Friday 27 December 2013

Dressing to match the walls


Me? Stealing water from the penguins? Must be somebody else you're thinking of.



I recorded part one of Death Comes to Pemberley last night and this evening I've watched that and part 2. I've enjoyed it so much I almost wish I'd waited 'til I had all three episodes so I could watch it back to back, but on the other hand I'm quite glad to have something to look forward to for tomorrow night. I don't know what the critics and the Austen fan-girls will make of it, but I'm loving it. I like Pride and Prejudice (book and 1995 tv series - not so keen on the Keira Knightley film) and I like mysteries, and it's working very well indeed for me. Besides which, it's just lovely to look at, especially on our new super-crisp bit-less-shiny television* - gorgeous, luscious colours and details. And Mrs Elizabeth Darcy, née Bennet, doing a cracking job of dressing to match the wallpaper. I'm not normally a big fan of turquoises and teals, but I was drooling over those walls already, and then she changes into a frock that matches! This is where I've been going wrong stylewise all my life..


Incidentally I can see why the critics and Austen fan-girls might be nervous - I've read a couple of 'sequels' to Pride and Prej, and they were, not to put too fine a point on it, complete shite. But this is most enjoyable. Also it gives me the chance to use my 'men in breeches' blog-post tag again.

In other news, I have iced the Christmas cake, much Lego has been built, we had a splendid afternoon when my brother came over today (to admire the Lego of course)  and pizza has been consumed by all. For the kids this is the second pizza this week. Tomorrow we're meeting with various in-laws for a meal at an Italian restaurant so I can foresee further pizza consumption in the near future. I may have to insist on a pizza-free zone for a couple of weeks to recover.

* Did I mention the television? A couple of weeks ago the boy Cat, he of knocking-over-the-Christmas-tree fame, knocked over a bookcase which knocked over the television which landed on the turret of Miss M's castle money-box. End of television. My Beloved was secretly pleased because he has the chromosome which has the need for new televisions at every opportunity and he thought the old one was too shiny - in that the screen reflected everything so that any dark scene would be dominated by the reflection of my beautiful beaded lamp floating in the corner like a luminous jellyfish.  I think he had a secret new-television-fund for just such an eventuality.  On reflection (ha!), we should thank the cat.

3 comments:

Mrs. Micawber said...

I see we feel the same about Austen "sequels".... :)

Mrs. Micawber said...

P.S. Have you read any of Stephanie Barron's Jane Austen mysteries? They're really quite decent. She has managed to catch Miss Austen's style and tone while avoiding the coyness that besets so many of the Austen homages. And she's pretty accurate with regards to family and historical details.

P.P.S. I'm not at ALL a fan of the Keira Knightley version of PP. Too many characters left out, too little original dialogue left in. Donald Sutherland as Mr. Bennett? Pigs wandering through the Bennett house? Intolerable. Give me Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle and the incomparable David Bamber.

P.P.P.S. I think I must be one of those Austen fan-girls.

Peeriemoot said...

David Bamber was a special kind of wonderful in P&P wasn't he? :-D

I'm a bit of an Austen fan-girl too, but I think the true die-hards probably consider any attempt at adaptation, especially 'genre' ones, just beyond the pale.

I'll look out for the Stephanie Barron ones, thank you!