On the Never-Ending Barrage of Austen Adaptations

Why must we zombify, emoji-itize, or otherwise “modernize” Jane?

It is a truth universally acknowledged that anything written about Jane Austen must start with that singular phrase. It is as though anyone who ever writes about her secretly wants to be her, as though every writer knows deep, deep down that we will never craft an opening as good as Jane’s.

We are inadequate beside her.

Perhaps this is why writers produce so many “modern” adaptations of Jane Austen’s work. You’ve most likely heard about the zombies. Don’t get me started on the zombies. The reading world turned a blind eye to Pride and Prejudice and Zombies — laughed even — and were we thus rewarded with both Emma and the Werewolves and Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters. No, the zombies are not for discussion.

Fortunately, not all Austen adaptations are so extreme. Secretly, I’m a fan of the movie Clueless, which turns our beloved Emma into Cher, Valley Girl matchmaker extraordinaire. Director Amy Heckerling’s “Emma” is much preferential to the character Alexander McCall Smith rewrites in Emma: A Modern Retelling. McCall Smith’s novel is one of six in the erstwhile Austen Project, a HarperCollins series that charged best-selling novelists with the arduous task of “updating” Jane. McCall Smith makes Emma a private…