Booklist’s lovely review of Lord Sebastian’s Secret compared it to You Can’t Take it With You. I had to
look up the reference, and I discovered a 1938 Frank Capra film based on a play
by Moss Hart and George S Kaufman. It won an Oscar for Best Picture. Wow,
thanks, Booklist!
I can see some similarities
between the stories. In the movie, Alice Sycamore (Jean Arthur) falls for
banker's son Tony Kirby (James Stewart). But when she invites her high
falootin’ prospective in-laws to dinner, they’re shocked by her odd family. Lionel
Barrymore chews the scenery as grandpa. Spring Byington is an
aspiring playwright, and Ann Miller plays hapless ballerina sister Essie. The
heroine’s father Paul (Samuel S. Hinds) gets them all arrested because of
his penchant for making unlicensed fireworks and disturbing the peace.
Lady
Georgina, the heroine of Lord Sebastian’s
Secret, has the same sort of problem. Her family is quirky – her father
obsessed with the ancient Saxons and reincarnation, her mother a dedicated
breeder of pugs, her sisters pushing the marriage hard so they can get away to
London. Sebastian handles them all with ease, however. And nobody gets hauled
off to the drunk tank and a night of recriminations in the book.
The
comparison did make me wonder though. Who would I choose to play the characters in Lord Sebastian’s Secret, in that other realm
of reality where it became a movie? That’ll most likely never happen, but even
so, here’s my dream cast.
Lord
Sebastian was easy; he reminds me of Chris Hemsworth in a number of ways. For Georgina,
Lily James has the right combination of beauty and sweetness. I could totally
see Imelda Staunton as Georgina’s mother; she’d handle the mob of pugs with
aplomb. Hugh Bonneville would do well as Georgina’s father; he’s had plenty of
experience playing an English peer, after all. For Georgina’s sisters, I
decided on Elle Fanning for Emma and Morgan Lily for Hilda. Pretty and
spirited. Finally, the Bollywood great Amitabh Bachchan would be ideal for Mr.
Mitra, dignified and assured amid the mayhem.
Lord Sebastian’s Secret comes out January 3, not
much longer now!
Amazon https://goo.gl/ZIoVlT
Barnes and Noble https://goo.gl/tbjADh
Apple https://goo.gl/IxT3Cv
That's kind of a neat comparison. Love your picks for the characters too.
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