Lost in Austen

I love British period dramas. I love them to the point where my husband says I’m obsessed with them.

One of my greatest joys is to become immersed in a drama-filled story set in a romanticized past with beautiful locations, opulent houses, and gorgeous gowns. There’s always a brooding hero and a beautiful, intelligent leading lady. The cast often includes a rake who tries to seduce the main female character, and sometimes a difficult family with at least one silly member.

At the center of most of these dramas is a love story with a slow burn; stolen glances, the touch of a hand on the ballroom floor, the hope of a forbidden kiss, endless letter writing with the passing of wax sealed envelopes. How many pounds a suitor is set to inherit is of utmost importance. The Regency and Victorian-era language and foods are also fascinating to me. Often the heroine rides or walks out into the rain and becomes deathly ill with the hero generally rescuing her. Honestly, I have never almost died from getting rained on.

Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice is one of the best selling novels of all time and has never been out of print. More than 200 years after being published, her writing continues to draw new fans, and numerous movies and television series have been based on her works.

Historical romances may seem irrelevant today. We are so distracted in our own technology filled lives. Our attention is divided with our smart phones and sometimes our relationships suffer. So maybe we are looking for a simpler time and a more focused way of life. The greatest reason period pieces are so popular is arguably the “Nostalgia Effect”, which is the sentiment for days-gone-by or longing for an ideal alternate experience. We tend to recall the past more fondly than the present. I do know all the adversity that women faced in the 1700s and 1800s, but period dramas are escapism. So I will go to my larder to get some biscuits, put the kettle on, loosen my corset and watch Pride and Prejudice, 1995 version.