So I finally got around to seeing the new Emma, starring Anya Taylor-Joy, and it was pretty good. You can stream it now, or pre-order it on Blu-Ray or DVD, both of which will drop on May 19:
So what did I think, exactly? Read on to find out…
More regarding Emma 2020…
So the new Emma adaptation, based on Jane Austen’s wonderful novel, is coming very soon. It’s to be released in New York and Los Angeles on February 21, followed by limited North American release on February 28th and a nationwide US release on March 6.
In celebration, Paper Source is offering a line of Emma-inspired stationery goods.
And from Focus Features, some recent poster art featuring the stars of the film…
A new Regency gown!
Thanks to my friend Elizabeth, I now have a new Regency gown – a full day dress ensemble – that fits! She asked me to be her model for a Regency fashion lecture at Modesto’s Jane Austen-themed JaneCon, and I agreed! She kindly made me the entire ensemble for the cost of materials and washing/ironing labor, and I couldn’t be happier. It’s a good thing she loves to sew, because I sure don’t! I do love paying my friends, or doing them favors, in exchange for beautiful clothes! The look and fit is just perfect.
The outfit consists of an 1805-ish gown made from a block-printed almost-sheer cotton muslin from Renaissance Fabrics. It’s the first front-opening Regency gown I’ve had, as my other, smaller gowns were all of the slightly later frock (back buttons) variety. Since this gown has a bib front that pins in place, it’s taken a bit of getting used to. I think eventually I’ll add period-incorrect snaps and ties to help keep it in place so I won’t stab myself or flash anybody by accident. Continue reading “A new Regency gown!”
Emma 2020: Filming locations
The Guardian recently presented a list of UK filming locations that are open to visitors, including some of the spots featured in the upcoming adaptation of Jane Austen’s Emma.
- Firle Estate in Lewes, South Downs National Park, is the Woodhouses’ Hartfield.
- Kingston Bagpuize House in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, was the location for Mrs. Goddard’s school.
- Chavenage House in Tetbury, Gloucestershire, stands in for the Westons’ Randalls AND the Bates’ second-floor apartments.
- Wilton House in Salisbury is Mr. Knightley’s Donwell Abbey. Wilton House crops up in a ton of period films and television shows. Portions of the 2005 Pride & Prejudice and 1995 Sense & Sensibility adaptations were filmed there (the ball scenes during which Marianne confronts Willoughby). The house’s famous Single and Double Cube rooms are well known as the secret planning locations for World War II’s famous D Day invasion. I’ve been here, and the house and grounds are well worth a visit.
- Wrotham Park in Hertfordshire stands in for the Coles’ party location.
- Leith Hill, Dorking, Surrey, stands in for Box Hill, the famous picnic scene location from the novel.
- Lower Slaughter, a village in the Cotswolds, stands in for Highbury. I’ve been here, too. Seems like every Cotswolds village is picturesque and charming in its own way.
- All Saint’s Church in St. Paul’s Walden Village, Hertfordshire, stands in for Highbury’s local church.
More on Emma‘s filming locations…
- Behind the scenes on the locations of the new adaptation of Jane Austen’s Emma, Oxford Mail, February 2020
- Where Was Emma Filmed? …from The Cinemaholic, February, 2020
- Behind the Scenes: Getting the inside story on the movie Emma, Irish Examiner, February 2020
- Tatler on several of the Emma filming locations
- Information on settings in Emma, the novel
- Emma 2 filming locations
- Emma 3 filming locations
- Emma 4 filming locations
- Article about Austen adaptation-related tours
Another Emma trailer…
There’s another trailer for the 2020 Emma Jane Austen adaptation…
Emma 2020
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…
Jane Austen’s Emma is almost 200!
It’s hard to believe that December will mark the 200th anniversary of Emma‘s publication. The recent lead up’s been pretty interesting, including a modern retelling of the novel by Alexander McCall Smith and Pemberley Digital’s multimedia Emma Approved adaptation, which wrapped last year. Various organizations, including the Bay Area English Regency Society in the San Francisco Bay Area, are organizing celebrations commemorating the event. Even though it’s not popular on the same level as, say, Pride & Prejudice, people love Emma because it has a little something for everyone.
Before writing Emma, Jane Austen once expressed, “I am going to take a heroine whom no-one but myself will much like” (James Edward Austen-Leigh’s Memoir of Jane Austen, p. 158). Most believe that the author was at least half-joking when she said this, as Emma Woodhouse is often a great favorite among readers. The character aside, however, the story itself is simply brilliant. Part romance, part comedy, part drama, and part “detective novel,” adapters for stage and screen have lots of choice when it comes to direction and focus. If the depth and texture of the novel has a limitation, it’s in the fact that most adaptations can’t do justice to everything it offers (not even the long miniseries versions).
Jane Austen wrote Emma over the period encompassing January 21, 1814 – March 29, 1815. At his request, she dedicated Emma to her most high-profile fan, the Prince Regent. This is a bit strange, considering that she didn’t care much for him, his conduct towards his wife, or his personality in general. He received a special first edition of the novel (one of twelve “presentation” copies issued by the publisher), in three volumes, which is kept at the Royal Library at Windsor Castle. For more on the presentation edition, see this description of Anne Sharp’s copy (Bonhams auction site). Novelist Maria Edgeworth – a favorite of Austen’s – also apparently received a presentation copy of the novel.
First published in December, 1815 (though the frontispiece is dated 1816) by John Murray, Emma was the last work Austen lived to see released. The first edition consisted of 2000 copies. Oddly, the book did not sell well, so the second printing/edition didn’t happen until 1833. For more information on the initial publication of the novel, look here. You will also find opinions on the novel from Austen’s friends and family right here.
For more on Jane Austen’s Emma and its various media adaptations, visit the Emma Adaptations Pages.
Jane Austen illustrations from the British Library
Technology is awesome. This week, it’s particularly awesome because I learned that the British Library has used it to post a whole mess of nifty illustrations from beloved classic editions of Jane Austen’s novels to its Flikr stream.
Some of these Austen illustrations include Irish Illustrator Hugh Thomson’s famous line drawings for Macmillan’s 1896 edition of Emma, represented below by Mr. Knightley’s proposal.
For more from and about iconic illustrated Austen works, peruse the following:
- Strangegirl.com’s Emma illustrations – Art by Hugh Thomson, Charles E. Brock, Phillip Gough, and Fritz Kredel presented by The Emma Adaptations Pages. Cinthia Soria and Laurel Ann Nattress are primary contributors.
- Hugh Thomson’s illustrated Emma.
- Hugh Thomson at Wikipedia – Includes links to online editions of works he illustrated.
- Austen Illustrators Henry and Charles Brock – My friend Cinthia Soria’s in-depth article on the artist-brothers who brought Austen’s characters to life at the turn of the last century. Also see Cintha’s Jane Austen Castellano blog for great Austen coverage and analysis in Spanish.
- Solitary Elegance – Heather’s Austen site includes scans from Charles Brock’s Emma illustrations from 1909, as well as his art for Austen’s other five major novels.
- The History of England – 15-year-old Jane Austen’s tongue-in-cheek history of England, illustrated by her sister Cassandra. Accessible version here.
- Austen Illustrated – Deb Williams highlights Jane Austen’s various illustrators.
- Gorgeous Jane Austen Novel Illustrations From the Time Before Adaptations by Michelle Dean.