JA, round 2

The new version of Northanger Abbey was definitely better than the new version of Persuasion. The quicker pace suited this story better than Persuasion (although the last three minutes of NA were overly hurried and abrupt), and however much I dislike Andrew Davies' arrogance and narrowmindedness that Jane Austen's stories are only about sex, I have to give him credit for getting the humor of the story right.

I never much cared for Northanger Abbey as I always thought Catherine Morland was a ridiculous "simpleton," to use an Austen term. However, I re-read it in the Austen class that I just finished, and seeing as Austen wrote it to show some of the ridiculousness of Gothic novels as well as the naivete of teenage girls to take them to seriously, I'm more appreciative of it now. That's what I love about her novels - they grow on you after multiple readings, and you see things in them when you are older that you didn't see in them when you were younger.

All the actors did well in their respective parts. The actor playing John Thorpe really got the coarseness and callousness of the character, and the actress playing Isabella (a nastier version of Lydia Bennett) did well at portraying her manipulativeness and selfishness. I liked the actress playing Catherine - she didn't play her as a complete idiot, merely a girl finding her sea legs in society.

The abbey itself is appropriately awesome and atmospheric. The gardens were beautiful, and I would love to know where they filmed those scenes. Catherine's country home in Fullerton is lovely, too. I love the vines crawling up the front of the house.

Catherine finding "mysterious papers" that turn out to be laundry lists was great comic relief. On the other hand, insinuating that Isabella slept with Frederick Tilney is stretching the story, I think. Austen may have dropped hints in that direction, but to blatantly determine that that is what happened seems pointless and not Austen-like. Then again, that's Andrew Davies for you.

Next week is Mansfield Park, which is my least favorite of the novels. Billie Piper is playing Fanny. She played a Doctor Who companion as well as Sally Lockheart in film versions of books by Philip Pullman.