Jane Austen News - Issue 84

What's the Jane Austen News this week?  

A Wonderful Walk Was Had By All On Saturday (the 9th) we saw the fourteenth Jane Austen Festival in Bath officially opened with the traditional Regency  promenade. The parade began from the front of the Royal Crescent at 11am, and wound its way through the historic streets of Bath, finishing up at the beautiful Parade Gardens where a floral tribute to Jane Austen in this, her bicentenary year, has been on display throughout summer (you can read more about it in previous editions of the Jane Austen News here and here). The promenade was a big success; the sun was shining and the weather was just ideal! Around 550 people took part in this year's promenade and, in case you couldn't be with us, here's a quick edit of the event. [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdOdFV3VOdo[/embed]

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  A New Pride and Prejudice Pilot Is On The Way Curtis Sittenfeld’s Pride and Prejudice adaptation Eligible is getting a pilot. Sittenfeld published her book back in 2016 as part of the Harper Collins 'Austen Project', which sees six famous authors re-writing Jane's classic novels in a modern setting. Val McDermid rewrote Northanger Abbey, Joanna Trollope did Sense and Sensibility, Alexander McCall Smith took on Emma, and as for Persuasion and Mansfield Park, these are both still yet to be released and the names of the authors taking them on have not yet been announced. The project has been a real success overall; especially Sittenfeld's book. Eligible was on the New York Times Bestseller List for many weeks and was hailed as "book of the summer" by the Times. Now it appears that it may also be turned into a new TV series. Currently ABC are still in the planning stages of the pilot, but the writers have been announced (veteran writers Sherry Cooper Landsman, Jennifer Levin and I. Marlene King) and the pilot has been committed to! When, or if, it will become a full series and available in the UK is still unknown...

The best and most astute twist in Sittenfeld’s retelling is that Darcy’s friend Chip Bingley starred on a reality show that sounds an awful lot like The Bachelor. In the book, it’s called Eligible, hence the title, the themes, etc.

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Austen's Sanditon Displayed A Cambridge college gave the public a "rare chance" to see the manuscript of Jane Austen's last unfinished novel, Sanditon, this weekend. Austen began Sanditon in January 1817, in three separate booklets, the last of which was dated 18 March 1817, just a few months before she died. The unfinished manuscript of Sanditon was given to King's College in the 1930s by Jane Austen's great-niece, Mary Isabella Lefroy. It is said that Lefroy gave the college the manuscript because her sister was married to the college's 32nd provost, Augustus Austen Leigh, who was also a great-nephew of the author, and also because she was concerned that the manuscript could be sold by relatives after her death. "It's one of the few Austen manuscripts around" said King's College librarian James Clements. The college also holds one of the few surviving complete letters by Austen, to her publisher James Murray. While the manuscript and letter are no longer on display, they may well be again in the future, as this isn't the first time the college has put them out for the public to see. Essentially, if you want to see them, watch this space!

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Who would have thought that all we really needed in order to make the elegant empire-line dresses of the Regency popular once more, was for the Duchess of Cambridge to give them her royal approval? But, as the public relations team at Kensington Palace has now confirmed, the Duchess is pregnant again and carrying what will be her third child. This will mean a new wardrobe for the Duchess, in which, as we saw with her two previous pregnancies, the empire waistline will likely play a prominent role. The reason this might mean more of a return to the elegant Regency style in general? Whatever Kate wears tends to become an overnight fashion sensation. In 2015, when Kate wore a black polka dress from Asos, the same dress completely sold out on their website within thirty minutes of the Duchess stepping out of her car. This year the same sell-out trend has continued - even causing websites to crash thanks to the popularity of her outfits. So, if the pattern continues (and why shouldn't it?), maybe we'll see more of a return to the Regency styles thanks to Kate! We can hope anyway.

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Jane Austen News is our weekly compilation of stories about or related to Jane Austen. Here we will feature a variety of items, including craft tutorials, reviews, news stories, articles and photos from around the world. If you’d like to include your story, please contact us with a press release or summary, along with a link. You can also submit unique articles for publication in our Jane Austen Online Magazine. Don’t miss our latest news – become a Jane Austen Member and receive a digest of stories, articles and news every week. You will also be able to access our online Magazine with over 1000 articles, test your knowledge with our weekly quiz and get offers on our Online Giftshop. Plus new members get an exclusive 10% off voucher to use in the Online Giftshop. Save Save