As part of our month long salute to all things Prom and Prejudice, we are taking some time today to salute the novels of Ms. Jane Austen herself. In case you haven’t heard (as if that’s possible), Prom and Prejudice is loosely based on Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Austen published a total of seven novels. Her works have been hailed by critics and readers alike as the epitome of wit. The relationships showcased in these novels have inspired famous re-tellings including, Bridget Jones’ Diary and Clueless. If you enjoyed reading Prom and Prejudice, you might want to check out some of Austen’s other works. And if reading a 19th century novel just isn’t your thing, you can check out some of our favorite movie renditions of these truly spectacular works.
We have posted PART 1 of our look at the works of Jane Austen below, and will be posting part 2 tomorrow. Make sure you check back!!
1. Sense and Sensibility
Plot – Two sisters of opposing temperaments but who share the pangs of tragic love provide the subjects for Sense and Sensibility. Elinor, practical and conventional, is the epitome of sense; Marianne, emotional and sentimental, the embodiment of sensibility. To each comes the sorrow of unhappy love: Elinor desires a man who is promised to another while Marianne loses her heart to a scoundrel who jilts her. Their mutual suffering brings a closer understanding between the two sisters–and true love finally triumphs when sense gives way to sensibility and sensibility gives way to sense
Movie
2. Emma
Plot – Quick-witted, beautiful, headstrong and rich, Emma Woodhouse is inordinately fond of match-making select inhabitants of the village of Highbury, yet aloof and oblivious as to the question of whom she herself might marry. This paradox multiplies the intrigues and sparkling ironies of Jane Austen’s masterpiece, her comedy of a sentimental education through which Emma discovers a capacity for love and marriage
Movie
3. Mansfield Park
Plot – Taken from the poverty of her parents’ home in Portsmouth, Fanny Price is brought up with her rich cousins at Mansfield Park, acutely aware of her humble rank and with her cousin Edmund as her sole ally. During her uncle’s absence in Antigua, the Crawford’s arrive in the neighbourhood bringing with them the glamour of London life and a reckless taste for flirtation. Mansfield Park is considered Jane Austen’s first mature work and, with its quiet heroine and subtle examination of social position and moral integrity, one of her most profound
Movie