Top 5 Things Why I Like/Love...BBC One's Adaptation of Pride & Prejudice

1) Colin Firth plays Mr. Darcy! 
And to think, we were close to being denied the chance to see him in a wet, white shirt!  Mr. Firth turned down the role several times before he finally accepted it. Me and my beating heart give many thanks that he eventually accepted and played an unforgettable Darcy. Matthew MacFadyen  and also Laurence Olivier played the character extremely well, but there will only be one Mr. Darcy for me. It's just a shame he's not single and closer to me in age.   

2) Andrew Davies "sexing up" the adaptation.
Now here's a man who knows how to script write. "I feel I'm bringing out the sexual content which is inherent in the material. It's just that in the 19th century, it was the convention never to write directly about sexual matters." Well he definitely achieved "bringing out the sexual content" for me.
Many people say that "the lake scene" is the sexiest and most memorable moment, and yes, it's been proved to be the most memorable, but to me, the sexiest has to be when Elizabeth visits Pemberley and they look across the piano at each other. The look in his eyes...well, I'd be happy to lose myself in them any day. If any of you are unaware of what scene I mean, the picture is below.

 

3) Lyme Park's exterior as Pemberley. 
Unfortunately the two times I have gone to visit this place, it was raining. However, that didn't stop me from being awestruck at the sheer beauty of the Georgian building or the magnificent, wild landscape. To live in such a place...okay, so the majority of the rooms I wouldn't get to see and with my navigation skills and bad memory I'd get lost, but the parties would be fantastic and there would be plenty of rooms for the guests to kip in!
 
4) The six one hour episodes.
The first adaptation I saw of Pride and Prejudice was the 2005 movie with Keira Knightley and Matthew MacFadyen and I loved it. I thought no other could beat it. How wrong I was. Give credit where credit is due, squeezing the story into 2hrs and 15 minutes was very well done and they did capture the heart of Jane Austen's novel, but I found it didn't quite give the depth the story needed to portray the battle of the love/hate relationship between Elizabeth and Darcy. 

5) Alison Steadman's portrayal as Mrs. Bennet.
Alison Steadman is a fine actress and has played many characters in her career, both serious and comedic. When watching others play Mrs. Bennet I find them lacking the eccentric grace Steadman brings. The fluttering of her handkerchief and the calculating gleam in her eyes, but with a real affectionate concern for her daughters' future is how I define Mrs. Bennet and this is what Alison Steadman achieved.  

For a Little Fun...

Just because I want to and it's a great way to fill in the time when I don't know what to do, or have writer's block, I'm going to post a "Top 5 Things Why I Like/Love..." a certain thing. It's just a little bit of fun and you guys can participate by commenting on the post and add your top five on that post's subject. Number one being my top reason and five obviously my least.

Anyway, here's to a little bit of fun!

Regular Posting Days!

Keep an eye out for Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays as there will be regular features to entertain you during your busy schedules.

There will be:

#TimeoutTuesday - will feature articles on a particular subject of my fancy or of current affairs, written with a humorous edge, as there is plenty of doom and gloom in the world today.

#ThrowbackThursday - posting of pictures related to the past with significance to something of the present.

#FlashFictionFriday - short stories that can be read within a lunch break and will vary in genre.

Seductive Truths Extract

Prologue

     I can hear the rain crashing on a metal roof and plastic sheeting flapping with the force of the wind.  In the distance a dog barks; its voice lifted above the noise of city life.  An emergency vehicle screams its way down the road, off to save some poor soul, or to catch some bugger acting recklessly and placing others in danger. 

     I’m haunted by the sounds surrounding me; squealing women filling the atmosphere with their laughter, but their naivety leaves them vulnerable.  They become easy prey for the vultures that always lurk in the dark.  Heavy footsteps alert me to the men that stalk by looking for their next target, while others are just looking for a warm embrace to fill a lonely heart. 

     Soft whispers of courting couples trying to steal a few secret hours drift to me in the darkness.  They give me comfort from the hell I find myself in; they let me know there’s good out there and warmth and safety can be found if you look hard enough.

     I know it’s out there, I have felt it many times before, but in this moment that belief is waning.  There is an icy dampness beneath my fingers; a chill has started to seep into the fabric of my jeans.  My bottom is numb from the mixture of the cold, hard floor and the hours that have passed me by while I remain sitting in this same position.   

     I have given up crying out for help, because the piece of cloth bound tight around my mouth is quite efficient at muffling any sound.  My lips have become sore from the harsh material digging into my skin and my throat is dry from lack of moisture.  My eyes are cast into darkness by a makeshift blindfold.  The fabric is so dense and so close to my skin that no light can seep through.  I’m surrounded by complete blackness. 

     However, as one sense is denied and shuts down, the others are heightened, especially my sense of smell.  The foul stench of sewage and the mouth-watering aroma of cheeseburgers and chips float in the air around me.  But there’s one scent that overwhelms them all.  I feel as if I’m drenched in it it’s that strong.  It’s familiar yet not.  A musky, seductive cologne so powerful I feel lightheaded and find myself succumbing to the strange power it holds over me.  All this mingles with a familiar blend of cigarette smoke and whisky.

     I feel lost and disorientated; a helpless victim under someone else’s mercy.  I’m the doll waiting for a child’s hands to possess me, to give me life.  All sense of time has eluded me.  Is it eight o’clock in the morning or eight o’clock at night? 

     Is this the beginning of something or the end?

     I shiver, but not only due to the cold.

***********

     Later.

     Not sure how much later, but I’m jolted from my semi-conscious state at the sound of what I suspect to be a large, metal object hitting another metal object.  Its sound rings through the air like a church bell.  With my heart pounding and pulse racing I listen for further sound. 

     There’s nothing. 

     Silence.  

Seductive Truths available on Amazon in paperback and e-book