Reader Question #17: Jane Austen Spin-offs?

This week's Reader Question comes from Miss Jane Bennet from Classic Ramblings. Jane asks:

I was wondering what your thoughts are on sequels/adaptations of Jane Austen's work. Do you like/dislike them? Are there any particularly good ones?

Jane also commented that this could also include spin-offs of Jane Austen's works.

Lizzie Bennet in The Lizzie Bennet Diaries (am I the only one that thinks it
should be spelled Lizzy?)

Now, I'll make a little confession here: I have only seen one spin-off of any Jane Austen work. That spin-off was the Lizzie Bennet Diaries, but even that I've only seen parts of. My mom did also buy a copy of Lost in Austen a couple of years ago that I have yet to watch. And as for sequels, I haven't read or seen any. Though I do have some experience with spin-offs, a lot of my answer will be founded on my impressions of spin-offs and sequels and not so much off of personal experience with them.

Nevertheless, I shall answer this question.

I'm not much of a fan of spin-offs or sequels (and especially any modern retellings) of Jane Austen's work for a couple of reasons. For one thing, they are not from the original author, so (to me at least) all they are are speculations of how the story might have gone on. It would have been one thing if Jane Austen made a sequel to Pride and Prejudice since that would have been an official continuation of the story: Jane Austen knew her characters and knew how they would act or respond to certain situations. With sequels not from the original author, there is that chance that I might think, "Oh! Lizzy would have never done that!" or "C'mon! Wickham isn't that kind-hearted!"

Screenshot from Lost in Austen

Now, another reason why I'm not a fan of spin-offs. This part is mainly my personal preference. The way I see it, if I want to watch something based off of a work of literature, I would rather watch an adaptation of that work of literature as the author intended it rather than someone's artsy, modern interpretation of what the author could have meant if he/she was writing today (Okay, that would apply mainly to modern interpretations). But either way, I just prefer the original story and the way the story ends. And with Jane Austen, she ties up everything very nicely that a sequel isn't really needed. I'm happy that Mr. Darcy and Lizzy got married. I'm happy that Marianne got more sense and married Colonel Brandon. I don't need to know anymore: it's already there.

Now, does this mean that I will never, ever read/watch a spin-off or sequel of a Jane Austen work? Not necessarily. After all, I have stated that I have seen some of The Lizzie Bennet diaries and that we own a copy of Lost in Austen. But if I watch a spin-off or a sequel, I would probably be more critical of it than if I was watching a faithful adaptation of a Jane Austen work.

What are your opinions on spin-offs and sequels? Are there any that you would recommend?

Thank you, Miss Jane Bennet, for sending in your question. If you have a question you would like to submit for me to do a post on, leave a comment. Just follow these guidelines. It can be about anything related to this blog: period dramas, blogging, reviews, etc.  

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 God Bless,