A Courtesan’s Worth
A mistress cannot marry for love...As one of the famous Preece sisters, Kitty is the most sought-after courtesan in London. But with the vicious Duke of Gillingham scaring away any man who looks her way, securing a new arrangement with a wealthy gentleman will be no easy feat. Kitty's only hope to find someone suitable is through her loyal and cherished friend, the Reverend Sidney Wakefield.Sidney has devoted his life to the church, but it was never by choice. He is a writer and Kitty his muse. As he is roped into Kitty's plotting, he begins to realise that protecting her from the malevolent Duke comes at a price - and it might mean losing Kitty to someone else entirely.As Kitty and Sidney try to find a way out, it becomes clear that years of friendship have developed into something deeper. Except that they are from different worlds and Kitty's heart has never been hers to give away...
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Jane Austen Film and Television Adaptations
I remember watching 1995 Pride and Prejudice as a teenager and thinking, ‘My gosh, why do I feel all breathless when I look at Colin Firth in Regency wear?’ To this day, I like to joke that I don’t have a ‘type’ so much as an ‘era’: eighteenth-century to early Victorian.
I love historical costume dramas in general, but like any Janeite, it’s the Regency period pieces that I love the most. Luckily for me, in the mid-nineties, when I first discovered Jane Austen’s novels, some of the best Austen adaptations were made, most notably the above-mentioned Pride and Prejudice, Emma Thompson and Ang Lee’s stellar adaptation of Sense and Sensibility, and 1995’s Persuasion (a novel I appreciate more now than I did in my youth). But the truth is, Austen is so enduring that every few years brings a fresh batch of adaptations, each with their own charm. Northanger Abbey (2007), starring Felicity Jones, JJ Feild, and Carey Mulligan, is a lesser-known highlight. The 2020 adaptation of Emma is another stand-out film. It features historically accurate costumes and is utterly gorgeous – each scene is like opening a box of the most exquisite bonbons.
I think the only Austen adaptation I’ve ever not been able to love some aspect of was Netflix’s 2022 Persuasion, but I respect those who did enjoy it; after all, the magic of Jane Austen is how she can be read and interpreted repeatedly, and new meanings and delights are found every time. The brilliantly done Love and Friendship (2016) and the recent success of Sanditon has shown us that even Jane Austen’s unpublished and unfinished works hold delights well worth exploring on screen.
For decades, Austen’s novels have inspired the Regency Romance genre, but only with 2020’s Bridgerton have modern-written Regency romances been adapted to screen. For romance lovers, Bridgerton’s mainstream success has been pivotal by demanding that the romance industry be taken seriously, both in publishing and in film/television.
Of course, Shonda Rhimes’s Bridgerton did something else lovely, in creating a diverse, multicultural world of the Regency haut ton. I’ve so enjoyed how this opened the door for more such diversely cast books and films, such as the gorgeous Mr Malcolm’s List.
Whichever Regency and Jane Austen film and television adaptations you prefer, there’s one thing that time has proven: viewers will not tire of this lovely, romantic era anytime soon, and there are countless ways to bring fresh insight and interpretation into the genre.
Felicity George is a writer and teacher from Toronto, where she lives with her husband, her two teenage children, a large cat, and a tiny dog. A lifelong devotee of Jane Austen and Georgette Heyer, Felicity adores a happily-ever-after. A Courtesan’s Worth is book two in the Gentlemen of London series.
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On Twitter: Felicity George https://twitter.com/ElizabethWelke
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