I first published this review in October of 2009 when Emma aired on the BBC, so some of the links and broadcast references will be out of date.
I apologize for lagging on the latest updates, but I’m pretty sure I’m only inconveniencing maybe three people, all of whom have actually watched the adaptation already. Industry, patience, blah blah blah. ANYWAY.
My initial enthusiasm for this adaptation has not only returned, it has been surpassed. Episode one showed promise, episode two was a teense off-putting, episode three brought the excitement back, and episode four hit the ball out of the park!
I haven’t bothered with the screencaps yet, but I will say that the latest BBC Emma installment really picked up the pace. Busy weekend means I can’t update properly just yet, but on Monday or Tuesday I’ll be back with a vengeance. Two episodes in one blow!
Will follow up with some thoughts on this second installment a bit later. May I just say that I love Mr. Knightley? Jonny Lee Miller is super. Yes. And the perfect age. Ha.
From the Episode 3 preview, it’s clear there are gonna be alphabet puzzles. HUZZAH!
Reader Bill kindly informed me that the Church of St. Mary the Virgin in the village of Send, Surrey, stands in for Highbury’s parish church in the new BBC Emma adaptation. Portions of the current church structure date back to as early as 1220! For photographs of the building and historical information, visit the Send Parish official site.
St. Mary's Church in Send Village, Surrey, appears in the BBC's new Emma adaptation.The church's interiors are featured in the adaptation, as well!
Loseley Park is another Surrey locale utilized in Emma, portraying Mr. Knightley’s Donwell Abbey. An Austen adaptation veteran (featured in the 2008 version of Sense & Sensibility), this Guildford estate has existed since at least the eleventh century. While not an ex-abbey proper, Loseley house apparently deserves honorary abbey status; the current house, built in the 1660s, was partly constructed with stone retrieved from nearby Waverley Abbey! You can read a nineteenth century account of Waverley’s ruins here.
