First Impressions: Why All the Austen Haters Are Wrong

Ep 72: Fire Island

Gentle listeners, we're so excited to have Maya and Christian of Manners and Madness join us again, this time for a movie review of Fire Island, one of the finest modern Austen adaptations of our time and an overall fantastic movie.   We discuss the deep dive this movie takes into the characters of Noah (Lizzy), Howie (Jane), and Will (Darcy), and the way the modern story blends with the original. We also talk over the incorporation of themes of power (and reclaiming power), and the parallels with Alice Munro's short story "Powers." This movie is full of thoughtful and smart choices that reveal aspects of Austen's characters, and it also happens to be hilarious. In short, we highly recommend it!

 

You can also find Christian and Maya at @MannersandMadnesspod on Instagram and @MannersMadness on Twitter!

Ep 71: A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens, Featuring The Muppets!

We are overjoyed to bring you a special holiday episode discussing A Christmas Carol, the novel by Charles Dickens, and A Muppet Christmas Carol, the finest adaptation of Dickens' work ever to grace the silver screen. The novel is an absolute delight, and extremely readable - it's a great time for a read (or re-read)! And a sing-along! With a glass raised to toast your health! (Glass raised to toast your health!) and a promise to share the wealth! (Promise to share the wealth), yes every night will end, and every day will start, with a grateful prayer and a thankful heart! For you, our listeners! Happy holidays!

Ep 70: Movie Commentary: Pride and Prejudice 1995, Part 6

Everyone, thank you, we're so excited to finally present the conclusion of our movie commentary series for Pride and Prejudice 1995! Join us as we swoon over this beautiful movie's final chapter, after which all our favorite characters live happily ever after.

By the way, if you are looking for the first installment of this movie commentary series, you'll find it all the way back in our archives - it's episode 26!!! 

Ep 69: Gothic Literature and Northanger Abbey, Featuring the Return of Tash!

Just in time for Halloween, we're back with our guest Natasha Junor (who you may remember from our Clueless episode!) to discuss Gothic literature and the ways it intersects with Austen's world and works. Tash is an Australian academic and Jane Austen scholar who is doing a deep dive into this topic in preparation for a possible dissertation on the subject, and she's stopping by to share her expertise with us! Join us for a fascinating exploration of how Gothic literature was received in Regency-era England, how it allowed women of that era to explore otherwise forbidden topics, and how Austen interpreted the Gothic in her novel Northanger Abbey. 

 

And I promise to finally release Ep 6 of our P&P commentary very soon! I know I said it was coming next! But I lied! -K

Bonus: The Oopsie Spoopy Episode

Gentle listeners, Maggie and I recently found ourselves ready to chat, but completely unprepared to discuss any Austen-related topic! We instead had a delightful cozy catch up about Halloween fun, horror movies and their cultural relevance, workplace oopsies, and our favorite toxic trait. (I promised Maggie I would intro this with Toto, but I overruled her post-podcast and added the Monster Mash instead, because it just seemed appropriate.) If you want to catch up with us, enjoy - if not, our next episode, Pride and Prejudice Movie Commentary Part 6, is coming out soon! -K

Ep 68: Netflix Persuasion 2022 Movie Review

Gentle listeners, join us as we review the storm-tossed 2022 Netflix adaptation of Persuasion starring Dakota Johnson and Cosmo Jarvis and directed by Carrie Cracknell. Described as "Bridget Jones meets Bridgerton," this unconventional take on Austen's contemplative, autumnal source material certainly made some waves in the Austenverse. But if you can manage to forget about the source material for a few hours, this is a beautiful and highly entertaining movie to enjoy with a glass of wine or four. Join us as we process both our agony and our hope: despite some reservations, we genuinely enjoyed this movie (but I wish they hadn't messed with the letter-K). 

Minipod: Rational Creatures Season 2

Join us to learn more about the web series Rational Creatures to prepare for the release of Season 2! Rational Creatures is a modern interpretation of Persuasion, available in a web series format on YouTube. The show follows Ana Elías as she unexpectedly ends up living in the same apartment building as her ex (and perhaps one true love) Fred Wentworth. This modern remix of the classic features a bi Latina lead with a cast of queer characters, bringing Jane Austen into the 21st century. 

Series co-creator Ayelen Barrios Ruiz Pagano and actor Peter Giessl (who plays Fred Wentworth) join us to chat about the series, "the letter," and why we think Persuasion is having a moment!

You can view the first season of Rational Creatures now on YouTube!

Minipod: ”Open to Persuasion” Virtual Conference this Aug 13-14 with Sarah Rose Kearns

Alert! There is an excellent virtual conference on Persuasion happening August 13th-14th 2022 (this coming weekend!) Our guest Sarah Rose Kearns joins us to tell us about the event's fantastic programme, and we briefly discuss our thoughts on the new Netflix Persuasion movie as well. Join us to hear more, and to catch up with Rose!

For more about the conference, see https://theholytheatre.betterworld.org/donate where you can make a donation in any amount you wish in order to register for the conference!

This event is a benefit for The Holy Theatre and features special guests Lakshmi Gandhi, David Fernandez, Jocelyn Harris, Tabrizia Jones, Wendy Jones, Sarah Rose Kearns, Noreen Mughees, Janet Saidi, Damianne Scott, David Shapard, and Lena Yasutake.

The event program, with speaker bios, can be accessed here — https://bit.ly/3SukIrk

You can also find Rose on Twitter at @Persuasion_JA

Ep 67: Bridgerton Season 2 with Priya

[New file because Podbean sucks!] We're thrilled to welcome our friend and Bridgerton expert Priya back to the podcast to discuss season 2 of this smash Netflix show. Join us as we swoon over Kate and Anthony, grouse about Benedict and Eloise, and talk about the show in both its current cultural and historical context. Grab your Pall Mall mallet, make some disgustingly weak tea, and settle in for our convo!

Ep 66: Being Mr. Wickham - Streaming Theater Performance Review

Check out our review of Being Mr. Wickham, a one man show co-written by Adrian Lukis (who played Mr. Wickham in the 1995 Pride and Prejudice miniseries) and Catherine Curzon for the Original Theater company. It's available to stream online through April 30th, so don't miss out! We loved this charming show and the way it brought the Pride and Prejudice characters' future to life with hilarious anecdotes and historical details. You'll especially love the future of Mr. Bennet.

You can stream Being Mr. Wickham online through April 30th, 2022 at https://originaltheatreonline.com/productions/28/being-mr-wickham

Note: the original epsiode description omitted that the show was co-written by Catherine Curzon. You can find her work at madamegilflurt.com.