Emma FanFic Remix: 20+ years later, Jane Fairfax and Frank Churchill still know how to blunder through a secret engagement

A looooong time ago in a galaxy far, far away, I wrote a fanfic from Jane Fairfax’s and Frank Churchill’s perspectives, filling in the plot gaps in Emma by Jane Austen. Obviously, that negates the “mystery story” element of the novel, but I don’t care. It was a fun exercise to try to get into their heads and figure out what they were thinking, and what kinds of people they really were.

Frank fixes Mrs. Bates' spectacles
Frank fixes Mrs. Bates’ spectacles.

I came to the conclusion that Jane Fairfax really was a superior creature. One who was desperate to find love…and also desperate to not work for a living. Not judging – I totally understand where she was coming from. Here’s a beautiful woman with loads of talent and tons of accomplishments, and she’s on the cusp of spending the rest of her life (? – I mean, Mr. Weston sprung Miss Taylor out of Governess Jail at Hartfield…) as a glorified servant. For a woman who is the granddaughter and daughter of gentlemen (her grandfather was clergy and her father an army officer, two of the gentlemanly professions), it isn’t so unreasonable to expect she’ll be able to live a life that befits a gentlewoman. Obviously, genteel poverty was a thing (cases in point: Mrs. and Miss Bates), but as a young woman, Jane should have had a fighting chance at a decent marriage and living. Maybe not big-inheritance level like Frank ended up giving her, but something better than working for friends of Mrs. Elton for a pittance. 

In Jane’s shoes, I probably would’ve let Frank talk me into falling in love with him, too. Maybe. As for Frank Churchill, I decided he’s a self-centered ass, but not the villain some people make him out to be. He really, really does love her. I mean, here’s a guy with the looks, charm, and money to basically marry just about any well-bred girl he wants, and he picks the poor one. And not just for messing around. He proposes marriage to lock her down. Add all that to his fits of pique at Box Hill and you know he’s got it bad for her. Really bad.

Yeah, he makes fun of Jane’s hair to Emma, which isn’t just an affront to her looks – it’s also a dig at her poverty, as she and her aunt and grandmother can’t afford a lady’s maid to do it for her, but so many of the improper things that come up in Frank’s conversations with Emma aren’t actually suggested by Frank – they’re suggested by Emma. He certainly encourages the topic, but it’s Emma who goes full-Dixon, not Frank. Mmhmmmmm.

Anyway, I rewrote the fic to make it a little less Austen-y and restrained and a little more psychological. When I finished the original version, I wanted to continue the post-canon story of Jane and Frank with some plot ideas that struck me along the way. Unfortunately, life got stupid for a couple of decades and suddenly it’s not just the 21st century, it’s the third decade of the 21st century, and that scares the crap out of me. I’ve only begun to revisit the possibility of continuing with these ficbunnies again. Suffice it to say that some of my ideas will probably piss off the Austen purists, but whatever. Forget it, Jake (Jane?) – this is Fanfiction Town.

So here’s the new version, titled B-L-U-N-D-E-R, currently hosted at Archiveofourown.org. Please check it out and let me know what you think. 

Paul Gordon Emma coming to Streaming Musicals…

If you need a Jane Austen musical theatre fix, Streaming Musicals is apparently offering Paul Gordon’s Pride and Prejudice and Emma for rent or purchase! Thanks to Variety for the info!

As if! Clueless-themed pop-up restaurant experience…

Oh hey, there’s a Clueless-themed pop-up restaurant experience coming to Los Angeles. It’s named As If!, a reference to main character Cher’s catchphrase.

Clueless
Stacey Dash, Alicia Silverstone, and Brittany Murphy starred in Clueless.

The opening’s been delayed, but it sounds like a fun way to commemorate the 25th anniversary of this Emma-inspired film:

The company behind As If also created TV pop ups including Saved by the Max, Good Burger, The Peach Pit and the Breaking Bad experience. No word yet on the reason why they have decided to postpone the Clueless pop up.

With Amy Heckerling’s iconic ’90s romantic comedy Clueless celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, the minds behind immersive experiences such as Saved by the Max, Good Burger, The Peach Pit and the Breaking Bad experience are opening “As If!” a new pop up that will leave fans of the popular pic singing “Rollin’ with the homies” as they are immersed in the world of the film’s fashion-savvy heroine and way existential Cher Horowitz (played by Alicia Silverstone).

Emma Adaptations Pages Image Gallery!

EmmaFeatured here are all the publicity stills, screencaps, posters, lobby cards, and other image-based materials related to all of the Jane Austen Emma film and television adaptations and various editions of the novel. Productions included are the 1972 BBC adaption starring Doran Godwin (Emma 1), the 1996 Miramax adaptation starring Gwyneth Paltrow (Emma 2), the 1997 ITV/A&E version starring Kate Beckinsale (Emma 3), the 2009/2010 BBC/PBS version starring Romola Garai (Emma 4), the 2020 adaptation starring Anya Taylor-Joy (Emma 5), and the “Bollywood” Emma, Ayesha, from 2010. Eventually, I may also add some Clueless (1995) media.

I’ve also included some illustrations from various editions of the novel, most of which were sent to me by my friend Cinthia:

    • There are illustrations by Charles Edmund Brock (1870-1938) from 1898 and 1909 editions of Emma.
    • The 1898 edition Brock Illustrations are American reproductions of earlier versions presented in an English edition. The watercolor Brock illustrations come from a 1909 edition of the novel published by J.M. Dent & Co. in London and by  E.P. Dutton & Co. in New York.
    • There are also illustrations by Philip Gough from an 1948 edition published by McDonald & Co., illustrations by Fritz Kredel from a 1964 edition from Heritage Press, and black and white “line” drawings by Hugh Thomson from another edition.
    • Learn more about Emma, the novel
    • Learn more about Emma novel illustrations

Since my old gallery script ceased to function, I’m bringing everything back right here using Gallery for WordPress. Please bear with me while I fine-tune this album and add new content. 🙂 To see the albums, continue past the jump…

Continue reading “Emma Adaptations Pages Image Gallery!”

Emma Adaptations Pages roundup: onstage in Chicago and Emma 2020 coming to North America very soon!

A few general Emma Adaptations updates!

First, Emma 2020, starring Anya Taylor-Joy and directed by Autumn de Wilde, is coming to North American theatres starting next week! For my updates on the film, keep watching my Emma 2020/Emma 5 blog tag/feed.

Second, Paul Gordon’s Emma musical is onstage at Chicago Shakespeare Theatre through March 15. It stars Lora Lee Gayer as Emma Woodhouse and Brad Stanley as Mr. Knightley.

Chicago Shakespeare Theatre Emma
Chicago Shakespeare Theatre’s Emma

Reviews of the production:

Third, my old gallery script was completely nuked in a PHP server update, so I’m converting all of my Emma media to a WordPress gallery as soon as I can. Be watching for it! 🙂

Emma 2020

 

Emma 2020 Poster

 

So The latest film adaptation of Jane Austen’s Emma is coming in early 2020 (ETA: It’s here now, and currently available online/remotely), set to release in the US and UK in February…

Continue reading “Emma 2020”

Old Emma updates from Fall, 2018…

Just some housekeeping, to keep the Emma update feed complete…

Jane Austen’s Emma onstage and adapted in a contemporary novel

Having just celebrated 200 years of publication this past December, Jane Austen’s Emma deserves an extended anniversary party! This spring, the novel is celebrated by the release of Katie Heaney’s Dear Emma – a contemporary adaptation of the original story – and a stage run of Jon Jory’s Emma at Cincinnati Shakespeare Company.

Emma at Cincinnati Shakespeare Company runs through March 26. Heaney’s novel, featuring a college-aged advice columnist named Harriet struggling with love and friendship, is available now via Amazon.

For more about Jane Austen and Emma:

Cincy Shakes presents Emma
Cincy Shakes presents Emma.