Everybody's Jane Author to read from her book at Manhattanville College

In celebration of Professor Juliette Wells' new book, Everybody's Jane: Austen in the Popular Imagination, there will be a reading and discussion on Wednesday, April 11, 2012 in the Current Periodicals Room in the Library at Manhattanville College at 7 p.m.

The book examines the contemporary significance of Jane Austen and reflects upon why Austen is important to amateur readers, and why they are inspired to create fiction and nonfiction based on her novels and her life.

Click here to find out more about the lecture. 

Our Food: A New BBC 2 Series

Our Food is a nw 4-part BBC series celebrating food in Great Britain, and the people responsible for its production. Sadly, while I am wildly interested in this topic, the series is not available in the U.S.

Alex Langlands, one of the presenters of Our Food writes in BBCs blog:

before the Industrial Revolution the overwhelming majority of people in this country worked in a rural setting where their lives were intimately bound up with the production of one thing - food. So as an archaeologist you're never far from studying that which we have eaten and its centrality to our island's history.

Alex with turnips

About sheepfarming in Wales, he writes:

Carving out a living in this harsh environment is all about working with the conditions - not against them - and the idea that sheep can be 'hefted' to the hills fascinates me.
A 'hefted' flock is a flock that knows their patch of the hillside and knows where to be and when. So much so that when the farmer comes to round them up all he needs is a dog and a whistle and the ancient knowledge passed down from generation to generation of sheep kicks in.

Lucy Worsley with fresh oysters

Another presenter, Lucy Worsley, writes about the second episode of the series in The Telegraph:

I learnt that in 16th-century England, only the high in status and deep of pocket ate roast meat. It was vastly expensive: you needed a deer park, a lot of fuel, and lots of servants to turn the spit over the fire. But the pleasure of a soft melting mouthful of roast meat was so powerful that it still survives in our language today: we talk about a “Sunday roast” even when referring to meat that technically has been baked in an oven.

Those lower down the Tudor chain ate an awful lot of pottage, the kind of perpetual soup cooked over the fire in an iron pot (hence its name). Pottage could be kept bubbling away for day after day, topped up with whatever vegetables or peas could be scavenged. That’s why the song goes, “Pease pudding hot, pease pudding cold, pease pudding in the pot [sometimes literally] nine days old.”

The advantage of cooking food into sludge is that it makes it microbiologically safe, and the low cooking temperature optimises fuel consumption. Like driving your car at 60 miles an hour on the motorway, cooking your peasant’s pottage at “a slow burp” is very efficient.

Viewers in the UK will be able to catch Our Food on iPlayer until Wednesday, 2 May. Lucky viewers.

Chair Reading Jane Austen

I just loved this image by Marc Johns, which you can purchase at this site.

Image @Marc Johns

Find other prints of objects reading books on this page. Fabulous stuff.

Book Handbags, Jane Austen Style

This Etsy shop, spoonfullofchocolate, will make custom book bags.

You can order this Pride and Prejudice bag, for instance.

This is how it looks on the inside.

About Douglas Booth, Who Plays Pip in Great Expectations

Douglas Booth as Pip

Who has ever seen a lovelier Pip than Douglas Booth, who stars in PBS's Great Expectations, starting tonight at 9 PM local time? My main problem with the series was that Pip is more beautiful than Estella, played by Vanessa Kirby. Her quieter features are eclipsed by Booth's more striking ones.

Vanessa Kirby as Estella and Douglas Booth as Pip

The coloring of Booth's face is youthfully fresh and of the sort that women try to emulate with makeup- dark brows, rosy lips and cheeks, striking contrast between eyelashes and skin.

Douglas Booth, second from left, and a Burberry ad with Emma Watson, right

It is no wonder that Booth spent his years as a male model before becoming an actor. With this role, Booth has become a member of the "corset" crew, which is made up of young, attractive socialite actors who have performed in a costume drama.

Kirby and Booth in modern dress at a fashion show

Booth was born in 1992  in Greenwich, south-east London. His dad works Citigroup and his half-Spanish, half-Dutch mother is an artist. He went to top schools in Kent and acted with the National Youth Theatre.

Booth as Boy George, second from left

In  2010 he landed the meaty role of Boy George in the TV movie, Worried About the Boy and he hasn't looked back since. Douglas has recently completed filming a new production of Romeo and Julie. Let's hope he's not prettier than his co-star again.

Pip receives an important document from Miss Havisham (Gillian Anderson)

You can watch Booth mainly in the 2nd half of the 1st installment and the 2nd installment of Great Expectations, which premiers on PBS tonight

The Cast
Abel Magwitch, by Ray Winstone
Miss Havisham, by Gillian Anderson
Jaggers, by David Suchet
Pip by Douglas Booth
Anxious Man, by Michael Colgan
Mike, by Steve Lately
Wemmick, by Paul Ritter
Herbert Pocket, by Harry Lloyd
Compeyson, by Paul Rhys
Joe Gargery, by Shaun Dooley
Clara, by Perdita Weeks
Molly, by Susan Lynch
Bentley Drummle, by Tom Burke
Dolge Orlick, by Jack Roth
Estella, by Vanessa Kirby
Mrs Brandley, by Frances Barber
Estella's Admirer, by Will Tudor
Mrs Joe, by Claire Rushbrook
Pumblechook, by Mark Addy

Director - Brian Kirk
Producer - George Ormond
Writer - Sarah Phelps

English Country Dancing in Dover, Delaware

The Dover English Country Dancers have listed their calendar. The fee is quite reasonable!

Schedule of Events

7:00 pm Beginner Introduction; 7:30 pm Dance Commences

April 14 ............. Our Spring Assembly Ball with caller Melissa Running
And musicians Ralph Gordon on cello, and Andrea Hoag on fiddle

Admission is $15.00 and includes a lite repast at mid-evening

Period Costume requested or festive "after five" attire please

Come join us and enjoy Ehinger Hall with a few additional touches

Visit the Ball page for additional information

Ball dance practices available on March 23 and April 5.

May 12........................Monthly Dance in Ehinger Hall
Admission $5

September 8................Monthly Dance in Ehinger Hall
Admission $5

October 13..................Monthly Dance in Ehinger Hall
Admission $5

November 10..............Monthly Dance in Ehinger Hall
Admission $5

Results of the costume auction for the Jane Austen Centre

The big winner was the Anne Elliot dress and spencer jacket, but the waistcoat worn by Matthew MacFadyen, and featured in a post on this blog, did not sell. Amazing!

Click here to see the results.

Georgian-Era British Sailors Lived on Ample Meat and Beer

A study shows that Georgian-Era British Sailors Lived on Ample Meat and Beer. History.com offers this interesting article:  

Records show that 18th- and 19th-century British sailors enjoyed a high-calorie, protein-packed diet superior to that of most working-class landlubbers, who typically tasted meat, beer, cheese and bread just once a week...

The results were consistent with the Victualing Board’s records, suggesting that British sailors ate more food—and especially more protein—than their working-class civilian contemporaries, the researchers reported recently in the American Journal of Physical Anthropology... 

Historical sources show that sailors sometimes supplemented their standardized fare with local produce while in port, the study notes. Corn and sugarcane were both staple foods on the Atlantic seaboard of North America, where sailors from Plymouth, England, are known to have served.

To read the article, click here.

Letters to Mr. Knightley: A New Blog

Letters to Mr. Knightley, a new blog, is filled with advice from Mr. Knightley, our hero from Emma, such as the following:

Dear Mr. Knightley,

I am not a lady to throw myself in the path of other men; on the contrary, I am twice as likely to throw myself off of it…especially when the man is one I admire.

I know this is most impractical. Firstly, however, I am terribly shy. Secondly, I cannot shake the feeling that to pursue the object of my admiration under pretenses of friendship would be dishonest. For I feel, you see, so much more, though I am hardly well-enough acquainted with the gentleman to justify more direct flirtation.

But I tire of hiding in bushes as my gentleman passes by. It is degrading, and further more, I’m beginning to acquire leaf stains on all my favorite frocks. In short, I most humbly beg your advice.

I am yours, etc.

Offroaded Admirer

Dear Offroaded,


Let me begin first by saying that those women who throw themselves so wantonly in the path of men at the blink of an eye are most certainly not acting as any true lady ought to. A lady does herself no favor in so desperately pursuing a man, no matter what his rank may be. For not only will her motives be questioned but she will also find that men take greatest delight in the pursuit of a beautiful woman but when they find their target too readily or too easily, they often lose interest fairly quickly. It is much better to let a gentleman pursue you, giving him small signs and tokens of affection but holding back slightly, as to arouse his curiosity and enhance your own air of mystery. But keep in mind, having a reception too cold, too modest, or too dignified may thwart a gentleman’s suit all together. ... Click here to read the rest of Mr. Knightley's answer

Ciarán Hinds, Former Captain Wentworth, to Play Former American President

Ciarán Hinds will play opposite Sigourney Weaver, the newly appointed Secretary of State in "Political Animals.". He has been cast as her philandering ex- husband and former president, Bud Hammond, who’s still carrying a torch for her in USA network’s upcoming new mini-series, which consists of 6 episodes.

Click here to read more about the series, and here.

Ciaran Hinds as Captain Wentworth

Great Expectations Coming to PBS April 1

This image of Gillian Anderson as Miss Havingsham says
it all about the lush new production of Great Expectations

PBS will celebrate the bicentenary of Charles Dickens life with a lush adaptation of his classic, Great Expectations this Sunday, April 1. The special, shown over three Sundays, is a visual delight. The cast is filled with knowns - Ray Winstone and David Suchet - and unknowns, Douglas Booth and Izzy Meikle-Small.

Douglas Booth as Pip

The sets and settings are gorgeous. The photography is outstanding. Look for my review soon.

Miss Haversham's wedding banquet awaits guests that will never enjoy it.

Series title

Read:

• Great Expectations 2011: Gillian Anderson as Miss Havisham
• Great Expectations 2011: A Pictorial Review, One

The Progress of a Woman of Pleasure: Woebetide the 18th Century Prostitute!

Image @Wikimedia Commons

I wrote a post about 18th century prostitutes that I thought you might find interesting.Click here to go to Jane Austen's World for an annotation of this fascinating satirical progress cartoon by Richard Newton, a talented artist who died at the tender age of 21.

Follow Friday: Regency Servants

Regency Reader offers information about Household Staff. Click here to learn more about the hierarchy of Servant Staff in great households.

This Librarian Has Yet to Read a Jane Austen Novel

Kelly at Stacked makes a confession: She has yet to finish a Jane Austen novel. Unbelievable as this may seem, this librarian has only completed 40 pages of Sense and Sensibility. That's it!

Eye am not amused. Image @Jane Austen Today

She writes:

Confession: I have not read any Jane Austen. Actually, I take that back. I've been sitting about 40 pages in Sense and Sensibility for over a year now, and I read one of Austen's short stories. I took a class in Victorian Lit (see the Anne Bronte book above) and had one of my favorite professors, who told me that if I wanted to start somewhere with Austen, to read her short story "Lady Susan." "Lady Susan" was the only thing Austen ever wrote that she hated and wished she hadn't written, so of course I read it. It's dark! I loved it! But after that, I never found myself compelled to finish a novel of hers. I've got copies of Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, and, yes, The Complete Works of Jane Austen on my book shelf. They've been great dust collectors.

DUST collectors? Why not go over to Kelly's blog and let her know what she's been missing! Here's the link.

See Downton Abbey: Behind the Drama

Downton Abbey: Behind the Drama is available for viewing online at PBS.org through April 2, 2012. 

From the castle to the servants quarters, get a close look at the set and characters of the hit second season of Downton Abbey in this film narrated by Hugh Bonneville.

Mr Darcy's Waistcoat on Sale on eBay!

Well, not exactly Mr. Darcy's, but who can resist owning a waistcoat worn by Matthew Macfadyen? He wore it portraying Felix Carbury in The Way We Live Now. In this instance the reserve has not been met!

As any good Jane Austen film fan knows, Matthew MacFadyen starred as Mr. Darcy in the 2005 version of Pride and Prejudice. Andrea Galer designed the waistcoat, which is made of black and gold damask silk and with six antique buttons. The back is corseted and authentic to the period.

Sponsored by the Jane Austen Centre, a variety of film costumes are available on eBay until March 25th. This means you have five days left to open your wallets! Click here to join the fun.