After watching Jemima Rooper light up the stage as a cross-dressing gangster in One Man, Two Guvnors, I realized I should post a review of Lost in Austen, the 2008 ITV series that first introduced me to Rooper. If you are a fan of British comedy, costume drama, or Pride & Prejudice, this series will provide four of the most entertaining hours of your life.
Rooper plays Amanda Price, a woman who is obsessed with Pride & Prejudice and finds herself longing for the world of Victorian propriety and decency instead of the barrage of twenty-first century rudeness and a boorish boyfriend who believes in proposing with the pull-tab off a beer can. In miraculous TV fashion, she hears a crash in her bathroom and finds Elizabeth Bennet in her bathtub. Turns out there's a secret doorway in Amanda's bathroom that leads into Longbourn, the Bennets' house. Startled by this discovery, Amanda enters the house in a daze, but the door slams shut behind her, trapping her in Longbourn while Elizabeth Bennet is stuck in twenty-first century London.
Fabricating a story that she is Lizzie's friend from Hammersmith, Amanda manages to worm her way into the Bennet household. She discovers she is right at the beginning of the story - Netherfield Park has just been let to Mr. Bingley and everyone is too preoccupied by this news to pay much attention to the weird woman who has abruptly shown up wearing jeans and saying decidedly odd things. Unfortunately, Amanda quickly finds herself committing every known impropriety and Mrs. Bennet is keen to get rid of this unwelcome houseguest. Her hostility increases when it becomes readily apparent that Mr. Bingley finds Amanda more fascinating than her eldest daughter, Jane. This turn of events horrifies Amanda, who is desperate to make sure the novel's plot continues undisturbed. She tries to put Bingley off in truly hysterical fashion, but with Mr. Collins arriving on the scene, it seems like she may have irrevocably altered Jane Bennet's fate.
Naturally, the presence of Fitzwilliam Darcy complicates matters. Amanda is thoroughly repulsed by his haughty manner but of course, that initial prejudice cannot last long. Slowly it becomes apparent that she has taken Elizabeth's place Darcy's affections, but Amanda is no Victorian. She is too entangled in this story and busily trying to fix the mess her arrival has caused to the Bennets' lives. There are revelations about Mr. Wickham and a host of other familiar characters that will make you laugh and surprise the most devoted Austen fan. And while the conclusion seems inevitable, it is really a nail-biting finish as you have no idea how Amanda Price will manage to get the happy ending she has always longed for.
The cast are a riot, and include well-known figures like Hugh Bonneville (of Downton Abbey and Twenty Twelve fame) and Alex Kingston (from ER and Doctor Who) who play the Bennet parents. Elliot Cowan is a great Darcy who you will inevitably fall in love with, and Tom Mison is affable and charming as the naive Bingley who can't figure out how to be with Jane, played by the gentle and restrained Morven Christie (who is very different from her character of Fi Healey on Twenty Twelve). Elizabeth Bennet is portrayed by the delightful Gemma Arterton, who undergoes a wonderful transformation from Victorian heroine to modern London woman. But Jemima Rooper is the show's heart, stumbling with well-meaning but clueless intent and making you root for Amanda at every turn.
Adaptations of Pride & Prejudice seem to come along every decade but Lost in Austen is a refreshing take on a well-known story. Forget everything you knew about these characters - they all have hidden facets that Austen couldn't have begun to imagine (Caroline Bingley's secret is particularly surprising). And the plot proceeds with sudden twists and turns that completely alter the novel's story but still stay true to its structure. It's a genius bit of story-telling, and if Jane Austen were alive to see it, she'd laugh out loud.
Fabricating a story that she is Lizzie's friend from Hammersmith, Amanda manages to worm her way into the Bennet household. She discovers she is right at the beginning of the story - Netherfield Park has just been let to Mr. Bingley and everyone is too preoccupied by this news to pay much attention to the weird woman who has abruptly shown up wearing jeans and saying decidedly odd things. Unfortunately, Amanda quickly finds herself committing every known impropriety and Mrs. Bennet is keen to get rid of this unwelcome houseguest. Her hostility increases when it becomes readily apparent that Mr. Bingley finds Amanda more fascinating than her eldest daughter, Jane. This turn of events horrifies Amanda, who is desperate to make sure the novel's plot continues undisturbed. She tries to put Bingley off in truly hysterical fashion, but with Mr. Collins arriving on the scene, it seems like she may have irrevocably altered Jane Bennet's fate.
Naturally, the presence of Fitzwilliam Darcy complicates matters. Amanda is thoroughly repulsed by his haughty manner but of course, that initial prejudice cannot last long. Slowly it becomes apparent that she has taken Elizabeth's place Darcy's affections, but Amanda is no Victorian. She is too entangled in this story and busily trying to fix the mess her arrival has caused to the Bennets' lives. There are revelations about Mr. Wickham and a host of other familiar characters that will make you laugh and surprise the most devoted Austen fan. And while the conclusion seems inevitable, it is really a nail-biting finish as you have no idea how Amanda Price will manage to get the happy ending she has always longed for.
The cast are a riot, and include well-known figures like Hugh Bonneville (of Downton Abbey and Twenty Twelve fame) and Alex Kingston (from ER and Doctor Who) who play the Bennet parents. Elliot Cowan is a great Darcy who you will inevitably fall in love with, and Tom Mison is affable and charming as the naive Bingley who can't figure out how to be with Jane, played by the gentle and restrained Morven Christie (who is very different from her character of Fi Healey on Twenty Twelve). Elizabeth Bennet is portrayed by the delightful Gemma Arterton, who undergoes a wonderful transformation from Victorian heroine to modern London woman. But Jemima Rooper is the show's heart, stumbling with well-meaning but clueless intent and making you root for Amanda at every turn.
Adaptations of Pride & Prejudice seem to come along every decade but Lost in Austen is a refreshing take on a well-known story. Forget everything you knew about these characters - they all have hidden facets that Austen couldn't have begun to imagine (Caroline Bingley's secret is particularly surprising). And the plot proceeds with sudden twists and turns that completely alter the novel's story but still stay true to its structure. It's a genius bit of story-telling, and if Jane Austen were alive to see it, she'd laugh out loud.
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