I have watched:Pride and Prejudice with Keira Knightley
Pride and Prejudice with Greer Garson
Sense and Sensibility with Kate Winslet and Emma Thompson
Emma with Gwyneth Paltrow
The Lizzie Bennet Diaries
My favorites of those would probably be Sense and Sensibility (
which gave Col. Brandon and Marianne a much more satisfying ending than they had in the book, imo), and The Lizzie Bennet Diaries (I love their portrayal of Lydia).
I have read: Pride and Prejudice
Sense and Sensibility
Emma
Northanger Abbey
Persuasion
Lady Susan
The Watsons
Sanditon
I still have to read Mansfield Park.
I'd have to say my favorite Austen novel is a tie between Emma and Northanger Abbey. I think Lady Susan had a fascinating concept, and would have been a fantastic novel if it was longer and written in Austen's typical style, rather than being an epistolary novel.
My favorite Austen lady is probably Emma, despite what Austen said about no one liking her.
For favorite Austen leading man... I have to say, I think Austen had very different taste in men than I did.
Most of her guys (Darcy, Knightley, Edward Ferrars, Captain Wentworth) are people that I think would annoy me very much if I met them in real life (and not the kind of annoyed where I think I hate them but eventually end up falling in love with them, a la Elizabeth Bennet.
). However, Mr. Tilney is the one who comes closest to my type of guy. And Colonel Brandon seems very nice as well. Frank Churchill is another male character I like, though he isn't the "leading male" role in the story.
I tend to dislike the romance aspects of Austen's stories. Most of the time, the male character doesn't seem worth the female character's time (or vice versa), and a lot of the time it plays out in a "They pretend to hate each other, but they are actually in love!" way that I find tiresome. However, I
adore the books as social comedies. The prose is elegant, the dialogue is witty, and the characters are so often infuriating, interesting, and real.
~Riella