My Take: I Beg Your Pardon

I've been quiet long enough. When I read drivel like this, I find my blood pressure soaring and I must speak out:

ROYAL wannabe Kate Middleton has single-handedly booted the women's cause back to the Dark Ages by quitting her job and biding her time until Prince William decides if and when he will pop the question.

Rather than making the most of her precious 20s, this silly girl appears to be putting all her eggs into one unreliable basket and pathetically hanging around until William decides if he wants to marry her.

Is she straight out of a Jane Austen novel?

So guess which phrase burns me. (Think red!) I am tired of reporters and critics confusing Jane Austen with a Harlequin Romance Writer (Mills & Boon writer for those of you across the Pond).

Jane's heroines, though restrained by the social conventions of their time, were dynamic. Even Fanny Price, who I find to be a bit insipid, stood up stubbornly for what she believed in. Granted, all Jane's heroines had faults, but they overcame them. That's one quality that makes her novels so grand. To Robin Riley, the reporter from the Herald Sun who wrote those words, my only comment is "Pah!" Go back to English 101 and bone up on your knowledge of Jane Austen. You'll never write such a silly sentence again.

To get my blood pressure back to normal, I read this interesting interview with Emily Blunt, who plays Prudie in The Jane Austen Book Club. The movie is slated to open in the UK on Friday. Read my interview with director Robin Swicord here.

Review of Jane Austen for Dummies: My Take

The Janeites on the James meet every other month or so. This past time I brought my new stash of four Jane Austen resource books and showed them around. One elicited a laugh the moment the Janeites saw it: Jane Austen for Dummies.

"Let them laugh," I thought, handing it around and keeping quiet. Sure enough, the first Janeite, the youngest among us, opened the book playfully. As she leafed through the pages, she became thoughtful. "This is good," she declared, keeping the book a long time.

"Hah," I thought. "That shows 'em." At the end of the evening one of the Janeites borrowed the book, and all declared they were going to order it as soon as possible. The majority of us have graduate degrees, and all of us can only be described as discerning females, so this was no mean feat.

The contents in this book alone are worthy of praise. In addition to a clear and concise organization of thoughts and topics, the author, Joahn Klingel Ray, PhD, writes with much authority. The book is an outstanding addition to any Jane lover's library. Dr. Ray is an English Professor at the University of Colorado and the pAST President of the Jane Austen Society of North America.

Believe me when I say: She knows her stuff. The book is rather large to put in one's purse, so I would bring The Jane Austen Handbook when traveling. But for reference at home, I would turn to this book as well.

My rating? Three Regency Fans. Run, don't walk, to your nearest bookstore or google the name to purchase this fabulous find.

Review of The Jane Austen Handbook

Book Review: The Jane Austen Handbook: A Sensible Yet Elegant Guide to Her World, by Margaret C. Sullivan (Editrix of Austen Blog)

This book is both informative and a hoot. Two of us Janeites on the James looked through it today at lunch with delight, knowing we had found a fun, informative, and handy Jane guide. I loved the appendix most, and the glossary alone is worth my money. Ms. Leellie, a tad younger than moi, just couldn’t get enough of marriage proposals, engagements, and the like.

If you would like a quick reference about attire, carriages, getting around, playing card games, servants by duty and rank, treating the sick, giving dinner parties, and attending balls, then this guide presents information about them all in an easy and accessible format.

I think this book would be a particularly useful introduction for young Janeites who have just discovered their passion for Jane Austen. As for those of us who are slightly longer in the tooth and who have loved Jane for almost as long as she's been buried, this is a must-have, quick pocket reference.

My Rating: Three Regency Fans
Run, don’t walk to the bookstore and purchase this guide.

Click here for order information.