Fiction author Robin Brande talks about writing, reading, and other vital matters

As I mentioned yesterday, anyone who has seen the A & E version of Pride and Prejudice knows what we mean by the wet shirt scene. My friends and I are not the only ones obsessed by it. In fact, in Bridget Jones’ Diary (the novel, not the movie), Bridget and her girlfriends spend weekend nights drinking and replaying the wet shirt scene over and over. Which is why it’s particularly funny that Colin Firth, who plays Mr. Darcy in Pride and Prejudice also plays Mark Darcy in the movie version of Bridget Jones’ Diary, which was based on P & P to begin with. Follow? A total nod to all of us fans of the wet shirt scene.

For those of you who don’t know the scene, it’s toward the end of the story, when we’re starting to crave Mr. Darcy quite a bit and wish he and Elizabeth would just stop fighting and get it on. Mr. Darcy has been riding his horse on a hot day, and when he arrives at his massive estate he must refresh himself in his pond. So takes off his boots and jacket, thereby stripping down to a modest pair of riding breeches and a thin white cotton shirt.

He dives into the pond and emerges with the see-through shirt clinging to his Darcy form. I’m telling you, as much as I enjoyed seeing Paul Bettany’s naked bum in The Da Vinci Code the other night, I much prefer the outline of Mr. Darcy’s chest beneath that wet shirt.

Why? Because we LOVE Darcy by then, don’t we? At that point in the story we’re completely smitten. He’s softened his churlish ways, he’s shown us his noble, vulnerable side, and we would all dearly love to be kissing those lips and grabbing a hank of that thick curly hair.

(Sorry, honey, I still love you best. This is for the blog.)

So anyway, today I visited one of the houses where Jane Austen lived, and in the small gift shop there were all things Jane: her novels, tapes and DVDs of the movies made of her novels (including the Bollywood version, Bride and Prejudice–sweet! Did you know Sayid from Lost is in that? He does this sexy song and dance routine–man, that guy is hot).

(Sorry, honey. For the blog.)

Anyway, on the door to the gift shop is a big photo of Colin Firth as Darcy. When I pretended to kiss it (because that’s the kind of thing we Americans do–we are shameless among the more-reserved British), the elderly women behind the gift counter said, “No, thank you.”

When I challenged her for not loving Colin/Darcy properly, she said, “He’s not for me. I prefer the rugged ones. Give me Clint Eastwood.”

Whereupon Sue jumped right in. “Ooo! He’s so old!”

Whereupon the little old British lady practically licked her lips and grabbed her bosom. “Nah, luv, he’s for me.”

I could have bought any number of Jane Austen memorabilia: a cup and saucer with her face on it; postcards with reproductions of her hand-written letters; English editions of her novels; photos of her house.

But what did I buy? A behind-the-scenes, making of Pride and Prejudice book, with intimate photos of Darcy on the set, in costume, no doubt thinking about . . . me, if you must know.

We ended the tour of Jane Austen’s house in one of the outbuildings, called the bakehouse. Inside was the house’s well. Draped over the bricks of the well was a piece of white cloth.

“Look!” Emily said. “It’s the shirt!”

“Quick!” I said. “Wet it!”

I bet you a hundred pounds no one says those kinds of things about Clint Eastwood.

Technorati Tags: Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice, Bride and Prejudice, Colin Firth, Mr. Darcy, Bridget Jones’ Diary, Jane Austen Tour

Posted on Saturday, June 24th, 2006 at 11:06 am under Guilty Pleasures, Jane Austen Geekery, Life, Movies & TV, Reading . Subscribe to responses: RSS 2.0 Comment Feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.