Category: Emma

A general category dealing with Jane Austen’s Emma.

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Presentation copy of Jane Austen’s Emma for sale…again!

Anne Sharp's Copy of Emma
Anne Sharp’s Copy of Emma, from Sotheby’s.

I was kind of avoiding this because I thought it might’ve been a bad case of necrolink, but apparently it’s true: Anne Sharp’s presentation copy of Jane Austen’s Emma is indeed for sale…again. It last sold at auction in April, 2010 for the then pounds sterling-equivalent of $271,294.

The set of three volumes is one of twelve special first edition copies – “presentation” copies as they’re called – reserved for Austen’s family, friends, and her highest-profile fan of the period, the Prince Regent (care of his royal librarian, James Stanier Clarke). Anne Sharp is often noted as the only “friend” among the bunch of recipients. Miss Sharp had served as governess to Austen’s beloved niece, Fanny Knight, and by most accounts is the logical model for the Woodhouse girls’ dear former governess, Mrs. Weston, in Emma. Continue reading “Presentation copy of Jane Austen’s Emma for sale…again!”

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Link: Dear Mr. Knightley…

It’s come to my attention that Mr. George Knightley of Jane Austen’s Emma fame is now authoring his own advice blog, titled Letters to Mr. Knightley! With help from colleagues and friends, he’ll be dispensing his wit and wisdom on life and love to the denizens of Highbury, the Internet, and beyond. Here’s a man I’d trust with any problem!

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Emma Roundup: A Springtime of Stage Productions

There’s been a ton of local Emma productions hitting the stage this spring, from Folsom, CA to Salt Lake City to Fort Wayne, IN, to Windsor, Ontario! Some of them involve the Michael Bloom adaptation.

I’m posting the latest news on my Twitter feed, but here’s a roundup from the last month or so…

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Fashionable Emma Woodhouse: Costuming Austen’s Emma Adapted

Gwyneth Paltrow as Emma
Gwyneth Paltrow as Emma, costumed by Academy Award nominee Ruth Myers.

Fashionable Emma Woodhouse: Costuming Austen’s Emma Adapted

Before the 2009-2010 BBC Emma miniseries came out – and before I’d even started this blog – my friends Vic and Laurel Ann of Jane Austen Today kindly asked me to do a quick piece about costuming in the three previous major adaptations of the novel: the 1971 BBC tv miniseries starring Dorin Godwin, the 1996 Miramax theatrical release starring Gwyneth Paltrow, and the 1996-1997 A&E/ITV movie starring Kate Beckinsale.

It’s based on a previous article on Emma costuming I prepared for Ellie Farrell’s excellent Celluloid Wrappers site, which is dedicated to film costume. Eventually, I’ll be adding a section on the Romola Garai Emma to that article.

 

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Paul Gordon Emma at San Diego Old Globe Theatre and more…

I tend to tweet most of my minor updates these days, but here’s a roundup for the sake of completeness.  🙂

 

Emma comes to the Old Globe in San Diego.
Emma comes to the Old Globe in San Diego.

Paul Gordon’s Emma – A Musical Romantic Comedy is now running at San Diego’s Old Globe Theatre!  The show – which has already enjoyed successful runs in the Bay Area, Cincinnati, and St. Louis – previewed earlier this month and officially premiers this weekend.  The run will continue through February 27 (with an extension to March 6).

Emma is directed by Jeff Calhoun and stars Patti Murin as the eponymous heroine and Adam Monley as Mr. Knightley.  For more…

In other Emma adaptation news, Romola Garai’s Golden Globe nomination for Best Performance by an Actress in a Mini-series or Motion Picture Made for Television did not result in a win.  Still, it was nice to see her nominated for her starring role in the 2009-2010 BBC Emma miniseries.

In non-adaptation Emma news, Maria Edgeworth’s presentation copy of Emma was sold last month at auction.  According to Sotheby’s auction house, it fetched 79,250 pounds sterling.  Edgeworth was a bit of a novelist idol of Austen’s and an acquaintance of the James Leigh Perrots, Jane Austen’s aunt and uncle.  You can learn about Edgeworth’s opinions on Emma in this roundup of period responses to the book.

Happy new year, everyone!

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Michael Gambon nominated for Emmy; Emma vampire mashup released

Sir Michael Gambon received a nod during last week’s Primetime Emmy nomination announcements for his portrayal of Mr. Woodhouse in the 2009 BBC adaptation of Jane Austen’s Emma.

In other Emma news, a new Jane Austen horror mashup novel hit Kindles last week.  Emma and the Vampires, written by Wayne Josephson, takes another stab at the novel of manners-meets-horror movie literary genre.

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Aisha opens to generally favorable reviews

Sonam Kapoor as Aisha
Sonam Kapoor as Aisha.

Aisha, starring Sonam Kapoor, opened this past weekend to fairly positive reviews and strong box office receipts.  Opinions on this film adaptation of Jane Austen’s Emma ran the gamut from “meh” to glowing.  Have you seen it?  What did you think?  Was it the Clueless rehash some people expected?  Does it matter?

Bits and bobs from around the net relating to Aisha‘s premier:

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Celebrate Georgette Heyer with Austenprose.com

During the month of August, Austenprose.com is hosting a tribute to legendary Regency romance novelist Georgette Heyer.  Join Laurel Ann and the gang for thirty-one days of Georgian-by-way-of-the-20th-century fun!