austen proudies such as Miss Bingley. While comparing an Austen heroine to an Austen villain may seem quite unusual, in Emma's case it makes sense. Of all of Austen's heroines, in my opinion, Emma's begins with the most failings. She drove me crazy at the beginning! I spent the first half or so of the books saying "You tell her Mr. Knightley!" It's a testament to Austen's writing that she could still make Emma a halfway likable person through all of this. Knightley is basically the best Austen hero ever. He's a gentlemen, he cares about his tenants, he's not proud, he's caring, he's sensible, he has a sense of humor, he's always willing to give advice even when it's not the advice one wants to hear and he's able to straighten Emma out (it takes a lot to do that!).
I feel like most of my other thoughts are reiterated in the discussion posts so be sure to check them out! Also through that link you can get to the movie reviews that were posted during that time.
In closing, I'd say read it! I love this book! :)

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5 Male Characters Tag and 5 Female Characters Tag

I've been meaning to do these for awhile and then Olivia from Meanwhile in Rivendell tagged me in the 5 Male Characters Tag and I figured I might as well go ahead and do both. I'm not sure why they have different categories but they do.
AND, before you go any further, make sure to check out my two giveaways going on HERE and HERE!

5 Male Characters

Hero- Mr. Knightley... I just re-read Emma and then re-watched all of the movies so I'm on a huge kick Mr. Knightley kick right now! For me he embodies so much of what I would want in a husband. A man of moral integrity, someone willing to tell me when I am wrong, kind, generous and loving. He's also got a sense of humor. :) My second favorite would be Austen's Henry Tilney. He is similar to Mr. Knightley but is far lighter and so funny!!!  

Villain- Gollum. I like what Peter Jackson did with him in the movies actually, making him an even more complex character then he already was.

Anti-hero- I don't read a lot of books or watch a lot of movies with anti-heroes so this was hard for me to come up with. I think though I'd go with Han Solo from Star Wars and Malcom Reynolds from Firefly. They're actually fairly similar characters. I'd say they are the more hero like of anti heroes but it's what I could come up with.

Best book-to-screen adaptation- After much thought I have decided on Sir Percy Blakeney from The Scarlet Pimpernel and the screen adaptation is OBVIOUSLY the 1982 version.... aka the only version. ;) I think Anthony Andrews perfectly take the character from the books and dazzlingly brings him onto the screen much to my endless laughter! 

Best character perception- This one and the previous seem kind of similar but whatever! I'd go with Colin Firth's Mr. Darcy. Mr. Darcy is a very reserved character so taking him and acting him out would must have been hard but I think Colin Firth did it with so much perception. He just was Mr. Darcy because I think he understood the character. He will always be Mr. Darcy to me.

5 Female Characters

Heroine- I'm torn between Elizabeth Bennett and Molly Gipson so.... both

Villain- I tend to say I love to hate Professor Umbridge from Harry Potter. She irks me so much! Sure she's not the main villain in the series but that does not matter! I hate her so much more than Voldemort! 

Superhero- Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow! Basically she's awesome! 

That I would want to be friend with- I think I would have to chose Anne Shirley! So much imagination and fun! 

That I wish had better development- I'd have to agree with Olivia here and go with Buttercup from The Princess Bride. In the movie she's a bit better developed but in the book she's really just kind of there. :(

These are such fun tags! If you want to participate just steal them away! 

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Emma GIVEAWAY- 200th Anniversary Annotated Edition

The 200th Anniversary Read-along is over! :( It was so much fun to do and I learned so much from the discussion and I can now say that Emma is far higher than my estimation than it used to be. Thank you everyone who participated. The discussion was awesome! If you haven't checked out the movie reviews that I posted last week be sure to check them out. I'll link to them here. 

Emma- 1972 (Doran Godwin) (Guest post)

Emma- 1996 (Gwenyth Paltrow)

Emma- 1996 (Kate Beckinsale)

Emma- 2009 (Romola Garai)

Also, everything posted to do with the 200th Anniversary read-along can be found under the 200th Anniversary Emma Read-along tag. 

So to the giveaway!
For the first giveaway of the 200th Anniversary Emma Read-along is the actual book Emma! Singular thought eh?
Penguins Classics is releasing a special annotated version of Emma for it's 200th Anniversary on September 29th (aka tomorrow)! Whoever wins this giveaway will get their very own brand new copy of it!
Participation in the read-along is not a qualifier for participation in this giveaway but it does win you bonus points!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Have fun and join in! This giveaway is open until next Monday!
And yes, there will be more giveaways this week for the read-along! Stay tuned

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Movie Review- Emma (1996- Gwenyth Paltrow)

Though this was not the version of Emma I grew up watching I still do enjoy it. It's a very light version of the story that's perfectly accurate to the book but is enjoyable.

Screenplay

The screenplay is okay. Not perfect and it does stray from the book in some areas but I've actually found this to be just a light enjoyable version of Emma that I don't think we're really supposed to take seriously. However, I still can complain about it's accuracies to the book. ;) 

Casting

Emma- I think Gwenyth Paltrow was a great pick for Emma. I really like Kate Beckinsale as Emma but I think Gwenyth Paltrow does an awesome job as well. She gets the pride (not quite to the extant Kate did), she's elegant and refined and she does the controlling very well.

Mr. Knightley- Jeremy Northam is a decent Mr. Knightley but not my favorite. While he does get on Emma's case often enough, he does it in a far too good humored manner. The only time I ever felt like he was truly frustrated with Emma was at Box Hill. As eBeth said, he's a little too tall dark and handsome for the role. Besides that I think he's good. :)

Mr. Woodhouse- Not bad not good. Just there. And, might I say it is nigh near impossible to find a picture of this Mr. Woodhouse!

Mrs. Weston (aka Poor Miss Taylor)- A good Mrs. Weston but not my favorite. I really do like her in the role though.

Miss Bates- I like this Miss Bates she prattles on delightfully and really my only complaint is that they make her far too young. Besides that well done!

Frank Churchill- I can't ever quite wrap my head around Ewan McGregor as Frank Churchill but that's probably more due to the fact that I'm used to him being a jedi. Plus his long hair annoys me.... this is the only version where Frank doesn't go get a haircut in London.... and he actually needed one! He wasn't bad in the role but he wasn't great.

Jane Fairfax- An elegant and beautiful Jane. Not real complaint with her.

Harriet Smith- A good Harriet but I think they almost make her too stupid in this version. She's good humored and pretty though. Not bad. :)

Mr. Elton- A fine Mr. Elton but something about him just doesn't seem right to me. Not sure what it is though.

Mrs. Elton- A well done Mrs. Elton. No complaints. In fact I would say this is the character every movie consistently gets right for some reason.

Music

Lovely! Already added to my repertoire! I love listening to it on repeat. 

Scenery 

Lovely. No complaints

Overall an enjoyable but not perfect adaptation. 

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Movie Review- Emma (1996- Kate Beckinsale)

This is the version of Emma I grew up with and because of that, and because I think it's the best version anyways, this is my favorite version of Emma.

Screenplay

Well done for the short time frame it had to work with. Obviously there were parts left out though. A couple ones I noticed were the party at the Coles and the riddle that Mr. Elton wrote for "Harriet" (aka Emma). However I think it keeps well with the spirit of Austen and works Austen's lines in effectively into the movie. 

Casting 

Emma- I love Kate Beckinsale as Emma. She captures the haughtiness and pride of Emma at the beginning but makes an effective change into a kinder more compassionate person. I don't think any other version has really captured the pride of Emma that is such an important part of character as evidenced in the book. I've heard a few people complain that Emma is supposed to be blonde but as Jane Austen didn't give her a hair color I think you people just need to get over it. ;)

Mr. Knightley- Mark Strong is a great Mr. Knightley. I think he spends too much time getting angry though. Chill! ;)

Mr. Woodhouse- I think my favorite casting of Mr. Woodhouse though I would say they make him too old. They perfectly capture his worries and his hypochondriac nature!

Mrs. Weston (aka Poor Miss Taylor)- I think my favorite casting of Mrs. Weston. She's dignified and ladylike. She ends up defending Emma far too much of course as she does in the book.

Miss Bates- My favorite Miss Bates... though maybe a trifle too old. She prattles on ceaselessly and drives us all crazy as she's supposed to.

Frank Churchill- I like the casting in the 2009 version a lot but I think this is the best portrayal. He's handsome, charming and of course a total jerk in the end!

Jane Fairfax- My favorite portrayal of Jane. She's beautiful and very elegant. She has great poise in this version and really pulls off the character so well.

Harriet Smith- A good portrayal but not the best. They do a good job of showing her sweetness but I don't think they show her ignorance as well... I think that partly maybe be due to the fact that they leave out the riddle.

Mr. Elton- The best version of Mr. Elton. He gets the pride and snobbery of Mr. Elton that's shown in the book very well as well as the "devotedness" to Emma.

Mrs. Elton- My personal favorite for Mrs. Elton but I do like the 2009 version a lot too. She's perfectly vulgar and annoying.

Music

There really isn't any soundtrack to mention for this film which is a disappointment! 

Scenery

No complaints.

As I said overall it's my favorite version but I did grow up with it. I just think they get most of the characters so perfectly in this version and stick gorgeously to what Jane Austen was trying to write in her book. 

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