July 2013 |
Mr Darcy Statue Emerges from London Lake
If you are a Jane Austen fan - or if you are married to a Jane Austen fan - you will undoubtedly have watched this classic scene from the 1995 BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice when Mr Darcy - played by Colin Firth - emerges soaking wet from an impromptu swim in the lake on his Derbyshire estate:
That star-making moment - which, incidentally, was not actually in the novel - has been immortalized in the form of a Mr. Darcy statue that debuted recently in the Serpentine Lake in Hyde Park, London. The larger-than-life statue will tour the UK before its final installation in Lyme Park, Cheshire, the location of the original film shoot.
The 12 foot fiberglass statue was built to celebrate the launch of "Drama," a new British television station. The Mr-Darcy-in-the-lake scene topped a poll conducted by the station of favorite television drama moments.
Mr Darcy temporarily joins the pantheon of other fiction inspired statues in London, including Sherlock Holmes in Baker Street, Paddington Bear at Paddington Station, and Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens.
[Photo by Taylor Herring, available under a Creative Commons license]
