‘Pride and Prejudice’ screenwriter Andrew Davies to speak at Jane Austen conference

Hang on to your bonnets, Jane Austen fans. The screenwriter who adapted Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice for the BBC, and conceived that famous wet shirt scene that launched Colin Firth to mega fame, will visit campus this month as part of a 200^th anniversary celebration of the iconic novel.

Andrew Davies will make opening remarks at a Friday, April 26, 7 p.m. screening of the BBC miniseries that kicks off the anniversary conference hosted at Chapman University by the Jane Austen Society of North America. The screening will be in Irvine Lecture Hall.  The second half of the series will be screened Saturday, April 27, at 7 p.m. The free screenings are sponsored by Chapman’s Sigma Tau Delta chapter. Seating will be available on a first come, first served basis.

The screenings are part of the society’s spring meeting, “Visualizing Pride and Prejudice in Orange County.” Also presenting at the conference are Rand Boyd, special collections and archives librarian in the Frank Mt. Pleasant Library of Special Collections and Archives at Leatherby Libraries, and Pamela Ezell, formerly on the faculty in the Department of English, where she taught Literature into Film. Ezell is a senior producer and the director of Panther Productions.

For conference fees and registration information, visit the Jane Austen Society of North America website.