Wenn Jane Austen wüsste

I've enjoyed Jane Austen's writing but I wouldn't consider myself a big fan. However, I loved LOST IN AUSTEN and I found it to be a readers' fantasy come true.

What would happen, what would it be like, if you had a favorite novel, one that you revisited frequently, a novel that you absolutely loved, one that you could get lost in, and suddenly you did? What would it be like to discover yourself in the middle of that story, not as one of the characters, but as yourself? Wouldn't that be totally amazing?

Well, that's exactly what happens in LOST IN AUSTEN and I loved every minute of it, as anyone who loves to read would also. This is as much a celebration of both reading and storytelling as it is about Jane Austen.

A lot of attention to detail, a cast who look and behave exactly as you expect them to look and behave, a story you're already familiar with, but now toss in the reader herself and stir the mix. WOW!

Magic!

I had a wonderful time watching this and I hope you do as well.

I loved this series. The scene where Amanda sings "down town" was the funniest thing i've seen all year! I have to say that my favourite scene through out the series was the lake scene. When Mr Darcy declared his love for Amanda gave me goosebumps! The chemistry between the two main characters was such a joy to watch every week. I really enjoyed this series, right from episode one till episode four! I strongly recommend this! The storyline, acting from the crew, and the scenery are all equally fantastic. For me its Elliot Cowen vs Matthew Mcfadyen in the role of Darcy. I know that Colin Firth is said to be the best Darcy, but for me... its just not there. Jemima Rooper was great too. I expected to be jealous of Amanda at the end, but I just ended up going "awwwwwwwwwww" and also played it back at least twenty times! Loved it, loved it, loved it!

I didn't make the mistake of reading reviews before watching this so I went in with no expectations. Before going any further I have to admit to having watched the 90's version of P & P and read the novel dozens of times. A true Austen freak, I am.

Like other reviewers, at first I was offended by the crudeness and lack of tact displayed by the Amanda character when she entered the world of the novel. How dare any true Austen fan behave in a way that displays such ignorance of Lizzie's world? She should have fit right in. But then I realized the choice to NOT make Amanda a perfect Eliza Bennet clone made for a much more dynamic story and more amusing moments between the characters. Instead of giving her the perfect accent, the perfect deportment, and the perfect manners right from the start, it took her some time to fit in. Her clumsy manner and bluntness caused her to make some mistakes that would seem impossible for a true Austen fan but enabled unexpected twists and turns in the story. And its these twists and the what ifs that I loved. I loved that the wrong people fell in love. I love that everything she thought was supposed to happen didn't happen. If I wanted to watch a P & P imitation, I would just watch the real thing again. I found the movie Becoming Jane, which attempted to follow a truer Jane Austen style, to be a sappy and insipid imitation that was truly forgettable and predictable. No one else can do Jane Austen and Lost in Austen doesn't try to. Instead, its fun and impertinent in a way that I think Jane herself would appreciate.

The mini series was absolutely sweet and funny and it will be appreciated by real Jane Austen fanatics. It does resemble the weirdest dream that only authors of fan fiction have had. At times the plot lines turn into silly situations but for most of the time they are quite enjoyable. The young actors make the most of it. I wish response has been better so that the series can be longer. I also wish they had made one about Lizzy's stay in London, which could provide for situations way funnier than those during Amanda's stay in Longbourne. On a different note it does make you think about whether or not things were the way Jane Austen described them but not enough to make you disillusioned with her world. Just the right amount of real-ness is attached to the book characters. To the book fanatics I'd recommend watching without prejudice and you'll have fun.

Three episodes in and I feel now is the time to say a big well done to all concerned. As a long time Austen lover and a fan of period/costume drama I was unsure what to expect from this reworking of a favourite story. As others have commented this bears similarities with 'Life on Mars', a person taken out of modern day life and deposited into the past, albeit Jane Austen's fictitious one. Fortunately Amanda (played by Jemima Rooper) is a devotee of the novel and is genuinely pleased to meet her favourite characters. However, and this where the series really takes a life of its own, the characters are not as she (or we) imagined them from the book, and events start taking different paths than those in the book. Amanda, horrified, tries to restore the story to its proper track but events spiral out of control and she herself is unsure whether she is now part of the story, and if so does she 'become' the character who in the novel was Elizabeth Bennet? A wealth of talent is here and I pick Hugh Bonneville as Mr Bennet and Alex Kingston as his wife for special mention. Who would have thought that they would be as enjoyable as Benjamin Whitrow & Alison Steadman in the 1995 P&P, but they are - and if this was a straightforward P&P remake they would do very well indeed! There are moments of complete hilarity where old and new collide, in music and manners and speech and it is done brilliantly, and, if you know the story, you wonder what liberties with the plot will be taken next. Casting is first rate...none of the characters are quite 'right' but in the context of this story they are brilliant, the obnoxious Darcy, the drunk Bingley and the threatening Mrs Bennet! Locations costumes and period detail are excellent and I look forward to the rest of the series which I recommend to you.

I suppose that we can expect more in a similar vein as there are many stories that could be re-jigged. Holmes with a modern day Watson anyone? I think it is probably more entertaining to see a modern person cope with the privations of life in a bygone age than say to tell Elizabeth Bennet's story in our 21st century. Anyone remember Adam Adamant Lives? I almost find myself hoping that they manage to spin this out for longer and embellish the book even more! Full marks so far - it's very good!