Jane Austen - Pride and Prejudice (BBC, 1980)

In Jane Austen's classic novel Pride and Prejudice, the arrival of a young, well-off, eligible man named Mr. Bingley sends the Bennet household—with five girls of a marrying age—into a tizzy. But it's the introduction of Mr. Bingley's friend, Mr. Darcy (played with an imperious scowl by David Rintoul), that sets in motion the fate of Elizabeth Bennet (the adorable Elizabeth Garvie), resolved only after a labyrinth of social and personal complexities. Austen's novels are miracles of skillful plotting, fusing a rich understanding of psychological motivation with whimsical turns of chance.

This superb BBC adaptation from 1980 zips along, thanks to lively performances, fluid direction, and a keen grasp of the wit of Austen's dialogue (expertly translated to the screen by British novelist Fay Weldon) and her satirical characters, who range from clever and kind to utterly odious. Due to its faithfulness and deep appreciation of the material, this five-episode miniseries stands up against any other film or television adaptation (at least nine to date), though Rintoul may not sets hearts aflutter the way Colin Firth did in the also excellent 1995 miniseries.








Tags: qTVSeries, qBBC, qJaneAusten, qRomanticComedy



Sue Parrill, "Jane Austen on Film and Television: A Critical Study of the Adaptations"

Sue Birtwistle & Susie Conklin, "The Making of Pride and Prejudice" (On the 1995 A&E version not this 1980 BBC series)

Emma Thompson, "The Sense and Sensibility Screenplay & Diaries: Bringing Jane Austen's Novel to Film"


Jane Austen, "Pride and Prejudice" (Norton Critical Editions), 3rd Edition

Jane Austen, "Emma" (Norton Critical Editions), 3rd Edition

Jane Austen, "Mansfield Park" (Norton Critical Editions)


John Sutherland & Deirdre Le Faye, "So You Think You Know Jane Austen? A Literary Quizbook (World's Classics)"

John Sutherland, "Can Jane Eyre Be Happy? More Puzzles in Classic Fiction" 2 puzzles on Austen novels

John Sutherland, "Who Betrays Elizabeth Bennet? Further Puzzles in Classic Fiction (World's Classics)" 3 puzzles on Austen novels


Daniel Pool, "What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew: From Fox Hunting to Whist -- The Facts of Daily Life in Nineteenth-Century England"

Josephine Ross, "Jane Austen: A Companion"

Janet Todd (ed), "Jane Austen in Context (The Cambridge Edition of the Works of Jane Austen)"

Deirdre Le Faye, "Jane Austen: The World of Her Novels"

Julia Prewitt Brown, "A Reader's Guide to the Nineteenth-Century English Novel"

Kristine Hughes, "The Writer's Guide to Everyday Life in Regency and Victorian England"