Bucket List Book Tour

By Anita Garner

I’m in the book tour thinking stage, which happens before book tour planning, which happens before publication, which happens next year. Of course I’ll go to the Deep South first – my stories move from the South to Southern California. Then an East Coast swing and other places to combine book talks with friend and family visits.

Then I must take The Glory Road to England. I’ve never been. I try not to be jealous of colleagues who work there, with their Abbey Road recording sessions, but I am.

What if there’s a combination bucket list trip/book tour? If that could happen, I’d stay a few weeks, rent a place near London transportation. Something cozy. A comfy bed and a small kitchen, a coffee maker for me and a window to watch tea drinkers go by.

One really should have high tea at The Ritz. Or Claridges. Or the Dorchester. Business-related, of course, with much talk of books and such. Then on to seek inspiration at places I’ve had crushes on for ages, places that have more to do with shows I watch and books I read.

Notting Hill, because it’s photogenic and of course Hugh Grant’s in the movie. If I go into that famous bookstore of his I’ll say it’s work-related.

Holland Park, Jean Hardcastle’s home from As Time Goes By

Cornwall. Port Isaac. Doc Martin would never forgive me if I didn’t stop in the village.

Lake District. The scenery.

Then there’s Highclere castle. Downton and all.

And two very Austen-centric stops, Chawton House, the manor where Jane’s brother, Edward, lived, and Jane Austen House, where she sat by her own window to write.

Friends have moved to Ireland, Scotland, Wales and surely I should stop and say hello. Back in London, I’ll need to check on performing friends In the theatre district.

If time permits, perhaps watch Nigella Lawson tape one of her cooking shows or maybe Mary Berry will show me how to make one of her proper trifles from Great British Baking Show.

My Mother’s people, the Salisburys, were from England. Daddy’s people were from Wales. And getting back to book business, I’m in touch with UK fans of the music my parents recorded, rockabilly mixed with gospel mixed with country and blues and I hope to meet some of those fans.

Everyone says of course you must scoot over to Paris because it’s so close. Work, work, work.

******

Jane Austen sat here.

Jane Austen’s last novel, Sanditon, (in progress when she died) is coming to TV. Masterpiece/PBS will film an 8-episode adaptation of the story.

It’s impossible to imagine how many thousands of pages she created sitting right there. A goose feather could meet no nobler purpose than to become one of the quill pens she dipped in endless bottles of ink.

Filming begins in spring, 2019. Never too early for eager Jane Austen fans to start getting excited.

Here’s the official press release:

Latest news

RED PLANET PICTURES, ITV AND MASTERPIECE TO BRING JANE AUSTEN’S UNFINISHED FINAL NOVEL, SANDITON, TO LIFE

Jul 10, 2018

RED PLANET PICTURES, ITV AND MASTERPIECE TO BRING JANE AUSTEN’S UNFINISHED FINAL NOVEL, SANDITON, TO LIFE.

We are delighted to announce our new drama, based on Austen’s final manuscript, Sanditon, developed by Emmy and BAFTA-Award winning writer Andrew Davies.

Executive produced by our Creative Director, Belinda Campbell (Death in Paradise, Dickensian, Hooten & The Lady) and MASTERPIECE’s Rebecca Eaton, Austen’s original 11- chapter fragment has been extended into a sumptuous 8×60 minute drama series by acclaimed screenwriter Andrew Davies (War & Peace, Mr Selfridge, Les Misérables, Pride and Prejudice).

ITV’s Head of Drama, Polly Hill commented: “It’s a rich, romantic, family saga built upon the foundations Jane Austen laid. There is no one better to adapt her unfinished novel than Andrew who has an incredible track record for bold and original adaptations. We’re delighted to commission Sanditon from Belinda Campbell and her team at Red Planet Pictures.”

Andrew Davies added: “Jane Austen managed to write only a fragment of her last novel before she died – but what a fragment! Sanditon tells the story of the transformation of a sleepy fishing village into a fashionable seaside resort, with a spirited young heroine, a couple of entrepreneurial brothers, some dodgy financial dealings, a West Indian heiress, and quite a bit of nude bathing. It’s been a privilege and a thrill for me to develop Sanditon into a TV drama for a modern audience.”

Belinda Campbell commented: “Andrew Davies’ compelling scripts bear all the hallmarks of the biting social commentary and realism that makes Jane Austen one of the most widely read writers in English literature. Sanditon’s themes of class divide, ambition, powerplay and matters of the heart are as relevant today as they were in the early 19th century and we can’t wait to bring this incredible adaptation to life for ITV audiences to enjoy.”

Netflix Guilt

My own private Jane Austen Film Festival took place in my living room over the course of several months. It wouldn’t have been possible without Netflix. I worked my way through every adaptation of Jane Austen’s work and then into obscure British television documentaries about her life. As soon as the movie, “The Jane Austen Book Club” came out on DVD, I watched it too.

I’ve been feeling a bit guilty about not patronizing my local theaters. We have several nice ones nearby, but I haven’t been lately. I thought I’d miss the companionable experience of seeing a story unfold along with a roomful of other people, but so far I haven’t.

It’s clear why fans of special effects blockbusters choose to see them on big screens, and friends who work in the movie industry maintain that comedies are best seen in theaters, where communal laughter enhances the funny, still I find all kinds of rationale for watching at home.

We’ve heard it all before – about how the inconveniences outweigh the once-shared theater experience. I love movies as much as ever, but the theater experience itself has been diluted, with multiple (smaller) screens and multiple distractions inside, so it’s rarely an experience equal to the nobility of the old movie houses. Theater owners blame movie-makers. Movie-makers blame – well I can’t keep up with the list of all the people movie-makers blame.

I worry about historic theaters and will do whatever I can to help preserve the architecture and honor their place in our nation’s history. Once preserved, these buildings need to be re-purposed because the movie industry won’t be able to keep them alive.

Future media is here, with growing audiences who watch on various small screens, including hand-held devices. Whatever comes next in the area of personal delivery of entertainment content, it doesn’t appear that traditional theaters will be a major force. It’s an uphill battle. They make much of their profit from concessions and we hear nothing but complaints about the price of the food and drink. They add commercials to run before the feature, and we hear complaints about the commercials.

We’re fast approaching the time when all new movies will be released simultaneously via several media, with theaters only one of the choices. It is crucial that everyone connected with creating entertainment – movies and television and music and all other kinds of performances and educational content – be compensated for all the ways we choose to watch.

Right now, waiting a few months for the DVD to come out works just fine for me. When I hear about something I want to see, I immediately go to my computer and add the title to my Netflix Queue. But on any given afternoon when I’m sick of my own company, there’s still the matinee around the corner. I wonder how much longer that option will exist.

Ó By Anita Garner