These past few weeks, I've been on a bit of a Jane Austen
kick. I started out watching North and South, and it's just been all downhill
from there. I don't know if that makes Jane Austen like Lay's Potato Chips, but
it's been a fun week of curricles and British accents and flowered bonnets.
In the spirit of learning from wildly popular books and
movies, I present to you a brief analysis of what I think works about Jane
Austen and similar works.
1)
They're so darned happy. Don't get me wrong. The
characters go through a good deal of trial and heartbreak. But even in watching
it, you're not too sad… because you know the heroine is going to get her hero
in the end. It's not a story designed to
surprise, and that's okay. I love a good twist as much as anyone, but sometimes
I want to sit with a tissue clutched in my hand waiting for Mr. Darcy to
propose and enjoying the banter in between.
2)
Along those lines, If the ending is a foregone
conclusion, you'd better make the middle as darned entertaining as possible. Which
is something I could do to remember, given how I try too hard sometimes to have
the perfect surprise ending (not a twist, necessarily). But if your end isn't a twist or a surprise,
it gives you the opportunity to bring in subplots and scoundrels and pretty
dresses. It seems like a very obvious point, but sometimes, I need to even be reminded of the silliest of things.
3)
The Austen books and their ilk are known for creative,
witty dialogue. As someone who loves to spend time exploring characters' inner
thoughts and motivation, I sometimes forget to work on how much dialogue can
add to the story. For example, I love the way the dialogue is delivered in the 2005 version of Pride and Prejudice. Take these lines, when Mr. Darcy shows up at a
party, frowning mightily:
Lizzie: He looks miserable, poor soul.
Charlotte: Miserable he may be, but poor he most certainly is not. Ten thousand a year, and he owns half of Darbyshire.
Lizzie: The miserable half?"
4)
Women love regency settings. Any time they put out a period drama set
anywhere from the Era of Unfortunate Man Leggings (late eighteenth century) to
the time of Well They Invented Cars So It Doesn't Feel Historic Enough Anymore Decade
(special nod to Downton Abbey for proving that cars can exist in period drama!).
Yes, I did say women, because apparently, our version of Baywatch is men riding
around in horses in the rain. Here, watch the following. (No seriously, watch it.
With the sound on. Especially if you're female.)
Never fails to make me giggle. How many rain scenes are there in these
things anyway? I accuse the directors of adding extra. Not that I mind, shallow soul that I am. (I'm guessing Sheena won't mind either, because the clip features extensive footage of BOTH Colonel Brandons!)
Anyway, we're supposed to be talking about books here.
Medieval fantasy is way overdone, so perhaps consider setting your fantasy
novel in the above-mentioned eras. There are tons of books out there as sequels
to Jane Austen's originals, or time travelling to Jane Austen, or
monster-of-the-week and Jane Austen… And then there's the whole steampunk movement,
which I quite enjoy.
Anyway, in the past couple of weeks, I've watched North
& South (not JA, but similar, and I highly recommend it), both Sense &
Sensibility movies, and I'm just starting on Wives and Daughters. Northanger Abbey DVD has been requested from
the library. Before long, I'm sure I'll be back to explosions and zombies. Well, maybe not for a while yet. Zombies don't look quite as dashing on horseback.
