Jane Austen Movie Fashion Throwdown

Lady Catherine de Bourgh was an unpleasant, opinionated, imperious and grand old dame. Whose wardrobe best matches her character?

This purply puce gown with tight bodice and low neckline presents a formidable front. It is slightly old-fashioned, but elegant, and more like a court gown than a dinner dress. Judi Dench, Pride and Prejudice 2005.

This Lady Catherine wears a fashionable carriage outfit with a pelisse trimmed with fur and a hat festooned with ostrich plumes. The outfit reeks of class to anyone Lady Catherine might have encountered on her journey to Longbourn. Barbara Leigh-Hunt, Pride and Prejudice 1995.

The spencer jacket with a militaristic sash draped over one shoulder is quite fashionable. This Lady Catherine holds a walking stick and uses it to great effect. Judy Parfitt, Pride and Prejudice 1980.

The dress is all wrong, of course, for it belongs to the mid-19th century. But this Lady Catherine, swathed from head-to-toe and side-to-very-considerable-side (mutton sleeves, wide hooped skirt), presents a striking black figure. Any ordinary person would quail when confronted with so much blackness, but not our Elizabeth. Edna Mae Oliver, Pride and Prejudice 1940.

Whose Lady Catherine wardrobe most matches the character?
	Judi Dench, P and P 2005
	Barbara Leigh-Hunt, P and P 1995
	Judy Parfitt, P and P 1980
	Edna Mae Oliver, P and P 1940
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Jane Austen Movie Throwdown

The winter holidays provide time for leisurely gatherings around the dinner table. In this week's throwdown we ask you to which elegant dinner party would you have liked to receive an invitation? Lady Catherine de Bourgh's in 2005's Pride and Prejudice? Or the Weston's in A&E's Emma, 1996? Neither gathering was particularly pleasurable, but so much was learned about the characters in both:

Lady Catherine de Bourgh's table, Pride and Prejudice, 2005

Dinner at the Westons, A&E Emma, 1996

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To which elegant dinner party would you have liked to receive an invitation?

Lady Catherine de Bourgh's The Westons'

Jane Austen Movie Throwdown

This week's throwdown offers the least pleasing images we have ever chosen for this blog, but for a good reason. The three scenes represent a huge departure from Jane Austen's novels and they are quite egregious. Oh, there are more than three instances in which script writers changed Jane's plot dramatically, but these three stick particularly in my craw. For this week's throwdown you are asked to consider:

Which script deviation from Jane Austen's novels is the most egregious?

After reading his letter, Anne Elliot runs through Bath to go after Captain Wentworth in Persuasion 2007.

In the opening scene of Sense and Sensibility 2008, Willoughby seduces Eliza and presumably gets her pregnant.

In Pride and Prejudice 1940, Lady Catherine de Bourgh gives Mr. Darcy her approval to reconcile with Elizabeth Bennet.

Which changed scene is the most egregious deviation from Jane Austen's novels?
	Anne Elliot runs through Bath, Persuasion 2007
	Willoughby seduces Eliza in the opening scene of Sense and Sensibility 2008
	Lady Catherine de Bourgh encourages Mr. Darcy to propose to Elizabeth Bennet
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