I fell in love with Jane Austen more than 25 years ago when I was a college student spending a semester in London. Here are some of the many lessons I've learned from her over the years.
Queen Victoria's wedding spawned wedding souvenirs and adoring crowds. Sound familiar? The two girls, Loretta and Susan, quote The Mirror of literature, amusement, and instruction,1840.
In which Reb discusses two Keepsake reissues of Jane Austen's classics: Pride and Prejudice illustratedby Hugh Thompson in 1894, and Sense and Sensibility illustrated by Chris Hammond in 1899.
Jean from The Delightful Repast shared her recipe for Sally Lunn's Buns on Jane Austen's World, and a short history of tea during Jane Austen's era. Jean's version of the bun is smaller than the behemoths one can obtain in Bath, but they are tasty nevertheless!
M.E. Foley visited Jane Austen's House and wrote an interesting blog post about it, publishing a large number of pictures. Not to be outdone, our very own Tony Grant posted his thoughts about his visit to Chawton Cottage on his own blog, London Calling. Mark Whitfield Photography visited Jane Austen's house as well and interestingly concentrates on two prints of the era instead of interior shots. I love these personal bogs posts and photos from different perspectives.
Fireplace in Jane Austen's bedroom at Chawton Cottage, taken by Tony Grant. Jane and her sister, Cassandra, shared the bedroom, and one can imagine them chatting at night near the warmth and light of the fire.
The Book Girl is having a fabulous Jane Austen giveaway in the blog's Jane Austen Week. Click here to join in!
Jane Austen Addictoffers a complete set of Persuasion tweets. Yes, you read correctly! Laurie Viera Rigler twittered Persuasion. I love Laurie's tribute to Jane at the end: "This Twitter presentation of PERSUASION has been brought to you by Jane Austen, hastening us to perfect felicity since 1811." Her next project? Northanger Abbey! Come join us in the fun and join Twitter.
Jane Austen Films: If you've wondered which Jane Austen movie adaptations you've seen and missed, here's a nice synopsis of recent films compiled by The Telegraph.
Little Dorrit: These candid images of Claire Foy and Matthew MacFadyen taken on the set of Little Dorrit are posted on her fan site.
Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters has been published and is garnering such erudite comments as "it's a hoot." This review from theJournal Star sums the book up nicely. Ben H. Winters, the book's author, wrote "This Scene Could Really Use a Man-eating Jelly Fish: How I wrote Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters" for Slate.com. Look for our reviews of this Oceanic adaptation of Jane's beloved work to come out soon.
Jane Can Take It: The Guardian Theatre blog comes up with this conclusion in a piece entitled: "Pornography and prejudice: Jane Austen's dirty talk is a sweet affair": "As Jonathan Jones wrote last week, classic literature can take whatever we throw at it. He was referring to Oscar Wilde's work, but the same goes for Jane Austen, who has had more thrown at her than most. She may never have envisaged a starring role in a play alongside a pair of snogging naked men, but I can't help thinking that she would have had a good chuckle about it all: the good humour, wit and wisdom of her books suggest that she wouldn't have taken any of this too seriously."
Piere Henri Biger's fan website Place de L'Eventail offers a vast amount of information about ladies fans for the casual reader as well as a lover of history. Written in French and translated into English, the site offers information for the beginner, an extensive bibliography, and monographs.
Now, here's the crux. The site's owners are French. They are asking for help in translating their pages into English. If I had the time, I would offer my services. If anyone is interested in "smoothing" out the English translations, making sure that the information is accurate, I am sure that the site's owners will welcome your help. Their email address is: pierrehenri dot biger at eventails dot net.
Image of a Brisé fan from Place de L'éventail. Posted by Vic, Jane Austen's World
Whenever the travel bug hits me and my pockets are flat, I turn to the web. This month especially I had an urge to visit Bath. First stop? Flickr.
Philip Sheppard, who wrote Crystallised Beauty(second choice down), the song that played in the background as the Jane Austen season was advertised last year, is rapidly becoming one of my favorite composers. He's posted a new track for piano and cello orchestra on his site. Click here to listento a beautiful track entitled "Not Coming Back."
Only one week left to leave your comment for a chance to win 10 Georgette Heyer books from Source Books or a chance to win a copy of The Grand Sophy. Click here to enter the contest.
The little white dress was as necessary in a well-dressed Regency miss's wardrobe as the little black dress is in the modern woman's closet. Not that the little white dress has ever completely gone out of style, as these two modern design interpretations suggest.
Scents of Sensibility, anyone? In this age of belt tightening, somebody actually has the chutzpah to charge $28.99 for a spray fragrance of "new book smells". I kid you not. Tired of your Kindle or Sony book reader emitting a whiff of ether? Then spray some attar of classic book smell over the screen. The price is a little steep for a gag gift, but then, as the saying goes, there's a sucker born every minute.
Over two years ago, noted Austen scholar Bruce Stovell died unexpectedly. In honor of his memory Bruce's family recently published book, and a companion CD, titled Jane Austen Sings the Blues. Stovel's widow Nora, also a professor at the University of Alberta where Bruce taught, was the editor of the book, while son Grant and longtime friend and fellow musician Graham Guest produced the 12-song disc. A book of Bruce's essays will be published some time in the near future.
Have you always wanted to own several BBC classics but your common sense stopped you from purchasing the high priced DVD's? Amazon is having a blow out sale of BBC DVDs. Hop on over to take advantage of savings ranging from 37% (odd figure, I know) to 45% on such classics as North and South, 2008 Sense and Sensibility, 1981 Pride and Prejudice, and Cranford.
The Clever Pup features Hugh Laurie's sartorial splendor as Mr. Palmer in Sense & Sensibility. Click here for your Hugh fix of the day.
Apparently the Brontë patriarch,Patrick, was a mean old gorgon of a man. His children feared him and historians did not view him kindly, to put it mildly. A photograph of Patrick Brontë resurfaced recently in an antiques fair. Click here to read an interesting account of the journey that Patrick's image has taken over the years. Curiously, it is still in quest of a suitable home.
Juliet Stevenson is wowing the audiences and critics onstage in Duet for One. Known as the mistress of the audio book and for her comedic portrayal of Mrs. Elton in Emma, Juliet continues to entertain us with her immense acting talent.
Have you seen Jonny Lee Miller as Lord Byron in 2003's Byron? He's made a convert out of me, convincing me that he has the acting chops to play Mr. Knightley in the 2009 BBC adaptation of Emma. Watch his performance on Netflix On Demand. It's a 2-part BBC series also starring Vanessa Redgrave.
A collection at the University of Delaware offers descriptions of these two books:
Healthful Sports for Young Ladies. London: Printed for R. Ackermann by W. Clowes, 1822. The author, Mlle St. Sernin, was a French governess. The illustrations are by Jean Demosthene Dugourc (1749-1825). Other illustrations include tossing a ball and riding on a see saw. The digitized version of this book can be found at this link at The Library of Congress.
A Course of Calisthenics for Young Ladies… Hartford: H. and F. J. Huntington, 1831. Written as a series of letters to a friend, the book stresses the importance of physical exercise for young women. Students can be injured during their education by the uncomfortable chairs, excessive amounts of homework, and the fashion of tightly-laced clothing. A series of very gentle games and exercises are suggested to alleviate these problems.
MOUNT VERNON HOTEL MUSEUM AND GARDEN Tuesday at 6 p.m., “The Essential Jane Austen,” a lecture by Elsa Solender, a scholar and former president of the Jane Austen Society of North America; $20; free for members. Hours: Tuesdays through Sundays, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. 421 East 61st Street, Manhattan, (212) 838-6878, mvhm.org; $8; $7 for students; free for members and children under 12.
Christine Sweetman Photography: Christine works in Totes, Devon, "a beautiful market and ancient Saxon town with its own castle." For a photographer, the location must be ideal. One day, Christine took photos of a Jane Austen group, who seemed to have a lot of fun putting on their costumes. As a client later wrote, "When once we had all been transported to the late 18th century, we took our places in the drawing room, lit the candles, served imaginary tea, prompted each other to exhibit proper demeanours." They were thrilled with the results. Wouldn't you be too? Click on Gallery to see more regency era photographs.
Bath Antiques Online: What can be more evocative than antiques purchased from the Regency era? Click on the link to see Bath Antiques online with its breathtaking array of truly gorgeous items.
Miser's Purses from the Early 19th Century: You never know what you'll find on the internet when you type certain key words into the search bar. I'd never heard of miser's purses before until this selection from the Museum of Costume in Bath popped up. I imagine they must have been crocheted or knitted by young misses for generations.
A Review and Guide on a Regency Wardrobe for a Lady: This succinct guide of a Regency Lady's wardrobe is surprisingly quite comprehensive. The author discusses underwear, day wear, evening wear, and accessories, and creates a list of necessities for those who would like to assemble their own regency costume.
This news items has little to do with fashion and everything to do with good taste. In this post, Book Examiner's Michelle Kerns discusses the five best book to movie adaptations and names 1995's Pride and Prejudice as number two (my other fave, The Lord of the Rings, sits on top) and Persuasion with Amanda Root and Ciaran Hinds as her #4 pick.
Jane Austen.NL is a new blog about Jane Austen. Created by a Dutch woman named Karin, this beautiful blog is written in Dutch, a language that I speak and understand, and many of the links lead to English resources. To our Dutch friends, check it out!!
Enchanted Serenity in Period Films offers a fun post entitled Matchmaking 101. You'll recognize many of your favorite films and characters.
Examiner.commentions Pride and Prejudice twice: As representing one of the 5 most romantic literary romances and one of the 5 most annoying ones. Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet are among the most romantic couples, while Charlotte Lucas and Mr. Collins are among the 5 most annoying literary romances. Poor, poor Charlotte.
Books from Jane Austen's era: Girlebooks offers free downloads of Evelina by Frances Burney (1778) and The Coquette by Hannah Webster Foster (1797) at this link. You will find other books that Jane read on this site, like The Mysteries of Udolpho by Anne Radcliffe and Cecilia, also by Fannie Burney.
Last but not least, here's a link to Devian Art and a 2007 cartoon for Jane Austen for NooBs. Hah! Click on the bottom title in the image, then click on the + sign at left for the full view for easier reading.
Artist's comments include: Mr Fitzwilliam Darcy and Miss Elizabeth Bennet's encounter at Hunsford parsonage in the language of the youth of today. As evidenced by the ending, Lizzy needs to get a better contract.
Apparently, UG2BK means "you've got to be kidding" (is it good or bad that I had to look that up?). TLMINTWICEBPOTM means "The last man in the world whom I could ever be prevailed on to marry." Yes, I am a geek.
A senior BBC drama insider said: "There is to be an evolution in the presentation of period dramas, moving away from classic 19th century so-called 'bonnet' dramas to looking at other periods of history.
"This will allow us to look at other times and places in British and world history. The aim is to give drama audiences something new and different to enjoy."
Click on the above link to The Telegraph to read the rest of the article, or this link to the UK Guardian.
A new blog, Thoughts on Jane Austen and Other Cultural Icons, features charming Jane Austen inspired bracelets that you can special order. Click on the link and scroll down the sidebar to see Jean's selections.
Social Taboos: Regency Etiquette Rules Quiz sets up seven scenarios and asks you which regency etiquette rules were broken. The post starts with this phrase:
"It is November 17, 2008. "You" are a young woman, unmarried and under the age of thirty. During the course of your day today, you have done the following ..."
Recently the Greater New York Region Jane Austen Society of North America published her book of cartoons called "JEST FOR JANEITES" --trust me, you don't have to know Jane Austen's writings or her life (but you should definitely know the former!!) to enjoy these cartoons."
Olivia Williams as Jane Austen in Miss Austen Regrets was shown to drink a glass of wine or two, and Jane herself mentioned drinking orange wine in a letter to her sister. Seen on the blogosphere is the Jane Austen Drinking Game developed by the Comedy Scientists of Mostly Water Theatre. The troupe thanks Marnie Main for her literary acumen. Some of the rules include:
- The offer of an inadequate dowry - take one drink.
- Any show of conceited independence (ie. walking instead of taking a carriage, allowing oneself to be rained on, going anywhere unescorted, voicing an opinion) - take one drink.
Heather from The Duchess of Devonshire's Gossip Guide wrote an interesting post about birth control in the 18th century entitled Safe Sex? I chuckled while learning something new. Heather has also been writing a series of posts about Chatsworth House that are worth visiting.
The Jane Austen Centre offers an I Heart Darcy bag: Wear your heart on your sleeve with this highly desirable 'I Heart Mr Darcy' shoulder bag. Trendy and 100% eco-friendly, this is a must for any fan! Made by 'Bag It Don't Bin', help the world get rid of plastic bags that harm the environment by using an eco-friendly, ethically sourced alternative. Will make a lovely Christmas present. Online now - £4.99. Also available are men's top hats, fans, and parasols. Click here to enter the gift shop.
If you missed going to the JASNA meeting in Chicago earlier this month, as I did, you can live vicariously through Deb's experiences on Jane Austen in Vermont. This link will lead you to her description of Day 4 and to the other three posts about the meeting.
As I looked up information for P&P, I came across Snide and Prejudice (1997)on IMbD. The tag line? He couldn't tell reich from wrong. With Mick Fleetwood playing Picasso, and a cast that includes Mena Suvari, Joseph and Sam Bottoms, Angus Macfadyen and Remy and Rene Auberjonois, this comedy-drama directed by Phillipe Mora is as far from Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice as a film can get.
At an asylum called the Temporal Displacement Foundation, the rise of Hitler is played out by the inmates. The resident physician, Dr Cohen encourages his patients who believe they are important Nazi figures to act out their fantasies. The therapy sessions show Hitler consolidating his power by assembling his gang of supporters yet they are interrupted at times, once because Davidson's uniform is at the dry cleaners and another time because a patient who believes he is Picasso interrupts a session.
