Love & Friendship Trailer!

A most delightful trailer for Love & Friendship (2016), the new adaptation of Jane Austen's minor work Lady Susan, has been released!

First go over to IMDb or YouTube and watch the trailer: once, twice, or ten times (like I have!), then come back and we'll discuss!

DeCourcy Family (plus Frederica Vernon)

Did you laugh? I laughed a LOT and my sister watched it right before going into work and she was quoting the silly lines over to herself and giggling. :)

Lady Susan and Reginald DeCourcy

From the trailer Love & Friendship (2016) looks:

• Witty - terribly funny!
• Very close to the original story, minus the letter writing.
• Very well cast, actors are talented in their craft.
• Costumes and scenes are very rich and beautiful - for instance Lady Susan and her daughter are dressed in mourning as is proper. 
• There's the addition of a companion/lady's maid for Lady Susan named Mrs. Cross who has red hair!  Perhaps she will be a means of foiling Lady Susan's plans? 
• Very distinctly set in the 1790's and the costumes and hairstyles very clearly reflect that - perhaps odd for what one thinks of a Jane Austen adaptation, but it is a different sort of story from all of her other novels. So exciting!

Miss Cross and Lady Susan meeting Catherine and Reginald

Now here's some technical stuff.

The text from the trailer: "Lady Susan has no husband, no money, but she has a plan: marry off her daughter, find herself a rich husband and rendezvous with her lover. A lady's work is never done. Based on Jane Austen's comic genius. From writer and director Whit Stillman."


Premier Dates: May 13th, 2016 (USA) and 27 May 2016 (UK) in limited cinemas. It debuted at the Sundance Film Festival on January 23rd and was well received by Janeites such a Margaret Sullivan of AustenBlog (read her review here).

Cast Of Characters: 

I've done some screencaps from the trailer to give some idea of what the characters look like. Their costumes are lovely and most sound exceedingly delightful!

Kate Beckinsale as Lady Susan Vernon

Chloë Sevigny as Alicia Johnson

Morfydd Clark as Frederica Vernon

Xavier Samuel as Reginald DeCourcy

Tom Bennett as Sir James Martin

His lines in the trailer were hillarious! I think he's going to be the most comical character in the whole film! 

Jemma Redgrave as Lady DeCourcy

James Fleet as Sir Reginald DeCourcy

 This is his third Jane Austen film! (The others are Sense & Sensibility 1996 and Death Comes To Pemberley.)

Kelly Campbell as Mrs. Cross

 A new addition to the story.

Justin Edwards as Charles Vernon

Emma Greenwell as Catherine Vernon

Lochlainn O Mearáinn as Lord Manwaring

Jenn Murray as Lady Lucy Manwaring

Stephen Fry as Mr. Johnson

(with Jenn Murray as Lady Lucy Manwaring)

My Thoughts: The more I worked with the screencaps the more the costumes in Love & Friendship (2016) remind me of costumes from Sense and Sensibility (1995), Pride and Prejudice (2005) and Northanger Abbey (1987), although much more elegant than the latter. They are certainly different from the early 1800's clothing that one sees in most other Jane Austen adaptations but that only helps me to identify it as one of her much earlier works and give an idea of how the time period was when she was a girl. I'm muchly encourage and excited to see that the trailer doesn't show anything that could be considered inappropriate, so I am in high hopes of a fairly clean film. Overall I'm quite excited to see this movie! And I'm going to listen to my audiobook version of Lady Susan in preparation.  

After watching the trailer are you excited about this film?

What are your thoughts of the cast and costumes?

Newsflash: Love and Friendship

Attention all my Janeite friends! Another Jane Austen adaptation is in production!
Lady Susan is finally getting adapted for the big screen! I'm rather excited because I really enjoy this story written in letters, but a bit worried that they could take a bad spin on it and leave out the satire and wit that is Jane Austen's genius. I'm not familiar with the script writer or other production crew, but I know they are filming in Ireland now!

Story: Set in the 1790s, Love and Friendship centers on beautiful widow Lady Susan Vernon, who has come to the estate of her in-laws to wait out colorful rumors about her dalliances circulating through polite society. Whilst there, she decides to secure a husband for herself and her rather reluctant debutante daughter, Frederica.

Title: Instead of calling it Lady Susan this production is being called Love and Friendship. It is unclear why they have decided to use the title of one of Jane Austen's Juvenalia works, but it sort of makes sense since it like Lady Susan is written in letters and Love and Friendship is really what this story is all about. Mags at AustenBlog had some interesting thoughts on the title too.

Actors: Here are the actors listed on the IMDb page.

Kate Beckinsale as Lady Susan Vernon

She was Emma Woodhouse in Emma (1997) and is no stranger to period dramas. And now, at the age of 42, I am excited to see her portray Jane Austen's anti-heroine. She has the charm and the presence to capture Lady Susan to a tea!

Chloë Sevigny as Alicia Johnson

I am not familiar with this American actress but apparently she started out as a model/designer and this may be her first period drama. She looks good in the period costume below and I can see her being the gossipy best friend of Lady Susan. 

Xavier Samuel as Reginald De Courcy

This Australian actor's claim to fame is the Twightlist Saga but he has been in period dramas before and is the right age for Reginald. 

Stephen Fry as Mr. Johnson

I certainly never thought to see Mr. Fry in a Jane Austen adaptation but this story is different from Jane Austen's other novels and Mr. Johnson is similar to a Mr. Bennet character. 

Emma Greenwell as Catherine Vernon

I can't say I've ever seen her act but she has the right look for Catherine and funnily enough she is set to also play Caroline Bingley in Pride & Prejudice and Zombies. I hope they stay true to Jane Austen's character and make her the kind compassionate friend that Frederica needs.

Morfydd Clark as Frederica Vernon

This actress with the neat Welsh name is fairly new to the screen but she's not only lined up to play Frederica but also Georgiana Darcy in Pride & Prejudice and Zombies. I'm interested to see how they portray Frederica, hopefully as the sweet young lady that Jane Austen created.

James Fleet as ?

I'm very pleased to see Mr. Fleet in yet a third Jane Austen related film (Sense & Sensibility 1995, Death Comes To Pemberley) and another period drama! I'm hopefully that he will play Sir Reginald De Courcy, father of Reginald and Catherine.

Jemma Readgrave as ?

A wonderful actress, Jemma has portrayed Lady Bertram in Mansfield Park (2007) and has been in other period dramas. I'm thinking she will probably play Lady Catherine De Courcy mother of Reginald and Catherine, but there's a couple other roles she could play including Mrs. Manwaring whose husband Lady Susan entices.

Justin Edwards as ?

I've really enjoyed him on a few British panel shows and I have to say that this guy is comic genius. I'm picturing him as Sir James Martin, the blundering gentleman who wants to marry Frederica, but he'd be equally as good playing Mr. Manwaring or even Charles Vernon.

Tom Bennett as ?

He's been in a couple small period drama series but nothing major. Not sure what character he might play but it could be Charles Vernon or Sir James Martin, maybe Mr. Manwaring. 

Jenn Murray as ?

Not sure who she is set to play but I'm picturing her as either Miss Maria Manwaring or Frederica's teacher Miss Summers. Doesn't look like she's been in any period dramas but her name appears on the IMDb page.

Ross Mac Mahon as Owen

Firstly I'm not sure who this Owen character is, unless he's a servant or a friend of Reginald's. He's not on this handy dandy list of Lady Susan characters.

Production Photos:
Photos of actors in their costumes are already popping up! Costumes seem to be from the late 1700's which perfectly suits the time that Jane Austen wrote Lady Susan. Photos come from three different interesting articles: one, two, three. The photos seem like they might be from a scene towards the end of the story.

Xavier Samuel as Reginald De Courcy

Stephen Fry as Mr. Johnson

Chloë Sevigny as Alicia Johnson

Chloë Sevigny as Alicia Johnson

Chloë Sevigny & Kate Beckinsale

Chloë Sevigny & Kate Beckinsale

Kate Beckinsale as Lady Susan

Kate Beckinsale & Chloë Sevigny

All in all the film is looking like it will be good!

I am currently rereading Love and Freindship to see if it has any similarities to Lady Susan but other than the letters there isn't. I will be rereading Lady Susan next because it's been a while and it is brilliant! :)

Have you read Lady Susan?

What do you think of this cast?

Jane Austen Week Questions - Part 1

It's Jane Austen Week! Check it out at Elegance of Fashion to answer the Questions yourself and join in the fun!

This is Part 1 of my answers to the questions from Miss Elizabeth Bennet's Jane Austen Week 
I'll be posting Part 2 and Part 3 later with week.

1. What is your favorite thing about Jane Austen? Why?
Oh my! There are so many things I love about Jane Austen! where do I begin?
I love the intricacy and elegance of her plot lines, told with such simplicity and humor. She wrote truthfully, from what she knew, she didn't romanticize things and make the plots fanciful. Her characters are completely real and interesting. They could certainly have been real people and I always enjoy studying them, delving into what their lives were really like. In her writings and characters she knew what she believed and her heroes and heroines value truth, sense, good manners, kindness and intelligence.  These are just some of my favorite things about Jane Austen!

11. What was your introduction to Jane Austen? 
This is the last question listed but I decided to answer it here because it just seems to fit better.
My introduction to Jane Austen was through my parents who watched Sense & Sensibility (1995) in theaters and then brought a DVD copy home. After that I was always allowed to watch Jane Austen films with them, and while my parents enjoyed them, I became so entranced with the stories, costumes, grand country houses and the old-fashioned charm of every scene! If you're interested I did a post in December about the Memories & Ramblings Of This Janeite.

2. What are your top three favorite Jane Austen Novels and why?

While I've enjoyed all of Jane Austen's novels with equal relish, you might say that I'm more attracted to the underdog. Jane Austen's lesser known works make my top favorites! 

Northanger Abbey - Although my introduction to Jane Austen was through watching films like Pride and Prejudice (1995) and Sense and Sensibility (1995), the first book I read for myself was Northanger Abbey (NA). For my fifteenth birthday my parents gave me an audio book of NA which I listened to so many times I had several parts memorized! I really enjoy Jane Austen's satirical humor and how the tale is quite different from the Gothic romances of her day. I enjoy all the characters even the "villain" John Thorpe is so humorous and fun to read about! I adore Catherine Morland, she's such a sweetheart and quite like me in a lot of ways. The hero Henry Tilney is my absolute favorite, he's all that I'm looking for in a hero: devoted to his faith, kind to his sister, sensible, handsome and with a great sense of humor! His sister Eleanor Tilney is one of my all-time favorite characters in literature and I love her almost better than Catherine! (For more on Eleanor Tilney read my post about her here.) 

I also love that NA isn't as popular as the other novels; I feel sometimes like it's my own little gem and I alone am intimately acquainted with it's contents! :) 

Persuasion - This has been my second favorite novel since I first read the novel in high school and watched the 1995 adaptation. This story with it's mature characters and tale of constant love is probably the best Jane Austen ever wrote (at least that's what my father keeps telling me!). It's very possible that Persuasion could be her most accomplished work when we remember that it was her last completed novel, it has an overtone of maturity and knowledge that came through her years of experience as a writer.The heartbeat of the story is Anne Elliot, a heroine with great sweetness, kindness, abundance of sense and a noble character. Captain Wentworth's bravery, kindness, sense and devoted nature is a perfect match for her. Minor characters like the Musgroves, Harvilles and Crofts are the kindest and nicest folks you're ever want to meet. I really love the characters in this novel and reading about them time and time again!

Mansfield Park - I've always wanted to like Mansfield Park (MP) more than I actually did but it wasn't really until I started reading it for myself that I've completely fallen in love with the characters and the story! From the beginning there is such a deep thoughtfulness to the way it is written and that really reflects Fanny and Edmund who are at the core of the story. Far from being weak and painfully shy as I often thought, Fanny Price is such a pure, gentle, kind, intelligent creature! The story is mostly told from her point of view, she is often such a great judge of what is going on around her and never really gets lost in the selfish muddling actions of her peers. While Edmund does get a bit caught up in the play and thinking he's in love with Mary Crawford, it does take him a long time before he gets to that point. And you if you love Fanny you have to love Edmund because he is credited with teaching her and molding her mind. I haven't quite finished it but MP has definitely become a close contender with my other favorites! 

Honorable mentions: Sense and Sensibility did have that third favorite spot for a long time because Elinor is one of my favorite heroines, John Willoughby is my favorite Austen villain and Mrs. Jennings is one of my favorite comedic characters (she has such a generous heart!). Also on my favorites list is Jane Austen's Lady Susan, a novella in letter form. It's so different from all of her other stories because the title character is more of a villain-ess than a heroine. But the cast of characters in that story are also amazingly clever!

Coming Soon: Click here to read Part 2 and Part 3.

Very Truly Your's,