And the games continue…today, we’re going to take a look at the examples of married bliss in Pride and Prejudice, vote for the most likely to succeed, and imagine how things will go for them in the future.

First, the lovely Mr. and Mrs. Wickham, banished up north, although of course you know Mrs. Bennet will be insisting on a visit (the long-suffering Mr. Bennet in tow) almost as soon as is humanly possible. Life with Wickham will never be boring–think of the excitement Lydia can expect–moonlight flits, stints in debtors’ prison (until Darcy bails them out–for the last time, every time), and lots and lots of babies. Naturally she’ll simper and whisper to her female friends of how passionate a man Wickham is. And I’m sure some of her friends will know exactly what she’s talking about.

Next, Mr. and Mrs. Collins. Charlotte has life very well arranged, as she tells Lizzy–and the gaps are micromanaged by Lady Catherine. In between the gardening, the beehives, and exciting installations of shelves, life will never be dull. The marriage will be childless until the day Lady Catherine tells them it would be extremely appropriate for a man of his station etc. etc. After a few years of earnest procreation, Lady Catherine will make the comment that he seems to have plenty of children, the flow of babies will dry up, and Charlotte can enjoy her comparative solitude once more. And it makes you wonder exactly what was so awful at home with the Lucases that Charlotte was compelled to escape…unless…here’s an alternate scenario: Charlotte produces a baby soon–far too soon–after the marriage. Tongues wag. We see whether Mr. Collins is too stupid to read a calendar. Has Wickham…surely not…then who…

Jane and Bingley. Aaaaw. Sweet, nice, not too bright people who adore each other. How can this marriage not work? I think even with Bingley’s wealth their finances will always be a mess, but they’ll live happily in the country and have lots of children. Jane will plump up a bit. Bingley won’t care. He’ll spend a lot of time riding around the estate, patting his tenants’ children on the head, pretending he knows all about agriculture, and giving dubious advice to his estate manager. The estate manager, of course, will agree with him, because Bingley is so sweet no one (except Darcy) can say no to him, and do what he intended to do in the first place. Later in life Bingley becomes a magistrate and crime rates in the neighborhood soar since Jane won’t let him send anyone to prison, let alone transport or hang them.

Mr. and Mrs. Bennet I hope will get on a little better now the financial pressure is off. Possibly with an empty house (Kitty and Mary will become much more eligible because of the Darcy family connection) they may find companionship with each other. Of course the question remains why they married in the first place. He’s a reserved and educated man who married an uneducated, presumably attractive young woman, possibly for the allure of her fine eyes…and who does that remind you of?

Bingo.

Except Elizabeth and Darcy have evolved and broken the pattern–and of course she’s much smarter than her mother. They have learned each other’s deepest and most painful secrets. I have great hopes for these two. Not that I think Darcy will be particularly easy to live with, and Elizabeth, as mistress of Pemberly, may find her new responsibilities challenging. I hope the loyal housekeeper doesn’t revert to Mrs. Danvers mode. I hope their children are not too perfect, or forced by their father to over-achieve. Of course the rest of the family visit them, annoy them, and bombard them with requests for attention, money, or favors. Darcy may have to disappear for a spot of trout fishing with the guys (but not Wickham who will probably be casting for a card game and/or buxom barmaid in the village) if things get excessively feminine or his mother-in-law talks too long and loud. Because even the rarified heights of Pemberly are not immune to Bennets. I hope Elizabeth keeps teasing Darcy. She may, if he becomes excessively pompous, shove him into the pond now and then to teach him a lesson. And frankly, who can blame her?

So let’s hear your take on whose marriage is the happiest and what you see for them in the future–or give us a recommendation for one of the many sequels by other writers for a chance at one of TWO 10th Anniversary Collector’s Editions of A&E’s Pride and Prejudice. If you haven’t already, check out the contest rules and learn more about the prizes at the A&E store. Comment on each of this week’s posts for more chances to win!

It’s Day 3 of our Pride & Prejudice contest. After yesterday’s eye-candy I hope this post isn’t a disappointment!

Since we’ve talked about heroines and heroes, I’ve decided to talk about villains.

Years ago, I read about a scholarly debate as to who is the villain of P&P. Is it Wickham, Mrs. Bennet, Mr. Bennet, Lydia, Mr. Collins, Miss Bingley or Lady Catherine De Bourgh? I laughed, because I doubt Jane plotted her story around any literary concept of protagonist/antagonist. She was writing about people. More specifically, about families.

You have Elizabeth and Jane—two perfectly lovely sisters with a most Embarrassing Family. Mrs. Bennet–the archetypal foolish, matchmaking mamma. Mr. Bennet, the witty but lax father. Younger sisters including poor, pedantic Mary and the terminally featherheaded Kitty and Lydia.

This mix doesn’t surprise me. As the eldest of 4 (and the only girl) I know that the oldest siblings often turn out more responsible than the rest.

Then let’s not forget the other relative, the painfully pompous Mr. Collins who pays court to Elizabeth once he’s told Jane is taken.

My favorite Embarrassing Family moment from P&P is the Netherfield ball. Poor Elizabeth! Not only does she not see Wickham there, but Mr. Collins makes a fool of himself trying to seek Darcy’s favor. Her mother openly boasts that Jane will marry Mr. Bingley. Her younger sisters behave like hoydens, except for Mary, who shows off at the piano until her father admonishes her, perhaps a bit too glibly “You have delighted us all enough.”

(That last incident reminds me of my once-little brother, who liked to come to the door to entertain my dates with solos on his recorder. One of my own Embarrassing Family moments.)

But Darcy himself isn’t immune to the Curse of the Embarrassing Family. He’s got the stiff, censorious Lady Catherine De Bourgh trying to match him up with her “sickly and cross” daughter. His little sister Georgiana, though sweet and inoffensive in herself, has a potentially embarrassing secret in her past.

Even Wickham is related in a sense; he’s Darcy’s father’s godson. He and Lydia nearly ruin things for Elizabeth and Darcy.

Then in the secondary romance of the story, you have poor Mr. Bingley, a darling of a young man with two poisonous sisters, one of them with the hots for Darcy, or possibly, for Darcy’s ten thousand a year.

I was relieved Jane and Lizzie got the happy ending they deserved…far away from their relations!

“Mr. Bingley and Jane remained at Netherfield only a twelvemonth. So near a vicinity to her mother and Meryton relations was not desirable even to his easy temper, or her affectionate heart. The darling wish of his sisters was then gratified: he bought an estate in a neighbouring county to Derbyshire; and Jane and Elizabeth, in addition to every other source of happiness, were within thirty miles of each other.”

If you’re interested in what happened to the rest of the characters, check out Chapter 61 at the Pemberley website.

So who’s the P&P villain you most love to hate? Who do you think played the role best?

What is your favorite Embarrassing Family moment in P&P?

Any other favorite Embarrassing Family moments (real or fictional) you dare to share?

Answer any or all of these questions for a chance at one of TWO 10th Anniversary Collector’s Editions of A&E’s Pride and Prejudice. If you haven’t already, check out the contest rules and learn more about the prizes at the A&E store. Comment on each of this week’s posts for more chances to win!

Elena Greene
LADY DEARING’S MASQUERADE, RT Reviewers’ Choice Award, Best Regency Romance of 2005
www.elenagreene.com

This is such an exciting contest! I’m thrilled we can offer it. I hope you will enter now and come back every day this week to enter again, and, at the same time, share a love of the Regency with us.

To enter, all you have to do is put a comment on our blogs. Say something more than “nice blog.” Tell us what you think about what we say, or tell us what you liked about the A&E version of Pride & Prejudice. The only other thing is, you have to live in the US or Canada to win, because the DVD is formatted for Region 1. On Sunday Oct 8 we’ll select the winners at random. Two of you lucky people!

You really should look at the A&E Store, because there are extras included in this 10th Anniversary Limited Edition Pride & Prejudice, as well as a lot of other wonderful things to buy!

It is always a joy to watch this mini-series. In 2003, when Amanda and I returned from our Regency Tour of England (a tour created by my friend Patty Suchy of Novel Explorations, Inc.), Amanda spent a day at my house. You know what we did? We watched the whole 310 minutes of Pride & Prejudice, drooling over Mr. Darcy and screaming “We were there!” whenever we found a place we’d visited. Later, my critique partners, Darlene Gardner, Karen Ander, Lisa Dyson and our friend, Marjanna, wanted to learn more about the Regency time period, because all they knew about it was what they read in my books. So we gathered for a night of Pride & Prejudice! And, of course, they loved it.

One of the things my friends did not understand about the P&P mini series was why Jane was considered the beautiful Bennet daughter and not Lizzie. “I think she is prettier than Jane,” one of them said.

This is where I think the filmmakers were so masterful in their casting! Because I think Jane (played by actress Susannah Harker) is the ideal Regency beauty.
Take a look and compare to this detail of one of my 1815 La Belle Assemblee fashion prints:
Jane has the same oval face, pointed chin, big wide eyes as the 1815 image. She could have modeled for the ladies magazine!

Now look at Lizzie (Jennifer Ehle) compared to another 1815 fashion print detail:
Lizzie’s face is round and her complexion is rosier, not pale like Jane’s. Her mouth is full. Her “fine eyes” are not as large and round as Jane’s and the La Belle Assemblee ladies.

Luckily, however, Mr. Darcy learns to appreciate that pair of “fine eyes.”

I am certain we can all agree, however, that Mr. Darcy is the perfect Regency gentleman!

What do you think of the casting of Pride & Prejudice? Did they get Jane Austen’s characters right? Who would you have cast differently? Mr. Collins, maybe? Lydia?
Do you have a favorite character in the cast?

Let us know and you will be entered in our contest!

Cheers,
Diane

This week, Risky Regencies is pleased to be able to give away TWO copies of the just-released 10th Anniversary Limited Edition Pride & Prejudice Collector’s Set, which contains both the DVDs and the illustrated companion book for the A&E/BBC miniseries starring Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle.

To enter, all you have to do is comment on at least one of the Riskies’ posts this week. For each day this week (from Monday through Saturday) that you comment on that day’s post, you will earn one chance to win — so if you comment on one post, you have one chance, and if you comment on all six posts, you have six chances, and so on.

The DVD is formatted for Region 1, so only US and Canadian entries are eligible.

Visit us early and often for your chance to win; and then stick around to join the thought-provoking discussions, admire gorgeous pictures of Mr. Darcy et al, and chat about your favorite romance novels, or anything to do with Jane Austen, Georgette Heyer, or the English Regency.

To learn more about this edition of Pride & Prejudice, visit the
A&E Store.

Winners will be announced on Sunday!