First Time Reading Persuasion & Netflix's Adaptation 💐

Reading Jane Austen for the first time and comparing it to the BBC and Netflix adaptations!

WHERE TO FIND ME:

[rebeccavaughn]

Seems like if Netflix wanted a modern Anne, they should have just have made a modern Persuasion. No one complains about the accuracy of Clueless or Bridget Jones Diary.

[helenfrost]

Persuasion is my favourite Jane Austen. I re-read it every year, Wentworth's letter gets me every time.

[marlenemontooth]

I'd highly recommend the 1995 Persuasion, with Ciaran Hinds and Amanda Root. It has a slower pace, but captures the melancholy, the quietly hilarious satire, and the characters perfectly, especially Anne. Fiona Shaw (Petunia Dursley!) as Mrs. Croft is just sublime, and Hinds' Wentworth is not a pretty boy; he looks like a man who has been at sea and at battle. Of all the versions, it handles the scenes of Wentworth handing Anne up into the carriage and the Greatest Love Letter in Literature the best, IMO, and I love the end, where you think she's just writing in her study, until she rises up and joins Wentworth on the bridge of his ship. 😍 Just an exquisite jewel of an adaptation. I think I'll have to watch it again tonight, lol.
(The Netflix adaptation lost me at the casting of Dakota Johnson. I'm afraid even my love of Henry Golding can't overcome my dislike of her.)

[lori]

The 1995 version of Persuasion with Amanda Root and Ciaran Hinds is fantastic! It's my all time favorite Persuasion adaptation. Amanda Root was a brilliant Anne. The Netflix adaptation had me scratching my head and cringing from second-hand embarrassment. It was a mess. They completely missed the tone of the book and Anne's character was the opposite of who she really is. A sassy alcoholic? Seriously? I didn't feel any chemistry between Anne and Fredrick, and I thought the "modernization" of the language and the dialogue was ridiculous and completely uncalled for. The breaking of the 4th wall was annoying, too. What I did like was the scenery and the diversity of the cast.

[annasmith]

I always tell people that if they are not familiar with classic English writing styles, but they want to read Jane Austen, I would start with Northanger Abbey, then move on to Pride and Prejudice, sense and sensibility, Emma, Persuasion, and then Mansfield park for digestibility and easing into the genre.

[psukebariah]

Anyone interested in listening to Persuasion (and/or several other classics), I'd recommend Craftlit. Don't let the name fool you. Yes, crafting is sometimes discussed in the opening monologue, but Heather was a lit teacher and she gives background, helps with odd and archaic words and generally makes the books much more accessible. And they are free. She's been diing this for 10+ years so she has quite the catalog, including Persuasion. *And* Sense and Sensibility, Northranger Abbey and other Austens.

Also, <3 for the 1995 Persuasion. It's a fantastic movie.

[pardonthisbookaddict]

North and South is so good. Mr Thornton is perfection. Persuasion is one of my favorite books and the 2007 BBC adaptation is my favorite adaptation. After the live show last night, I won’t watch it.

[simmi]

Personally I think TV channels should have more respect for classics. Bridgerton is a.modern book set in the 1800, but we can't ridicule a classic this way. just my 2 cents

[DayLovesColours]

I generally love JA adaptations, English, American or Bollywood, each of them is entertaining in its own way. But this one was probably the worst JA adaptation I have ever seen. Costumes were there, actors were good but overall tone and meaning shifted too much for my taste (maybe just because it was set in the 1800s). I really think changes are way too modern /agree with The Guardian review that fleabag-ish Anne monologues destroyed the narrative) and all that small changes were ruining the story. To this date my favourite Persuasion adaptation 1995 BBC and then 2007.

[crystalsbookishlife]

This was so fun Jessen, thanks for doing this with me 🥰 I loved everything you had to say!

[jasmanvoeltz]

You should watch BCC's adaptation of Tess of the durbervilles, it is so good.

[justines]

Agree re the tone of the latest adaptation. It was way off and obviously trying to appeal to a certain audience. I really like the 1995 version which I think is still available on Amazon Prime or Apple TV. It stars Amanda Root and Ciaran Hinds.

[LeslieAM]

Love your take on all the versions and totally agree!

[whatever_it_takes]

What are your thoughts on Oofy Doofy Theory?

[crystalsbookishlife]

The conversation timing was the one thing Netflix got right 😆

[zuzanka]

Well, adaptations usually strip all that is complex and interesting about the books and dumb them down to romance and ocassionaly preserve a bit of comedy.

[MadsHbooks]

I have loved the BBC version for years! I tried to watch the Netflix one yesterday, I couldn’t finished, the tone was weird, and kind of boring to be honest!

[thebrianclan]

My favorite was the BBC adaption. On my way to watch the Netflix version.

[GeorgiaPap]

I've only read Sense and sensibility by Jane Austen and I didn't like it. I gave it 1 star. And since then I haven't picked any of her other books but I do want to. From other classics I've read Jane Eyre and I loved that one. I gave it 4 stars.

[rebeccavaughn]

There's different levels of knights.
That's different from baronetcy.