Another Idealized Image of Jane?

Online Texts and Journals, University of Pennsylvania

In closely viewing this rendering, I sense a "Victorian" influence around the lips and eyes. I am going on nothing more than my gut instinct and background in art.

On Becoming a Gentleman: Lord Chesterfield's Letters to his Son

Next to good-breeding is genteel manners and carriage, and the best method to acquire these is through a knowledge of dance. Now to acquire a graceful air, you must attend to your dancing; no one can either sit, stand or walk well, unless he dances well. And in learning to dance, be particularly attentive to the motion of your arms for a stiffness in the wrist will make any man look awkward. If a man walks well, presents himself well in company, wears his hat well, moves his head properly, and his arms gracefully, it is almost all that is necessary.

One can imagine that Mr. Darcy's and Mr. Bingley's deportment and good breeding in Pride and Prejudice reflected the etiquette and manners described by Lord Chesterfield in his letters to his sons dating from 1737. Although Samuel Johnson derided these letters for teaching "the morals of a whore and the manners of a dancing-master," their collections were published and became well known during the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
Influenced by his own neglect as a child, Lord Chesterfield began to write the letters to Philip, his illegitimate son by a Dutch governess, when the boy was only five years old. When Philip turned twenty-five, Lord Chesterfield's godson (another Philip) was born. Lord Chesterfield continued to send advice to this boy as well. Though quite illuminating about a father's expectations of his son's deportment, these letters were private and were never meant to be read publicly. (Bartleby.com) However, Lord Chesterfield's advice remains fascinating, and much of what he related in them still holds true today. Regardless of what one might think of the information contained therein, the letters provide a fascinating insight into the manners and etiquette of the a gentleman in the 18th century:

Many people lose a great deal of their time by laziness; they loll and yawn in a great chair, tell themselves that they have not time to begin anything then, and that it will do as well another time. This is a most unfortunate disposition, and the greatest obstruction to both knowledge and business. At your age, you have no right nor claim to laziness; I have, if I please, being emeritus. You are but just listed in the world, and must be active, diligent, indefatigable. If ever you propose commanding with dignity, you must serve up to it with diligence. Never put off till tomorrow what you can do to-day.

Read the letters and about Lord Chesterfield in the following links:

• Letters To His Son On The Art Of Becoming A Man Of The World And A Gentleman, 1750, written by Chesterfield, Philip Dormer Stanhope, Earl of, 1694-1773

• Ken Baron: Sayings of Lord Chesterfield

• Virginia Woolf: Lord Chesterfield's Letters to His Son

• Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield, Wikipedia

• About Lord Chesterfield

Prinny's Carlton House Set

I've written posts about the Prince Regent and his lavish lifestyle before. Click here, here and here to read a few of them. The Prince's association with Jane Austen is minor but crucial: He admired her novels, and she dedicated Emma to him.

The conventional wisdom is that Austen tried to squirm out of the tribute to the Prince. Was it “incumbent on [her] to shew her sense of the Honour” by dedicating her forthcoming novel to His Royal Highness? she asked Clarke. “It is certainly not incumbent on you” to do so, he responded, “but if you wish to do the Regent that honour either now or at any future period, I am happy to send you that permission which need not require any more trouble or solicitation on your Part” (16 November 1815). - Colleen A. Sheehan, Jane Austen Society of North America

Aside from his admiration of Jane Austen, this extravagant, dissolute prince was known for sponsoring major building and park projects that transformed London, including the renovations of Carlton House in London and the sumptuous Pavilion at Brighton. Both were designed in the neoclassical and Gothic styles we've come to associate with the Regency era's furnishings, fashion, and architecture.

Carlton House, sumptuously decorated in the height of fashionable Francophile taste in line with the prince's Whig sympathies by the important architect Henry Holland (1745–1806), was the setting for a series of the extravagant parties which the prince so loved to give, culminating in the famous Carlton House fete in 1811 on his appointment as Regent. The dazzled Thomas Moore wrote to his mother about this fete, detailing the delights of the indoor fountain and the artificial brook that ran down the centre of the table, and concluding, ‘Nothing was ever half so magnificent. It was in reality all that they try to imitate in the gorgeous scenery of the theatre’ (quoted in Hibbert, 1973, p.371). (A Prince at Seaside, Learning Space)

(Image from Old London Maps)

You can view some of the rooms at Carlton Hose, such as the crimson drawing room, in this link to Decorative Arts and Design History in this link.


Blue Closet, Carlton House, The Royal Collection

The Prince Regent's friends were also known as the 'Carlton House Set.' Read a detailed description of the Prinny's high roller friends in this link: The Prince Regent and His Set from the Georgian Index.

From left to right depicted are the Earl of Sefton, The Duke of Devonshire, Lord Manners, "Poodle" Byng, Byng's poodle (name unknown), and the Duke of Beaufort.

Post script: Today is the one-year anniversary of this blog! Since early April of this year, over 20,000 of you have dropped by to visit, and I want to thank you for your support.

Seen on the Blogosphere: Jane Austen Musicals

Rounds enjoy a wonderful tradition in music. One of my favorites is "Row, row, row your boat." My most recent favorite round is the information going around the blogosphere about Jane Austen musicals. Here then are a few items of interest.

• Jane's Austen's Emma Becomes a Musical, San Francisco Chronicle: Pride and Prejudice, the musical is mentioned at the end of this article: In Mill Valley, composer-lyricist Rita Abrams and author Josie Brown have put "Pride and Prejudice" to music and are using their Web site, www.prideandprejudicemusical.com, to attract a theatrical producer. The complete song available this week is Changing World, when Jane falls ill and must stay at Netherfield. The song is sung by Bingley and Jane, who are falling in love, and Darcy, who is bewitched by Elizabeth's fine eyes, and Elizabeth, who is hopeful for Jane. It's a lovely tune, full of the pathos of falling in love with a little fear and trepidation.
  

• Keep Breath to Cool Your Porridge - And I Shall Keep Mine to Swell My Song from Austen Blog. This post about all the recent musicals written from Jane Austen novels contains a comment that there was a Broadway musical made in the 1950's called First Impressions. It starred Farley Granger and Polly Bergen. For more information about this musical and to listen to 30 sec. samples, click on this article at the Jane Austen Center here.
  

Becoming Jane

This weekend I am going to see Becoming Jane, which has finally come to our city. In my small Janeite group people are skeptical about the film. "What are the chances that Hollywood's take on her life will be accurate?" asked one. "I don't see how they can make an entire movie about a minor youthful romance," said another. "I didn't like that last (2005) interpretation of Pride and Prejudice," remarked a third, "so I don't hold out much hope that this movie will be any better."

"Anne Hathaway?"" I asked, my artist's sensibilities slightly ruffled and offended at this mismatch of visual cues. Seeing Anne's dramatic, gorgeous features disguised as Jane Austen, and watching her romp about the country side like a frisky young filly and making moon eyes at the actor playing Tom Lefroy in previews, well, it all seems anachronistic to me. In fact, to my eyes, watching Anne as Jane is like watching a parrot disguising itself as a thrush. Both birds are beautiful in entirely different ways.

I like my Jane Austen just as she is, thank you, no more and no less. In fact, I rather like the quiet, mysterious side of her and I don't need to see her life glammed up by Hollywood types whose main mission in creating a film is the bottom line. So I will see this movie with some trepidation.

Nevertheless, I'll try to see Becoming Jane with open eyes, since so many people are reporting that they like it and because it has garnered a number of good reviews, but something deep inside tells me to remember as I watch, "It's only a movie." As for my review of Becoming Jane, don't expect to see it soon. I intend to see the film twice and will take my time digesting what I have seen before writing my opinion.


Links to Becoming Jane

Did you intend to jump onto the Becoming Jane bandwagon, only to have stumbled across my quiet site? Here are some important links:

• Austen Blog: My touchstone Jane Austen site. Find a compilation of information about Jane Austen and Becoming Jane, and links to the other juggernaut Jane Austen sites.

• Becoming Jane Fansite: An unabashed fan site of the film that contains an enormous amount of information about the movie and actors, and speculations about Jane's romance with Tom.

• Following Austen: A site maintained by Lori Smith, author of A Walk With Jane Austen. Lori posted her take on Jane and Tom Lefroy's romance, The Truth About Jane Austen and Tom Lefroy, which was written well before the movie made its debut.

• Becoming Jane Austen icons: for those who just can't get enough images of the movie.

• My first post on Becoming Jane

Fabrics in the Regency Era

I recall seeing Princess Charlotte's wedding dress years ago at the Museum of London. I couldn't take my eyes off this exquisite creation made of white silk net and silver embroidery. The details were breathtaking, and I could only imagine the number of hours that seamstresses spent toiling over this wondrous dress. The dress fabric was an exception, made for royalty. (Find more details about the dress and wedding here.)

Jane Austen and her sister Cassandra could choose from any number of bolts of fabrics from their milliners and mantua makers. Some of the more expensive cloths were dyed and handpainted, such as the silk fabric above. It was hand painted in the 1700s, made into a dress, then unpicked and remade into a dress in the 1820's. The custom of reusing fabrics was not uncommon. This child's dress was remade from an adult gown. The pattern is obviously too big for the tiny dress to begin with.

This white muslin fabric with embroidered spangles would have shimmered wonderfully at a ball in candlelight. One can imagine the sparkles glittering as the wearer moved about the room.

We know that white muslins were popular during this era, and that silks were used for evening gowns. But what other fabrics were popular during Jane Austen' time? To learn more about Regency fabrics, find a detailed study and samples on Jessamyn's Regency Costume Companion.

The Royal Academy at Somerset House

During Jane Austen's time, a trip to London would have most likely included a visit to the great painting exhibitions of the Royal Academy. This august selection of painters, sculptors, and architects moved from their location in Pall Mall to Somerset House in 1768. Sir Joshua Reynolds, the first president, presided over forty members.

View of Somerset House from the Thames

The steep curved Nelson Steps in Somerset House took visitors up to the Great Room, a domed area roughly 53 x 43 feet and 32 feet high, where the oil paintings were hung.

Rowlandson, whose satiric illustration of the Nelson Steps was shown on a previous post on this blog, drew a crowd "Viewing Art" in the illustration above. The exhibits increased from 547 paintings and sculptures in 1781, to1,037 in 1801, and 1,165 in 1821. Eventually the paintings were hung from floor to ceiling, and according to the order of "importance," the best were hung nearest the midline of the room.

The purchase of catalogues became mandatory in 1761 in order to view an Academy exhibition. Their cost was one shilling, which would prevent a certain class of visitors from attending academy shows. As with today's audio and visual museum guides, these catalogues would direct museum goers to certain paintings and sculptures, thereby directing the movement of the crowd.

Dr. Samuel Johnson noted in his diary about the first pre-exhibition banquet: The Exhibition! how will you do either to see or not to see? The Exhibition is eminently splendid. There is contour and keeping and grace and expression, and all the varieties of artificial excellence.

The apartments were truly very noble. The pictures for the sake of the skylight are at the top of the house: there we dined and I sat over against the Archbishop of York.

The Academy moved to new quarters in Trafalgar Square, and the last academy exhibition at Somerset House was held in 1836.

• Somerset House

• Eyes on the Metropole: Seeing London and Beyond

• History of the Royal Academy
  

• Davidson Galleries: Antique Prints

Jane Austen's Visits to Sydney Gardens

There is to be a grand gala on Tuesday evening in Sydney Gardens, a concert, with illuminations and fireworks. To the latter Elizabeth and I look forward with pleasure, and even the concert will have more than its usual charm for me, as the gardens are large enough for me to get pretty well beyond the reach of its sound. In the morning Lady Willoughby is to present the colours to some corps, or Yeomanry, or other, in the Crescent, and that such festivities may have a proper commencement, we think of going to . . .- Jane Austen to Cassandra, June 2, 1799 on a visit to Bath

A Fair, Sydney Gardens, circa 1830 (Note how supper boxes flanking the hotel are used as stalls)

Last night we were in Sydney Gardens again, as there was a repetition of the gala which went off so ill on the 4th. We did not go till nine, and then were in very good time for the fireworks, which were really beautiful, and surpassing my expectation; the illuminations, too, were very, pretty. The weather was as favourable as it was otherwise a fortnight ago. - Jane to Cassandra, June 11, 1799 on a visit to Bath

Foot bridge, Sydney Gardens

There was a very long list of arrivals here in the newspaper yesterday, so that we need not immediately dread absolute solitude; and there is a public breakfast in Sydney Gardens every morning, so that we shall not be wholly starved. - Jane Austen to Cassandra, May 17, 1799 on a visit to Bath

Rear View of the Sydney Hotel in Sydney Gardens. The hotel was designed and built by Charles Harcourt Masters in 1795-6. Note the music stands in the first floor semi-circular balcony. The central space below it was reserved for firework displays Rows of supper boxes are arranged on either side of the building. Inside the three-story hotel are rooms for drinking tea and coffee and playing cards, as well as a ballroom. Refreshments were available throughout the day.

Two years after Jane wrote the above quote, in the summer of 1801, the Austen family moved to No. 4 Sydney Place in one of fourteen identical houses at the far end of Pulteney Street. Before leaving Steventon, Jane wrote, "It would be very pleasant to be near the Sydney Gardens. We could go into the labyrinth every day."

Drawing Room in 4 Sydney Place

It was not a particularly fine house, but it had graceful Georgian proportions, large enough to contain a double drawing-room on the first floor, a dining-room and study below and bedrooms above. The house was redecorated for them while they went on holiday, and refurnished to suit their taste and income, which was about £600, or £35,000 in today's money. They could afford three servants and an annual holiday by the sea. Nigel Nicholson, Jane Austen in Bath, The Spectator, 2003

Canal in Sydney Gardens, the second biggest pleasure gardens in England

• The Holbourne Museum of Art, Bath

• June in Regency Bath: Jane Austen and the labyrinth

• Jane Austen: Her Homes & Her Friends (John Lane The Bodley Head, 1923) by Constance Hill, Chapter VII, Bath

• Sydney Gardens, Bath: Prints George

Off on Holiday

Like Jane Austen, who was close to her siblings, my own family obligations are calling me away as I join kith and kin on vacation. This blog will remain relatively quiet until August 14th. Meanwhile, please enjoy this pleasant scene from a bygone day when families whiled away the evening hours in music, or read a fascinating interview with the creators of Pride and Prejudice, the musical, which sits below.

A little music or the delights of harmony, James Gillray, 1810

Find this image in the Princeton University Library Digital Collections

Creating Pride and Prejudice, the Musical: An Interview

"Welcome to our neighborhood! Do you find it satisfying?" sing the inhabitants of Meryton and its environs as Pride and Prejudice, the musical, opens. With these words the listener is in for a rollicking good time. Later as Bingley and Darcy sing, "If you don't have a missus, something will be amiss...If you're a single he, you've got to land a she," you sit back and relax, wanting to hear more.

This musical does not disappoint. Towards the end of the finale I wanted to learn more about the music and the play itself, so I contacted the creators Josie Brown and Rita Abrams. They kindly answered my questions, which sit below with their answers.

If you are curious to listen the music, Josie and Rita are featuring one full song per week on their website. Click here to enter.

You had so many wonderful scenes to choose from in P&P, how did you distill the musical down to the essence of the story?

JOSIE: The beauty of Austen is that she gives you enough narrative, plot and dialogue to play with. In that regard, the job of the playwright—the one who adapts the story for the stage—is to peel back and condense redundant scenes or unnecessary characters, and pare down Austen’s dialogue, all the while keeping the essence of her thought. The story must be told in around two hours—and with no more than 10-11 characters, for some productions. Almost impossible for an Austen story, right? Considering dialogue and songs, that only allows for 12-16 scenes, over two acts with an intermission. Each scene—each song—must move the plot along, and reveal the essence of the characters. Needless to say I had my work cut out for me, as did Rita when it came to the songs.

The voices on your recording are marvelous. Tell us, how were they chosen? Tenor for hero? Soprano for heroine? Or were other factors at work?

RITA: Yes, we were fortunate to get such wonderful singer-ACTORS! As for choosing the vocalists, we were also lucky that our singers had wide ranges which in some cases could cover several characters. Each character has a definable essence that relates to vocal quality, e.g. Darcy, the weightier of the male leads, needed the depth, richness, even darkness of the baritone. Bingley, being the sunnier, lighter part of the two, suggested the tenor range. The same can be said about their female partners. Elizabeth has more complexity and fullness to her character, while Jane mirrors the brightness and simple optimism of her Bingley. Their voices needed to reflect these qualities. As for the more comic characters of Mr. Collins, Charlotte, Mrs. Bennet, and Lady Catherine de Bourgh, the choices came down to who could do the most convincing—and humorous--renditions, and I tailored the arrangements to suit their voices.

I love the wit in the Mr. Collins and Catherine de Bourgh songs. You really captured their characters in just a few short minutes. How long did it actually take to write these songs?

RITA: Thank you! I'm so glad you share our love for these characters, and their renditions. I didn't time the writing of each song, but I will say that of all the many songs and shows I've ever written, these songs are the closest to my heart, and therefore were the most challenging and painstaking to compose. And forgive me for being presumptuous, but I actually felt like I was in collaboration with Jane Austen, and that because I took the task so seriously, she would have been pleased with the results.

How did you two hook up? Were you friends before you wrote this musical or is this a professional association suggested by an agent or representative?

JOSIE: We met through a mutual friend—John Gray, author of Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus. My husband, Martin, and I were working with John on various editorial projects when he was approached by Rita to do a musical based on his bestseller. I’d already seen several of Rita’s cabaret shows, and had always been in awe of her tight, witty wordplay. Now, couple that with her genius at melody and harmony…AWESOME. So of course we encouraged John to say yes to Rita, and we were mandated with overseeing that project, which ran for a year in Las Vegas. During that process I knew someday Rita and I would collaborate on something. However, between our schedules—my books, her commercial songwriting and cabaret shows—it had to be a project worthy of the time and effort. Certainly P&P is that—and I feel we’ve done it justice.

Pride and Prejudice has always been one of my most enjoyable perennial reads over the years. As a novelist, I’ve admired Austen’s ability to achieve depth in both character and plot. Though it wasn’t my major, I’d been a student of musical theatre, and one night after reading P&P, I felt compelled to use the medium of musical theatre to tell this wonderful story. I grabbed my computer and started outlining it as such.

At the time I was not aware that Abe Burrows had tried it, too—back in 1959! That specific project, entitled "First Impressions," actually made it onto Broadway—alas, to mediocre reviews. In the interim we’ve discovered that there are at least another two or three versions floating around. That’s okay. In the end it is the creators’ abilities to tell the story in a compelling way—through word and song—that will win the hearts and minds of producers. And I’ve no doubt that our version is a winning combination.

Are the words to the musical written first, or does the music inspire the book?

JOSIE: I wrote Act I a year-and-a-half before Rita began composing the music and working on lyrics. Listening to the music, I’m sure you’d find it hard to believe that it took me a while to convince her that she was perfect for this project!

After she cleared her schedule and had re-familiarized herself with the novel—and fell in love with the story again, of course!—Rita read the script, and we met weekly. My job then was to complete Act II, and to be a sounding board for her. During these four-hour sessions, we’d read the script out loud a portion of the script out loud page-by-page, taking special note of any of the “placeholders" I’d put in for the songs, and discuss the emotions the song there should evoke. By the time we next met, Rita would have portions, if not all, of the songs written. I found it a wonderful collaboration. We were both open to suggestions, dialogue or lyric edits.

RITA: When Josie brought the idea of this musical to me, I was just starting several different projects, including a new show of my own. Having had some bad experiences with collaborators, who happened to be of the MALE persuasion, I was excited by the idea of working ALONE. However, Josie's enthusiasm and optimism were infectious and irresistible. And I finally overcame my reticence, leapt into the Austen universe, and have never looked back. The collaboration turned out to be as joyous as the creation. By the way—my favorite part was when Josie would read the script she was working on in the full voices of the characters. I think she should do her own one-woman version of the show.

Oh—and to the question of which comes first, the words or the music--for me, it happens both ways. For Mr. Collins' "What is a Man to Do?" the form of a tango sprang to mind immediately, and the words followed. But in pondering the complex grief of the rejected Darcy, I felt that he knew he could never find another woman who would stretch, challenge and gratify him the way Elizabeth would have—and thus the title "The One I Could Have Been With You."

Where has this musical played? Are any new shows scheduled in the near future? Where?

JOSIE: The musical was just completed this winter. Already we have several known regional theatre companies considering it for an ’09 premiere, so it’s not a matter of if it will happen, but when. Of course, Ms. Place will be the very first on our list to email when that happens.

If anyone wants to arrange for Pride and Prejudice, the musical in their community, what steps will they need to take?

JOSIE & RITA: We welcome them to listen to excerpts at http://www.prideandprejudicemusical.com and then contact us at our email address: P2Musical@yahoo.com . All serious interest will be coordinated with our theatrical agent, Bob Freedman, of the Robert A. Freedman Dramatic Agency.

Do you provide oversight and suggestions during the planning stages?

JOSIE & RITA: We will be happy to work with any producer or production entity, in any capacity.

Thank you so much for your insights. I can't wait to see this production in person!

Audio Walking Tour of Jane Austen's Bath

"Are you altogether pleased with Bath?"
"Yes, I like it very well."
Conversation between Henry Tilney and Catherine Morland, Northanger Abbey

Jane Austen's Bath, a website created by Bath Tourism Plus, offers an audio walking tour of Bath that you can download from the site. The tour of Bath takes 1 1/2 hours. You can listen to these audio casts in your MP3 player as you walk through Bath, or at home, as I have. Professionally produced, each segment takes 2-7 minutes. A colorful walking guide (see graphic above) is available as well on this fabulous site.

Although this audio guide was meant to serve as a walking tour, I am finding it a pleasure to listen to these podcasts in the comfort of my home, reliving my visit to Bath, and learning interesting details that flesh out my knowledge of Jane Austen's world.

Before you can download these free files, you are asked to fill out an extremely short form that will take about a minute. You will be asked to do this only once. Also, keep in mind that each audio file must be downloaded separately.

Audio files are divided into the following chapters:

1. Introduction and Abbey Church Yard
2. Thermae Bath Spa
3. Sally Lunn House
4. The Lower Rooms
5. The River Avon and Pulteney Bridge
6. Laura Place and Great Pulteney Street
7. The Royal Mineral Water Hospital
8. Beau Nash's House and the Theatre Royal
9. Queen Square
10. Gravel Walk
11. The Royal Crescent
12. The Circus
13. The Assembly Rooms
14. The Paragon
15. Milsom Street

I have placed a permanent link to this site in my sidebar under audio and visual media.

Facade of the Pump Room

Jane Austen South Park Character Contest

I've contributed my version of Jane Austen as a South Park Character to Parameter Magazine, which I featured in my post, Undressing Mr. Darcy. Here is the image. I hope they'll accept it in their portrait gallery. Of course she isn't a poet, but perhaps they will start an author gallery. My only wish is that I could have placed a pen or book in her hands.Click here to see the portrait gallery on this site and to find the South Park character generator. What a fun way to pass the time!

If you would like to try your hand at creating a Jane Austen hero or heroine character, please go to the South Park character generator and submit your entries to me via my email. The contest will be open for one month. The winner of the contest will receive a copy of Lost in Austen: Create Your Own Jane Austen Adventure by Emma Campbell Webster. Your entries will be featured on this blog.

So start creating your own Captain Wentworths, Elizabeth Bennets, and Mr. Darcies now! Secondary characters are also welcome. Readers of my blog will be given the opportunity to vote for the winner starting September 1.

UPDATES!

Here are the first three submissions from G. C.! On the left, 1. Anne of Kellynch Hall; in the center 2. Anne Marrying Captain Wentworth, then on the right 3. Emma to the ball.



Another submission. This one is from Becca for Lady Catherine de Bourgh



From Lady Jane of A Lady's Diversions: Mrs. Elizabeth Bennett Darcy

Review of Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict

Imagine waking up in someone else's body in another time period with no clue of how you got there or how you'll make it back home. That's the situation author Laurie Viera Rigler has set up in Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict. One day our heroine Courtney Stone wakes up as Jane Mansfield, a 30-year-old spinster living in turn of the 19th Century England. The day before she was in Los Angeles nursing her hurt over a breakup with a lout of a boyfriend, and the next thing she knows she is confronted by a strict, harsh-eyed Regency mama who deplores her daughter's unmarried state.

Laurie Viera Rigler takes us on a fun and frothy romp through the Regency period as our heroine encounters one bewildering situation after another trying to understand what's happened to her and why. Readers who are expecting a time travel novel with the depth and breadth of Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series might be disappointed in this book's superficial fun. But the fans that adored Jude Devereaux's Knight in Shining Armor or the time travel movies Somewhere in Time, Kate and Leopold, and Big will definitely have a rollicking good time.

The themes of intrigue, romance, and a fish out of water are fleshed out with the cultural shocks that our heroine experiences as she becomes accustomed to a world of chaperons, lack of running water, a cool and calculating mother, and unhygienic hostelries. What I found most interesting about this time travel book is that as Jane, Courtney looks entirely different. In her regency persona she is taller and prettier, and can embroider with the skill of an experienced seamstress. Although Courtney has all of Jane's talents and some of her memories, her thoughts and emotions are rooted in the 21st century. This dichotomy places us firmly in the mind of our bewildered heroine, who as Courtney is exceedingly attracted to the suitor her alter ego Jane rejected. It doesn't hurt that our hero, Charles, is as dapper as Mr. Darcy or Captain Wentworth.

There are a few problems of logic, as all time travel novels share. Jane's strange behavior and lack of memory are explained away as the result of a fall from a horse. And although Courtney was an avid reader of Jane Austen's novels, as Jane she has a hard time coming to grips with the lack of baths and ready-to-wear dresses and a tightly circumscribed world that is not as romantic as she had once thought.

As a reader who is interested in the Regency Era, I would also have loved to have read more details about dress, manners, interiors, and architecture. These were spare, but because of this economy of detail, the book moves along quickly. Frankly, I couldn't put it down at times. I also have a confession to make: This is the first Jane Austen fan book or spin off that I have finished. Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict is as light and pleasing as a summer sherbet, which, as we all know, is a perfect tonic for a hot summer day.

I give it three out of three regency fans

Bath Daily Photo

One of my favorite sites has closed shop for now. James Russiello of the Bath Daily Photo took me down memory lane every time I entered the blog. The good news is that his archived posts will remain on the blogosphere for us to view. The bad news is that he's moving to Ireland.
I enjoyed James's frequent trips to my blog and the comments he left. Mostly, I appreciated his talent for showing Bath in a glowing light. James, whose commentary is as informative as his photos, promises to return to this site in a few months to update it. I hope so.

Good luck, my Internet friend. May you find success and happiness in your new position. Meanwhile, here are some of James' photos of Pulteney Bridge, such as this one taken at night. The one above is taken on the bridge itself, facing the shops. One can imagine Jane Austen walking past this scene and finding it comfortably familiar.

Plan of Pulteney Bridge by Robert Adam, Ison Walter, The Georgian Buildings of Bath 1700 - 1830.

Correction, the previous image sitting earlier on this post was of the Rialto Bridge in Venice. My trigger finger uploaded the wrong image. My apologies.

Lady Anne's Review of Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict

Lady Anne is the most well read of our Janeites of the James group when reading about all things Austen, including Jane's fan fiction. She has agreed to read Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict and report on her impressions of this novel out in stores tomorrow. Lady Anne is one tough reader to please when it comes to any topic pertaining to the Regency Era. Faint praise from her is fine praise indeed. Here, then, is her review. Mine will arrive in a few short days.

Courtney Stone is a 30-ish single living in LA with a nothing job, a crummy apartment, and lousy taste in men. Like many in her situation, she obsesses over trivialities and takes solace in vodka and the occasional Xanax. But she finds her best relief from the woes of her life in re-reading Jane Austen. Jane Mansfield, a 30-ish single living in Regency England, lives at home with her harsh mother and vague, artistic father. Like many in her situation, she sees only misery and unhappiness before her. In her search for a way out, she consults a fortuneteller, who has apparently done a few terms at Hogwarts School, and who, in the aftermath of a riding accident, slips the very 21st century mind and psyche of Courtney into the body and life of the Regency Jane.

In the fairly predictable incidents that unfold, author Laurie Viera Rigler takes a clear look at the marrying money theme that runs through Austen’s books, as well as the realities of everyday living for the gentried classes and their servants. Courtney/Jane, while chafing against the chaperonage inflicted upon her, a little strict by 1813 for a woman of 30 even by Regency standards, learns to appreciate the fabric of the life she got so much comfort from reading about. It doesn’t hurt that Mr. Edgeworth, an eminently respectable suitor, is also charming and handsome, and everything she had looked for in a man, but couldn’t find in 21st Century LA. Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict is a good summer read, and fun for every Jane Austen fan.

The C's have it

Fans have voted for their favorite photo of Colin as Mr. Darcy and "C" was the favorite by far. The image now proudly sits on my sidebar. Thank you everyone for participating! I am still recovering from the flurry of activity that the Firth/MacFadyen/Darcy battle engendered. Here are two more images for those who just can't see enough images of these two handsome men.