I am very excited to welcome Victoria Connelly, author of A Weekend With Mr. Darcy (read my review), to Diary of an Eccentric today. A Weekend With Mr. Darcy is a delightfully fun novel about three people who attend a Jane Austen Conference. It’s filled with references to Austen’s novels and film adaptations and the romantic ups and downs of three very endearing characters. Today, Victoria is here to talk about her love for all-things-Austen. Please give a warm welcome to Victoria Connelly.
My Obsession with Jane Austen
My obsession with Jane Austen started at the tender age of 13 when I fell in love with Laurence Olivier’s portrayal of Mr Darcy in the 1940’s film adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. I loved his haughtiness in the early scenes when he snubs Elizabeth Bennet played by the wonderfully witty Greer Garson, and I adored the scene when he placed his arms around her to teach her how to shoot an arrow – a scene I didn’t know wasn’t in the book until I read it a few years later!
I think I’ve always wanted to be a novelist and, from my early love of Pride and Prejudice, I think I was always meant to be a romantic novelist. I just adored the chemistry between Mr Darcy and Elizabeth – sparks fly between them whenever they are together. But there’s more to Jane Austen than a great love story – her turn of phrase and her wit are highly addictive. You know exactly which characters she loves and which she disapproves of. Which of us hasn’t laughed in delight at her portrayals of the sycophantic Mr Collins and the condescending Lady Catherine? There’s also the wonderful etiquette of the time – the social conventions regarding young women in society which we just don’t have now. I think this world still fascinates readers today.
But it’s not just the books I’m obsessed with. I adore the films too and never tire of the endless adaptations, from Andrew Davies’s 6-hour adaptation of Pride and Prejudice which is just perfect to wallow in, or the sumptuously-filmed and exquisitely-scored Joe Wright film which is fabulous for a quick fix. There is nothing better to help you unwind from the stresses and strains of modern life than to take a trip back into Regency England.
I’m also addicted to Austen locations and it was these that helped inspire my Jane Austen addict trilogy. I’ve been lucky enough to make several visits to the Jane Austen House Museum in Chawton in Hampshire which features in my first book A Weekend with Mr Darcy. I’ve also walked along the famous Cobb in Lyme Regis (which can be seen in Dreaming of Mr Darcy) and stayed in the beautiful Georgian city of Bath to enjoy the Jane Austen Festival (which is the backdrop to the third book, Mr Darcy Forever).
It’s not just locations from the books that fascinate me but locations from the film adaptations too. A couple of years ago, I visited the incredible house and grounds of Chatsworth in Derbyshire which made a very grand Pemberley for Matthew MacFadyen’s Mr Darcy. I also had the great pleasure of spending a whole weekend at the house that was used as Barton Cottage in the 1995 adaptation of Sense and Sensibility. Tucked away on a private estate in Devon, I really felt as if I’d stepped into the pages of an Austen novel and half-expected Willoughby to turn up on horseback at any moment!
In short, Jane Austen makes me happy. She has the ability to make me smile when I’m feeling sad and to inspire me as a writer too. She will always be very special to me and I only wish I could thank her personally.
Thanks, Victoria! I also was introduced to Jane Austen through the Laurence Olivier/Greer Garson film adaptation. It’s not a perfect adaptation, but it holds a special place in my heart for triggering my own obsession with Jane Austen. I look forward to reading the rest of your trilogy.
Courtesy of Sourcebooks, I have one copy of A Weekend With Mr. Darcy up for grabs. To enter, simply leave a comment with your e-mail address and, if you’d like, tell me your favorite film adaptation of an Austen novel. (Personally, I adore Rupert Penry-Jones’ smoldering Captain Wentworth, although the movie is not the best adaptation of Persuasion.) Because the publisher is shipping the book, this giveaway is open to readers with U.S. and Canada addresses only and will run until 11:59 pm EST on Sunday, July 31, 2011.
**Please note that this giveaway is now closed**
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© 2011 Anna Horner of Diary of an Eccentric. All Rights Reserved. Please do not reproduce or republish content without permission.