Tea at Trianon: P.D. James and Jane Austen

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Monday, September 26, 2011

P.D. James and Jane Austen

P.D. James has written a new murder mystery based upon Pride and Prejudice.

Death Comes to Pemberley, which is due out in November, is set six years after the events of Austen's tale of romance and social advancement. It sees Darcy and Elizabeth's marriage thrown into disarray when Lydia Wickham arrives unannounced and declares her husband has been murdered. James said it had been "a joy" to immerse herself in Austen's world. "I have to apologise to Jane Austen for involving her beloved Elizabeth in a murder investigation," she said in a statement, "but this fusion of my two enthusiasms - for the novels of Jane Austen and for writing detective stories - has given me great pleasure which I hope will be shared by my readers." (Read entire article.)

Stephanie A. Mann said...: Even P.D. James getting in on the Jane Austen sequel act! I think there's series of mystery novels with Jane Austen as a detective. I also think there are too many adaptations of Austen's novels already.; September 26, 2011 at 9:51:00 AM EDT
elena maria vidal said...: I agree, there are way too many.; September 26, 2011 at 9:54:00 AM EDT
May said...: The wicked Wickham getting his comeuppance, I guess? I still think this is going a bit far...; September 26, 2011 at 12:35:00 PM EDT
Julygirl said...: Maybe Jane Austen needs her own reality show on TV. When something 'catches on', (reality shows for example), get ready to be innundated with repeats up the wazoo. There are probably a few thousand truly creative people in the world and the rest are copy cats who copy the copy cats.; September 26, 2011 at 8:09:00 PM EDT
Gio said...: Another adaptation of Jane Austen's novels? It's starting to get boring, there are so many already! Still, I wish her success with her book..; September 27, 2011 at 5:35:00 AM EDT