Season 2 Episode 7 Jane Austen and Love Island

06/04/21 • 50 min

Have you ever thought about casting Jane away on an island - Love Island to be exact? In this episode, we have a look at the dating culture in Jane's day and compare it to our own version in Love Island and The Bachelor/Bachelorette. Which heroine would not find herself in a thong bikini by the pool and who would love the gossip? Why does Mr Collins deserve his own season of The Bachelor and can you imagine getting the rose from Mr Darcy? What about Captain Wentworth being pursued by the Musgroves? Another mini-Bachelor episode!
We go on to our Darcy and Mr Collins of the month and then take on the most contentious issue of them all: which is our favourite adaption of P&P, choosing between 1980s BBC, 1995 BBC, 2004 Bride and Prejudice, 2005 film and a brief mention of P&P and Zombies. See if you agree our comments and selection.
Links mentioned in the show:
https://no1royalcrescent.org.uk
https://www.yoshigoods.com/collections/jane-austen-bookworm-leather-handbags-purses-accessories

Previous Episode

Season 2 Episode 6 Jane Austen and #MeToo

How would Jane Austen fit in with our modern #MeToo movement? It's an interesting question which led us, in this episode, to look at Jane Austen and the #MeToo, breaking it down into terms which make sense in her era: the context of feminist thought and sexual harassment in the late 18th and early 19th century. We discuss the shockingly unequal legal framework in which women lived, early feminists and empowered women such as Mary Wollstonecraft and Caroline Herschel, and then go on to discuss incidents in Jane's life and novels that illustrate #MeToo moments.
Find out what Mr Collins got wrong, what Fanny got right, and who was the novelist's narcissistic sociopath!
We go on to award our Lizzy and Lady Catherine of the month and review Janice Hadlow's The Other Bennet Sister (Pan).
Links mentioned are:
https://www.the-tls.co.uk/articles/jane-austen-family-slavery-essay-devoney-looser/
https://blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/product/Jane-Austen-the-Secret-Radical-by-Helena-Kelly-author/9781785781889
https://janeaustens.house

Next Episode

Season 2 Ep. 8 Jane Austen and Sport

Hang on, there's no sport in Jane Austen surely? Can't remember that tennis match between Mr Bingley and Mr Darcy or Ann Elliott running laps with the Musgroves? True - but once you start looking, there is much more than you think! Zoe and Julia take a quick look at sport at the turn of the nineteenth century from boxing to battledore, and then trace its presence in Jane Austen's life and novels. Discover how she used sporty activities as a metaphor for things going on in the plot, and ponder if the Austen family not only did theatricals but played sport together.
Next is the Lizzie and Lady Catherine of the month, followed by reviews and Austen news. Julia reviews Modern Persuasion (Amazon Prime) and Zoe brings news on some adaptation. Plus she highlights the Jane Austen Literacy Foundation's version of Sanditon that can be watched for free on YouTube.