Giant Colin Firth Emerges from Lake: London Buried Under Austenite Hordes!

The Lord of the Lake!

My friends, I honestly can’t decide whether This Week in Austen is a fit of hilarious headlines, whether we all need an immediate field-trip to London, or whether I need to take my meds. Possibly all three. Let’s see…

Giant Colin Firth Emerges from Lake – That’s right, your eyes do not deceive you. This is what victory looks like! According to the Daily Mail (Britain’s finest news source) “The installation was commissioned to celebrate the launch of UKTV’s new TV channel Drama and Mr Darcy was chosen because Colin Firth’s lake exit from the BBC’s 1995 adaptation of Pride and Prejudice was named the most memorable British TV drama moment of all time in a recent survey.” Pedants such as myself and John Mullan note that this scene isn’t even in the book, but I think Jane Austen—were she to be able to stop laughing—would appreciate the irony in that.

Related News: Women Scream as Men Discover Their Historic Erogenous Zones – Yeah, apparently “Nobody had the slightest inkling that Colin Firth, wearing a lightweight cotton voile shirt with his nipples showing underneath, would have such an effect.” By “nobody” we mean Simon Langton, director of the 1995 version. HAS HE NOT MET US? Has he not even read his Austen, who goes on about Mr. Tilney’s greatcoat in Northanger Abbey? I mean, I personally have had a Thing for these shirts since I was 12, long before Colin Firth came out of the water in one. And then sideburns…  so there was this: Hugh Jackman Says Wolverine’s Chops Look Ridiculous!, and then I had a vision… of Hugh Jackman in a billowy shirt… as Mr. Darcy…possibly crossed with Wolverine… I’m sorry, what were we talking about? Ahem!

Protesters Rally in Support of Jane Austen –  Miss Ball mentioned that Jane might be getting her face on the money (and we know it’s going to be Cassandra’s portrait, don’t we? Sigh.) Well, the new chairman of the Bank of England backpedalled and said she was waiting “quietly in the wings.” Yeah, with a blunt instrument, I don’t think! There’s been thoughtful soul-searching, grumblings about Jane as the perennial token woman, and protesters cosplaying as Queen Boudicca, Emily Pankhurst, and I sincerely hope as Jane Austen as well. Only time will tell.

Austenland Trailer Released – We’ve spoken of the book Austenland before. Oddly enough it combines the first three headlines, being about elaborate cosplay undertaken to fulfill sexual fantasies about Mr. Darcy. So of course the movie will be out this summer (August 16). Have to say, the trailer looks pretty funny, if formulaic. I love Jennifer Coolidge.

Missing Character Discovered in Pride and Prejudice – Rebecca Jane Stokes outlines the delightful character of Sarah Pebbletush, Lizzie Bennet’s “unnoticed best friend” who was “excised from the book for fear that her stolid, faithful nature and kind heart might misdirect the reader’s sympathies from Elizabeth.” Now here is a spin on Austen I might watch. 🙂 Though I wonder if Jennifer Coolidge’s character in Austenland essentially is Sarah Pebbletush. Sarah really does seem like an earlier Austen character, like she’s from the Juvenalia, or is a nicer Isabella Thorpe.

So, what say, my friends? I think we’ll have a great time in London together! After our ritual viewing of the Darcy statue, and our protesting at the Bank of England, we’ll already be dressed to live out our Austenland fantasies. Then we can hang out with this guy and write beautifully worded memos, which we’ll post to our social media, all with Our Jane’s blessing. We’ll have a fab time! Now I’m off to take my meds and fall asleep laughing at our wonderful Austen world.