#JaneAustenJuly2020 wrap up !

You can read my first post here with the original videos of Katie and Marissa for the challenge :

The recommendations were as follow :

1 Read one of Jane's six novels :

I re-read Persuasion and appreciated more than before : click !

2 Read something by Jane Austen that isn't one of her main six novels :

I wanted to read only her History of England, but ended up reading all of her juvenilia, Love and freindship : click !

3 Read a non-fiction work about Jane Austen or her time period :

I chose What matters in Jane Austen by John Mullan and found it very entertaining and interesting : click !

4 Read a modern retelling of a Jane Austen book :

I picked Longbourn by Jo Baker and really appreciated it : click !

5 Read a book by a contemporary of Jane Austen :

And that was Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, but it wasn't my cup of tea : click !

6 Watch a direct screen adaptation of a Jane Austen book :

Love and friendship (an adaptation of Lady Susan)

I loved it so much, it was so funny ! Great cast, great costumes, great locations but most of all, it did Lady Susan (and all of Jane Austen's hilarious juvenilia) justice. If you haven't seen it, you really should !

7 Watch a modern screen adaptation of a Jane Austen book :

Bride and prejudice

I'd never heard of it (I spotted actors from Gilmore Girls, Lost and The vampire diaries) and it was so enjoyable ! My favourite parts were those filmed in India : I loved the music, the dances and the colours and it made me long to go back to my favourite Indian restaurant - even if I often cook Indian cuisine. A good discovery !

Since I still had time, I took the opportunity of watching The Lizzie Bennet diaries on Youtube - that was fun :

And since I wanted to read every physical copy I had of books about Jane Austen, I read Kim Wilson's At home with Jane Austen : click !

Finally, even if I didn't like the novel, I watched Pride and prejudice and zombies - mostly for Matt Smith.

I was better than I expected - not wonderful, but fun, with a great photography, great fights and a delightful Matt Smith as Mr Collins : he's awesome !

I really loved participating in this challenge, thank you Katie and Marissa ! Last year, I had planned on re-reading all of her novels, but I extended it to biographies, letters, her juvenilia, literary criticism and, why not try, modern retelings or books inspired by her works. Since I started last December, some of my reviews are not here on the blog (which I opened in January, on a whim) but I'll probably include them later on so that everything is regrouped here and can be sorted with the labels (which are sadly not very visible on this blog - on the right of the window, below the menu bar, or at the bottom of the posts) and the authors page.

Next year, I'm planning on participating again, but maybe not follow the rules. I'd like to watch the different Youtube mini-series, read retellings that were praised and discover if it's really worth it, and try Stephanie Barron's series with Jane Austen as a detective... I also noted references of biographies by her family and other things. I have a year to think of it and look forward to it !

Meanwhile, take a look at this great video by Katie about Mr Collins :