Lizzie and the Modern Woman

My dearest Elizabeth Bennet has been popping up all over the place recently. The Lizzie trend has manifested itself in numerous ways.

Now, if I went on to talk abt all the P&P themed things I own (poster of the entire book in very small font, bag, tee shirt, etc.) it would never end... but here are the worldwide trends at the moment.

 Print - 1) In 2009, the first "comical" remake of the beloved book, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, came to disgrace our bookstores.... but I haven't been able to bring myself to read them.

2) The book I'm more interested in is one that a dear friend gave me, Miss Jane Austen's Guide to Modern Life's Dilemmas: Answers to Your Most Burning Questions about Life, Love, Happiness and What to Wear from the Great Jane Austen Herself. The title says it all--how perfect is this?! I adore it.

How cool is this cover--Jane with an iPad!

3) Earlier this summer there was a New York Times article about the Jane-craze that included a board game with paper dolls (!!!) and discussed the "Janeiac" and Lizzie.

On screen - 1) The Lizzie Bennet Diaries started over a year ago ended in March :( Luckily for fans, the awesome web series recently won an Emmy!  LBD is a vlog told by Lizzie Bennet, a grad student who still lives with her parents and sisters. It is a wonderful retelling of a classic story, by Hank Green and Bernie Su.
And guess what... they're making an Emma series next! I can't wait!

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2) Austenland is a wonderfully silly book that came out in 2007 -- I was so excited to hear that they were making a movie! It came out last month, and I haven't seen it yet, but I wouldn't expect much other than some laughs from what I've read in reviews.

3) Even better than that movie will be the BBC series coming to the UK in December (It'll be on PBS Masterpiece in the US, I'm just not sure about when yet... trust me, I'll let you know!) -- Death Comes to Pemberley. It is based on the book of the same name by P.D. James. I'm also super excited that Jenna Louise Coleman of Doctor Who is part of the cast (even if she is Lydia Wickham)!

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So what does this mean, now that Lizzie is showing up in a seeming outburst of a trend? Elizabeth Bennet is not a passing character. She is here to stay. The amazing thing is how everyone connects to her, each century, and in new ways. People truly care about Lizzie, enough to give her new life in different forms of media, whether its Lizzie vlogging or living out her life with darcy in the midst of a  murder...

Lizzie Bennet and the Modern Woman have found multiple ways to connect, and I don't think that will ever stop.

Bonus link: have you seen the giant Colin Firth Darcy statue in London?