This book is interesting, informative and very entertaining. If you like the book or the miniseries, you should enjoy this volume very much.


The perfect companion to Pride and Prejudice   March 31, 2002
 14 out of 15 found this review helpful

Having enjoyed both the book and the A & E miniseries, I began looking for more information about the story and found a number of recommendations for this book and so ordered it. I am so glad I did because now, when I review my own copy of Pride and Prejudice, I have new things to look for. The book is well organized, gives the viewer new insight into how a concept became a reality, and gives one a greater appreciation for all of the hard work that went into the making of this masterpiece. The interview with Colin Firth is worth the price of the book by itself. The photography in the book is well chosen and the text makes for a quick and entertaining read. I was delighted to discover that Georgiana and Mrs. Gardiner are in real life Mother and Daughter; that Jennifer Ehle is actually fairhaired; that Colin Firth, David Bamber, and Adrian Lucas all, for personal pleasure, play the guitar; and that all the participants--staff and actors alike--put in horrendously long days. (Well, I wasn't delighted about their long days, actually--but I was impressed!) There are individual photos of the actors without their makeup and I was astounded to discover how different some of them look from when in costume. My only criticism, if you can call it that, is that I would have preferred it be about twice as long...like the miniseries itself, it left me wanting more.


What a woderful gift!   March 29, 2002
 4 out of 4 found this review helpful

As a gift to myself, I decided to purchase "The Making of P&P - since I have indulged in the movie 5 times, I thought it would shed light on how such a huge undertaking was accomplished. I am happy to report it did not disappoint me one iota! This book has wonderful pictures and insight into the filming and the locations. I fell in love with the mini-series on A&E as it was my first introduction to Jane Austen. Since that first introduction, I have read all of her works (thankyou Amazon.com)and have seen most of the screen adaptations. I am hopelessly lost in the world of Regency and greatly enjoying every page!


If you loved the movie then you'll love this book   March 29, 2002
 4 out of 5 found this review helpful

I absolutley rave about this movie so when I found this book on an Amazon search I knew I had to have it. For the most part, it's a fantasic book but it's more about movie making then about the actual adaption of "Pride and Prejudice". My favorite chapters were the first chapter and the ninth. The first chapter is all about how the screenplay writer made his adaptation and why he wrote certain parts the way he did. Since I love the book I found this whole section extremely interesting. The ninth chapter is an interview with Colin Firth (Mr. Darcy) were he talks a great deal about how he prepared to play his part and how he interpreted his character. Since I thought Mr. Darcy and Colin Firth's portrayal of him one of the best things about the movie, this whole chapter was fascinating. The rest of the book is mainly about basic movie movie making (ie. costumes, make-up, finding locations...etc, etc) and it's not that it wasn't interesting because it was, I would have just liked to know more about casting and the different actors and actresses. I would have liked to see more chapters like the Colin Firth interview but with some of the other actors/actresses. However, the book is filled to the brim with color photos on every page of scenes from the movie plus script exerpts and book excerpts from the original Jane Austen novel for photo captions, which I just loved. All in all, if you loved the movie then you'll love this book. For me, personally, it just told me more about certain things then I wanted to know, and less about what I would have really loved to read about.


A behind-the-scenes look at a great movie!   February 7, 2002
 17 out of 17 found this review helpful

If you liked the BBC's "Pride & Prejudice," you MUST buy this book. Not only for the pictures of the movie and characters, but the tons of backstage photos you get. All of the characters in the movie are fleshed out as actors and you really get a better sense of the movie in the end. There is a section on the costume, makeup, set, production, casting,etc... basically everything you would ever need to know about P&P: both the mini-series AND the book. I mention this because I was plesantly surprised at seeing a section of the book dedicated to the mission of the mini-series and a perspective on the original P&P novel. This book will also be valuable to period actors/those wanting to make a adaptation, especially if interested paritcularly in the Regency. As an actress, it was interesting to hear the different casting stories and see the behind the scence pictures. It is the kind of insight you usually get on a commentary track (which the DVD does not have) complete with pictures! A great book for fans of the movie or book, and period actors or filmmakers.