Sanditon

    I had a vague plan to revisit Jane Austen this year, but as is the way of these things it had come to nought until Oxford World's Classics got in touch to ask if I'd like to read Sanditon in their new edition with an introduction by Austen scholar Kathryn Sutherland.

    You may well have seen that Andrew Davies has adapted the book for television and transmission begins on ITV on Sunday (the 25th.) so all eyes will be on what he has made of a text which runs to just 70 pages, but before tuning in for the Davies treatment I was keen to read the original, thought to be the first seaside novel, i.e. "a novel that explores the mysterious and startling transformations that a stay by the sea can work on individuals and relationships."

    Austen's final, unfinished work, penned in the months shortly before her death, is set in a former fishing hamlet on the south coast of England, now being developed into what is hoped will become a fashionable health resort. It begins with a carriage accident, a good samaritan, hospitality and gratitude generously and open-heartedly exchanged between those afflicted and inconvenienced and those who come to their aid, and then it follows those characters - the Parkers and the Heywoods - to Sanditon, where Lady Denham holds court and visitors are the subject of much interest and speculation.

    Though there are a mere 24,000 words to indicate the ultimate direction of the novel, it's clear from what we have that the prism through which we shall see relationships unfold is that of the development of the resort aligned with its denizens' preoccupation with health and the benefits of the seaside:

    "[Mr. Parker] held it indeed as certain, that no person could be really well, no person, (however upheld for the present by fortuitous aids of exercise and spirits in a semblance of Health) could be really in a state of secure and permanent Health without spending at least six weeks by the Sea every year - The Sea Air and Sea Bathing together were nearly infallible, One or the other of them being a match for every Disorder, of the Stomach, the Lungs or the Blood; They were anti-spasmodic, anti-pulmonary, anti-sceptic, anti-bilious and anti-rheumatic. Nobody could catch cold by the Sea, Nobody wanted appetite by the Sea, Nobody wanted Spirits. Nobody wanted Strength. - They were healing, sifting, relaxing - fortifying and bracing - seemingly just as was wanted - sometimes one, sometimes the other. - If the Sea breeze failed, the Sea-Bath was the certain corrective;  - and where Bathing disagreed, the Sea Breeze alone was evidently designed by Nature for the cure."

    Kathryn Sutherland's introduction mentions the book's cinematic style - happily for Andrew Davies who has turned its twelve short chapters into eight hour-long episodes - and she concludes, "The cast Austen assembled offers ample scope to inject further energy, absurdity, and Regency rakishness into this joyous and unexpected seaside tale of opportunists and fantasists set on making the world anew."

    Its impressionistic style and fragmentary nature sets it apart from the six Austen novels we know and love so well, but its humour and promise make it a worthwhile, if poignant, read.

Comments

[Claire]

A very unlikely cover for a Jane Austen novel. Good for the OUP!

[Cornflower]

Could induce a fit of the vapours!

[Alison]

Thought the ITV Adaption last night was terrible...that or there is a very good reason why it was not finished😳. Not my cup of tea and that is coming from an ardent Austen fan.

[Cornflower]

I haven't seen it yet, Alison (we're having a busy weekend) but I plan to watch as soon as I can.