Book Club wrapped up the Jane Aust-a-thon in August, but since I started grad school I haven't had a lot of time to catch up on my blogging. Plus, I absolutely wanted to watch the 8-part adapted mini series of Sanditon (2019) before I wrote about the book.
Sanditon is Austen's final novel, but it is incomplete. There have been plenty of continuations to the story written by other authors, even one attempt by Austen's niece that ended after she reached 113 pages. It was really interesting to read an unfinished book and discuss our speculations on where Austen may have been headed with it.
We talked a lot about how many of the characters in Sanditon seemed to combinations or full circles of previous characters she had written; like Sir Edward and Willoughby, or Charlotte Heywood and Catherine Morland. The ensemble of characters also seemed more caricature-ish than in her previous works. Also noted was that Charlotte is the main protagonist, but she is not written that way. She doesn't have as much of a main character presence as Austen's other heroines.
Other notable topics of discussion were the unpolished quality of it. Obviously it was unfinished, but it still seemed less mature than Persuasion. There was also the comedy of some of the characters, especially the 'toasting bread' scene with Arthur Parker.
With an unfinished novel, it was difficult to discuss more in-depth on themes and such. So, this is where I will move into my evaluation and review of the mini-series!
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First of all, the cast for this adaptation was pretty great. Anne Reid as Lady Denham took the cake. She was brusque, rude and entitled; everything I expected from the character as on the page. Rose Williams as Charlotte was just the right combination of classic Austen heroine and naive country girl. She stood well against the ridiculousness of the other characters. Theo James as the long-expected Sidney Parker was an interesting choice, but as he has NO development on the page, the adaptation did take some entertaining turns with his character.
The series was created by Andrew Davies of countless previous period drama adaptations fame. He did 1995's Pride and Prejudice, 2016's War & Peace and Bridget Jone's Diary. With him at the helm, the series had a bit more intrigue and impropriety than would normally be expected of an Austen adaptation, but that's what I liked about it. There was heat, unrest, and financial liability in amongst the outrageous escapades of the ensemble cast. All of the character development present in the book takes place in show's first episode. From there Davies was able to go a little over the top with the story, while also keeping it (mostly) in line with what is expected of an Austen adaptation.
However, unlike your typical Austen, 2019's Sanditon adaptation does not have a happy ending. It actually ends on a bit of a cliff-hanger. (I don't think this is a spoiler? Sorry if it is!) I think the anticipation was there would be a season two, but then the COVID-19 pandemic hit and things in the entertainment industry took a big hit. Luckily, as of July 2021, a second season was announced, but along with it came the departure of Theo James from the show. Guess it will be interesting to see what Davies does with the story going forward?
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