My Own First Impressions, or This Is How It All Began, from Carolina

It is a truth universally acknowledge that a Jane Austen fan must remember (and tell, someday and in a near future) how she or he started to like our beloved writer’s stories... so, as I am a fervent believer of this statement, I will write here my own and personal account of events.

It was a normal evening at Mexico in 2006, I was 15 and my mum got me to the cinema, we saw the cinema guide and both thought that the most “interesting” one was Pride & Prejudice, the cast seemed pretty good (I love both Keira Knightley and Matthew MacFadyen), the story looked like something I would like (I ADORE love stories, I’m really corny, seriously) and, it was located at England (which I have love since I was 10 and knew there rained almost all the time (I love rainy days, by the way); we entered to the cinema and watched the whole movie, I fell in love with Darcy and my mum said to me “you’re a lot like Lizzie, you know?”, at the ending credits I read it was based in Jane Austen’s homonym novel… I arrived at my home and looked for information of both, Austen (I must confess that, in that time, I hadn’t heard of her… and I am so embarrassed of it!) and the book… I wanted to read it so bad!

That Christmas, a friend got me a Spanish edition of the book (I talked to him about the story and how I wanted to read it), I went through it really quickly and love it… that was my first Austen novel and I was in love with her writing skills, her irony, her wit and her sentimental credibility on issues.

In 2008, I was zapping through the T.V. and went to Hallmark Channel, a movie called Northanger Abbey (2007); I saw it and liked it a lot, when I saw at the ending credits that it was based in another novel by Austen I was amazed! After that movie I saw Emma (1996), Sense and Sensibility (199) and Mansfield Park (2007)… I searched for each one of the books, and read them (I haven’t read Persuasion and Emma, but I'm looking forward doing it this year). I have seen some movie adaptations of her books (Clueless, Bridget Jones’ Diary, Bride & Prejudice…) and some inspired (in Austen’s world) movies & Series (The Jane Austen Book Club, Becoming Jane, Lost in Austen…), also, I have read a couple of Austenesque books (I must say that my favorite one is First Impressions: A Tale of Less Pride and Prejudice by Alexa Adams!), and that makes me fall more in love with Austen’s imagination.

Also, I know I have not read all her books, but, for now, my favorite ones are Northanger Abbey and, of course, Pride & Prejudice, because of their irony and I'm a lot like both: Elizabeth Bennet and Catherine Morland (because of a lot of reasons, but I am going to keep those to my own knowledge), also, I'm in love with Fitzwilliam Darcy and Henry Tilney (a mix of them would make the perfect man for me!).

I must say that I had loved to meet this extraordinary woman and talk to her about her books… I know it’s impossible, but it costs nothing to dream, right?

~ Carolina

[Note to the reader: Today is Carolina's birthday!  I think you should click her name and pop over to wish her a happy one!]