Monica Fairview, Author

Well, we had some fun suggestions for Mr Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet, though I think we need new blood. The idea was that it would be younger versions of some of these actors that played the roles. New input would be welcome. If you can think of other actors that would work, please don't hesitate to make suggestions, and I'll put them up on a later blog. So here's what we have for Elizabeth Bennet: Zooey Deschanel, Scarlet Johansson, Anne Hathaway, Kate Winslet For Mr Darcy we have Jude Law, Liam Neeson, Adrien Brody, Richard Armitage, and James McAvoy. Pride and Prejudice Question 29 Publishers tend not to publish too many sequels that are not Pride and Prejudice , because they say they don't sell as well. Why is it that people generally seem to prefer Pride and Prejudice to Jane Austen's other novels?

The general consensus yesterday about Jane Austen's concept of marriage was that, though sad, it's true that Jane Austen would not encourage her heroines to marry for love if there was no money. Poor Mr Darcy may never have had the chance to marry Elizabeth if he wasn't fabulously rich, though I'd prefer to think she would have loved him anyway. It's hard for us to understand this now, when there are career opportunities out there for people who are determined to improve their lot in life (though with the economic crunch, there are certain limitations), but in Jane Austen's world, few people could aspire to move beyond their class. People like Captain Wentworth are all the more "heroic" because they actually succeeded. The general objection to the Navy was that people could rise from the ranks and advance despite not having the backing one would need in the army. (If you haven't seen/read Sharpe, that's a great place to see how hard it is to ...

Since the American edition of my book The Other Mr Darcy is coming out in paperback in October (Street date October 7th), I'm getting ready for a whirlwind blog tour the end of September, beginning of October. I can't wait to get started! I've been asked to blog on a number of sites I really like, so I'm very happy about that. Meanwhile, now that I've mentioned October, a smattering of rain hits the window, and the wind bends the tree towards me as if to remind me that it's that time of the year when the leaves change colour. How did the summer pass so quickly? Have you noticed how summers race by? I'm very much a summer person, though I'm not very much into getting tanned (mostly because I don't tan easily, and then when I do, the tan fades so quickly I might as well not have bothered!). But I love that sense of anticipation in the air, the feeling of openness that comes from being free of coats and scarves and boots. I suppose that's what I l...