papier mâché sculpture of Colin Firth as Mr. DarcyFirth comes forth: a papier mâché sculpture of actor Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy sits in the garden outside the Leddy Library.

Literary character graces library garden

Nothing invokes the University of Windsor’s 50th anniversary like Pride and Prejudice, says Heidi Jacobs, librarian for English at the Leddy Library and a fan of Jane Austen. She has arranged for a two-metre papier mâché sculpture of the book’s romantic hero, Mr. Darcy, to be installed in the garden outside the library today, April 1.

“We wanted to do something at Leddy to celebrate our 50th anniversary,” Jacobs says. “We thought nothing could be more festive than a sculpture of Colin Firth coming out of the water as Mr. Darcy.”

Firth played Fitzwilliam Darcy is a 1995 BBC serialization of the novel, as well as a loose homage, Mark Darcy, in the film adaptations of Bridget Jones’ Diary and its sequel. Jacobs said she was inspired by media reports of a similar sculpture in the Serpentine Lake in London’s Hyde Park.

However, she admits her version is a little removed from the original: “We don’t really have a fountain on campus so I had to settle for water coming out of a rock.”

If you want to see Mr. Darcy, Jacobs warns you’ll need to be quick.

“Because he’s made of papier mâché I fear he’ll only be around for the first day of April—especially if it rains,” she says.

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