Austen, Backstitch, and Geraniums
I refuse to say how many times I've read Pride and Prejudice
Happy Tuesday!
Word around the manor house is that there’s a new version of Persuasion coming out. Persuasion is one of Jane Austen’s books. I read this book many, many years ago. In fact, I’ve been thinking about re-reading it lately! Here’s a picture of my copy:
Isn’t that a pretty edition? I love the ribbon, and the pages are wonderful to touch. The sepia page color is very kind to your eyes as well. (Link to this edition is here if you want to buy a copy.)
I think everyone who watches period pieces has their favorite (or favourite as my English friends would spell it) adaptations that they like best. For instance, do you like the Pride and Prejudice with Collin Firth, or with Matthew Macfadyen? The Sense and Sensibility with Alan Rickman, or the one with screenplay by Andrew Davies? I’ve never watched the Pride and Prejudice with Keira Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen. I just KNOW that I will compare it to the Firth/ Ehle version the entire time. Now, I did watch the Alan Rickman Sense and Sensibility last year, and while Alan Rickman was superb as always, I don’t think I’ll ever watch it again. It’s just not my cup of tea.
So with that in mind, let’s turn our attention to this poorly scripted latest adaptation of one of Miss Austen’s finest works. Even if I had a Netflix account, (I use BritBox) I definitely wouldn’t watch this new film. Over at Cinema Blend, they have a review, which I quote from now:
It is one thing for films like Greta Gerwig’s Little Women to have some changes deviate from the source material. It is another matter when a film is trying to fit in with the times of the novel, but loses audience by the way the dialogue is handled. This new Netflix release currently has a 36% on Rotten Tomatoes where its consensus praised Dakota Johnson, but did not find it a believable Jane Austen adaptation. Variety’s review felt like Persuasion was trying to modernize itself by borrowing the comedic gimmicks of the British comedy series Fleabag which pulled itself away from the classic novel’s tone.
Ouch. 36% on Rotten Tomatoes. This tweet sums it up pretty well:
Some period pieces have a bit more of a modern flavor like the 2009 version of Emma, which is one of my favorite period pieces ever. But this latest Persuasion seems to go a bit overboard, in my opinion.
Look, I don’t often give advice here on this blog, but I’m going to give you some advice today. Skip this new Persuasion and pretend it doesn’t exist; then go find the 2007 version of Persuasion (here’s the IMDB link) sit down with some tea, and watch amazing scenes like this:
WIP Update
The cross stitch portion of the next band on Medieval Menagerie is almost done!
Next step will be the backstitch, but because it’s backstitch, I think that it will be done in no time. My dilemma now will be trying to choose between backstitching with one strand or two strands.
The band after this one has stags and flowers, so that is something to really look forward to!
Paris Market is really coming together:
Stitching a market full of flowers! Going from whole stitches to half stitches is such a nice change of pace. Right now I’m filling in with a lot of medium green floss. I don’t think I’ll move to the right anymore until I finish filling in those empty spaces in the middle around the yellow floss. It makes me happy to imagine that those red flowers are geraniums.
This is such a lovely summer stitch. The colors are so vibrant, and the scene itself just makes you want to jump into that French market!
Odds & Ends
Some of the animals in Medieval Manuscripts are really wild and awesome looking. Bunnies with trumpets, knights jousting on snails. Because why not, right? I’m seriously considering turning some of these Medieval animals into cross stitch patterns.
Ok, I may have an addiction to cross stitch, that is also joining forces with my addiction to Jane Austen. Check out this cross stitch chart. I need it.
Here’s a link to free PDF Regency cross stitch charts that I made.
If you have some time, I recommend this documentary: