Contest: Win a Jane Austen Oxford World's Classic of Your Choice

Nigel has been enjoying the Jane Austen Season in Australia. In his blog he asked the following questions. (Click here to read his answers.)

If you would like to play along and answer the questions in the comment section, you will have the chance to win a new edition of a Jane Austen novel published by Oxford World's Classics. The winner of this contest will have an opportunity to choose their favorite Jane Austen novel. You have until midnight July 5th to answer the questions below. We will draw the winning name from a hat. My answers are in the comment section. (I changed one of Nigel's questions, since "shag" is not a term commonly used in the U.S.) Simply copy and paste the following in the comment section:

1. Who is your favorite Jane Austen character?

2. Who is your least favorite Jane Austen character?

3. Who is the sexiest Jane Austen character?

4. If you lived in 1806 who would you most like to be?

5. An Austen hero is: a soldier, sailor or gentleman?

6. Who is your favorite Jane Austen villain?

7. What is your favorite Jane Austen location?

8. What is your favorite Jane Austen pastime?

9. What is your favorite Jane Austen quote?

10. What would be one major critique of Jane Austen's work?

Disco Dancing Darcy in Mamma Mia Movie? Well, I Nevva!

I am all anticipation of the July 18th release of the movie Mamma Mia, staring Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, and yes, Mr. Darcy - - well - - actually the actor formally known as Mr. Darcy - - Colin Firth!

If Firth has his way, we would forever forget the fact that he smoldered his way into our hearts in the 1995 mini-series of Jane Austen’s novel Pride and Prejudice, a breakthrough role that he continues to be most remembered for. Being a romantic heartthrob has become a bit of a reluctant mantle to bear, and he has publically distanced his relationship with the archetypal hunk Mr. Darcy. In the thirteen years since he plunged into the Pemberley pond and into our hearts, he has tried hard to ditch the Darcy persona with a diverse array of acting roles in a variety of movies from the recent pensive When Did You Last See Your Father (2007), to the opulent Shakespeare in Love (1998), all to no avail.

When Mamma Mia hits the big screen in July, film goers will get a gander at his disco dancing moves and renditions of Abba 70’s pop ballads such as “Gimme, Gimme, Gimme”, and “I have a Dream”. In a recent interview with late-night talk show host Conan O’Brien, Firth deflected any future objections to his singing talent by owning up to the fact that he doesn’t really sing in his role as Harry Bright, just kind of talks his way through it, an old trick that Rex Harrison applied to his interpretation of Henry Higgins in the musical My Fair Lady. Fans of Firth will remember his singing “Lady Come Down” with Rupert Everett in the movie The Importance of Being Earnest (2002) and be grateful that he chose this talking technique for his songs!

Regardless of Colin Firth’s reluctance at being remembered as Mr. Darcy, he is extremely popular and has made ten movies in two years. We will not object in the least to his claim to being “the hardest working man in movies”, and be grateful that he chose to participate in the big-screen adaptation of one of our favorite 70’s retro musicals. He may very well shake off that Darcy stigma and charm our socks off with his disco dancing! Nah -- I prefer him in a quadrille any day!

Check out my other Darcy sightings when I blog about "Me and Mr. Darcy", at Austenprose

Cheers, Laurel Ann

Where Are They Now? James McAvoy - From Atonement to Action Hero

In a recent Just Jared! post James McAvoy reveals that the six pack he sports in his new action movie,Wanted, is real. In just a few years, James has built a solid film career, wowing critics as Dr. Nicholas Garrigan in the Last King of Scotland, fluttering Jane Austen's heart in Becoming Jane, and playing the doomed lover in Atonement. James' role in Wanted represents his first foray as an action hero in an A-list movie. At the start of the film, James as Wesley Gibson, plays a mild-mannered office geek whose boring life is falling apart. He then learns that a father he had always assumed dead had recently been assassinated, and from that moment on Wesley's life is never the same again. Starring Angelina Jolie and Morgan Freeman, who recruit Wesley into their assassin's camp, the buzz surrounding this film is that it's a winner. I adore drawing room comedies and foreign films whose plots are based on relationships, but even I am tempted to see the film when it comes out this weekend. To learn more about the movie, click on an interview with James in the first link, and the film's trailer in the second link. If you plan on seeing the movie, tell us what you think afterward!

UPDATE: The movie's a hit! Taking in over 51 million on opening day. Critics think that Angelina Jolie is the reason why people are flocking to theatres, but Janeites know better. The males might well be ogling Ms. Jolie, but their spouses and girlfriends, who did not need to be dragged along to see an action flick this time, are focused on James.

Interview about Wanted with James McAvoy



Movie Trailer

Read more about James and Wanted in the following links:

• James McAvoy is a Wanted Assassin

• Wanted review from Reuters.

• Being Authentic: James McAvoy on Film Acting
  

• James McAvoy: Los Angeles Times Entertainment

Posted by Vic, Ms. Place

False Colours: A Sparkling Heyer Regency Novel

It was past two o’clock when the job-chaise turned into Hill Street; and, as the watchman wending his way round Berkeley Square monotonously announced, a fine night. A full moon rode in the cloudless sky, dimming the street-lamps: even, as the solitary traveller had noticed, in Pall Mall, where gaslighting had replaced the oil-burners. Linkmen, carriages, and light streaming from an open door on the east side of Berkeley Square indicated that not all the members of the ton had left London; but at the end of June the Season was drawing to a close; and it did not surprise the traveller to find Hill Street deserted. It would not have surprised him if the knocker had been removed from the door of a certain house on the north side of the street, but when the chaise drew up a swift scrutiny reassured him: the Earl of Denville’s town residence had not yet been abandoned for the summer months. - Opening lines of False Colours

What do you get when you fill a book with romance, comedy, missing twin, mistaken identity, beautiful but spendthrift mother, Napoleonic history, dashing and diplomatic hero and sensible heroine? Why, Georgette Heyer's False Colours, of course.

The Honourable Christopher Kit Fancot returns to London on leave from the diplomatic service to find that his twin brother Evelyn has disappeared and his extravagant mother's debts have mounted alarmingly. The Fancot family's fortunes are riding on Evelyn s marriage to the self-possessed Cressy Stavely, and her formidable grandmother's approval of the match. If Evelyn fails to meet the Dowager Lady Stavely in a few days as planned, the betrothal could be off. When the incorrigible Lady Fancot persuades Kit to impersonate his twin (just for one night, she promises) the masquerade sets off a tangled sequence of events that engage Kit's heart far more deeply than he'd ever anticipated with his brother s fiancee who might know much more about what's going on than she cares to reveal...

In this book, one of Georgette Heyer's best loved novels, the author combines her extensive knowledge of history with her talent for spinning a witty romantic tale. Heyer's eye for detail, character development, and talent for moving a story along is masterful:

He then turned towards her companion, smiling at her, and carrying the hand she extended to him to his lips. He thought that that was probably what Evelyn, a practised flirt, would do; but even as he lightly kissed the hand he was assailed by a fresh problem: how the devil ought he to address the girl? Did Evelyn call her Cressy, or was he still on formal terms with her? He had had as yet no opportunity to take more than a brief look at her, but he had received the impression that she was a little stiff: possibly shy, certainly reserved. Not a beauty, but a goodlooking girl, gray-eyed and brown-haired, and with a shapely figure. Well enough but quite unremarkable, and not at all the sort of female likely to appeal to Evelyn. At this moment, and just as he released Miss Stavely's hand, one of the assembled company, and elderly spinster who had been observing him with avid curiosity, confided to a stout matron in the over-loud voice of the deaf: 'Very handsome! That I must own!" Startled, and far from gratified, Kit looked up, involuntarily meeting Miss Stavely's eyes. They held a look of twinkling appreciation; and he thought suddenly that she was more taking than he had at first supposed.

Georgette wrote False Colours in 1963, at a time when she was developing a relationship with a new publisher. The author seldom missed a detail. When she received the first draft for the False Colours blurb, her response was instant and decisive:

. . . and I did not say that I was especially fond of False Colours! What I may well have said was that I don't think it stinks as much as The Nonesuch. It is not my favourite - The Unknown Ajax and Venetia are the best of my later works. My style is really a mixture of Johnson and Austen - what I rely on is a certain gift for the farcical. Talk about my humour if you must talk about me at all!. . .I don't know about my historical feeling: I'd prefer a timely word about my exact detail! . . . I did warn you that I was hell-to-deal-with, didn't I?. . .I know it's useless to talk about technique in these degenerate days - but no less a technician than Noel Coward reads me because he says my technique is so good. I'm proud of that." (The Private World of Georgette Heyer, Jane Aiken Hodge, P. 152-153)

SourceBooks is rereleasing a select number of Georgette Heyer novels this season, starting with False Colours in March, and ending with Royal Escape in June (review coming soon). For sheer fun and entertainment, I highly recommend this novel and give it my highest rating of three regency fans.


Learn more about Georgette Heyer in these links:

• Heyer List: False Colours
  

• My review of Lady of Quality
  

• A Georgette Heyer Database

Posted by Ms. Place

Winner Announced in Top 5 Greatest Novels Contest!

Congratulation to participant Stephanie Perkins!

You are the lucky winner of our contest for a free copy of the new revised edition of the Oxford World Classics Pride and Prejudice. Thank you for contributing your top five list which included;

1. Pride & Prejudice (naturally)
2. Harry Potter & the Prisoner of Azkaban
3. To Kill a Mockingbird
4. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
5. The Great Gatsby

Thank you to all who particpated in our contest and contributed their top five lists. Congratulations Stephanie, and please contact Laurel Ann to claim your new book!

Jane In My June Garden

Jane Austen, in the form of her modern totem, stopped by my house yesterday. She visited Cody my terror terrier in his doggie bed, and took a stroll in my garden, admiring the day lilies, magnolia tree, hydrangeas, and hibiscus.
Posted by Vic, Ms. Place

Oh, Horrors: Jane Bites Back is Coming in 2009

Josie Brown, who wrote the book for Pride and Prejudice the Musical, sent me this tip from Publisher's Weekly, which titled its announcement: Creepy Fiction

Liz Scheier at Ballantine won a four-way auction for Michael Thomas Ford's Jane Bites Back. The novel presents an undead Jane Austen, frustrated by nearly 200 years of writer's block and 116 rejections of an unpublished novel she finished just before turning into a vampire; she's becoming increasingly irritated that the rest of the world seems to be getting rich and famous off of her works and her life. The two follow-up books will be derived from the first. Waters said Ford, the author of many books for young readers and adults, is likely to publish this under a pseudonym; pub date still undecided.

On his blog the author Michael Thomas Ford stated that the book, which Josie's source described as a humorous and sassy account of Jane Austen as a modern-day vampire, will be out in late 2009.

Thanks for the tip, Josie. I suspect the publisher will publicize the heck out of these books. The questions is: Will Janeites take the bait and spend their hard earned dollars for these high concept novels? Posted by Vic, Ms. Place

Austen Actors Highlight New Masterpiece Mystery Season

Reserve your summer Sunday evenings for the newly redesigned Masterpiece Mystery hosted by none other than Mr. Elton (Alan Cumming) as master of ceremonies introducing each of the four new series starting on June 22 and continuing through September 28.

Fans of Masterpiece Classic and The Complete Jane Austen series on PBS will recognize several familiar faces throughout the Mystery season. The new host of the series is Tony Award winning British actor Alan Cumming, who stared as Mr. Elton in the 1996 adaptation of Jane Austen’s novel Emma, directed by Douglas McGrath and co-staring Gwyneth Paltrow as Emma Woodhouse. It will be interesting to see what direction he takes hosting each of the series in comparison to his predecessors Gene Shalit 1980, Vincent Price 1981-1989, and Diana Rigg 1990 -2003. The series began airing without a host in the 2004 season, so this return to its original hosted format is a traditional move by executive producer Rebecca Eaton.

Alan Cumming as Mr. Elton and Juliet Stevenson as Mrs. Elton in Emma (1996)

This season’s Mystery lineup includes The Men of Mystery beginning on June 22 with three episodes each of the return of Inspector Lewis and Foyle’s War starting on July 13, and six episodes of The Inspector Lynley Mysteries on August 10. The series concludes with a reprieve of two episodes of Sally Lockhart staring Billie Piper (Fanny Price in Mansfield Park 2007) and JJ Feild (Henry Tilney in Northanger Abbey 2007).

Laurence Fox as DS James Hathaway and Kevin Whatley as DI Robbie Lewis in Inspector Lewis

Inspector Lewis opens the season on Sunday June 22 with three new episodes staring Kevin Whatley (The English Patient) who returns as Detective Inspector Robbie Lewis in this spin-off to the popular Inspector Morris series. Also returning is his younger sidekick, the cool, cerebral Detective Sergeant James Hathaway played by Austen actor Laurence Fox. Janeites will remember his performance as Jane Austen’s (Ann Hathaway) unsuccessful suitor Mr. Wilsey in last summers movie Becoming Jane, whose amorous pursuits had him in more than one embarrassing situation and uttering such great lines as “Sometimes affection is a shy flower that takes time to blossom.”

Ann Hathaway as Jane Austen and Laurence Fox as Mr. Wisley in Becoming Jane (2007)

Mr. Fox comes from an accomplished acting family. He is the son of British actor James Fox, nephew to actors Edward Fox, Joann David (Mrs. Gardiner in Pride and Prejudice 1995 and Elinor Dashwood in Sense and Sensibility 1971) and producer Robert Fox, and cousin to fellow Austen actor Emilia Fox (Georgiana Darcy in Pride and Prejudice 1995). He married British actress Billie Piper (Fanny Price in Mansfield Park 2007) on New Years Eve in 2007. If he had anymore Austen connections, he would have to be related!!!

Laurence Fox and his wife Billie Piper

The Inspector Lewis series includes three episodes and features additional actors that share Jane Austen connections; 1.) Whom the Gods Would Destroy – June 22, Anna Madeley (Lucy Steele in Sensibility 2007), and Anna Massey (Aunt Norris in Mansfield Park 1983); 2.) Old School Friends – June 29, David Glover (Foot the butler in Sense and Sensibility 2008); and 3.) Expiation - July 6, Lucy Robinson (Louisa Hurst in Pride and Prejudice 1995, Mrs. Elton in Emma 1996 and Janey in Bridget Jones the Edge of Reason 2004), Julia Joyce (Young Fanny Price in Mansfield Park 2007), Pip Torrens (Edward Austen-Knight in Miss Austen Regrets 2008 and a Netherfield butler in Pride and Prejudice 2005), and Phoebe Nicholls (Elizabeth Elliot in Persuasion 1995).

Anna Massey as Aunt Norris in Mansfield Park (1983)

I have always enjoyed the Masterpiece Mystery series, and am glad to see so many Austen actors finding work with such a venerable series. I hope that you enjoy the opening episode!

Posted by Laurel Ann, Austenprose

Pride and Prejudice Chosen One of the Greatest Novels of All Time!

The British newspaper the Telegram has announced today the top 50 greatest novels ever written from a poll conducted at Play.com, a UK based online retailer of books, DVDs and music.

Toping the list is Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mocking Bird, followed by JRR Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, C.S. Lewis’ The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Jane Austen’s Emma is also included on the list at number 25.

Pride and Prejudice has topped many of the recent polls, solidifying its value with readers and critics. It is also interesting to note as you peruse the list of 50 top choices, that many of the novels have been made into hit movies, proving that Hollywood recognizes the value of books as a meter of the public’s interest.


TOP 50 GREATEST NOVELS OF ALL TIME 2008 POLL WINNERS

1. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee

2. Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien

3. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe - C.S Lewis

4. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen

5. The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown

6. Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte

7. Animal Farm - George Orwell

8. Great Expectations - Charles Dickens

9. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - JK Rowling

10. Lord of the Flies - William Golding

11. The Time Travellers Wife - Audrey Niffenegger

12. Catch 22 - Joseph Heller

13. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest - Ken Kasey

14. Gone With the Wind - Margaret Mitchell

15. The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold

16. War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy

17. Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden

18. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nightime - Mark Haddon

19. The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald

20. The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini

21. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte

22. Sons and Lovers - DH Lawrence

23. Anna Kareninia - Leo Tolstoy

24. Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert

25. Emma - Jane Austen

26. Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks

27. The Catcher in the Rye, JD Salinger

28. My Sister's Keeper - Jodi Picoult

29. A Clockwork Orange - Anthony Burgess

30. A Passage to India - E.M Forster

31. Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier

32. Captain Corelli's Mandolin, Louis de Bernieres

33. Atonement - Ian McEwan

34. Midnight's Children - Salman Rushdie

35. In Search of Lost Time - Marcel Proust

36. Middlemarch - George Eliot

37. White Teeth - Zadie Smith

38. To the Lighthouse - Virginia Woolf

39. It - Stephen King

40. Little Women - Louisa M. Alcott

41. Vanity Fair - William Thackeray

42. David Copperfield - Charles Dickens

43. The Horse Whisperer - Nicholas Evans

44. Robinson Crusoe - Daniel Defoe

45. Moby Dick - Herman Melville

46. Gulliver's Travels - Jonathan Swift

47. Frankenstein - Mary Shelley

48. Huckleberry Finn - Mark Twin

49. Three Men in a Boat - Jerome K. Jerome

50. The Island - Victoria Hislop


What would be on your top 50 list of the greatest novels ever written? My top 5 entries would include

1. Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen
2. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
3. Gone with the Wind – Margaret Mitchell
4. To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee
5. A Town Like Alice – Nevil Shute

Enter your choice of the top five greatest novels ever written as a comment between June 17th - 22nd to be eligible to win a copy of the newly redesigned edition of Pride and Prejudice, by Oxford World Classics. A winner will be announced on Monday, June 23rd. Be creative, and happy reading to all.

Posted by Laurel Ann, Austenprose

The Jane Austen Collection

The Jane Austen Collection at Goucher College in Baltimore, Maryland is world renowned. The collection was donated in 1978 by Mrs. Henry G. (Alberta) Burke, who collected over 1,000 books, as well as articles and memorabilia about Jane Austen. In the late 1940's Mrs. Burke purchased a lock of Jane Austen's hair, but "donated it to the Jane Austen Society after attending a meeting of the group during which a speaker lamented its loss to an American". Click here to view Alberta Burke's notebooks, and here to read an introduction to the collection.

After his wife's death, Henry Burke, together with Joan Austen-Leigh and J. David Grey, founded the Jane Austen Society of North America, for which he drew up the Constitution and By-Laws.

Seen on the Blogosphere

Happy Father's Day, Reverend George Austen! I have placed a tribute to his early life on Jane Austen's World. Please click here to read it.

Laurel Ann wrote an informative post about Douglas Warner Gorsline, whose beautiful illustations of Pride and Prejudice elevate that particular edition of Jane's novel. Click here to view some of the illustrations.

Heyer Contest is Over

Thank you for your comments! The winners are Laura for Lady of Quality, and Jeanette for False Colours! Please send your mailing address to janeaustensworld@gmail.com.

Allow me to present to you, Mr. Henry Tilney!

For all our Aussie Janeites who will have the pleasure of meeting Henry Tilney this weekend, and all else who already know and adore him, here's a great Youtube video to enjoy!

Pride and Prejudice Quiz

How well do you know Pride and Prejudice? Take this 19-question quiz at the Literature Network. You do not have to sign in.

Lizzy and the Gardiners on holiday

Posted by Vic, Ms. Place

Where Are They Now? Matthew Mania Still Alive and Well

It's been three years since Matthew Macfadyen played Mr. Darcy, but MM fever still affects a lot of fans. Darcylicious has merged with the Matthew Macfadyen fansite. Click here to enter the new site and listen to an interesting podcast of Matthew's voice taking on several accents. The site lists several of Matthew's upcoming or recently completed projects: Miss Marple, Incendiary, Ashes to Ashes 7, and Frost/Nixon. In the photo at right he is portrayed as Arthur Clennam in Little Dorrit, a BBC production.

Matthew plays opposite his real life wife Keely Hawes (Wives and Daughters) in Ashes to Ashes 7. In this photo he looks decidedly unheroic, but Keely still loves her man.

Seen on the Blogosphere: Tom Lefroy's Image is on the Auction Block

According to The Times Online, "A 3" watercolour of Thomas Langlois Lefroy, the man thought to be the real-life inspiration behind Darcy, has just been made public. The portrait, painted by the English miniaturist George Engleheart in 1798 two years after Lefroy and Austen were forced to part because his family didn't consider her to be marriage material, will be on sale at the Grosvenor House Art and Antiques Fair next week [June 12-18, 2008] with an asking price of £50,000. It is one of only two portraits of Lefroy known to exist.

Though Lefroy, an Irish-born politician and judge who had enjoyed a flirtation in his early twenties with Austen, has a perfectly pleasant face in the picture; there's just no way that he has a six-pack. His features are so delicate that he looks like he might even weigh less than Elizabeth Bennet."

Mmmm. Had the reporter researched the artist's oeuvre, she would not have described Tom Lefroy as an effeminate lightweight. The miniatures from the Philadelphia Museum of Art attest that George Engleheart painted Tom's portrait in his distinctive style: with a pale face, large eyes, and rather mistily defined features. Click here to view his treatment of a female subject, which is eerily similar to the men's portraits.

As an aside, I'm rather curious to know how the myth that Tom Lefroy was the inspiration for Mr. Darcy got started. Is this "fact" found in any letters written by Jane or her kin? Or did biographers in later years simply assume that since Jane and Tom broke off their rather minor and youthful fling a few months before Jane began First Impressions, that Tom was the inspiration? (Answer: MAGS over at Austenblog says it was Jon Spence, author of Becoming Jane Austen.) Perhaps the biographers were struck by the following (rather minor) information. Jane mentioned Tom in two letters in which her tone was mildly sarcastic and offhand. (Read Lori Smith's remarks here.) Learning of Jane's death, Tom, now a distinguished judge, traveled from his home in Ireland to England to pay his respects. As an old man, when questioned by his nephew about Jane, he stated that although he had loved Jane Austen, it had been a "boyish love." In 1870, this nephew wrote to James Edward Austen Leigh:

My late venerable uncle ... said in so many words that he was in love with her, although he qualified his confession by saying it was a boyish love. As this occurred in a friendly & private conversation, I feel some doubt whether I ought to make it public.

Learn more about Tom Lefroy and the artist who painted his youthful miniature in these links, and read Laurel Ann's post below:

• Engleheart miniatures from The Royal Collection.
• Biography of George Engleheart: Victoria and Albert Museum (scroll to last name on page)
  
• The Boyfriend Tom Lefroy, JASA
• The One-Sided Romance of Jane Austen and Tom Lefroy, Joan Klingel Ray

Last image: Thomas Langlois Lefroy, 1855 by W. H. Mote, Posted by Vic, Ms. Place

Hey - that Mr. Darcy Dude is for Sale!

That was the subject line waiting for me in my e-mail box this morning from a male friend who knows I am an Austen enthusiast and likes to rib me about it. He had seen this article about the auction of the miniature portrait of Jane Austen’s ‘boy toy’ (his words again not mine, ack!) Tom Lefroy, and wanted to be the first to inform me that I could buy Mr. Darcy, if I was so inclined!

Ok gentle readers - to understand the full scope of his flip remark - you must realize that this is an ongoing joke between us. He is one of those (broad sweeping generalization here) men who do not understand the female flutterings over Jane Austen’s character Mr. Darcy from Pride and Prejudice. Previously he had attempted to discredit Darcy’s character based on a DVD cover image of Colin Firth saying that any man who wears a flouncy shirt is trying to get into someone’s pants! I was indignant. Why is it always about sex I retorted? No comment, just one raised eyebrow!!! And even though I was starting an argument with an overly educated erudite attorney that I very well might regret, I rebounded and told him that his objection was triflingly weak considering that he had not even seen the movie, or, read the book!

So it began; - our on going banter over Mr. Darcy. At least I got him to watch the movie, which only gave him more ammunition to argue his case. Geesh, attorney’s are creative, and darn persistent. I think I am winning though. At least he let’s me think so!

Posted by Laurel Ann, Austenprose

Mrs. Darcy's Dilemma Review Roundup: Buzz on the Blog-o-sphere!

Last April, Jane Austen Today was favoured by a visit from Austen-esque author Diana Birchall as she channeled Jane Austen’s opinionated character Mrs. Elton, whose candid reviews of Cranford had us raising an eyebrow and snorting with laughter all through the three episodes. Ms. Birchall’s creative writing skills have been widely lauded, and her recently re-released novel Mrs. Darcy’s Dilemma has received waves of raves across the blog-o-sphere. Our recent contest winner Katie received a new copy of Mrs. Darcy’s Dilemma and has kindly sent us her comments.

"For starters, I was very ready to revisit the Darcy's and the other Bennets and see what one take on their lives after Pride and Prejudice was. I was very pleased with the book altogether. There were many witty dialogs, that if I were to have blinked I would have thought that Jane Austen had written this book herself." Katie Dugas, Book Reviews and More

Thanks for your feedback Katie. We are so pleased that you enjoyed what has become the hit of the Jane Austen sequel season! Here are some other opinions from around the blog-o-sphere.

"Reports of Jane Austen's death must have been greatly exaggerated -- she is obviously alive and well and living in California. And at last she has decided to publish her long-awaited sequel to Pride and Prejudice." Harriet Devine, Harriet Devine's Blog

"…to paraphrase Catherine Morland 'I have just learned to love a sequel!'" Janeite Deb, Jane Austen in Vermont

"For the lover of Austen, some of the pleasures of the text also consist in Birchall’s frequent imitation of Austen’s style, turns of phrase, & cool jokes." Ellen Moody, Ellen and Jim have a Blog, Too

"The strength of the novel lies in Diana Birchall's writing. She has studied Jane Austen's writing style closely, and her fidelity to this style in both words and plot enables her to cross the line between merely writing 'fanfiction', and writing a worthy sequel to one of the great classics." Maria Elmvang, Armchair Interviews

"She catches the ironic tone and rhythm of Jane Austen's language beautifully, no gilding the lily or overdoing it and I found myself totally absorbed within five minutes of opening up this delightfully produced book." Elaine Simpson-Long, Random Jottings of a Book and Opera Lover

"As I finished reading this satisfying and entertaining novel by Diana Birchall, I knew that all was right with Jane Austen’s world again…Ms. Birchall does not disappoint her readers. The plot is fast paced, and the story believable." Vic (Ms. Place) Jane Austen’s World

"Anybody who loves Jane Austen and who is eager to find out what happened "after the day on which Mrs Bennett got rid of her two most deserving daughters" will greet this book with eagerness and joy. I loved it." Estella, Estella’s Revenge

"An American writer has had the audacity to take a revered chunk of our finest English literary heritage and plump up a sequel…we should award her Honorary British Citizenship for at least salvaging the precarious reading reputation of dgr [dovegreyreader]…, let alone writing a truly worthy Austen sequel." Dove Grey Reader Scribbles

Posted by Laurel Ann, Austenprose

Oh, What Fun! A New Contest

Contest is Over! Win a new Georgette Heyer book from Sourcebooks by simply leaving a comment on this post. We'll draw the winner on June 14th. You can win in two ways:

If you are already a Georgette Heyer fan, let us know who your favorite Heyer heroine is and why. You'll have a chance to win a copy of False Colours.

If you have never read one of Georgette's regency novels, tell us what you know about her and why you would like to start reading one of her novels. You'll have a chance to win a copy of a Lady of Quality.

We'll announce a winner from both categories on Father's Day!!

About:

False Colours
A missing twin
Something is very wrong, and the Honourable Christopher “Kit” Fancot can sense it. Kit returns to London on leave from the diplomatic service to find that his twin brother Evelyn has disappeared and his extravagant mother’s debts have mounted alarmingly.
A fortune in the balance
When the incorrigible Lady Fancot persuades her son to impersonate his twin (just for one night, she promises) the masquerade sets off a tangled sequence of events that engage Kit’s heart far more deeply than he’d ever anticipated with his brother’s fiancée—who might know much more about what’s going on than she cares to reveal...

Lady of Quality
Miss Annis Wychwood, at twenty-nine, has long been on the shelf, but this bothers her not at all. She is rich and still beautiful and she enjoys living independently in Bath, except for the tiresome female cousin, who her very proper brother insists must live with her.

When Annis offers sanctuary to the very young runaway heiress Miss Lucilla Carleton, no one at all thinks this is a good idea. With the exception of Miss Carleton’s overbearing guardian, Mr. Oliver Carleton, whose reputation as the rudest man in London precedes him. Outrageous as he is, the charming Annis ends up finding him absolutely irresistible.

Posted by Vic, Ms. Place

Lucy Writes to Mrs. Wickham About Lizzy and Mr. Darcy's Wedding

Dear readers: Vic, Ms. Place and Jane Odiwe have been exchanging letters as Lydia Wickham and her friend Lucy. Vic writes as Lucy, and Jane writes as Lydia. This letter brings us to Lizzy's and Mr. Darcy's wedding.

Oh, my dear Lydia,

I cannot imagine how I allowed so much time to slip by before answering your last two letters. My sincerest apologies, but I have had such an adventure these past few months, and I simply could not catch my breath long enough to sit still and sharpen the nubs on my quills. They were quite worn down, you see, and I kept thinking: tomorrow, tomorrow I'll tend to my writing instruments, and then I can write to my dear Lydia at leisure, and she will see what a good friend I am.

First, Lady Catherine de Bourgh returned from Longbourn after her tête à tête with your sister Lizzy, ready to do battle. There was such a commotion! She arrived at the Collins's doorstep late in the evening to announce that to all intents and purposes Miss Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy were engaged. Accusations flew around the room when she and Mr. Collins heatedly discussed how your sister could have STOLEN Mr. Darcy from under Miss Anne's nose. Charlotte stepped in the fray and defended your sister quite vigorously. Charlotte is quite cast out of Lady Catherine's good graces, for the latter declared that had she not invited that "Bennet hussy" for a prolonged visit, then that "shameless, common, impudent, and scheming woman" would not have had the opportunity to seduce Mr. Darcy with her questionable and tepid charms.

I daresay, if Charlotte had not had the good sense to convince Mr. Collins to remove to Lucas lodge until Lady Catherine recovered her equanimity, we might still be subject to the sort of language that would make a regiment blush. Lady Catherine's use of the King's English can be quite creative, to say the least, and even Mr. Collins - obsequiesce as he is towards her ladyship - was hard pressed to listen to her abusive language without betraying his astonishment. Indeed his face turned so ruddy at times that it quite alarmed Charlotte, who then took it upon herself to pack for the three of us and remove us from such "relentless and roiling agitation".

The instant we arrived at Lucas lodge, Lady Lucas announced that your sister Jane had been promised to Mr. Bingley. With much surprise, we learned that Lady Catherine's premonition about your sister Lizzy's engagement to Mr. Darcy was true. Lady Lucas, who has been wont to crow over Charlotte's marriage to Mr. Collins, seemed a bit put out by all this good news. I must say that your mama did not help the situation by boasting at every opportunity about the fine matches that her three girls have made. Even I began to tire of her conversations about trousseaus and weddings and fine houses, and you know how drawn I am to such topics!! Oh, dear, how I do run on at the mouth. You are my dearest friend, and at times I forget that I am speaking of your family. Do IGNORE my comments about your mama, which I will cross out, for I do not have time to start this letter over again and I am danger of running out of paper!

I was ecstatic to be invited to attend your sisters' weddings along with the Lucases, and mourned when I learned that neither you nor Mr. Wickham would be able make the journey from Newcastle. Oh, Lydia, had I known you were not coming, I would have worn my pink dress with the pale blue satin ribands. I was certain you would want to wear your magnificent pink silk and I did not want to compete with you (not that I ever could, for you are by far prettier, but I must admit, my hair, which I am dressing in the Grecian style, has received some very fine compliments of late.) I chose to wear my blue sarcanet silk instead, which, with the addition of new ribands and buttons, looked quite stylish.

I finally come to THE WEDDING. Your sister Jane was lovely as always, and Mr. Bingley looked suitably handsome, but it was your sister Lizzy who stole the day. I never did think her as pretty as Jane and I always feel quite tongue tied when speaking to her for she is so very bookish, is she not? And she brooks no silly remarks, which my papa says I drop like pearls from an overactive oyster. To return to the new Mrs. Darcy, she looked stunningly beautiful, with her shining eyes and lovely skin, which surely glowed from happiness. Mr. Darcy could not take his eyes off her, and he did not seem half as forbidding to me on that day, even speaking to me on occasion and asking me a question or two, if you can imagine! I caught him laughing once or twice, and always smiling in the direction of his new bride. I do wonder why the future Mrs. Darcy, who now has more money than all of Meryton put together, chose to wear such a plain dress. The material was very fine, to be sure, but my marriage gown will have more ruffles, lace, and ribands as suits the occasion.

To answer your question in your last letter, Papa will arrive in a few days to take me to Bath, where we will stay for the winter. Oh, dear, how vexing! I have run out of paper and I have still so much to relate. Pray, write to me and tell me what you have been doing! I promise I shall not let so much time pass by until next I write.

Sincerely, your errant but loving friend, Lucy


My Dear Lucy,

How delightful to hear from you again! I had begun to wonder from your lack of correspondence if you were ailing, but it now seems clear that you have been enjoying rude health enough to keep abreast of all news concerning my family with your usual flair, aptitude and resolve for gleaning gossip. No one was more surprised than I to hear of both my sisters' engagements. I was very happy for Jane but I was almost at a loss for words to describe my sentiments on discovering the truth of Lizzy's commitment to Mr Darcy. I declare I never worried so much for my sister's sanity than when I received the news. Gone MAD, I thought, like my poor Aunt Fanny, (my mother's sister, who incidentally is never mentioned - well, for a long time she convinced herself that she was betrothed to my father who spurned all her advances - as a result she took to the bottle - but that's another story.)

I never thought for a minute that Lizzy would actually go through with it and wed that odious man. All I can think is that when Jane announced her engagement, (bless her - though he is not my dish of tea, Mr Bingley certainly has his charms) - that Lizzy became frightened. Well, what would you have done, Lucy, if you were a spinster watching your other sisters getting wed?

Forgive me; I have committed a faux pas without any intention. I do not mean to imply that you are in a similar situation, even though you are not yet married. I am sure it is just a matter of time - you have been most unfortunate - not every girl has the good luck to have a young man fall for
her.

Can you imagine? To be left on the shelf with the bitter memory that the only man Lizzy ever adored had transferred his affections and married me! Well, I should be sorry for her but what could I do if Mr Wickham was in such a passion for me? Anyway, as I say, I think she threw herself away in a moment of madness because Mr Darcy happened to ask her and as Kitty pointed out he does have a big house. Not that I feel envious for Lizzy's lot; I should imagine it's very wild on those peaks, a veritable icebox the whole year round! It is evident why he was in such a hurry to marry my sister. I don't say she is ugly, but Anne de Bourgh's countenance is what my mother would describe as suet pudding and two currants. I wonder if he pictured himself waking up to that every day; I fancy she didn't take his fancy in the least!

As for the weddings, I'd had quite enough excitement with my own, quite frankly, to make such a journey. I daresay my sisters will invite Georgie and I to stay soon. Indeed, I am holding out for an invitation from Jane to spend Christmas at Netherfield but I might give her a hint if I do not hear anything soon.

You mentioned that you are going to Bath. Apparently George is travelling there soon on some sort of regimental affair, though he is so secretive I am inclined to think it is on a matter of espionage. He is not allowed to give me the name and address of his lodging house, which surely indicates the secretive nature and importance of his mission. All I know is that when I asked Captain Welby about it he denied any knowledge of George's assignment - so I think I cannot be far from the truth! Sometimes I think the men underestimate my intelligence but I am one step ahead of them, I can assure you! I doubt very much whether you will see George in town or at the assemblies because he works so hard that sometimes I don't see him from morn till night for two days together! Fortunately, my friends are very good and keep me entertained when George is called away. You would adore Captain Bostock; he has the bluest eyes I ever saw. And though he is a rascal, for he is the greatest flirt I ever knew, I manage to forgive him every time.

Do let me know of your adventures in Bath,
Affectly,
Lydia Wickham

Read Lydia Bennet's Journal here, and click here to read Lucy and Lydia's first exchange of letters.

Sex and the City Movie Review: Austentini's Rule Over Cosmo's Any Day Ladies!

In an imaginary scenario, if authors Jane Austen and Candace Bushnell met for cocktails and shared a few laughs, what would they chat about? Would it be courtship rituals, or the importance of status and money in choosing a mate, or the latest designer duds? Would they drink the ultimate chick drink the Cosmopolitan, or advance to an Austentini?


It’s not hard for me to surmise that they might have more than a bit to discuss since Ms. Bushnell the creator of Sex and the City, and Miss Austen of English literary acclaim share the disconcerting distinction of having been tagged chick lit authors! Shudder. What a unruly moniker. None-the-less, I would enjoy being a fly on the wall when Austen interprets for Bushnell the irony of their names being mentioned in the same sentence! Ha!


I have just returned from seeing the Sex and the City Movie. Me, and the five other people in the theater. Weird, but according to today’s news, it knocked Indiana Jones off the top box office slot. I was a peripheral fan of the television series, mostly for its keen social observations and driving narrative by its main character Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) who is a singleton celebrity writer in New York City. She and her three girlfriends, Charlotte (Kristin Davis), Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) and Samantha (Kim Cattrall) are on the prowl for the perfect man and along the way, buy lots of expensive shoes, have sex everywhere and then gossip about it. Groundbreaking stuff in 1998 when it premiered and still scintillating when it concluded in 2004.


Some people say that Sex and the City is Jane Austen after way too many Martini’s! Not quite sure I agree. I see similarities in plot and characters, but since Jane Austen has been credited as the great grandmother of chick lit, and Bushnell the modern pided piper of chick lit, the comparisons are inevitable. One can find Austen’s themes and characters in just about any modern romance story today. She is about so much more than romance though, at least for me, that I hesitate to label her talent.


(Spoilers ahead)

Speaking of labels, it is one of the main themes of the movie, and forgiveness, yes forgiveness, one of the difficult virtues that we all face! The opening scene was like a sorority reunion; - everything looks perfect on the outside, but reality will soon surface after a few drinks. Four years has transpired but not much has changed in the lives of the four friends. Carrie and ‘Big’ (Chris Noth) are a couple, but not married; Charlotte and Harry (Evan Handler) are still blissfully married with their young adopted daughter Lily the center of their lives; Miranda, the multi-tasking working mom who adores her son Brady, but is still cranky and curt to her understanding husband Steve (David Eigenberg); and Samantha, ah Samantha, the wild free-loving publicist is in a committed relationship with a younger man, Smith (Jason Lewis) and has moved to the coast (Malibu, CA) to manage his budding acting career.


There is more familiar territory here in that we are flooded with fashion; - the haute couture high brow stuff that the ‘Sex’ ladies live for, but hardly makes it off the runway and into your local department store kind of stuff. This is New York after all, the city where high fashion dreams are made, for the select few that understand them at least, and these four friends still revel in the hype and rush of looking like little girls playing mis-matched dress-up from the closet of a traveling drag show. To reinforce their addiction, we see other young women similarly dressed romping about the New York streets. Hmmm? Fashionista herds?


The plot is predictable and revolves around Carrie and her long relationship with her man ‘Big’ who after ten years proposes marriage, because all of a sudden he thinks he should? No mention of love or a romantic bended knee moment, but Carrie accepts and is soon swept up into the marriage ‘event’ whirlwind created by well meaning friends to celebrate their union. As a subplot, cranky Miranda has dumped hubby Steve because he admitted to a one-night-stand and can’t live with himself any longer without telling her! She dumps him. In the meantime, Carrie is getting into her now headline society wedding featured in Vogue magazine hoopla, but ‘Big’ can’t get past writing his vows or literally out of the car on the day of the wedding, and jilts her.


Friends to the rescue, and we follow the ladies to Mexico on the non-refundable honeymoon that Carrie had planned as a surprise for her new husband. Bitter salsa ensues. Sarah Jessica Parker is not very appealing as the tragic heroine, and she makes the jilted Carrie as posed and predictable as those runway models that hawk the clothes she covets. When bad stuff happened in her life in previous episodes, and there was plenty of it, she typed out her inner thoughts on her computer and turned it into a column for her newspaper job. Sadly, we didn’t see any of this in the movie which made me wonder how does a single girl in New York live as extravagantly as she does without an obvious income? Jane Austen would surely like to know that secret, let alone any singleton out there trying to make ends meet!


Some of the themes of the television show have transferred well to the movie; the enduring friendships of the four ladies, the quest for love or the perfect pair of designer shoes, and the qualms and challenges of making a relationship last. My biggest disappointment was the lack of biting social observation played against the humor and irony of the dialogue. I did not laugh as much and consequently could not connect to these ladies. They have evolved into caricatures of the original characters in sillier clothes, doing sillier things, for sillier reasons. Honestly, how many times can Miranda be over judgemental to her husband Steve, and then he just grovels for forgiveness? Why did they have to make Charlotte a screaming ditzy goody-two-shoes beauty queen with no foreseeable life problems? What was Samantha, the sex addict supreme, doing in a monogamous relationship alone in a beach house in Malibu while her actor boyfriend is stuck at the studio for all hours? And poor Carrie! After ten years of getting jerked around by ‘Big’, then left at the altar, she takes him back and they marry? Whaaat?


Jane Austen always supplied us with the wedding of her protagonists at the end of her novels and we were happy for them. These modern ladies are faced with some of the same challenges as Elinor Dashwood or Lizzy Bennet, but they lacked the integrity and resolve of Austen’s heroines that allowed us to identify with them, and most importantly admire them. The smaltzy Hollywood happy ending for all of the ladies in Sex and the City was disappointing because we just didn’t agree with their decisions or care. Austen still rules supreme in my book, and I raise my Austentini to her.


Posted by Laurel Ann, Austenprose