THE CHARACTER OF Fitzwilliam Darcy has fuelled millions of romantic fantasies since Pride and Prejudice was published in 1813.
Jane Austen didn’t really describe her hero’s appearance in the book, but he has always been portrayed as tall, dark and handsome – most famously by Colin Firth.
Here’s where we come and shatter all those fantasties – academic research commissioned by the TV channel Drama shows what Darcy would have actually looked like. And it’s not Firth.
Mr Darcy would have been pale with powdered white hair. He would also have had a long nose, sloping shoulders and a pointy chin – a far cry from muscular modern day TV representations.
Oh.
Illustrator Nick Hardcastle created a historically accurate portrait inspired by the research, and well, it wouldn’t inspire much passion in us today.
However, in Austen’s day, a pale complexion was an indicator of wealth, and a muscular chest would have been the sign of a labourer, not a gentleman.
So Elizabeth Bennett most likely wouldn’t have fancied our modern interpretation of Darcy at all. Different strokes and all, but… we’ll stick to Firth.
