Romance that never loses its sparkle: The world's most influential novel ever

It gave us Colin Firth in a clinging, wet shirt and inspired Bridget Jones to sing "I'm Every Woman". Jane Austen's "own darling child", or Pride and Prejudice as it's known to you and me, is a brand all of its own. It has inspired more spin-offs than almost any other book in history, and has ballooned into a multi-million-pound industry. Pretty impressive, considering it turns 200 years old this month.

简·奥斯汀的“心肝宝贝”《傲慢与偏见》这个月就200岁了，它本身就是一个品牌。因这部小说启发而生的副产品超过有史以来的任何书籍，而且已经膨胀成一项价值上亿英镑的产业。



As enthusiasts, academics, authors and film-makers across the globe celebrate the bicentenary of the novel's publication in the next few weeks, experts suggest "cult Austen" is only going to get bigger. Its market, they say – which until now has consisted largely of Britain, the US and Australia – is expanding. China, India and Russia are starting to swot up on all things Austen. Visitors are flocking to visit her home, Chawton in Hampshire, to read the sequels and travel to the locations where adaptations of her works were filmed.

全球各地的爱好者、学者、作家和电影人将在今后几周庆祝这部小说出版200周年。此时此刻，专家们说，“奥斯汀热”只会更热——它会从英国、美国和澳大利亚向中国、印度和俄罗斯传播。大批游客去参观她在汉普郡乔顿的故居，阅读她作品的各种续集，前往以她的作品改编的电影的拍摄地。



For Germaine Greer, who re-reads the novel every five years, the answer is simple: "Pride and Prejudice is the matrix on which all Harlequin romances are built. It's the best-selling plot-line in literature." .Pride and Prejudice was published in 1813, after Austen sold the copyright to a publisher for £110. It was critically well-received: Sir Walter Scott praised Austen's "exquisite touch" which "renders ordinary commonplace things and characters interesting." He read it at least three times.

每5年就要读一遍这本小说的杰梅茵·格里尔（西方女权主义作家的代表人物）说，《傲慢与偏见》是所有言情小说的模型，是文学史上最畅销的情节线。据悉，奥斯汀当时以110镑把版权卖给一家出版商后，《傲慢与偏见》于1813年问世。这本书在评论界得到欢迎，沃尔特·斯科特爵士赞扬奥斯汀“笔法巧妙”，“把平凡普通的事务和角色变得有趣”。



Academics may remind us that the novel was read mostly by men a century ago, but it has long since been sold as a feminine tale. And yet, as much as people try to sell it as a tale for single women worldwide, it has inspired scores of adaptations, each as different as the last.

Here, we take a look at the best Pride and Prejudice has given us – from that Colin Firth scene, to zombies, murders and Bollywood. 文章称，尽管这本小说100年前的主要读者是男性，但它已作为女性的故事卖了很久。人们试图把《傲慢与偏见》作为全世界单身女性的读物销售，它却启发了几十种改编作品，而且每一种都各不相同。《傲慢与偏见》给了人们很多最好的东西，从柯林·费思的那个镜头到僵尸、谋杀和宝莱坞。




Bollywood —Bride and Prejudice

Bend It Like Beckham director Gurinder Chadha decided the Bennet family were going to become the Bakhsis from Amritsar, India, in her 2004 version, Bride and Prejudice. Filmed in English, with some Punjabi and Hindi, plus plenty of Bollywood kitsch, the film explores Lalita Bakshi (based on Elizabeth Bennet) and American Will Darcy's relationship.


宝莱坞——《新娘与偏见》

《我爱贝克汉姆》一片的导演古林德·查达在她2004年的作品《新娘与偏见》中把贝内特一家变成印度阿姆利则的巴克希斯一家。这部用英语（也有一些旁遮普语和印地语）拍摄、有大量宝莱坞式庸俗夸张的影片讲述了拉莉塔·巴克希（以伊丽莎白·贝内特为原型）和美国人威尔·达西的恋情。




Mash-up —Zombies

"It is a truth universally acknowledged that a zombie in possession of brains must be in want of more brains," is how the start of arguably the most unusual Pride and Prejudice spin-off begins. Seth Grahame-Smith's best-selling Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, which has sold more than 1.5 million copies, follows Elizabeth Bennet and her sisters as they battle a zombie menace in a quiet English village. Billed as 85 per cent Austen's original text and 15 per cent new gore, the novel inspired a host of literary monster mash-ups. It is thought that a film based on the book is in the works.


混搭——僵尸

塞思·格雷厄姆—史密斯销量达150多万的畅销书《傲慢与偏见与僵尸》讲述了伊丽莎白·贝内特几姐妹在一个寂静的英格兰村庄里和僵尸作战的故事。这本书号称有85%的奥斯汀原著加上15%的新血液。一大批怪物混搭作品也应运而生。据悉，一部根据此书改编的电影正在拍摄之中。


Spin-off —Austenland

Twilight author Stephenie Meyer has produced Austenland, a film adapted from Shannon Hale's bestseller. It follows Jane, a woman in her thirties with a life-size paper doll of Mr Darcy, who is so obsessed with the BBC adaptation that she travels to a Jane Austen theme park in search of the perfect gentleman. The film premieres at the Sundance film festival this week.


副产品——《奥斯汀乐园》

《暮光之城》作者斯蒂芬妮·迈耶作为制片人拍摄的影片《奥斯汀乐园》改编自香农·黑尔的同名畅销书。在影片中，30多岁的简极其迷恋BBC拍摄的《傲慢与偏见》，有一个真人大小的纸娃娃达西，并跑到简·奥斯汀主题公园去寻找完美绅士。影片本周在圣丹斯电影节首映。




Holidays —Trips and tours

If you want to join a Pride and Prejudice walking tour in the Peak District, ride through the film-sets in a cart dressed as your favourite character, visit Lizzie's room (with shelves fitted by Lady Catherine), wander through the space where Darcy proposed, or treat yourself to a four-day luxury Austen tour, you can. Trips that recreate the experience can cost more than £1,000 a day.


假期——观光旅行

如果想参加皮克区的《傲慢与偏见》徒步游览，打扮成最喜爱人物的样子，坐着马车穿过取景地，参观丽兹的房间，在达西求婚的地方漫步，或者给自己来上为期4天的奥斯汀主题豪华游。


Jamboree —Jane Austen Festival

Each year, hundreds of people attend the 10-day Jane Austen Festival in Bath, many in costume. Last year, more than 1,600 people attended. The festival is run by the Jane Austen Centre, which has almost 60,000 visitors a year. With its tea room boasting "Champagne tea with Mr Darcy" for £25, a gift shop, walking tours and a dressing up exhibition, more and more visitors are flocking – especially, in recent years, from China, Russia and India.


狂欢——简·奥斯汀艺术节

每年都有成百上千人参加在巴斯举行的为期10天的简·奥斯汀艺术节，而且不少人都打扮成小说人物的样子。2012年有1600多人参加。艺术节由简·奥斯汀中心组织，该中心每年的参观者有近6万人。茶室的卖点是“与达西先生共饮香槟茶”，每次25镑；还有纪念品店、徒步游览和装扮展示。


Chick lit —Bridget Jones's Diary

The Wanton Sex Goddess, aka Bridget Jones, was brought to us by Helen Fielding, in 1996, when she used the form of a personal diary to chronicle the life of a thirtysomething single woman in London. The novelist was inspired by the BBC's Pride and Prejudice, dubbing Elizabeth and Mr Darcy her "chosen representatives in the field of shagging". A sequel followed three years later; the Jones books have sold at least 15 million copies. There have been two films, and a third is expected soon.


摩登女郎读物——《BJ单身日记》

1996年，海伦·菲尔丁以私人日记的形式记录了伦敦一个30多岁单身女子布里吉特·琼斯的生活。菲尔丁小说受BBC拍摄的《傲慢与偏见》启发，把伊丽莎白和达西称作“做爱领域的最佳代表”。三年后，菲尔丁又出了一部续集。这两本小说至少售出1500万本，还拍成两部电影，第三部也即将问世。




Small screen —BBC 1995 adaptation

Famous for searing Colin Firth and his wet shirt into our collective memory, the six-episode adaptation of Pride and Prejudice elevated the actor, and the character of Mr Darcy, to superstardom. The series was watched on TV by more than 10 million people, and the initial run of the video sold out within two hours. About 40 per cent of the nation's television sets tuned into the final episode, while eight countries had already bought the rights. Sue Birtwistle, the producer, said her intention was to focus on two themes: sex and money.


小屏幕——BBC在1995年改编的电视剧

这部六集电视剧把柯林·费思和他的湿衬衫牢牢刻在我们的集体记忆中，使演员费思和剧中人达西成为超级明星。1000多万人通过电视观看了这部电视剧，录像带首发两小时就售光。播最后一集时，全国有40%的电视都调到这个频道收看，8个国家已经买下版权。制片人苏·伯特威斯尔说，她的目标就是两个主题：性和钱。




The big screen —Keira Knightley version

It was always going to be hard for screenwriter Deborah Moggach to make a film that would tug our hearts as much as that Colin Firth scene, but casting Keira Knightley as Elizabeth in Joe Wright's 2005 Pride and Prejudice film certainly helped. Pitched to a younger audience, and starring British national treasures such as Dame Judi Dench and Brenda Blethyn, the film grossed more than £375m at the global box office and received four Oscar nominations. It divided critics; some thought it failed to deal with the complexity of Austen's novel, but then it was less than half the length of the BBC adaptation that preceded it.


大屏幕——凯拉·奈特利版本

对于编剧德博拉·莫加来说，要拍一部能像柯林·费思那个镜头一样让我们心动神摇的电影永远都不容易，但是，在2005年的影片《傲慢与偏见》中让凯拉·奈特利扮演伊丽莎白显然是个好主意。这部影片针对较年轻的观众，主演包括朱迪·丹奇和布兰达·布莱森等国宝级人物，全球票房超过3.75亿镑，获四项奥斯卡提名。




Museum —Jane Austen's house

One place that has benefited from the "Pride and Prejudice effect" is Austen's former house in Chawton, Hampshire, where she spent the last eight years of her life. The 17th-century house has been converted into the Jane Austen's House Museum, and the number of people who passed through its doors more than doubled after the 1995 BBC series, from 25,000 to 58,000 a year. The museum has people standing outside its door when it is closed. At the last count, they had received visitors from 136 countries.


博物馆——简·奥斯汀故居

一个得益于《傲慢与偏见》效应的地方是奥斯汀在汉普郡乔顿的旧居，她在那里度过生命中的最后8年。这座17世纪的房子已经被改造为简·奥斯汀故居博物馆。


It railed at boundaries, but is it feminist?

It might be one of the world's great romances, but critics have argued for years over the extent to which you can call Jane Austen's novel feminist.The IoS put the question to some women known for their strong opinions, with mixed results.

For Germaine Greer, Pride and Prejudice "gives you a notion that women deserve better and shouldn't be taken for granted". She pointed out that the fact that it had a "woman for a hero was unusual", especially one who was "so aware of sexual interchanges between women and men". Esther Rantzen thinks it is "absolutely" a feminist novel. Describing Elizabeth as "feisty", she added: "She won't be put down by this arrogant young man." English professor Mary Ann O'Farrell said the protagonist "rails against boundaries", while Laura Bates, founder of the Everyday Sexism Project, said the book marks the "first time that someone is saying that female thoughts are worth listening to." Author Anita Diamantwas less sure. "It's a feminist work, because Austen takes women seriously," she said, but "private relationships take central stage." Joanna Trollope said you would be "hard-pressed" to call it feminist. She added that Elizabeth is "intellectually superior to Darcy, but he controls her life".

But not everyone likes it. Playwright Bonnie Greer said: "I'm not a big fan of Austen; I never got through Pride and Prejudice … she's not to my taste. You're either an Austen fan or a Brontë fan, and I'm a Brontë fan." Edwina Currie was less diplomatic. She said: "I hated Pride and Prejudice; I'm not a fan of Austen. I find her heroines petty and small-minded."


“女权主义”作品？

《傲慢与偏见》或许是全世界最伟大的爱情小说之一，但批评家多年来一直在争论能在多大程度上能把简·奥斯汀的小说称作女权主义作品。对于杰梅茵·格里尔来说，《傲慢与偏见》“告诉你女性有权过得更好，而不应认为女性理所当然就该怎样”。“反对日常性别歧视”组织的创始人劳拉·贝茨说，这本书是“第一次有人说女性的思想值得倾听”。但是，作家乔安娜·特罗洛普认为，《傲慢与偏见》很难称作女权主义小说。她说，伊丽莎白“在才智上强于达西，但他控制着她的生活”。

宿迁翻译公司