Going under the bonnet

JANE Austen celebrates her 250th birthday later this year.

- Mike Ward

If I were her I wouldn't want a lot of fuss, but she may not be given much choice. Jane has countless fans the world over. People adore her.

Take my own wife and daughter, for example. If ever they spot anything Austen-related in the schedules, they're almost guaranteed to lap it up.

The one notable exception, you may be surprised to hear, is Pride & Prejudice.

Not the TV adaptation from 1995 that had Colin Firth and his soggy shirt in it, but the film version from 10 years later, starring Keira Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen. They hate that with a passion.