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  • Writer's pictureSarah Lescault

Austenland as the Definitive Austenite Adaptation

Austenites are no strangers to adaptations, reinterpretations, spin-offs, and, in some cases, rip-offs of the novels they adore. The novel most often subject to Hollywood’s remake mania is Austen’s 1813 novel Pride and Prejudice. Over the years, P&P has spawned numerous book spin-offs, TV mini-series adaptations, and movie reinterpretations. Some have been faithful adaptations, such as the beloved 1995 British mini-series starring Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth, that basically quote the authoress word for word and remain the gateway drug for many a novice Austenite. Others take some artistic liberties (*cough* Pride and Prejudice and Zombies *cough*) that are nonetheless still delightful and highly imaginative interpretations of one of the most well-known love stories of all time.


Modern adaptations of P&P tend to fall in between word for word and artistic liberty adaptations. Societal norms have changed enough that some of the finer plot points in P&P are no longer relevant or acceptable. However, the overarching main plot and characterizations of the leads can still be maintained and subtly changed to fit into any time period. One of my favorite examples of this form of adaptation is the 2013 rom-com Austenland. Technically, Austenland is an adaptation of Shannon Hale’s novel of the same name. However, the protagonist is a raging Pride and Prejudice fangirl and her journey throughout the book/movie is quite obviously a spin-off of the plot of Austen’s novel. These facts make Austenland a Jane Austen adaptation by relativity à la the six degrees of Kevin Bacon parlor game. And it is, frankly, the most underrated Jane Austen adaptation especially given its’ exceptional Austenite fan service.


One of the reasons Pride and Prejudice is adored by fans is spunky main character, Elizabeth Bennet. Her witty banter and slightly condescending sense of humor is at once both inspiring and vindicating for readers and viewers over the centuries. Austenland maintains Lizzy’s strength of character within a Jane Austen fangirl who dreams of a happy ending devoid of settling. Jane Hayes is capable and self-sufficient, while a little odd; a combination that is slightly more in tune with the original novel than the self-sufficient yet eccentric Bridget Jones, although, perhaps, not as endearing. Despite Jane’s obsession with finding a Mr. Darcy, she never settles for anything less than happiness. She has never compromised her ideals to stay with her former boyfriends and continues her search for perfect happiness (“I’m single because, apparently, the only good men are fictional”). By the end of the film, she has decided to stop waiting and make her own happy ending, even if it turns out to be more complicated than she expected. While certainly not the ending mentality of Elizabeth Bennet in the novel, it makes sense for a modern-day version of Lizzy and presents an evolution of the character that is in line with what Austenites admire most about her.



If Elizabeth Bennet is the character Austenites aspire to be, Mr. Darcy is the character they aspire to love. No real-life man can compare to the rich yet sensitive Fitzwilliam Darcy. When what seems to be his pride is revealed to be simply shyness and awkwardness, every reader’s heart melts. Austenland’s male lead, Henry Nobley, perfectly fits into this characterization. We are first introduced to him in the drawing-room where he is literally hiding behind a book to avoid talking to people. Throughout the film, his increasingly obvious attraction to Jane is perfectly portrayed by the extremely underrated J.J. Field (who is also magnificent in Masterpiece’s oft-overlooked Northanger Abbey). I mean look at his face after he ‘accidentally’ tells Jane he loves her during a clichéd, but still swoon-worthy, play performed by the characters:


The moment of realization and slight panic is completely on-brand for Mr. Darcy. Add in the plethora of eye rolls and facepalms that provide perfect fodder for social media reaction GIFs and you have the perfect modern-day Austenite obsession. And don’t even get me started on his “you are my fantasy” in the final scene that still makes me squeal like a teenager every time I watch it.





Lizzie and Darcy are not the only characters that remain faithful to Austen’s original work. Martin, the Mr. Wickham equivalent, is the perfect combination of charming ease and roguish self-interest that makes you like him one moment and want to smack the smirk off of his face in the next. Jane Seymour gives a perfectly snooty performance as Mrs. Wattlesbrook who is clearly meant to stand in for Lady Catherine de Bourgh. The side characters representing Mr. Collins, Miss Bingley, and others are flawlessly portrayed to satirically combine Austen’s tongue-in-cheek humour with traditional romcom ridiculousness. Ricky Whittle’s pec-popping Captain East is a personal favorite along with Georgia King’s peculiar pronunciation of ‘Amelia’ throughout the film. While none of the characters are carbon copies of Austen’s, they still perfectly maintain the spirit of her characters without dipping any further into drollery than the authoress would have herself.


Austenland also perfectly includes supportive female friendships. Elizabeth Charming, played to cluelessly vulgar magnificence by living comedy legend Jennifer Coolidge, is an interesting hybrid of Charlotte Lucas, Jane Bennett, and Lydia Bennett. Oftentimes, she crosses the border between endearing and ridiculous, yet Jane still treats her with dignity and respect. Elizabeth is also supportive of Jane, helping her overcome the limitations of the ‘copper package’ and find her own happily ever after. Even Jane and Amelia are decent to one another without any pettish cat-fighting that is so easily stereotyped as defining almost every female relationship. Female friendship is imperative in all of Jane Austen’s novels, but is often overlooked in favor of romance in TV and film adaptations. It is refreshing to see this aspect of Austen’s storytelling given its’ rightful place of importance.


Every Austenite has their favorite on-screen adaptation of Austen’s novels with those based upon Pride and Prejudice inducing the most emotional connection. Whether your favorite adaptation is the 1995 mini-series, the 2005 Joe Wright film, or Bollywood’s Bride and Prejudice, your reasons for choosing that version as a favorite are as unexplainable as they are deeply felt. While Austenland is far from a faithful adaptation and its silliness can sometimes delve into the realm of the ridiculous, it maintains highly important aspects of Austen’s work to represent the universality of P&P as a human story. The film features strong leading women, swoon-worthy leading men, and a myriad of quotable lines featured within a film that clocks in at a little over 90 minutes. So, give Austenland the respect it deserves and enjoy Jane’s power move to perform Hot in Herre in 18th-century garb.





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