Awesome Emma 4 hair review…

…by Vic of Jane Austen’s World.  Consider appropriate men’s and women’s hairstyles for the period, including headgear.  Check it out!

I’ll be watching Episode 3 very soon.  After 4 airs, I’m going to attempt an addendum to my Emma costume piece to cover this latest BBC adaptation…

Emma in Seattle, Collecting Emma, PLUS Thoughts on Episode 2…

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this review in October of 2009 when Emma aired on the BBC, so some of the links and broadcast references will be out of date.

The Book-It Reperatory Theatre in Seattle is presenting a version of Emma from 10/22-11/22. More information here and here.

For those watching the Emma collectibles market, here is an interesting piece on buying and selling various older editions of the novel.

Now on to Emma 4, episode 2.  But first…

Another caveat – these are random, temporal, stream-of-consciousness thoughts.

I still like this adaptation, though there are certain elements that are starting to get on my nerves.

Continue reading “Emma in Seattle, Collecting Emma, PLUS Thoughts on Episode 2…”

Emma 4 Episode 2 Screenshots!

I’ve uploaded a zillion screencaps from Episode 2.  🙂

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!

Odds ‘n’ Ends

I recently created an index page for Emma 4 at the Emma Adaptations Pages. Hopefully that’ll help keep things organized!

I’ve also closed Storied, our writing workshop. I think everybody’s just too busy to write these days!

2009 BBC Emma Filming Locations

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.

Send Church Exterior
St. Mary's Church in Send Village, Surrey, appears in the BBC's new Emma adaptation.
sendchurchinterior
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.

Loseley Exterior
Loseley House as Donwell Abbey.

Vic has also posted a nice piece about several locations used in the adaptation, including Chilham Village (standing in for Highbury) and Squerryes Court (standing in as Hartfield) in Kent.

Squerryes Court is Hartfield.
Squerryes Court as Hartfield.
The village of Chilham stars as Highbury.
The Village of Chilham stars as Highbury.

Complete(ish) list of 2009 BBC Emma filming locations…

More Emma filming location links…

Emma4 Episode 1 Screenshots!

See Emma screenshots here!

Emma titles...
Emma titles...

Additionally, Laurel Ann has posted a slideshow of official images here.

Emma 4, Episode 1 preliminary review and general thoughts…

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 don’t even know where to start with this.  Quel surreal, as Holly Golightly might have said.  There are spoilers here, so proceed with caution.

First off, if you have a UK ip address (hint hint proxy hint), you can stream each episode of Emma as it airs. Episode one is located here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00n7pk1/Emma_Episode_1/

Episode 2 airs on Sunday, October 11 on BBC 1 and should be posted to the site just after.  Here’s the schedule, for handy reference.

Emma, Episode 1 - Behind the scenes!
"Emma (Romola Garai) pays careful attention to Jim O'Hanlon's direction while Harriet (Louise Dylan) is more interested in the authentic produce carefully positioned in her basket." (BBC 1)

First, a disclaimer:  I wrote this in haste, late sunday night.  Since, I’ve been adding thoughts and clarifications as I remember them or as they strike me.  So.  Bear with me as this thing grows and changes.

Having seen episode one, I want to say that this is gonna be good.  So far, it IS good – much better than I expected.  Every frame is beautifully composed and shot.  The colors and textures are amazing.  The writing is solid and the story hangs together well without sacrificing important plot elements from the novel (though some of these elements are somewhat scattered).  In fact, at four hours long, this could be the definitive Emma adaptation we’ve all be wishing for (alphabet puzzles, please!  So far, only E3 has provided those).

Continue reading “Emma 4, Episode 1 preliminary review and general thoughts…”

More on Emma 4, just in time for its BBC 1 premier…

The Independent published a piece on Emma adaptations

Also, an Emma 4 behind-the-scenes preview video from BBC One…

And an Emma-themed “Culture Minute” from the Telegraph…