Want to get in the spirit of the upcoming nuptials of Prince William and Kate Middleton? How about reading about some of the previous such celebrations that captured the world from the 12th to the 19th century!
A press notice from Harlequin, publisher of Romance with a capital ‘R’: yesterday they announced the release of seven novellas in ebook format, the “Royal Weddings Collection” – each focusing on a different royal wedding, each written by a different author.
These seven short stories brilliantly capture the drama, pomp and ceremony and high passion of real-life royal weddings,” senior editor Linda Fildew said in a press release. “From Eleanor of Aquitaine to Queen Victoria, these royal romances through the ages bring history vividly to life.”
The titles include:
Terri Brisbin. WHAT THE DUCHESS WANTS (Eleanor, Duchess of Aquitaine and Henry of Anjou, the future Henry II, 1152)
Michelle Willingham. LIONHEART’S BRIDE (King Richard and Princess Berengaria, 1191)
Bronwyn Scott. PRINCE CHARMING IN DISGUISE (Prince George and Caroline of Ansbach, 1704)
Elizabeth Rolls. A PRINCELY DILEMMA (George, Prince of Wales—future George IV—and Princess Caroline of Brunswick, 1795)
Ann Lethbridge. PRINCESS CHARLOTTE’S CHOICE (Princess Charlotte and Prince Leopold, 1816)
Mary Nichols. WITH VICTORIA’S BLESSING (Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, 1840)
Lucy Ashford. THE PROBLEM WITH JOSEPHINE (Emperor Napoleon and Archduchess Marie-Louise of Austria, 1810).
You can find the seven ebooks at the eharlequin website. They are on sale there for $1.79 each. And if you go to the “Watch the Royal Wedding” website, scroll down for a coupon code for an additional 10% off! [if you are a true lover of Royal Weddings, you should be following this site on a daily basis anyway…]
Time to fire up my Kindle – who can resist!
[ebook covers from the eharlequin website]
Copyright @2011, by Deb Barnum, at Jane Austen in Vermont.
Penguin Classicswill be publishing a new edition of Emma in the Fall, this time with cover art by Jillian Tamaki, as part of its Penguin Threads series [Black Beauty and A Secret Garden will also be released.]
OOPS! – I got this news as a ‘google alert’, and now thanks to Raquel see that it came out in 2008! I had checked the Penguin site and saw nothing of this “news” and now see that it did indeed come out in May 2008! – Sorry for the error – in a rush – thought it was great news! Still might be for those who don’t already know this! [like me! – I don’t use my ebook reader a whole lot as you can tell!]
So here is the very interesting but old news!: _____________________________________________
Penguin launches ‘enhanced’ e-book classics:
Penguin Group (USA) is to launch an e-book of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice with multiple added features as the first title in its Penguin enhanced e-books classics list. The e-book, coming in May, will feature:
Filmography
Nineteenth-Century Reviews
Chronology
Further Reading
What Austen Ate
How to Prepare Tea
Austen Sites to Visit in England
Map of Sites from the Novel
Behaving Yourself: Etiquette and Dancing in Austen’s Day
Illustrations of Fashion, Home Décor, Architecture, and Transportation
Enriched eBook Notes
The publisher says it will offer “a wonderful e-book reading experience”. Nine further classics titles, including Wuthering Heights, Frankenstein and Great Expectations, will follow in the autumn, with plans “underway” to launch the list in the UK.
John Makinson, chair and c.e.o. of the Penguin Group, said: “The e-book is gaining acceptance as an alternative to the printed text and we are keen to test the possibilities of the electronic format. Penguin Classics is a great place to start. We shall invite readers beyond the pages of these much-loved books, offering additional background, context and insight into the work.”
It seems there has been a publisher’s bidding war for yet another Austen-inspired novel to be released in 2012. Hodder acquired the rights to what reads like a Jane Austen marriage guide – indeed the title is The Jane Austen Marriage Manual, by Kim Izzo:
Hodder has acquired a chick lit novel about a heroine who uses the novels of Jane Austen to help her find a rich husband.
Women’s fiction editor Isobel Akenhead acquired British Commonwealth excluding Canada rights in a “heated” auction from Diana Beaumont at Rupert Heath Literary Agency to The Jane Austen Marriage Manual by Kim Izzo. Jennifer Lambert at HarperCollins acquired Canadian rights in a pre-empt, while Brenda Copeland of St Martin’s Press acquired US rights. Gráinne Fox at Fletcher & Company handled the US and Canada rights for Beaumont, the main agent.
The novel follows Kate, the beauty editor at a fashion magazine, who finds herself unemployed, single, homeless and about to turn 40. When she is asked to write a freelance article about whether it is possible to marry for money, she decides to use the novels of Jane Austen to find herself an eligible match.
Akenhead said “It is brilliantly written, laugh-out-loud funny and has the most unforgettable heroine, and I feel confident it will appeal to fans of chick-lit favourites such as Bridget Jones’s Diary and Alexandra Potter’s Me and Mr Darcy, not to mention all the ‘Janeites’ out there.”
Hodder will publish in 2012.
You can follow the author Kim Izzo on Twitter here.
What does one do with the books we want but cannot now justify the expense or even afford at all? I maintain an endless list of such books I discover in my reading or book-hunting travels. I periodically search to see if I can find a copy that doesn’t break the bank. Here is one book I have had on my wish-list for ages, but it is impossible to find for much less than $200. But is is oh! so lovely! and I want it – I see it today in the Joslin Hall Rare Books catalogue and other than drooling all over my keyboard for a bit, I shall have to pass on the $300. price tag, yet again:
Agius, Paul[ine]. “Ackermann’s Regency Furniture & Interiors” Marlborough; The Crowwood Press: 1984. Published between 1809 and 1828, Ackermann’s ‘Repository of Arts, Literature, Commerce, Manufactures, Fashions and Politics’ provides an unparalleled window into the high-class world of Regency England. Gathered here are several hundred illustrations of furniture and interiors as first published by Ackermann. A Regency-style tour de force. Hardcover. 10″x11″, 200 pages, color and b/w illustrations, dj. Minor wear. $300.00
The first issue of Marvel Comic’s rendition of Austen’s Emma is on the stands at your local comic book shop!
As in the previous Marvel editions, Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility, Nancy Butler writes the text, but there are newcomers to the artwork: Janet K. Lee illustrates, and Nate Piekos pens the script.
My only complaint is it seems to lack depth – it is perhaps a little “too light bright and sparkling” – Emma and Harriet look too much alike to differentiate without reading the dialogue, and everyone but Knightley is blond or white-haired, and Emma seems to scowl in sort of a snobbish condescending way, though many would agree that is the way she should look! [and I do love Emma’s scarlet pelisse!] But Ms. Butler does gets the dialogue just right.
[Emma] You have forgotten one matter of joy to me – that I made the match myself. And I accomplished it when everyone said Mr. Weston would never marry again. But I determined that he should four years ago when we met him in the rain and Miss Taylor borrowed his umbrella. — When such success has blessed me, I cannot think I will leave off match-making.
Success?[says Mr. Knightley] – A straightforward man like Mr. Weston and a rational woman like Miss Taylor can surely be left to manage their own concerns. Where is your merit in this, Emma?
Will see if this series grows on me as the others have done … Issue 2 will be released April 6, 2011. All five issues and the hardcover: certainly another edition of Emma you must add to your Austen Library!
[Images from Marvel Comics, Jane Austen’s Emma, No. 1]
Kelly! – Congratulations Kelly! – you will have this for your anniversary celebration in London! Happy touring through the early 19th century!
Please email me your address [info at this link ] and I will get this off to you right away. If I do not hear from you by Monday March 7th, I will choose another name from the mix.
Those of you who did not win? – You can still order the book directly from Louise Allen at her website.
Thanks one and all for participating, and hearty thanks to Louise for her great interview and responses to comments!
Copyright @2011 by Deb Barnum at Jane Austen in Vermont.
I think there is a Reading Challenge afoot! – here are a few reminders of the various Jane Austen -related Reading Challenges, Contests, Giveaways, etc – There is work to be done!
There are more out there – I think we will need a longer winter [heaven help us!] to handle all this! So let your reading begin! [but first, please vote on the Jane Austen Made Me Do It Short Story Contest...]
My own list for the year? classics reads and re-reads: Clarissa [on-going!]; Pamela; Joseph Andrews; Lover’s Vows; Camilla; Bleak house; Portrait of a Lady; The Governess; The Excursion; Belinda; Howard’s End… and more… [do I dare attempt Sir Charles Grandison?!]
Copyright @2011, by Deb Barnum at Jane Austen in Vermont
Book Giveaway! ~ See details at the end of this post.
I welcome again Louise Allen for the second part of my interview about her new book Walks Through Regency London ~ [click here for Part I]
JAIV: Hello again Louise! – now let’s talk about your fiction: I have to make the embarrassing confession that I have not read any of your Regency romances! Your website says you write “Scandalously witty Regency romance” – how are you different from the other writers in this genre?
LA: I write romance, so obviously there is emotional intensity, but I have a well-developed sense of humour and I don’t enjoy writing about people who can’t laugh at themselves and the situation they find themselves in. A hero who isn’t witty isn’t quite a hero for me and my heroines, who all have a bit of me in them somewhere, are more likely to find the light side of any disaster, pick themselves up and carry on. And scandalous? Well, I’m told I write “hot” historicals – which means that I tend to have slightly older, more experienced and/or less conventional heroines who might have convincingly amorous encounters.
JAIV: What book would you suggest a “newbie” start with? [I promise to order a copy right away!]
LA: Well, I’ve just won a CataRomance Reviewer’s Choice Award for The Lord & the Wayward Lady which is the first of a series of eight books I wrote with five other authors. I also wrote the seventh in the series, The Officer and the Proper Lady which I have to confess is a favourite of mine. Or you might like to start with a trilogy which comes out in the States later this year (August, September, November) – “The Transformation of the Shelley Sisters.” The first one is Practical Widow to Passionate Mistress.
JAIV: You have several stand-alone titles and several titles in series – which do you prefer to write? Is it hard to let a character go when there is no sequel in the wings?
LA: I do enjoy being able to stretch myself over a series and I love revisiting characters from earlier books. And yes, I hate letting my characters go! But it does make scheduling problems and there is more flexibility and variety with stand-alone books. My next one will be a singleton and I’m just starting it. Mills & Boon is producing a series set in historical houses owned by the National Trust, linking a fictional romance with real events and people, and I’m lucky enough to have been asked to do one. I’ve chosen Wimpole Hall in Cambridgeshire. When I’ve completed that I’ll be writing one set entirely in India in the 1790s.
JAIV:This National Trust series sounds intriguing! Are any of your other characters based on historical figures?
LA: I will occasionally have real characters “walking on” – the Prince Regent or Wellington for example – but all my heroes and heroines are entirely fictitious. I try very hard to make sure historical events take place as the records show and I’m not making people act out of character.
JAIV: What is your writing process? – do you plan ahead or as you have said yourself do “the Hero and Heroine take over and sabotage all your efforts at discipline”?
LA: I’m what is known in the business as a “pantser” – I fly by the seat of my pants into the fog – rather than being a planner. But I need to know my characters very well before I start, then I put them in a situation and I hope I can keep control of them!
JAIV: Do you have a favorite character? – the Hero? The Heroine?
LA: I need to be able to identify with the heroine – and hope my readers will too. And I have to be a little bit in love with the hero (luckily my husband is secure about this!). Some heroes though, stay with me – Hal Carlow in The Officer and the Proper Lady and Jack Ryder in The Dangerous Mr Ryder for example.
JAIV: What makes a great Hero? A great Heroine?
LA: My heroes have to be men of honour, even if sometimes that is buried rather deeply. They must have courage – physical and moral – and they need an edge of darkness, of danger. And a sense of humour, of course! Great heroines have the reader living the book with them – and I wish there was a recipe for achieving that. I know I’ve succeeded when my editor says (in a good way) “ was in tears over x or y”.
JAIV: Do you believe in the transformation of the Rake, his redemption? –
LA: That depends on the rake. There were some genuinely unpleasant and vicious Regency rakes. I believe that a man who has, for good reason, become cynical and cold and destructive can be redeemed by love, but there are things I wouldn’t countenance in one of my heroes.
JAIV: How do you come up with names? Ravenhurst, Carlow, etc…
LA: What a good question – I wish I knew the answer! I tell my subconscious to get on with it and end up with lists and jotted notes on every scrap of paper. Then I have to try them out and see what works. Sometimes a character insists on a different name and I have to give in.
JAIV: If you were giving advice to budding writers, what would it be?
LA: Write, write, write – you have to learn technique and you have to build your writing “muscles”. Listen to constructive advice from agents, publishers, published writers and think about what they are saying. But never over-polish your work so that you lose you unique “voice”.
JAIV: Your covers – do you have input or is this out of your hands?
LA: Out of my hands!
UK cover
US cover
JAIV: You mention that your last work is part of a “continuity series” of eight books written by six different authors. How ever did you all come together in such a task? And how different was the writing process for your two books in this series? – what are the other titles and authors, and should the series be read in order?
LA: The editors at HMB in Richmond, London, put us together – we didn’t know each other so it was a sharp learning curve. Fortunately we got on very well together, which was a good thing as we had to come up with the over-arching mystery that links the books, all the characters and eight plots ourselves, subject to editorial approval. For me it meant I had to plan far more than I usually do and the process was slower as we were all writing at the same time and constantly checking back and forth to ensure continuity of plot and characterization, especially as we were all using each other’s characters. But it was a wonderful experience and we are still firm friends. The books can be read alone, but if read in order you also get to follow the mystery through to its conclusion. In order they are:
The Lord & the Wayward Lady (Louise Allen)
Paying the Virgin’s Price (Christine Merrill)
The Smuggler & the Society Bride (Julia Justiss)
Claiming the Forbidden Bride (Gayle Wilson)
The Viscount & the Virgin (Annie Burrows)
Unlacing the Innocent Miss (Margaret McPhee)
The Officer & the Proper Lady (Louise Allen)
Taken By the Wicked Rake (Christine Merrill)
JAIV: I am interested in your current “work in progress” – to be set in India – you have recently visited to inspire you and help in your research – I had the good fortune to visit India a few years ago and was so moved by the beauty of the people and the culture – what were your impressions? And what works are your reading for your historical research?
LA: As I said above, this is now the book after next. I went to India last year and used some of that experience in my “Danger & Desire” trilogy (out in the States next year) but I wanted to do one set there entirely, and rather earlier than I usually write – the late 1700s. I love India, even at its most chaotic, and Rajasthan where we were in January had the most incredible palaces and forts, many of which we stayed in. I’m reading through a pile of quite academic material on the East India Company but I found William Dalrymple’s The White Moghuls very inspiring and for light relief there is always William Hickey – Memoirs of a Georgian Rake.
JAIV: What is the most essential tool in marketing your work?
LA: Constant contact with readers is paramount. I keep my website up to date, I tweet and I’ll do talks wherever and whenever I can. Next week I’m speaking at a US base in Norfolk!
JAIV: And finally a question about the publishing aspect of books vs. Kindle [etc.] – I see that many of your works are available in the ebooks format – have you seen an increase in sales because of this?
LA: I love books, but I love my Kindle too and I’m really pleased that many of my out of print books are becoming available in e-formats. It is too early to say what impact it is having on sales, but I don’t think there is any option other than to go along that route. Having said that, I can’t see the paper book dying any time soon, thank goodness.
JAIV: And finally, what do you like to do when not writing??!
LA: I read voraciously, travel, go antiquing, garden and talk endlessly to other writers.
JAIV: Anything else you would like to say?
LA: Thank you very much for having me! And do get in touch if you are coming to London – I’d love to meet members of your Society.
JAIV: Thank you Louise for sharing your thoughts with us – You have been most generous with your time! To All: Please look for my review of Walks Through Regency Londonin Friday’s post.
Your turn! – if anyone has any questions of Louise, please ask away! – see details for the book giveaway below… You can visit Louise’s website here and find her on Twitter @LouiseRegency
If you would like to order the Regency Walks book, you can do so directly from her website – I can attest to the book being mailed right away, arriving safe and sound and very quickly!
Book Giveaway: Please enter the drawing for a copy of Walks Through Regency London, compliments of ‘Jane Austen in Vermont’, by asking Louise a question or commenting on any of the three posts about this book. Drawing will take place next Wednesday 2 March 2011; comments accepted through 11 p.m. EST March 1st. [Delivery worldwide.]
[All images from Louise Allen’s website, except the letter-writing sketch which seems to be everywhere…]
Copyright @2011, Deb Barnum, at Jane Austen in Vermont.
Jane Austen in Vermont 