Pride and Prejudice
Abigail Reynolds is the author of seven Regency-set variations on "Pride and Prejudice". Her Pemberley Variations series includes "Mr. Darcy's Obsession", "To Conquer Mr. Darcy", "What Would Mr. Darcy Do" and "Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy: The Last Man in the World". Her modern adaptation, "The Man Who Loved Pride and Prejudice", is set on Cape Cod.
Pride and Prejudice (1995 TV series)
For almost a decade, the 1995 TV serial was considered "so dominant, so universally adored, [that] it has lingered in the public consciousness as a cinematic standard". Comparing six "Pride and Prejudice" adaptations in 2005, the "Daily Mirror" gave 9/10 to the 1995 serial ("what may be the ultimate adaptation") and the 2005 film adaptation, leaving the other adaptations such as the 1940 film behind with six or fewer points. The 2005 film was "obviously [not as] daring or revisionist" as the 1995 adaptation but the youth of the film's leads, Keira Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen, was mentioned favourably over the 1995 cast, as Jennifer Ehle had formerly been "a little too 'heavy' for the role". The president of the Jane Austen Society of North America noted in an otherwise positive review that the casting of the 2005 leads was "arguably a little more callow than Firth and Ehle" and that "Knightley is better looking than Lizzy should strictly be". The critical reception of MacFadyen's Darcy, whose casting had proven difficult because "Colin Firth cast a very long shadow", ranged from praise to pleasant surprise and dislike. Several critics did not observe any significant impact of Macfadyen's Darcy in the following years. Garth Pearce of "The Sunday Times" noted in 2007 that "Colin Firth will forever be remembered as the perfect Mr. Darcy", and Gene Seymour stated in a 2008 "Newsday" article that Firth was "'universally acknowledged' as the definitive Mr. Darcy".