Author | Helen Fielding |
---|---|
Language | English |
Genre | Comedy novel, "Chick lit" |
Publisher | Picador |
Publication date | 1999 novel |
Publication place | United Kingdom |
Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
ISBN | 0-670-89296-3 |
OCLC | 43185907 |
823/.914 21 | |
LC Class | PR6056.I4588 B76 2000 |
Preceded by | Bridget Jones's Diary |
Followed by | Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy |
Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason is a 1999 novel by Helen Fielding, a sequel to her popular Bridget Jones' Diary . It chronicles Bridget Jones's adventures after she begins to suspect that her boyfriend, Mark Darcy, is falling for a rich young solicitor, Rebecca, who works with him. The comic novel follows the characteristic ups and downs of the self-proclaimed singleton's first real relationship in several years. It also involves misunderstandings, work mishaps, and an adventure in Southeast Asia involving planted drugs and Madonna songs.
In 2004, a film adaptation was released.
Two further novels, Bridget Jones: Mad about the Boy and Bridget Jones's Baby, were published in 2013 and 2016 respectively.
Fielding has said that the first Bridget Jones story was based on the Jane Austen novel Pride and Prejudice .
The Edge of Reason has parallels to the Austen novel Persuasion , in which the main character is persuaded by her friends to break off her relationship with her "true love". Again, Fielding borrows a name from Austen: Giles Benwick is named for Captain Benwick. She also reworks several scenes in Persuasion: for example, Rebecca, Bridget's rival for Mark's affection, dives into a shallow river and hurts her foot, a mirror of the incident in Persuasion when Louisa, Anne's rival, falls on her head at Lyme. In both cases, the protagonist (Anne/Bridget) overhears Mark/Captain Wentworth (Anne's lost love) praising Rebecca/Louisa for being "resolute" - the very trait that contributed to the accident. Then, when Bridget attends her goddaughter Constance's birthday party, Darcy rescues her from a boy who is determined to climb onto her back; in Persuasion, Wentworth does the same thing, in the same manner, for Anne. At Bridget's mother's Book Club poetry reading, Mark overhears Bridget commenting that women remain fixated on men who have forgotten them, and is moved to write her a secret note expressing his continuing regard (which he then fails to give to her due to a mix-up). This, with a happier immediate outcome, also happens in Persuasion, when Wentworth overhears Anne making a similar observation about "women's constancy", and writes her a proposal which he gets to her by stealth. Later in the Fielding novel, when Giles and Rebecca become romantically involved, Fielding parodies Austen's description of Captain Benwick and Louisa having fallen in love over poetry, commenting that Giles and Rebecca "fell in love over self-help books".
Much is made of Bridget's fascination with the BBC television adaptation of Pride and Prejudice and Colin Firth, the actor who played Mr. Darcy. Bridget even meets Colin Firth and interviews him for a newspaper article. As a self-referential in-joke, Colin Firth plays Mark Darcy in the Bridget Jones movies.
British teacher Sandra Gregory, who was imprisoned for four years in Thailand after being caught smuggling heroin, said the scenes involving the Thai prison were probably inspired by her experience since Fielding knew her parents' neighbors and had presumably spoken to them. [1]
Upon release, Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason was generally well-received among the British press. [2] [3] [4] The Guardian gave the novel an average rating of 7.0 out of 10 based on reviews from multiple British newspapers. [5]
Actress Tracie Bennett won an Audie Award for Comedy Best Actress for her audiobook narrations of both this novel and its predecessor.
Pride and Prejudice is the second novel by English author Jane Austen, published in 1813. A novel of manners, it follows the character development of Elizabeth Bennet, the protagonist of the book, who learns about the repercussions of hasty judgments and comes to appreciate the difference between superficial goodness and actual goodness.
Bridget Jones's Diary is a 1996 novel by Helen Fielding. Written in the form of a personal diary, the novel chronicles a year in the life of Bridget Jones, a thirty-something single working woman living in London. She writes about her career, self-image, vices, family, friends, and romantic relationships.
Colin Andrew Firth is an English actor and producer. He is the recipient of several accolades, including an Academy Award, two BAFTA Awards, and a Golden Globe Award, as well as nominations for two Primetime Emmy Awards. In 2011, Firth was appointed a CBE for his services to drama, and appeared in Time magazine's 100 most influential people in the world.
Persuasion is the last novel completed by the English author Jane Austen. It was published on 20 December 1817, along with Northanger Abbey, six months after her death, although the title page is dated 1818.
Helen Fielding is a British journalist, novelist and screenwriter, best known as the creator of the fictional character Bridget Jones. Fielding’s first novel was set in a refugee camp in East Africa and she started writing Bridget Jones in an anonymous column in London’s Independent newspaper. This turned into an unexpected hit, leading to four Bridget Jones novels and three movies, with a fourth movie announced in April 2024 for release in 2025.
Bridget Rose Jones is a fictional character created by British writer Helen Fielding. Jones first appeared in Fielding's Bridget Jones's Diary column in The Independent in 1995, which did not carry any byline. Thus, it seemed to be an actual personal diary chronicling the life of Jones as a thirtysomething single woman in London as she tries to make sense of life, love, and relationships with the help of a surrogate "urban family" of friends in the 1990s. The column was, in fact, a lampoon of women's obsession with love, marriage and romance as well as women's magazines such as Cosmopolitan and wider social trends in Britain at the time. Fielding published the novelisation of the column in 1996, followed by a sequel in 1999 called The Edge of Reason.
Pemberley is the fictional country estate owned by Fitzwilliam Darcy, the male protagonist in Jane Austen's 1813 novel Pride and Prejudice. It is located near the fictional town of Lambton, and believed by some to be based on Lyme Park, south of Disley in Cheshire.
Pride and Prejudice is a six-episode 1995 British television drama, adapted by Andrew Davies from Jane Austen's 1813 novel of the same name. Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth starred as Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy, respectively. Produced by Sue Birtwistle and directed by Simon Langton, the serial was a BBC production with additional funding from the American A&E Network. BBC1 originally broadcast the 55-minute episodes from 24 September to 29 October 1995. The A&E Network aired the series in double episodes on three consecutive nights beginning 14 January 1996.
Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason is a 2004 romantic comedy film directed by Beeban Kidron from a screenplay by Andrew Davies, Helen Fielding, Richard Curtis and Adam Brooks. The sequel to Bridget Jones's Diary (2001) and the second installment in the Bridget Jones film series, it is based on the 1999 novel of the same name by Fielding. The film stars Renée Zellweger, Hugh Grant, Colin Firth, Jim Broadbent and Gemma Jones.
Bridget Jones's Diary is a 2001 romantic comedy film directed by Sharon Maguire from a screenplay by Helen Fielding, Andrew Davies and Richard Curtis. It is based on the 1996 novel of the same name by Fielding. The film stars Renée Zellweger as Bridget Jones, a 32-year-old British single woman who writes a diary, which focuses on the things she wishes to happen in her life. However, her life changes when two men vie for her affection, portrayed by Colin Firth and Hugh Grant. Jim Broadbent and Gemma Jones appear in supporting roles.
Pride & Prejudice is a 2005 historical romantic drama film directed by Joe Wright, in his feature directorial debut, and based on Jane Austen's 1813 novel. The film features five sisters from an English family of landed gentry as they deal with issues of marriage, morality, and misconceptions. Keira Knightley stars as Elizabeth Bennet, while Matthew Macfadyen plays Mr Darcy, who falls in love with her.
Persuasion is a BBC Screen Two 1995 period drama film directed by Roger Michell and based on Jane Austen's 1817 novel of the same name. In her theatrical film debut, Amanda Root stars as protagonist Anne Elliot, while Ciarán Hinds plays her romantic interest, Captain Frederick Wentworth. The film is set in early 19th-century England, eight years after Anne was persuaded by others to reject Wentworth's proposal of marriage. Persuasion follows the two as they become reacquainted with each other while supporting characters threaten to interfere.
Fitzwilliam Darcy Esquire, generally referred to as Mr. Darcy, is one of the two central characters in Jane Austen's 1813 novel Pride and Prejudice. He is an archetype of the aloof romantic hero, and a romantic interest of Elizabeth Bennet, the novel's protagonist. The story's narration is almost exclusively from Elizabeth's perspective; the reader is given a one-sided view of Darcy for much of the novel, but hints are given throughout that there is much more to his character than meets the eye. The reader gets a healthy dose of dramatic irony as Elizabeth continually censures Mr. Darcy's character despite the aforementioned hints that Mr. Darcy is really a noble character at heart, albeit somewhat prideful. Usually referred to only as "Mr. Darcy" or "Darcy" by characters and the narrator, his first name is mentioned twice in the novel.
Persuasion is a 2007 British television film adaptation of Jane Austen's 1817 novel Persuasion. It was directed by Adrian Shergold, and the screenplay was written by Simon Burke. Sally Hawkins stars as the protagonist Anne Elliot, while Rupert Penry-Jones plays Captain Frederick Wentworth. Eight years prior to the film's beginning, Anne was persuaded to reject Wentworth's proposal of marriage. Now 27 and unmarried, Anne re-encounters Wentworth, who has made his fortune in the Napoleonic Wars and is looking for a wife—anyone but Anne, whom he has not forgiven for rejecting him all those years ago.
The Jane Austen Season is a British television series of dramas based on the novels by Jane Austen. The season began on ITV at 9:00 p.m. on Sunday 18 March 2007 with Mansfield Park. The following week, Northanger Abbey was broadcast. The season ended with Persuasion on Sunday 1 April 2007. A repeat of the 1996 feature-length film Emma was broadcast on Friday 6 April 2007. The combined ITV and BBC series, titled The Complete Jane Austen, was shown in the United States by the PBS Masterpiece Theatre drama anthology television series from January through April 2008.
Anne Elliot is the protagonist of Jane Austen's sixth and last completed novel, Persuasion (1817).
The author Jane Austen and her works have been represented in popular culture in a variety of forms.
Captain Frederick Wentworth is a fictional character in the 1817 novel Persuasion written by Jane Austen. He is the prototype of the new gentleman in the 19th century: a self-made man who makes his fortune by hard work rather than inheritance.
Old Friends and New Fancies: An Imaginary Sequel to the Novels of Jane Austen (1913) is a novel by Sybil G. Brinton that is often acknowledged to be the first sequel to the works of Jane Austen and as such is possibly the first piece of published Austen fan fiction, although earlier examples have been described by Sarah Glosson. It incorporates characters from each of Austen's six major novels into one unified story, alongside characters of Brinton's own invention. Keeping to the spirit of the source novels, its major theme is the difficulties faced by assorted pairs of lovers placed within the class structure of early 19th century Britain.
Persuasion is a 2022 American historical romance film based on Jane Austen's 1817 novel of the same name. It was directed by Carrie Cracknell from a screenplay by Ron Bass and Alice Victoria Winslow. The film stars Dakota Johnson, Cosmo Jarvis, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Mia McKenna-Bruce, Richard E. Grant, and Henry Golding.