Regency Cant Throwdown

Mr. Collins often talked fustian to others

Gentle readers, how often have you come across a Regency term and had to guess at its meaning? Georgette Heyer novels are filled with colorful terms that either so old-fashioned they are no longer in common use, or they were made up. One of her favorite words was "fustian", as in the following passage from The Grand Sophy:

He turned his head to look at her, his eyes narrowed, and their expression was by no means pleasant. “Are you thinking of being so unwise as to cross swords with me?” he demanded. “I shan’t pretend to misunderstand you, Cousin, and I will leave you in no doubt of my own meaning! If you imagine that I will ever permit that puppy to marry my sister, you have yet something to learn of me!”
“Pooh!” said Sophy. “Mind your horses, Charles, and don’t talk fustian to me."

In the above context, what does the term mean?

Fustian means
	nonsense
	fussy
	pompous
pollcode.com free polls

For the definition, click on this online dictionary link.

Regency Era Fashions - 1815

Image from @EKDuncan

EK Duncan shows quite a few fashions from the first set. Click on the site to see the rest of the images.

The fashions of Ackermann's Repository, 1815 are featured on EKDuncan's site.

During the twenty year run of this monthly publication, Ackermann's
made specially bound volumes available for those who were collecting the issues.
These "bound" book versions consisted of a 2 volume set for each year it was published.
There were a total of 3 series in that 20 year period. 

Series 1 began in Jan 1809 (volume 1) and ended with the Dec issue (volume 14) in 1815.
Series 2 began in Jan 1816 and ended with the Dec issue in 1822.
Series 3 began in Jan 1823 and ended with the final issue in Dec 1828

There Was an Earl Grey but No Earl Grey Tea in Regency England

Image @Elaine Golden, Unforgettable
Characters

Tea for Two in Regency England is a fascinating post about taking tea, the types of tea, and the history of tea.

"By the 1730’s tea gardens were a popular private venue that served tea to women in a gardened setting with music. However, since a woman had to be escorted to the a tea garden by a male companion, and most men were off at their clubs for the afternoon, women began to invite other women to their home to share tea."

  Click here to read the full article by Elaine Golden.

Northanger Abbey and Angels and Dragons: A Supernatural Jane Austen

Gentle Readers, When author Vera Nazarian asked me to read Northanger Abbey and Angels and Dragons, I asked her: "Will people laugh or cry when they read this book?" She answered:

I think at first the gentle reader can expect, giggles, guffaws, and some astonished chuckles and snorts that are very likely to turn into full-blown uncontrollable laughing fits – so it is highly recommended that one does not attempt reading this book with a full bladder, and for that matter, take extreme care while drinking liquids...


However, there will be a spot or two toward the middle and the end when possibly there will be a tug at the back of one's throat, and a slight glistening of moisture in the corner of the eye (which may easily be disguised and averted if you then burrow your face in the illustration of the Gentlemen and their Walking-Shovels). But eventually, in the very, very end, the desire to sniffle will be replaced with the overwhelming need to smile.

The descriptive jacket blurb cries out: Dragons in the skies of Regency England! And so I turned to the jacket cover, which revealed the plot:

Young and naive Catherine Morland is constantly surrounded by angels only she alone can see. Leaving her country home for the first time, to embark on a grand adventure that begins in fashionable Bath, our romantic heroine must not only decrypt the mystery of the Udolpho Code but win her true love Henry Tilney.

Meanwhile she is beset by all the Gothic horrors known to Impressionable Young Ladies—odious demons, Regency balls, elusive ghosts, pleasure excursions, temperature-changing nephilim, secret clues, ogre suitors, and a terrifying ancient Dragon who has very likely hidden a secret treasure hoard somewhere in the depths of Northanger Abbey.

Click on image to read the cover blurbs

If you are intrigued, you can read the first chapter at this link. To order: Northanger Abbey and Angels and Dragons by Jane Austen and Vera Nazarian (Supernatural Jane Austen Series): Amazon. Kindle. Barnes & Noble.

Trade Paperback (First Edition)
Curiosities (an imprint of Norilana Books)
December 5, 2010
Retail Price: $14.95 USD - £11.50 GBP

This Delightful Illustrated Edition includes Scholarly Footnotes and Appendices.

Look for Vera's next edition of the Supernatural Jane Austen series: Pride and Platypus: Mr. Darcy's Dreadful Secret. Read the first chapter here.

Jane Austen Shopping Throwdown

Jane Austen writes of shopping in London whenever she visited, and of making purchases on behalf of friends. If you were in Jane's shoes, which shops would interest you the most?

Ackermann's Repository, a picture and print shop

Ackermann's Repository was located in the Strand

Wedgwood and Byerly showrooms with beautiful China

Wedgwood and Byerly showrooms

The linen drapers, where one could purchase bolts of cloth, stockings, caps, and bonnets.

Harding and J Howell linen drapers

Covent Garden, with it market stalls of fresh goods, flowers, and freshly butchered meat

Covent Garden's open market stalls

The Burlington Arcade was a small covered shopping center off Picadilly

The Burlington Arcade served as a mini mall

Book stores, such as Hatchard's on Picadilly and this quaint shop off St. Martin's Lane

Rundell and Bridge, jewelers to the Crown was located further down in Ludgate.

Rundell and Bridge (Left), located in Ludgate.
Image @Austenonly

Which of these shops would interest you the most on your visit to London?

Jane Austen Shopping Throwdown: I'd visit
	Ackermann's Print Repository
	Wedgewood showrooms
	The linen drapers
	Covent Garden market stalls
	The Burlington Arcade
	Book stores
	Rundell and Bridge jewellers
	Other
pollcode.com free polls

Ice and Ices to Keep Cool

Entrance to the ice house. Image @Tony Grant

The July heat this year is stifling. It is all people (and animals) can do to keep cool. Tony Grant sent two images of an ice house at Ham House in Cleveland.

One can see how far into the ground these ice houses went.
Image @Tony Grant

 Before refrigeration, blocks of ice were carved from frozen rivers, ponds, and streams and carted to these thick-walled, underground ice houses, where the ice was covered with burlap and straw to prevent melting.
Learn about the ways people kept cool during Jane Austen's day at Jane Austen's World.

Ham House

This strawberry frozen yogurt recipe offered by Jean from Delightful Repast is a sure fire way to beat the summer doldrums. Jean writes that yogurt has been around for centuries. I wonder if they froze it even back then?

Strawberry frozen yogurt by Jean @Delightful Repast

Regency Fashion Study

Random Sandy kills time "during lunch at work. I've always love the older fashions, and find it interesting how hard it was for women to get dressed up!! Quill pens, India Inks in my Moleskine."

Here's a detail of her drawing. Click here to see the entire image.

Detail of a drawing by Random Sandy

Gigi Stone's Jane Austen Wedding? Methinks Not

Gigi and Ian cut the cake

Anisha Lakhani described Gigi Stone's Jane Austen Wedding in Huffington Post yesterday.

A Jane Austen wedding? I did a double take when I saw the images. Where's the Regency inspired gown? The little stone chapel? The horse drawn carriage? The small bouquet of meadow flowers in season? The neatly coiffed and curled hair? While Gigi looked ravishing and the setting of her wedding was picturesque, I would not have described her wedding as Austenesque.

The headline proves how a mere association with Jane Austen's name can attract readers. If you want to see a Regency inspired wedding, view this image of Caroline D's wedding in 2007 on Sense and Sensibility Patterns.

Caroline Ds Regency - Horatio Hornblower - inspired wedding
Image @Sense and Sensibility Patterns

Caroline provides even more information and images on this discussion post.

Pride and Prejudice the Musical

This song clip from YouTube showcases Lizzie's first visit to Pemberley with her aunt and uncle.



The performers are:
Donna Lynne Champlin as Jane Austen, Laura Osnes as Elizabeth Bennet, and Colin Donnel as Mr. Darcy sing "The Portrait Song" from PRIDE & PREJUDICE, THE MUSICAL.

Learn more about the musical on the website.

This song is titled "Fine Eyes"



Topic suggested by Raquel Sallaberry

Jane Austen Alcofrolic Throwdown

You may use this image if it is credited to
vsanborn @Jane Austen Today

Summer time and the living is easy. Jane Austen aficionados are aware of their favorite author's taste for wine. What if she lived in the 21st century? Would she have developed a liking for martinis as well? Several years ago, Laurel Ann from Austenprose came up with the drink, Austentini. Which description would make you want to order an Austentini?

A: Well-mannered and dry, with a splash of originality and zest. This combination of flavors will make you want more.

B: Old-fashioned yet daring, with a twist of sour. This seemingly plain drink has unexpected depths and layers.

C: Perfection barely contained, with long-lasting notes that will appeal to the most demanding and finicky palates.

• Recipe for an Austentini
• For the teetotaler: Click here to view a Jane Austen Mar-Tea-Ni Party.

Jane Austen Alcofrolic Throwdown
	Austentini A
	Austentini B
	Austentini C
pollcode.com free polls

Jane Austen in the Garden

Run, don't walk, to the book giveaway of In the Garden with Jane Austen by Kim Wilson at Jane Austen's World!

Amanda White's painting of Jane and Cassandra Austen Tending their Steventon Garden
Image @Amanda White Contemporary Naive Art

Amanda White, left a link to a post on her blog in which she featured her latest painting: Jane and Cassandra Austen Tending their Steventon Garden. How fun is that? You may purchase this example of contemporary naive art.

Jane Austen Manuscript of The Watson's sells for $1.6 Million

Our friends across The Pond can heave a sigh of relief. Jane Austen's original manuscript of The Watsons has sold for over an astounding £990,000 although it was valued for no more than £300,000. The Bodleian Library in Oxford has purchased this rare item, the only surviving original manuscript of any of Jane Austen's novels.

The manuscript descended from Jane Austen’s sister Cassandra to her niece Caroline Mary Craven Austen (1805-1880), the younger daughter of their eldest brother James. It was in Caroline’s possession when first published in 1871 by her brother James Edward Austen-Leigh.- About the Watsons

The draft of this unfinished novel is not complete. The Morgan Library in New York City owns 12 pages of the manuscript. A few of its pages were lost by The University of London. The manuscript is remarkable in that it is a working draft, with crossings out, ink splotches, and many changes inserted into the lines and spacings.

"Richard Ovenden, Deputy Librarian, Bodleian Libraries said: ‘The Bodleian Libraries are delighted to have succeeded in their bid to save Jane Austen’s draft manuscript of the The Watsons for the nation. The manuscript is such a valuable part of our literary heritage and we are glad it will stay now in Britain. We will make the manuscript available to the general public who can come and see it as early as this autumn when The Watsons will indeed be a star item in our forthcoming exhibition Treasures of the Bodleian." - Saved for the Nation: Bodleian Acquires Jane Austen Manuscript

Much of the money to purchase The Watsons came from the National Heritage Memorial Fund (NHMF), through a £894,700 grant.Other contributors include the Friends of the National Libraries, the Friends of the Bodleian and the Jane Austen Memorial Trust.

• Saved for the Nation: Bodleian Acquires Jane Austen Manuscript
• The £1m 'lost' Austen: Sold at auction, manuscript that comes with no beginning or end
  
• Jane Austen Manuscript Sells for More than 990,000.
• Sotheby's List of Catelogue Items for Sale

Links contributed by Tony Grant, London Calling.

A visual trip to Lacock Village

Gentle Readers, Contributor Tony Grant of London Calling has just returned from several tours in which he escorted travelers to England around Jane Austen country. He has taken some wonderful images of Lacock, the picturesque village in Wiltshire that has served as a backdrop in so many costume dramas, including as Meryton in 1995s Pride and Prejudice and the recent PBS productions of Cranford. Enjoy!

All images, rights reserved, Tony Grant

Fans Celebrate Jane Austen at Locust Grove

The annual Jane Austen Festival hosted by the Greater Louisville Jane Austen Society at Locust Grove keeps growing. The festival first appeared four years ago. By the second day this year, Bonny Wise, one of its founders, estimated that attendance had surpassed the 1,082 people who came to last year's festival.

Read an account of the event in this article from the Courier Journal:

More than 1,000 celebrate English writer Jane Austen at Locust Grove.


Image @The Courier Journal

Jane Austen History Throwdown

Washing and bathing were hard to accomplish back in the day when water had to be hauled in from outdoors. Some lucky people could draw water from a well in the courtyard, like Jane Austen and her family at Chawton Cottage, others had to walk to a stream or river or to a common pump in the town square. This meant that laundry days were few and far between, for it meant two days of hard work. Personal bathing was not a daily occurrence. Individuals might wash their faces and hands daily, but frequent baths were out. Indoor plumbing was also a convenience for the future.

Jane and Cassandra's bedroom at Chawton Cottage. The chamber
pot is in the closet at left. Image @Tony Grant

Thinking about your own personal hygiene habits, which would be the hardest daily habit for you to forego? Bathing? Clean laundry? Or indoor toilets?

Boiling laundry. Seraphine, 2008

Which modern convenience would be the hardest to forego?
	Bathing
	Clean laundry
	Indoor toilets
pollcode.com free polls

Friday Fashion: Exhibition about Keats lover: Fanny Brawne

Abbie Cornish and Ben Wishawe as Fanny Brawne and John Keats in Bright Star

Those of us who have seen Bright Star cannot get past our curiosity about Fanny Brawne, a Regency seamstress and John Keats's lover (played superbly by Abbie Cornish). The film was breathtaking and illuminating.

"According to Wentworth Place, the museum ran inside Keats’ Hampstead home, Brawne subscribed to plenty of fashion magazines of the era, and didn’t just sew idly- but was practically a fashion designer in waiting. This summer Wentworth Place are opening up an exhibition based not just on her relationship with Keats, but with the clothes she was drawn to and created (through a series of created artworks made to discover.)" - Fashion for Lunch

Abbie Cornish as Fanny Brawne

Fashion Exhibition About Keats Lover:

"No one knew until long after the death of poet John Keats; when his love letters to Fanny Brawne were published in 1878, about the fiance who had been his companion during those final years. Brawne it seems was known for being elegant, witty and really into fashion- the timely Regency style of course, and anything else with a historical whim to it."

The Needle is Always At Hand will be exhibited at the John Keats House in Hampstead, London, from June 14 through August 14, 2011.

"An exhibition exploring Fanny Brawne's time at Keats House through her interest in dress. Blurring the lines between costume and art this exhibition invites visitors to find each piece for themselves, to discover more about Fanny Brawne, Regency fashions and dressmaking."

FREE with an admission ticket to the house.

Fanny Brawne

Read: A Biography of Fanny Brawne and Discussion of her Romance With John Keats.

Downton Abbey in Vogue

Can we wait for the second season of Downton Abbey? Guess we have no choice. Meanwhile, enjoy this fashion photo of the Crawley sisters in the most recent issue of Vogue.

Jessica Brown-Findlay, Laura Carmichael, and Michelle Dockery in Kew Gardens,
the July, oops, August 2011 Issue of Vogue

• Couture for Vogue, The Daily Mail

R.I.P. Anna Massey, an Unforgettable Mrs. Norris

Anna Massey as Mrs. Norris in
1983s Mansfield Park

Gentle Readers, sad news. Anna Massey, who gave us an unforgettable portrayal of Mrs. Norris in 1983s Mansfield Park, died of cancer a few days ago. Anna was a talented British actor whose roles were memorable no matter which film she acted in. R.I.P. talented lady.

More About Anna Massey:

• How Helen Jerome's Pride and Prejudice: A Sentimental Comedy in Three Acts Ties in with Anna Massey, Mrs. Norris of Mansfield Park: Jane Austen's World
• A Seductive Slice of the Life of a Reluctant Lady: Camden New Journal
• Anna Massey, 1937-2011: RTE Ten, Entertainment Network

Anna Massey, 1937-2011

Another view of Anna as Mrs Norris

Jane Austen Invites...Coming August 26, 27, and 28th

Jane Austen Invites………

Susan Leather and Lesley Sherwood

Friday August 26th and Saturday August 27th, 7:00 pm Robert Louis Stevenson Room, Over-Seas House,
100 Princes St, Edinburgh.

And


4:00pm on Sunday August 28th, Blebo Craigs Village Hall, Blebo Craigs, Fife.Tickets: £5:00

Jane Austen Invites ....

• an original script based on an idea of director & foodie Sue Humphreys
• inspired by a cookbook compiled by Martha Lloyd who lived with the Austen family for many years before marrying one of Jane’s brothers.
• improvised and written by Susan Leather (Jane Austen) & Lesley Sherwood (Martha Lloyd) in collaboration with Sue H.
• although centred around a fictional event, the play includes much that is factual about Jane, her family & friends, the food & the times in which they lived.
• in this gently humourous & charming play, the two actors draw the audience into Jane’s world.

Director Sue Humphreys, founder of ‘Theatre Someone’, has been involved in theatre for over 20 years in Switzerland, Hong Kong, England and now France, directing shows as diverse as Shakespeare’s Hamlet to the musical, Wizard of Oz. While in Hong Kong, she founded & ran her first theatre company, ‘Spare Parts Unlimited’.

Theatre Someone
‘Theatre Someone’, is an accredited Association based in a small town in France near to Switzerland’s Geneva. It grew out of conversations between like-minded theatre enthusiasts who were interested in using their various talents to present small, innovative productions simply staged in interesting venues.

Staged in-the-round, it was ‘toured’ to various intimate venues in Geneva and neighbouring France. The very positive response from the audiences encouraged us to continue.

Since then we have created & performed Jane Austen invites…., staged Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett and organised a concert by the Kaluga Choir from Russia in conjunction with the Commune de Divonne.

Susan Leather and Lesley Sherwood in Jane Austen Invites

Actor & Author Susan Leather began her involvement in drama at university. Since moving to the Geneva region, she has been active with the local Anglophone group, enjoying parts by Arthur Miller, Tom Stoppard and Timberlake Wertenbaker. Recently retired from the United Nations’ International Labour Organization, she now writes plays as well as performing.

Actor & Author Lesley Sherwood started acting on her arrival in Switzerland (from Scotland), some 20 years ago. Since then she has appeared in many wonderful plays, from Antigone to The Way of the World, via Hay Fever. She works for one of the agencies of the United Nations where she appreciates the multicultural environment with colleagues from more than 90 countries. ‘Theatre Someone’, is an accredited Association based in a small town in France neat to Switzerland’s Geneva. It was formed by like-minded enthusiasts in 2009 after the success of a production of Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me by Frank McGuiness. Staged in-the-round, it was ‘toured’ to various intimate venues in Geneva and neighbouring France. The very positive response from the audiences encouraged us to continue. Since then we have not only created Jane Austen invites….,but also staged Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett.

Susan Leather and Lesley Sherwood reenact the two good friends visiting

Biographies:

Sue Humphreys

• Founder of Theatre Someone.
• Instigator, collaborator and director of Jane Austen invites....

Sue has been involved in theatre for over 20years, both on & off stage, in Switzerland, Hong Kong, England and now France, including several European festivals. Over the years, she has directed many shows ranging from Shakespeare’s Hamlet to the musical,Wizard of Oz; gained a certificate in Arts Management and founded her first theatre company, Spare Parts Unlimited, in Hong Kong.

Susan Leather
Susan has been involved in amateur drama since university, where she acted and directed in English and in French. She used drama in her later language teaching, and when she moved to the Geneva region joined the well-established Anglophone amateur theatre group based there. She has been active in its programme of staged play-readings as well as enjoying parts in productions of work by Arthur Miller, Tom Stoppard and Timberlake Wertenbaker. Susan has recently retired from the United Nations’ International Labour Organization.

Lesley Sherwood
Lesley started acting on her arrival in Switzerland (from Scotland), some 20 years ago. Since then she has had the good fortune to appear in many wonderful plays, from Amadeus and Antigone to The Way of the World, via Broken Glass and Hay Fever. She works for one of the agencies of the United Nations, where she appreciates the multicultural environment and the contact with colleagues from more than 90 countries.

Website: www.theatresomeone.com
RSVP : Sue Humphreys Email: theatresomeone@hotmail.com
Tel: +33 450 201 232 or UK mobile:+44 706 26 8939

Our web site: www.theatresomeone.com
Contact us at theatresomeone@hotmail.com or at
Theatre Someone
12 rue du Mont Blanc
Divonne les Bains
01220 France
Tel : +33 450 201 232

Jane Austen Character Throwdown

Which JA female character will drive you out of the room first from boredom?

Lady Middleton, Sense and Sensibility

The only subjects that animate the cold and reserved Lady Middleton are her children.

Mrs. Bates, Emma

Mrs. Bates, right, is almost past everything except tea and quadrille.

Lady Bertram, Mansfield Park

"I feel quite stupid. It must be sitting up so late last night. Fanny, you must do something to keep me awake. I cannot work. Fetch the cards, — I feel so very stupid." - Lady Bertram

Which Jane Austen character will bore you most?
	Lady Middleton
	Mrs. Bates
	Lady Bertram
pollcode.com free polls