Books and Movies.

We recently watched ( or I should watched AGAIN) the BBC series of Pride and Prejudice.

This is such a favourite for us - and several in our family are big Jane Austen fans. I am one!

I find that, as younger children grow, they begin sitting in on more and more of the extra evening video time. There are definitely some films that are family films and some films that are best viewed only by older members of the family.

This time around, my youngest son showed understanding of some of the satirical comments in Pride and Prejudice - and he had many questions about the mores and conventions of Austen's time.

We followed our viewing of this BBC production with the newer production of Pride and Prejudice, renting it from the video store on Sunday evening.

There were some great camera shots in this film - the scene where Mr Darcy first proposes to Lizzie is exquisite - an outdoors shot, in the teeming rain.There is also an alternate ending for the U.S. audience!

However, in our family's opinion, the film failed to capture Austen's pithy quotes and witticisms. A poor shadow of the book.

Several of us, however, have been inspired to re-read some of Jane Austen. One son is re-reading Pride and Prejudice. Another is re-reading Emma. I am re-visiting Sense and Sensibility.

Oh, and the youngest ones are reading Asterix and Tin Tin ! Not quite Jane Austen but fun and clever, to boot.