I had recently watched "Pride and Prejudice" (BBC, 1995) again, even the "The Making of..." featurette on the DVD. Said featurette pointed me to this book.

I enjoyed this account of the rigors of movie-making - even at the mini-series level. And I'm not saying that just because there was an entire chapter devoted to an interview with Colin Firth! :)

Lovely book and very interesting to read what really went on behind the scenes of this wonderful mini-series! For a fan of the series this gives you a wonderful sneak peak into what went into making the series and all the extra details and interviews were lovely to read :)

Before Downton Abbey swooped in and consumed our minds and hearts, there was another miniseries phenomenon which enraptured the viewing audience to a similar degree. It occurred back in 1995, on the A&E Network for those of us in America: Pride and Prejudice. It was a phenomenon I happily wound myself up in from the moment those first strains of Carl Davis's opening theme began playing; I can remember waiting eagerly each week for the next installment of the six-episode series (yes, children, this was before streaming and binge watching - The Dark Ages).

I've never been shy in stating the '95 adaptation of Jane Austen's most popular and best loved novel is the best and the one which probably comes the closest to perfection. Colin Firth's pantaloon-clad thighs occupied my dreams for a goodly number of nights that year and beyond. TMI?


C'mon, can you blame me? Really?

So it was surprising it took me so long to read this slim, but highly informative volume. I haven't read many other books in the same vein (though most of them on are my list) but instead of looking at the era in which Pride and Prejudice is set and comparing/contrasting to the world created by Jane Austen and/or Andrew Davies, who adapted Austen's novel, this book instead looks at the work it took to translate words to screen. Starting from the very first moments of creation, when producer Sue Birtwhistle first met Andrew Davies back in 1986, the book takes us step-by-step through the eighteen months of production, detailing every step from the pre-production casting and location hunting, to the script, production design, costume, makeup, and hair design, through to post-production editing, dubbing, and publicity. It's an amazing journey into the world of film-making and the effort detailed within makes me appreciate that much more what I see on screen. About the only quibble I have with the book is that a lot of the photos are really small; I wish the editor/publisher had done full-page layouts for the photos so more detail could be seen. Oh, well.

For the casual and hardcore fan alike, The Making of Pride and Prejudice is an entertaining, informative, and thoroughly worthwhile read - highly recommended.

Bought this at Lyme Park in England where this film was set. Read it on the plane and it was fascinating look at the behind the scenes of the movie.

There is a rich and satisfying vibrancy to this series that never gets stale. I have such fond memories of sleeping over at my big sister's house when I was a teenager, eating Ben & Jerry's and bonding over this show. When I recently learned of this book's existence, I promptly had a copy sent to both of us.

The book is set up as an easy-to-follow outline of how the series was made from start to finish, broken down into job descriptions. Of particular delight are the actors' original headshots and their reminiscences about casting and the script read-through.

The reason I am withholding the fifth star from my review is that the book needs editing for simple spelling, punctuation, and grammar mistakes. I imagine these faux pas go largely unnoticed by many readers because the writing is so charming, but I do wish someone would've gone through it a few more times with a fine-toothed comb.

Otherwise, it was a pleasure to read.

A volume with lots of photographs, telling every aspect of the production in some detail. There are lots of interesting tidbits (one I found most interesting: there was a hair on the lens of one of the cameras during the Netherfield Ball, so a lot of that footage was unusable and they had to make do with a lot of steadicam). It was strange to read about some aspects of this now, 20 years after filming. I don't know a lot about moviemaking but I had a strong sense that it's much more technologically advanced now. They were calling people on the phone to check the weather forecast!

Those who, like me, have found Jennifer Ehle's and Colin Firth's presence lacking in the Blu-ray special features will find a lot more content from them here.

An exquisite book, giving all manner of delightful detail about the making of a fantastic film. I have read one or two other 'The Making of...' books, but this was a class apart. It is informative, humorous, full of beautiful illustrations - I'm just sorry it was so short!

If you like P& P version with Colin Firth you will love this book as much as I did. I enjoyed seeing how they came up with the authentic costumes, food, carriages etc. It was also fun to see how they found all the neat characters and their transformations. A very fun read indeed.

This is an amazing companion to the movie.

If you love the 1995 BBC mini-series that started the new Jane Austen popularity, then you must read this book. It discusses the process of making the mini-series, starting with the producer and screen writer, to the sets, costumes, selecting the actor, the filming locations, changing the seasons, and how the actors learned to dance. Lots of great photos. I would never give up my copy.

Bought and read it back in the day, when the Jane Austen fever had just begun to spread (or was it Darcy-fever?) and devoured every little tidbit about this amazing adaptation. I can honestly say that it opened up a whole new world to me, with the different chapters focusing on the various parts of the production and with interviews with the actors. Today we find all this as extra material included on a DVD or on the Internet, but back then it was a bit harder to come by this kind of information. Lots of information and beautiful photos.

Can't you just hear those opening notes of the theme now? The 1995 Pride and Prejudice is iconic as any period drama can wish to be, and this book lovingly details the making-of, from pre-production to editing. I loved hearing about the genesis of the show, the reception of the script, and how a period drama is location scouted, costumed, and the like. It was a lot of fun to see the inspiration for each character's hair/clothing style. There are also some funny bits where people interviewed separately corroborate each others' stories: Jennifer Ehle, worried she could not pass as a brunette, dyed her eyebrows for the screen test (21); later on Caroline Noble, hair and makeup designer, says, "Fortunately she [Ehle] has dark eyebrows." (55) I don't know why I found this detail so funny.

Fun facts:
- "It's the hardest dialogue I've ever had to learn. Shakespeare is a doddle compared to Jane Austen." (Jennifer Ehle, 13)
- Emilia Fox (Georgiana Darcy) is the daughter of Joanna David (Mrs. Gardiner) and her father (Edward Fox, not in this production) objected to her being in this production because she'd just started at Oxford
- Luckington Court (Longbourn) was happily rented out by its owner, Angela Horn, who continued to live in the house during production, and loved it: "They [the film crew] became like a family. I cried at the thought of them leaving. It was like a ghost town when they went but I cheer up by reminding myself that I now have enough money to re-roof the west wing." (25)
- The dance Elizabeth and Darcy perform together at the Netherfield Ball is called "Mr Beveridge's Maggot" ("maggot" meaning "fancy," Mr Beveridge being the dancing master who choreographed the dance)

Highly recommended for fans of the show, or anyone interested in the production process of a period drama.