Because I Must Add My Two Cents, You Know...

The blogging world is buzzing, and hardly needs me to join in, but I can't let this historical moment pass without any comment, can I? Especially when we're talking about my favorite book in the world!!

In short, Happy 200th Anniversary to Pride and Prejudice! I count myself privileged to have discovered Jane Austen in time to take part in all these bicentennials, for they really are delightful. And do not you think that the movie-makers should take advantage of this and make some movies? Mansfield Park, which needs a faithful adaptation, was published in 1814, people... HINT, HINT.

But of course today is the day to talk about P&P, not MP.
Though I may go through phases where I'm more "into" some of the other stories, I steadfastly hold P&P as my favorite. I have no wish to be obstinate and not have it as my favorite just because it is the favorite of so many... this is something where I feel that it has good reason to be a Universal Favorite. It just Makes Sense. Not that I don't think it makes sense for any of the others to be somebody's favorite... I mean, if it's by Jane Austen, it's worthy to be a favorite. :D

Presently I'm rereading P&P, so I'll be posting about that after a while... also possibly an explanation of why I like The Book's Mr Darcy (including why I like the book's Mr. Darcy better than Colin Firth's, heh heh, even though I do think his is the best representation to date). I'm also thinking of reviewing the 1940 and 1980 movies... I briefly considered doing 2005, but then discarded the idea because it wouldn't end up being a review, it would be... something else. *cough*

Anyways, instead of rambling on in this fashion, I'd just like to point you over to The P&P95Forever Club today, where you will find my main post in celebration of P&P. There is a Grand Game in honour of the day, half of which is based entirely on the book, so I encourage anybody who likes the book to take a look, even if they're not a devotee of P&P95.

And to close with, here is a bit of letter from Jane Austen to her sister Cassandra, when she was telling about getting "her own darling child" for the first time, reading it, &c.:
Miss Benn dined with us on the very day of the Books coming, & in the eveng we set fairly at it & read half the 1st vol. to her—prefacing that having intelligence from Henry that such a work wd soon appear we had desired him to send it whenever it came out—& I beleive it passed with her unsuspected.—She was amused, poor soul! that she cd not help you know, with two such people to lead the way; but she really does seem to admire Elizabeth. I must confess that I think her as delightful a creature as ever appeared in print, & how I shall be able to tolerate those who do not like her at least, I do not know.—There are a few Typical errors—& a "said he" or a "said she" would sometimes make the Dialogue more immediately clear—but "I do not write for such dull Elves

      As have not a great deal of Ingenuity themselves."

I find it quite amusing that Mrs. Austen and Jane were reading P&P aloud to somebody who didn't even know Jane had written it! ;-) I wonder what Miss Benn, whoever she is, did when she found out...