The Introduction of a Gentleman, by Heather Brothers ~ Author Interview & Book Giveaway

January 14, 2014January 14, 2014 BookLady Deb18 Comments

Gentle Readers: I welcome today one of our very own JASNA-Vermont members, Heather Brothers, to talk to us about her very own, just published, novel! – The Introduction of a Gentleman. A long-time Jane Austen fan, Heather has been coming to our meetings for the past several years – she loves the Regency period and this is her first go at a Regency historical romance – it is a great read, full of all the things you expect from the genre – good guys, bad guys, a naïve heroine, an estate in jeopardy, a bit of a mystery, and a fine Scottish setting both in the country and in Glasgow. Heather has graciously offered to tell us a little bit about herself and how she came to write this first book, and she will provide a free copy for a giveaway – see below for the giveaway details.

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Deb: Welcome Heather! All of us in Vermont are very excited for you, about this, your first published book! Tell us something about The Introduction of a Gentleman and what set you on the path to writing it…

Heather: The seed that grew into my love of the Regency Era was planted – as many others may have experienced themselves – when I saw the 1995 BBC version of Pride and Prejudice. I lived in Australia at the time and was visiting my best friend’s family. Being proper members of the Commonwealth, they were shocked that I had not seen P&P. The first day at their house we sat and watched it from beginning to end – I was so enraptured by it, I didn’t want to leave my seat for anything!

Being your typical enthusiast, I proceeded to throw a Pride and Prejudice New Year’s Eve party the following year – complete with country dance jammed into a most decidedly un-Pemberleyan dance hall (i.e. the living room of a cape house.) I had movie-viewing parties, read through each novel, connected with other Janeites, and after a trip to Scotland in 2008 for a friend’s wedding, I began the story that is The Introduction of a Gentleman.

Inspired by names such as Carrick and Strathclyde (both of which my husband has refused to name any future children), I began thinking and working on who these characters would be. And being fairly recently graduated from that tumultuous match-making time of life myself, I wanted to create that time and those feelings in Laura’s life.

After two years, I had created a rough draft and then fell victim to the precursor to the most glorious blessing one can possibly experience in life. Morning sickness led to hospitalization. Thank heaven for anti-nausea medication. And incidentally, if you throw up in the waiting room, you’ll get a hospital bed really fast. Keep that in mind.

My daughter being born was so amazing and during the nursing phase I was able to read a ton of books – the first being re-reading Emma. I learned so much about writing from that intense reading-filled timeframe.

I found that self-publishing really relies on your network of friends and family members. I got three critical reviews from friends – one who is a published writer, one who is an award-winning writer and Regency Era subject matter expert, and one who has a PhD in the Classics and is qualified to teach writing at the college level. My husband was also an invaluable help since, in self-publishing, you have to do all the formatting yourself (i.e. become a software expert.) I would really recommend Createspace, though. They have a lot of tools and all the channels set up for you.

And this is how I come to be where I am now. I really hope you enjoy The Introduction of a Gentleman. It doesn’t compare to the works of Jane Austen, but I think it’s a good read if you like that era.

Deb: What sort of reading have you done to prepare you to write a Regency historical novel?

Heather: Reading Jane Austen’s novels are in themselves a tutorial on many levels. I have also read some great books about the era – most recently The Jane Austen Handbook by Margaret Sullivan. I have done online research as well as learned a lot from the JASNA-Vermont meetings.

Deb: How long have you been reading Jane Austen? And what is your favorite book? Your favorite thing about her?

Heather: Interestingly, I ordered Sense and Sensibility from the Scholastic Book Club when I was in 9th grade. I tried to read it but couldn’t understand who everyone was, so gave up. Fortunately, through increased brain development and a more keen interest, since that time, I have been able to enjoy each novel.

My favorite book is Persuasion. What I love about Jane Austen is how funny she is and how brilliant she was in weaving everything together in these books. I’ve written an essay on the book Persuasion called “Might I Persuade You?” which I hope to record in an audio format. After listening to the audio version so wonderfully performed by Juliet Stevenson, I was struck by just how hilariously and wonderfully Jane Austen wrote. The other aspect of Persuasion that is so great is the theme of redeemed love and second chances – which is just irresistible.

Deb: Are you working on another novel? And if so will it be set in the same time period as The Introduction of a Gentleman? Will you continue with any of the characters?

Heather: I am working on another novel – but it is a present-day story set in Vermont about a 10-year old girl who wants to figure out a family mystery amidst her quirky aunts, uncles and grandparents: Your typical Vermont family.

Deb: Sounds like Cold Comfort Farm in Vermont! Can’t wait! What other kinds of books do you enjoy reading?

Heather: My favorite books right now are Alexander McCall Smith’s Isabel Dalhousie series and the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series.

Deb: You mention a trip to Scotland and the reason why it is the setting for your book, but have you travelled to other places in the UK as well, specifically to Jane Austen country in England?

Chatsworth House and Bridge [Wikimedia Commons ]

Heather: My travels in Scotland helped me decide the general areas that I wanted things to take place. Sir William Blair’s country home, for instance, is based on a castle that my husband and I visited. Other scenes were inspired by a prior trip to England. One of my aunts used to live in Nottingham. When visiting her, she took me to some amazing sites like Chatsworth, but this was before I became an Austen fan – so I didn’t realize what I missing out on! I actually had no idea what Chatsworth was prior to her taking me there. I was 18 at the time – with so much to learn! So another trip to England is definitely a hope.

greenberg-beige-2 smaller — Hope Greenberg

Deb: You dedicate the book to your sister, and also “To my husband, who came with me to my first Jane Austen Society meeting…on fashion.” Was that at a JASNA-Vermont meeting, or another meeting somewhere else?

Heather: Yes – the dedication refers to my first JASNA meeting – the one where Hope Greenberg spoke in Montpelier at the Vermont College of Fine Arts! I loved it and actually mentioned it to Hope at the Christmas tea when she wore her wonderful dress and hat to that meeting. I have been coming to JASNA meetings – when I could (i.e. not when Claire was tiny…) – since that meeting. [Ed. This meeting was on June 7, 2009 – with our very own regency fashionista Hope Greenberg on “Fashion in Jane Austen’s World” and a great intro to JASNA-Vermont for Heather! (and her husband!)]

Thanks so much for having me here Deb!

Deb: Thank you Heather! – and wishing you a great deal of luck with your first publishing endeavor.

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Plot synopsis: In 1797 Laura McCay searches for her path and a husband in the Scottish gentry. When the intriguing Mr. Strathclyde arrives at the May Ball, Laura is captivated by both his stature and his status. Her close friend, Carrick, deplores both the change he sees in Laura and Mr. Strathclyde’s growing influence over her. Heedless of the ramifications, Laura follows after Mr. Strathclyde, leaving family responsibilities and friends behind in the country. Laura disregards Carrick’s admonitions and throws herself into the city life of concerts, dresses and fashionable balls, only to find that not everything is as it seems….

The Introduction of a Gentleman at Amazon
ISBN: 978-1492725480
$8.99
[there is one online on Amazon for $999.11 – don’t buy that one… :)]

About the Author:

Heather and Claire2 — Heather Brothers and daughter Claire

What Amazon says: Heather Brothers is an avid Jane Austen fan and has had the pleasure of visiting Scotland several times. She lives in Vermont with her family.

More detail from Heather: I was born and raised mostly in Vermont, with three years of my childhood spent in Germany. I went to McGill University in Montreal, and spent one year in Australia. I studied Political Science, German and French, and like many with a liberal arts degree, my job doesn’t reflect my studies. I work as a loan analyst at the Vermont Student Assistance Corporation, where I have worked for eight and a half years.

I love going to Shelburne Farms in the summer with my daughter and husband. My favorite restaurant is Mirabelle’s downtown – which has the best hot chocolate. I’m beginning to wonder if it’s become an addiction, seeing as I stop there every Sunday before church and am on a first name basis with the staff…

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Book Giveaway

Please leave a comment or a question for Heather at the end of this post and you will be entered into a random drawing for a copy of The Introduction of a Gentleman. Deadline is Tuesday January 21, 2014, 11:59 pm. I will announce the winner on Wednesday January 22nd. US entries only please. [sorry about that – postage rates are sky-high to everywhere else…]

C2014, Jane Austen in Vermont

Austen Literary History & Criticism · Book reviews · Books · Jane Austen · Jane Austen Circle · Literature · Publishing History · Women Writers

Book Review: Nicholas Ennos’ Jane Austen: A New Revelation ~ “Conspiracy is the Sincerest Form of Flattery”

January 3, 2014September 15, 2016 BookLady Deb24 Comments

Dear Gentle Readers: I welcome today Janine Barchas with her review of the recently published Jane Austen: A New Revelation by Nicholas Ennos – his book tackles the question of who really authored Jane Austen’ s six novels and juvenilia…

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“Conspiracy is the Sincerest Form of Flattery”

Review of Nicholas Ennos, Jane Austen: A New Revelation (Senesino Books, Oct. 2013). Pp. 372. £25. Available from Amazon.com as an e-book for Kindle for $10.99.

The litmus test of true literary achievement is whether your works are deemed so great that you simply could not have written them.

Janeites need no longer envy students of Shakespeare their intricate web of Renaissance conspiracy theories. Whereas Shakespeare scholarship has long enjoyed the spectral presence of the Earl of Oxford, Austen studies can now boast a countess named Eliza de Feuillide.

The self-published Jane Austen: A New Revelation alleges that “a poor, uneducated woman with no experience of sex or marriage” could not possibly have written the sophisticated works of social satire and enduring romance that we traditionally attribute to Jane Austen. The book’s author, Nicholas Ennos (the aura of conspiracy allows that this is not necessarily his/her real name), asserts that biographers have been leading everyone by the nose. The true author of the Austen canon is, instead, Madame la Comtesse de Feuillide, born Eliza Hancock (1761-1813). Eliza was the worldly and well-educated older cousin of Jane Austen who, after being made a young widow by the French Revolution, married Henry Austen, Jane’s favorite brother. The sassy Eliza has long been pointed to as a model for the morally challenged characters of Lady Susan and Mary Crawford in the fictions. To identify Eliza as the actual author was, Ennos explains, the next logical step.

Shakespeare’s First Folio – Haverford.edu

Just so, and also about two centuries into his literary afterlife, William Shakespeare’s lofty literary achievements were judged incompatible with his humble origins, sowing seeds of doubt that a person so little known could have achieved so much. Slowly, the man named Will Shakespeare from Stratford-upon-Avon came to be considered by a small-but-articulate fringe to be a mere front shielding the genuine author (or authors) of the works written under the pen name of Shakespeare. Austen’s genteel poverty, relative isolation, and biographical quiet allows for a similar approach. For how, asks Ennos, can genius thrive with so little food of experience to feed it?

The arguments for Shakespeare reattribution rely heavily upon biographical allusions as well as the absence of works in manuscript. Similarly, Austen critics who have been keen to spot biographical references to real places and family members in the fictions have apparently opened the door to skeptics who can now point to Cassandra’s “systematic destruction” of her sister’s letters as proof of a conspiracy. Ennos also draws attention to the “suspicious” parallel fact that no Austen novel survives in manuscript. The juvenilia, which does survive in Jane’s hand, is explained away as early secretarial work for Eliza during her visits to the Steventon household.

Eliza died in April of 1813, well before the publication of Mansfield Park (1814), Emma (1815), or Persuasion and Northanger Abbey (Dec 1817). The so-called Oxfordians overcame the timeline obstacles posed by Edward de Vere’s early death in 1604 by redating many Shakespeare texts, which (their logic dictates) must have been composed earlier than previously thought and squirreled away for later publication by an appointed agent. So too is the Austen corpus deftly redated by Ennos—with husband Henry, cousin Cassandra, and amanuensis Jane as co-conspirators. Some historians allow that Eliza was in all probability the natural daughter of politician Warren Hastings. Ennos adds to this existing context of secrecy that Eliza’s illegitimacy was the “disgrace” that the Austens “were determined to cover up after Eliza’s death” and the reason that “the myth of Jane Austen’s authorship was invented.”

Readers of Austen will doubtless need some time to process the implications of these revelations. For example, what of the presumed poignancy of Persuasion’s temporal setting? The events in this novel take place during the false peace of the summer of 1814—a short reprieve in the Napoleonic wars that saw the premature return of Britain’s navy men after the initial exile of Napoleon to Elba. Persuasion has been on record as composed between August 1815 and August 1816, in the full knowledge of both the false hopes of that summer and the true end to the war that came with the Battle of Waterloo in June 1815. Ennos moves the novel’s date of composition prior to April 1813. Although he does not go so far as to urge Eliza’s historical prescience, he suggests that these features are merely evidence of judicious tweaks to manuscripts left in Henry’s care at Eliza’s death.

Eliza de Feuillide Frances Burney Jane Austen

This is not all. Ennos further declares that the precocious Eliza also wrote the novels conventionally attributed to Frances Burney (1752-1840). The resemblances between Evelina and Pride and Prejudice have long been acknowledged by scholars who have (mistakenly, according to Ennos) attributed this to Burney’s literary influence upon the young Austen. Ennos reasons that Frances Burney’s lack of literary success after Eliza’s death, including her “truly dreadful” novel The Wanderer in 1814, is evidence of her being, in fact, an imposter. While future stylometric analysis may eventually confirm that Jane and Fanny were one and the same Eliza, this method has not settled the authorship question irrevocably for Shakespeare. Perhaps this is why Ennos does not turn to computer analysis or linguistics for help. He does identify Elizabeth Hamilton, the name of another minor authoress, as a further pseudonym used by the talented Eliza—ever widening the corpus of works that might appeal to those already interested in Austen.

It is a truth universally acknowledged that the novels attributed to Jane Austen were published anonymously during her lifetime. Logically, any book written anonymously must be in want of a conspiracy. The grassy knoll of this particular conspiracy is the biographical notice in Northanger Abbey, released simultaneously with Persuasion six months after Jane Austen’s death in 1817. History has taken Henry Austen, a failed banker, at his word in identifying the author as his sister. Ennos, who is not very gallant towards the species of academics and literary critics whom he dismisses as “simple souls,” suggests that Austen scholarship has been surprisingly gullible in accepting Henry’s attribution without question.

In the wake of the Ireland forgeries of the 1790s, generations of Shakespeare scholars offered dozens of different names for the man behind the mask of “Will Shakespeare.” Although the Earl of Oxford has garnered Hollywood’s vote, Francis Bacon and Christopher Marlowe are next in popularity. We can only hope that these allegations by Ennos prop open the doors of Austen authorship so that additional candidates can step forward to provide generations of graduate students with dissertation fodder.

Does the Eliza attribution theory expect to be taken seriously? Or does this maverick publication deliberately mock established scholarship by means of cartoonish imitation? I’m not sure it really matters. If this project had ambitions to be a serious Sokal-style hoax, then it did not manage to convince a top publisher and, as a result, lacks the ability to wound deeply. The prose is also too earnest and unadorned for an academic satire—devoid of the jargon that should dutifully accompany a spoof. The resulting pace is too sluggish for irony. That said, there are plenty of moments that even David Lodge could not improve upon. For example, Ennos points to an acrostic “proof” of hidden clues in the dedicatory poem to Evelina (only visible if decoded into Latin abbreviations). There is also the syllogistic central assertion that if the novels of both Burney and Austen resemble the Latinate style of Tacitus, then these could only have been written by 1) the same person and 2) someone schooled in Latin. Ergo, Eliza is the true author behind both, since only she could have learned Latin from Reverend George Austen, Jane’s father (who might teach a niece but never his youngest daughter). Finally, there are gestures towards wider bodies of knowledge: “In this respect the philosophy of both authors has been linked to the views of the Swedish philosopher, Swedenborg.” Perhaps Ennos is simply angling for someone to buy the movie option. “Anonymous” did well at the box office, so why not a film dubbed “Eliza”?

No matter what the intention, hearty congratulations are due to Jane Austen. For her, this news makes for a strong start to the New Year. Exactly two centuries into her literary afterlife, a doubting Thomas was the last requirement of literary celebrity still missing from her resume. Austen can now take her seat next to Shakespeare, secure in the knowledge that her authorship, too, has begun to be questioned.

You know you’ve hit the big time when you didn’t write your own work.

— Reviewed by Janine Barchas

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Barchas is the author of Matters of Fact in Jane Austen: History, Location, and Celebrity (Johns Hopkins, 2012). She is also the creator of “What Jane Saw”, an on-line reconstruction of an art exhibit attended by Jane Austen on 24 May 1813. Recently, she has written for The New York Times and the Johns Hopkins University Press Blog.

c2014 Jane Austen in Vermont; text c2014 Janine Barchas

Austen Literary History & Criticism · Books · Collecting Jane Austen · Jane Austen · Jane Austen Merchandise · Publishing History

The Gifts of Christmas ~ All Things Jane Austen! ~ Day 3 ~ Austen’s Juvenilia, Volume the First

December 23, 2013 BookLady Deb2 Comments

If you love Jane Austen’s Juvenilia [and who cannot!], then you must add this to your collection: the Bodleian Library has published the first volume of her youthful writings in a fine facsimile edition, with an introduction by Kathryn Sutherland.

Here is the link:

http://www.bodleianbookshop.co.uk/display.asp?isb=9781851242818&TAG=&CID=#

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Volume the First: A Facsimile. By Jane Austen, ed. Kathryn Sutherland.
Bodleian Library, 18 October 2013.
Page Dimensions: 224 pages, 188 x 142 x 21 mm
ISBN: 9781851242818
Format: Hardback
Price: £25.00

[available from the Bodleian Bookshop and various online book vendors; and for pre-order on Amazon (to be released May 2014 in the US)]

Synopsis (from the website):

A plain, blank stationer’s notebook from the 1780s in the Bodleian Library contains some of the most famous juvenilia in all of English literature. Copied out in Jane Austen’s youthful hand, Volume the First, which takes its name from the inscription on the cover, preserves the stories, playlets, verses, and moral fragments she wrote during her teenage years. For the first time, the entire manuscript of Volume the First is available in a printed facsimile. In it, we see the young author’s delight in language, in expressing ideas and sentiments sharply and economically. We also see Jane Austen learning the craft of genre by closely observing and parodying the popular stories of her day. Kathryn Sutherland’s introduction places Jane’s Austen’s earliest works in context and explains how she mimicked even the style and manner in which these stories were presented and arranged on the page. Clearly the work of a teenager, Volume the First reveals the development of the unmistakable voice and style that would mark out Jane Austen as one of the most popular authors of all time. None of her six famous novels survives in manuscript form.This is a unique opportunity to own a likeness of Jane Austen’s hand in the form of a complete manuscript facsimile.

You can view the entire volume page by page on the website Jane Austen’s Fiction Manuscripts: http://www.janeausten.ac.uk/edition/ms/VolFirstHeadNote.html

The Contents in Austen’s own hand

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But now you can have your very own copy – I don’t know of a better Christmas gift! Do you?

Happy Reading!

C2013 Jane Austen in Vermont

Book Giveaway · Books · Jane Austen · Jane Austen Popular Culture · Jane Austen Sequels

Announcing the Winners of Karen Doornebos’s Undressing Mr. Darcy!

December 19, 2013 BookLady Deb1 Comment

The two winners of Karen Doornebos’s new book Undressing Mr. Darcy are: Kim V and whatrachydidnext!

Kim V wrote:

I plan on celebrating Jane’s birthday by reading. I really enjoyed this post and the pictures. I follow you on facebook.

Whatrachydidnext wrote:

Aw I went to visit Jane Austen’s house a couple of years ago and this has taken me back. We also had tea and scones in Cassandra’s Cup. A nice trip down memory lane, thank you.

Please send me your contact information [address and phone] as soon as possible so I can have Karen’s publisher send out the book to each of you: email me at jasnavermont [at] gmail [dot] com

With many thanks to Karen for her travelogue post and for writing yet another fun Austenesque read, and to the publisher Berkley Books for the giveaways!

c2013 Jane Austen in Vermont

Books · Jane Austen · Jane Austen Popular Culture

Celebrating Jane Austen’s Birthday at My Jane Austen Book Club… & A Giveaway!

December 16, 2013December 16, 2013 BookLady Deb8 Comments

Maria Grazia at her Jane Austen Book Club blog is today celebrating Jane Austen’s birthday by posting various writers’ and bloggers’ thoughts on What would my life have been like without Jane Austen? – here is what I wrote…

What would my life have been like without Jane Austen?

Hard to imagine, really, but here goes with a list of what would been missing in my life if Jane Austen had not written her 6 novels, etc:

I wouldn’t have…

1. … befriended an amazing group of women from our first weekend sharing Jane Austen 20 years ago… we continue to have at least once a year “Wild Women Weekends” to discuss our latest reads and to just connect – and it all started with Jane Austen…

2. … had the repeat enjoyment of reading her novels over and over, always discovering something new;

3. … encountered the likes of Mr. Collins, Mrs. Elton, Mary Crawford, Mrs. Bennet, the Wicked Villians, and the Dashing Heroes [well, except for Edmund…];

[CE Brock, Pride and Prejudice. image: Mollands]

4. … appreciated the English language in quite the same way… the Wit, the Irony, that Free Indirect Discourse! – Who else does it quite like this! [well, after giving Shakespeare his just due…];

5. … read North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell, and therefore would not have discovered Richard Armitage as John Thornton;

6. … had to contend with the various screen Mr. Darcy’s and the endless conversations as to who is the best:

7. … learned about the fascinating history of the time – social life and customs, British history, military history and the Royal Navy, architectural, artistic, fashion history, etc. – the list is endless, and the learning never stops…;

8. … had endless discussions on the value and virtues of Fanny Price with my very Anti-Fanny friend Sara;

9. … read The Letter [i.e Capt. Wentworth’s “pierced soul”] – can one exist without memorizing that Letter?
[a Letterpress Broadside from the Bowler Press]

10. … had the pleasure of re-watching and critiquing the many movies!

11. … ,as a teenager, figured out the kind of Hero I wanted in my own life – if Jane Austen hadn’t written P&P, I would still be hankering after a Mr. Rochester or a Heathcliff – great reads but not nearly as healthy…;

12. … met so many fabulous and inspiring people in the JASNA community [as well as all the other worldwide Jane Austen Societies];

13. … started a blog and met such amazing people in the Jane Austen online community… and may have therefore had an inordinate amount of time to do something else!

14. … collected books: the various editions of the Jane Austen novels, books about Jane Austen, books inspired by Jane Austen, books about Great Britain, books about the Regency Period and its social life and customs – whatever would I fill my bookshelves with if Jane Austen wasn’t such a part of my life?!

Happy Birthday Jane Austen! – little could you know of your legacy of enriching so many lives!

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Giveaway!

In honor of Jane Austen’s 238th birthday, I am offering a set of the Jane Austen Playing Cards, by Prospero Art. Please comment below on What would your life have been like without Jane Austen? by Sunday December 22 at 11:59 pm to be entered into the drawing [US entries only, sorry to say – our postage rates have made international shipping impossible…] – I will announce the winner on Monday December 23rd…

“Miss Eliza Bennet,” said Miss Bingley, “despises cards. She is a great reader, and has no pleasure in anything else.”

c2013 Jane Austen in Vermont

Author Interviews · Book reviews · Books · Collecting Jane Austen · Jane Austen · Jane Austen Popular Culture

Celebrating Jane Austen’s Birthday! ~ Blog Tour & Giveaway: Undressing Mr. Darcy, with Karen Doornebos.

December 16, 2013December 16, 2013 BookLady Deb23 Comments

Hello Gentle Readers: I welcome today Karen Doornebos, author of UNDRESSING MR. DARCY, as she travels the web for a blog tour and book giveaway. I had reviewed Karen’s first book Definitely Not Mr. Darcy back in 2011 [click here], and have enjoyed entering her Jane Austen world yet again with her new book, just released on December 3, 2013. Karen joins us today to tell a bit about her trip to Jane Austen country and how it inspired her – you should visit the other blogs on the tour to get the whole travelogue! And please see below for the giveaway info to win one of two copies of Undressing Mr. Darcy!…

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Happy 238^th Birthday to Jane Austen…from her writing table at Chawton!

Thank you, Janeite Deb, for hosting me on this very special day for Janeites worldwide. It’s an honor to be here today. Shall we raise a glass of French wine that Austen liked to have when it was offered her?

As an ice-breaker to each leg of my Blog Tour for UNDRESSING MR. DARCY, I’m taking you along for a ride to England, where I traveled during the summer of 2012 to do some research for my book. Yes, I was on The Jane Austen Trail all right!

Where am I on this stop? Jane Austen’s cottage in Chawton and her brother Edward’s inherited estate just up the road, the gorgeous mansion that is now Chawton House Library. I was lucky enough to spend the night on the grounds of Chawton House Library, and you can too, in the renovated stables that serve as the most stunning B&B. You will soon get an insider’s look at that gorgeous estate owned and so lovingly restored by Sandy Lerner.

First, let’s have a cuppa at Cassandra’s Cup…

Across the street from Jane Austen’s cottage is Cassandra’s Cup tearoom, where I can recommend the scones with jam and clotted cream as well as looking up at the ceiling to admire all of the teacups. I had to set part of a scene in my new book here, didn’t I?! How could anyone resist the charm? [I have heard, however, that the shop had recently gone up for sale. Has anyone heard anything further about that?]

A visit to Jane Austen’s cottage and yes…her chamber pot.

Jane Austen in Vermont readers, you’ve seen photos of Austen’s cottage before. But have you seen a photo of her chamber pot? Here it is! You can count on me to point out the offbeat:

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Knowing as I do the distinct hierarchy of carriages, I stood for a long time in front of Jane Austen’s donkey cart. She most certainly did not even have a gig like the lowly John Thorpe, much less a chaise and four like Lady Catherine. Somehow, our Jane deserved more than a donkey cart, did she not? But there it was, a simple, rudimentary, but functional contraption. A distinct reminder of her position in her society.

I had to admire the oak leaf and acorn Wedgwood pattern on the Austen’s china, and there is a moment in my new novel where my heroine and some tourists from Australia discuss the significance of this pattern. Acorns figure prominently in Regency art and architecture, and I found it interesting that acorns can symbolize strength and power in small things. I think Austen herself gathered strength and inspiration from the simple, small things in her life, would you agree? Speaking of simple, I really enjoyed the Austen’s bake house and the range where Austen herself would make breakfast every morning.

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Chawton House Library…a home Austen knew well…

I was lucky enough to spend a night at the renovated stables on the grounds of what is now Chawton House Library, and you too can stay there when you visit. It was the most stunning B&B I’d ever stayed in. I’ll never forget having breakfast in the solarium off the kitchen in the stables: bliss. The grounds, the gardens, the long drive leading up to the house…all of it stood in sharp contrast to Jane Austen’s simple cottage. Yet, Austen herself no doubt had plenty of opportunity to visit here and partake of the opulence and…the library.

One of the most striking paintings in the home to me was the one done of Edward Austen Knight. This painting, as well as the silhouette done of Edward’s adoption by the Knights signify turning points in my novel for my heroine. The silhouette in particular, dramatized to great effect, nevertheless captures the poignancy of the moment. Young Edward, just a boy, had been plucked from his family, but destined for wealth, position, and security his Austen siblings would never know. If it weren’t for Edward’s luck at being adopted by the wealthy and childless Knights, his sister Jane may never have known the comfort of her Chawton cottage…and we might never have known her novels…that only could have been written with a certain amount of security that the cottage provided. Granted, Jane Austen had to work hard, sewing shirts, cooking, making orange wine and brewing spruce beer, but thanks to the Knights she was able to sneak in a little time to write.

Edward Austen

Edward’s adoption

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Come the evening at Chawton House Library, I ambled over to the nearby churchyard and stumbled across Cassandra Austen’s gravestone. Sigh. Nothing could have prepared me for the range of emotions I experienced at Chawton.

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Thank you once again, Deb for having me visit your delightful blog! Happy Birthday to our favorite author Jane Austen! In celebration of her birthday, I invite your readers to comment and win…

Imagine a history lesson where you watch a very handsome Regency gentleman lecture about his clothing as he proceeds to take it off—down to his drawers. This is the premise of UNDRESSING MR. DARCY!

He’s an old-fashioned, hard-cover book reader who writes in quill pen and hails from England. She’s an American social media addict. Can he find his way to her heart without so much as a GPS?

You can read the first chapter here!

Austenprose gave it five out of five stars and you can read the review here.

Buy now at Berkley Penguin – Indiebound – Amazon – B&N – Kobo – BAM – iTunes

WIN!

Jane Austen in Vermont readers, comment below for your chance to win one of TWO copies of UNDRESSING MR. DARCY… How are YOU celebrating Jane Austen’s birthday? To increase your chances of winning you can share this post on your Facebook page or Twitter—let us know you’ve done that! You can also increase your odds by following me on Twitter or Facebook, or, if you’re not already, following Deb on her social media [Jane Austen in Vermont on facebook or Austen in Vermont on twitter]—don’t forget to let us know about it in your comment, thanks! Contest limited to US entrants only.

Mr. Darcy’s Stripping Off…

…his waistcoat! At each blog stop Mr. Darcy will strip off another piece of clothing. Keep track of each item in chronological order and at then end of the tour you can enter to win a GRAND PRIZE of the book, “DO NOT DISTURB I’m Undressing Mr. Darcy” door hangers for you and your friends, tea, and a bottle of wine (assuming I can legally ship it to your state). US entries only, please.

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Karen Doornebos is the author of UNDRESSING MR. DARCY published by Berkley, Penguin and available here or at your favorite bookstore. Her first novel, DEFINITELY NOT MR. DARCY, has been published in three countries and was granted a starred review by Publisher’s Weekly. Karen lived and worked in London for a short time, but is now happy just being a lifelong member of the Jane Austen Society of North America and living in the Chicagoland area with her husband, two teenagers and various pets—including a bird. Speaking of birds, follow her on Twitter and Facebook! She hopes to see you there, on her website www.karendoornebos.com and her group blog Austen Authors.

JOIN THE BLOG TOUR:

12/2: The Penguin Blog

12/3: Austenprose

12/4 Laura’s Review Bookshelf & JaneBlog

12/5 Chick Lit Plus – Review

12/6 Austen Authors

12/9 Fresh Fiction

12/10 Writings & Ramblings

12/11 Brant Flakes & Skipping Midnight

12/12 Risky Regencies Q&A

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12/16 Jane Austen in Vermont & Author Exposure Q&A

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12/18 Savvy Verse & Wit – Review

12/19 Kritters Ramblings

12/20 Booking with Manic– Review

12/23 BookNAround

12/26 My 5 Monkeys – Review

12/27 All Grown Up – Review

12/30 Silver’s Reviews

1/2 Dew on the Kudzu

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Thank you Karen for joining us today to celebrate Jane Austen’s birthday and sharing your trip to Chawton with everyone! We wish you the very best with your new book!

Everyone, please comment by Wednesday December 18th at 11:59 pm to be entered into the drawing for one of two copies of Undressing Mr. Darcy: tell us how you are celebrating Jane Austen’s 238th Birthday today! Winners will be announced on the morning of December 19th. [US entries only, sorry to say]

c2013 Jane Austen in Vermont – text and images Karen Doornebos

Austen Literary History & Criticism · Books · Jane Austen · Jane Austen Popular Culture · Literature

Mr. Darcy’s Feelings; Or, More on the Inner Life of Jane Austen’s Hero…Part II

December 3, 2013January 7, 2014 BookLady Deb4 Comments

Please see the first post on Mr. Darcy’s Feelings – Pride and Prejudice Vol. I here

Now on to Volume II!

Skipping through the text to locate just commentary on Mr. Darcy’s feelings and instances of Elizabeth’s professed dislike of the man leaves out an awful lot of interesting passages – taking Jane Austen out of context is a dangerous thing! – we have missed Mr. Collins and his rejected proposal entirely! always too wonderful to skim over – for here we learn more about Elizabeth and her feelings on marriage and friendship than anywhere else in the novel. I have always thought she is very quick to judgment on Charlotte’s choice of a partner – she forgets what is clear in the text to us and would have been for contemporary readers – that Charlotte is a rational creature and knows she has little choice if she is to have a “comfortable home” of her own… even the narrator is critical of Elizabeth, described as “less clear-sighted” in the case of Wickham’s marrying for money and independence than she is of her friend’s similar decision, a crucial point in seeing Elizabeth’s own prejudices.

C. E. Brock. “Almost as soon as I entered the house I singled you out as the companion of my future life.”
P&P. Macmillan, 1895. Volume I, Ch. 19 [Mollands]

But I digress – we shall leave Mr. Collins and continue in search of Mr. Darcy’s feelings…

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Elizabeth blames Darcy for taking Bingley away, and he is “condemned [by everybody, except Jane Bennet] as the worst of men” (p. 107)* – she rants:

p. 119.

“Oh! if that is all, I have a very poor opinion of young men who live in Derbyshire; and their intimate friends who live in Hertfordshire are not much better. I am sick of them all. Thank Heaven! I am going to-morrow where I shall find a man [Collins] who has not one agreeable quality, who has neither manner nor sense to recommend him. Stupid men are the only ones worth knowing, after all.”

[And Darcy as always, though nowhere to be found in the book here, is not far from her thoughts, as so on seeing Miss De Bourgh:]

p. 122.

“I like her appearance,” said Elizabeth, struck with other ideas. “She looks sickly and cross. Yes, she will do for him very well. She will make him a very proper wife.”

p. 125. [on meeting Lady Catherine for the first time:]

Lady Catherine – P&P 1995

When, after examining the mother, in whose countenance and deportment she soon found some resemblance of Mr. Darcy…

p. 131.

Elizabeth had heard soon after her arrival that Mr. Darcy was expected there in the course of a few weeks, and though there were not many of her acquaintance whom she did not prefer, his coming would furnish one comparatively new to look at in their Rosings parties, and she might be amused in seeing how hopeless Miss Bingley’s designs on him were, by his behaviour to his cousin, for whom he was evidently destined by Lady Catherine, who talked of his coming with the greatest satisfaction, spoke of him in terms of the highest admiration, and seemed almost angry to find that he had already been frequently seen by Miss Lucas and herself.

p. 131. [The ever-observant Charlotte]:

…and to the great surprise of all the party, when Mr. Collins returned, the gentlemen [Darcy and Col. Fitzwilliam] accompanied him. Charlotte had seen them from her husband’s room crossing the road, and immediately running into the other, told the girls what an honour they might expect, adding —

“I may thank you, Eliza, for this piece of civility. Mr. Darcy would never have come so soon to wait upon me.”

Elizabeth had scarcely time to disclaim all right to the compliment before their approach was announced by the door-bell, and shortly afterwards the three gentlemen entered the room. Colonel Fitzwilliam, who led the way, was about thirty, not handsome, but in person and address most truly the gentleman. Mr. Darcy looked just as he had been used to look in Hertfordshire — paid his compliments, with his usual reserve, to Mrs. Collins, and whatever might be his feelings towards her friend, met her with every appearance of composure. Elizabeth merely curtseyed to him, without saying a word.

p. 132. Col. Fitzwilliam and Elizabeth at the pianoforte:

Mrs. Collins’s pretty friend had moreover caught his fancy very much. He now seated himself by her, and talked so agreeably of Kent and Hertfordshire, of travelling and staying at home, of new books and music, that Elizabeth had never been half so well entertained in that room before; and they conversed with so much spirit and flow, as to draw the attention of Lady Catherine herself, as well as of Mr. Darcy. His eyes had been soon and repeatedly turned towards them with a look of curiosity…

p. 133.

[Lady Catherine] “…though Mrs. Collins has no instrument, she is very welcome, as I have often told her, to come to Rosings every day, and play on the piano forte in Mrs. Jenkinson’s room. She would be in nobody’s way, you know, in that part of the house.”

Mr. Darcy looked a little ashamed of his aunt’s ill-breeding, and made no answer.

p. 133-35. [a long passage but one the most important exchanges between them; and notice Darcy’s smiles!]

He [Col. Fitzwilliam] drew a chair near her. Lady Catherine listened to half a song, and then talked, as before, to her other nephew; till the latter walked away from her, and moving with his usual deliberation towards the pianoforte, stationed himself so as to command a full view of the fair performer’s countenance. Elizabeth saw what he was doing, and at the first convenient pause, turned to him with an arch smile, and said –

H. M. Brock. “At the pianoforte”. P&P. Dent, 1898 [Adelaide]

“You mean to frighten me, Mr. Darcy, by coming in all this state to hear me? But I will not be alarmed though your sister does play so well. There is a stubbornness about me that never can bear to be frightened at the will of others. My courage always rises with every attempt to intimidate me.”

“I shall not say that you are mistaken,” he replied, “because you could not really believe me to entertain any design of alarming you; and I have had the pleasure of your acquaintance long enough to know that you find great enjoyment in occasionally professing opinions which in fact are not your own.”

Elizabeth laughed heartily at this picture of herself, and said to Colonel Fitzwilliam, “Your cousin will give you a very pretty notion of me, and teach you not to believe a word I say. I am particularly unlucky in meeting with a person so well able to expose my real character, in a part of the world where I had hoped to pass myself off with some degree of credit. Indeed, Mr. Darcy, it is very ungenerous in you to mention all that you knew to my disadvantage in Hertfordshire — and, give me leave to say, very impolitic too — for it is provoking me to retaliate, and such things may come out as will shock your relations to hear.”

“I am not afraid of you,” said he smilingly.

“Pray let me hear what you have to accuse him of,” cried Colonel Fitzwilliam. “I should like to know how he behaves among strangers.”

“You shall hear then — but prepare yourself for something very dreadful. The first time of my ever seeing him in Hertfordshire, you must know, was at a ball — and at this ball, what do you think he did? He danced only four dances! I am sorry to pain you — but so it was. He danced only four dances, though gentlemen were scarce; and, to my certain knowledge, more than one young lady was sitting down in want of a partner. Mr. Darcy, you cannot deny the fact.”

“I had not at that time the honour of knowing any lady in the assembly beyond my own party.”

“True; and nobody can ever be introduced in a ball room. Well, Colonel Fitzwilliam, what do I play next? My fingers wait your orders.”

“Perhaps,” said Darcy, “I should have judged better had I sought an introduction; but I am ill qualified to recommend myself to strangers.”

“Shall we ask your cousin the reason of this?” said Elizabeth, still addressing Colonel Fitzwilliam. “Shall we ask him why a man of sense and education, and who has lived in the world, is ill qualified to recommend himself to strangers?”

“I can answer your question,” said Fitzwilliam, “without applying to him. It is because he will not give himself the trouble.”

“I certainly have not the talent which some people possess,” said Darcy, “of conversing easily with those I have never seen before. I cannot catch their tone of conversation, or appear interested in their concerns, as I often see done.”

“My fingers,” said Elizabeth, “do not move over this instrument in the masterly manner which I see so many women’s do. They have not the same force or rapidity, and do not produce the same expression. But then I have always supposed it to be my own fault — because I would not take the trouble of practising. It is not that I do not believe my fingers as capable as any other woman’s of superior execution.”

Darcy smiled and said, “You are perfectly right. You have employed your time much better. No one admitted to the privilege of hearing you can think anything wanting. We neither of us perform to strangers.”

p. 135. [Elizabeth watching Mr. Darcy very closely!]

Anne de Bourgh. P&P 2005.

Elizabeth looked at Darcy to see how cordially he assented to his cousin’s praise; but neither at that moment nor at any other could she discern any symptom of love; and from the whole of his behaviour to Miss De Bourgh she derived this comfort for Miss Bingley, that he might have been just as likely to marry her, had she been his relation.

p. 136.

…when the door opened, and to her very great surprise Mr. Darcy, and Mr. Darcy only, entered the room.

He seemed astonished too on finding her alone, and apologised for his intrusion by letting her know that he had understood all the ladies to be within.

p. 137… [the “50 miles of good road” discussion, each misunderstanding the other…]

“It must be very agreeable to her to be settled within so easy a distance of her own family and friends.”

“An easy distance, do you call it? It is nearly fifty miles.”

“And what is fifty miles of good road? Little more than half a day’s journey. Yes, I call it a very easy distance.”

“I should never have considered the distance as one of the advantages of the match,” cried Elizabeth. “I should never have said Mrs. Collins was settled near her family.”

“It is a proof of your own attachment to Hertfordshire. anything beyond the very neighbourhood of Longbourn, I suppose, would appear far.”

As he spoke there was a sort of smile which Elizabeth fancied she understood; he must be supposing her to be thinking of Jane and Netherfield, and she blushed as she answered …–

p. 138. [love this!]

Elizabeth looked surprised. The gentleman experienced some change of feeling; he drew back his chair, took a newspaper from the table, and, glancing over it, said, in a colder voice —

“Are you pleased with Kent?”

p. 138.

“What can be the meaning of this?” said Charlotte, as soon as he was gone. “My dear Eliza, he must be in love with you, or he would never have called on us in this familiar way.”

But when Elizabeth told of his silence, it did not seem very likely, even to Charlotte’s wishes, to be the case; and after various conjectures, they could at last only suppose his visit to proceed from the difficulty of finding anything to do, which was the more probable from the time of year. All field sports were over.

p. 139. [inside Charlotte’s head…]

But why Mr. Darcy came so often to the Parsonage it was more difficult to understand. It could not be for society, as he frequently sat there ten minutes together without opening his lips; and when he did speak, it seemed the effect of necessity rather than of choice — a sacrifice to propriety, not a pleasure to himself. He seldom appeared really animated. Mrs. Collins knew not what to make of him. Colonel Fitzwilliam’s occasionally laughing at his stupidity proved that he was generally different, which her own knowledge of him could not have told her; and as she would have liked to believe this change the effect of love, and the object of that love her friend Eliza, she set herself seriously to work to find it out. She watched him whenever they were at Rosings, and whenever he came to Hunsford; but without much success. He certainly looked at her friend a great deal, but the expression of that look was disputable. It was an earnest, steadfast gaze, but she often doubted whether there were much admiration in it, and sometimes it seemed nothing but absence of mind.

She had once or twice suggested to Elizabeth the possibility of his being partial to her, but Elizabeth always laughed at the idea; and Mrs. Collins did not think it right to press the subject, from the danger of raising expectations which might only end in disappointment; for in her opinion it admitted not of a doubt, that all her friend’s dislike would vanish, if she could suppose him to be in her power…

p. 139-40.

More than once did Elizabeth, in her ramble within the Park, unexpectedly meet Mr. Darcy. She felt all the perverseness of the mischance that should bring him where no one else was brought, and, to prevent its ever happening again, took care to inform him at first that it was a favourite haunt of hers. How it could occur a second time, therefore, was very odd! [Ha!] Yet it did, and even a third. It seemed like wilful ill-nature, or a voluntary penance, for on these occasions it was not merely a few formal enquiries and an awkward pause and then away, but he actually thought it necessary to turn back and walk with her. He never said a great deal, nor did she give herself the trouble of talking or of listening much; but it struck her in the course of their third rencontre that he was asking some odd unconnected questions –

p. 140. Elizabeth asks Col. Fitzwilliam:

“Do you certainly leave Kent on Saturday?” said she.

“Yes — if Darcy does not put it off again. [my emphasis]But I am at his disposal. He arranges the business just as he pleases.”

“And if not able to please himself in the arrangement, he has at least great pleasure in the power of choice. I do not know anybody who seems more to enjoy the power of doing what he likes than Mr. Darcy.”

p. 144. [after Elizabeth learns from Col. Fitzwilliam of Darcy’s intervention between Bingley and Jane]

When they were gone, Elizabeth, as if intending to exasperate herself as much as possible against Mr. Darcy, chose for her employment the examination of all the letters which Jane had written to her since her being in Kent.

p. 145. The Proposal: [his timing could not have been any worse!] –won’t put it all here… I direct you to re-read the whole thing! [pp. 144-48.] – or you can watch the 6.14 minute 1995 movie version here:

or the 4 minute, and very wet version here [P&P 2005]

-In spite of her deeply rooted dislike she could not be insensible to the compliment of such a man’s affection, and though her intentions did not vary for an instant, she was at first sorry for the pain he was to receive; till, roused to resentment by his subsequent language, she lost all compassion in anger….

– she could easily see that he had no doubt of a favourable answer…. Etc, etc…

-Mr. Darcy, who was leaning against the mantlepiece with his eyes fixed on her face, seemed to catch her words with no less resentment than surprise. His complexion became pale with anger, and the disturbance of his mind was visible in every feature. He was struggling for the appearance of composure…

Hugh Thomson, illus. P&P. George Allen, 1894.

p. 148.

That she should receive an offer of marriage from Mr. Darcy! that he should have been in love with her for so many months! — so much in love as to wish to marry her in spite of all the objections which had made him prevent his friend’s marrying her sister, and which must appear at least with equal force in his own case — was almost incredible! — it was gratifying to have inspired unconsciously so strong an affection. But his pride, his abominable pride…

Chapter 12. [Elizabeth avoids meeting Darcy on her walk, but he finds her and passes her The Letter (he could not have delivered it any other way in order to protect her reputation…)]

C. E. Brock. “Would you do me the honour of reading that letter?” P&P. Macmillan 1895. Volume II, Ch. 12. [Mollands]

p. 150.

With no expectation of pleasure, but with the strongest curiosity, Elizabeth opened the letter, and, to her still increasing wonder, perceived an envelope containing two sheets of letter-paper…

The Letter: [like The Proposal, read this! pp. 150-56.]

Mr. Darcy writing The Letter – P&P 1995

p. 156.

Astonishment, apprehension, and even horror, oppressed her. She wished to discredit it entirely, repeatedly exclaiming, “This must be false! This cannot be! This must be the grossest falsehood!” — and when she had gone through the whole letter, though scarcely knowing anything of the last page or two, put it hastily away, protesting that she would not regard it, that she would never look in it again.

p. 159.

…that proud and repulsive as were his manners, she had never, in the whole course of their acquaintance — an acquaintance which had latterly brought them much together, and given her a sort of intimacy with his ways — seen anything that betrayed him to be unprincipled or unjust — anything that spoke him of irreligious or immoral habits: that among his own connexions he was esteemed and valued….

She grew absolutely ashamed of herself. Of neither Darcy nor Wickham could she think without feeling that she had been blind, partial, prejudiced, absurd.

“How despicably have I acted!” she cried; “I, who have prided myself on my discernment! I, who have valued myself on my abilities! who have often disdained the generous candour of my sister, and gratified my vanity in useless or blameable distrust. How humiliating is this discovery! yet, how just a humiliation! Had I been in love, I could not have been more wretchedly blind. But vanity, not love, has been my folly. Pleased with the preference of one, and offended by the neglect of the other [my emphasis] on the very beginning of our acquaintance, I have courted prepossession and ignorance, and driven reason away, where either were concerned. Till this moment I never knew myself.”

p. 161. [Lady Catherine’s take on Darcy has always caused me a full laugh-out-loud moment:]

….“They were excessively sorry to go! But so they always are. The dear colonel rallied his spirits tolerably till just at last; but Darcy seemed to feel it most acutely; more, I think, than last year. His attachment to Rosings, certainly increases.”

p. 163. – another favorite! [underlines are my emphasis ]

Reflection must be reserved for solitary hours; whenever she was alone, she gave way to it as the greatest relief; and not a day went by without a solitary walk, in which she might indulge in all the delight of unpleasant recollections….

….Mr. Darcy’s letter she was in a fair way of soon knowing by heart. She studied every sentence; and her feelings towards its writer were at times widely different… and his disappointed feelings became the object of compassion. His attachment excited gratitude, his general character respect; but she could not approve him; nor could she for a moment repent her refusal, or feel the slightest inclination ever to see him again. [Ha!]

….it may be easily believed that the happy spirits which had seldom been depressed before, were now so much affected as to make it almost impossible for her to appear tolerably cheerful.

p. 166. [telling Jane about the Proposal]

To know that she had the power of revealing what would so exceedingly astonish Jane, and must, at the same time, so highly gratify whatever of her own vanity she had not yet been able to reason away….

p. 171. [Elizabeth to Jane about Wickham and Darcy]

“… There is but such a quantity of merit between them; just enough to make one good sort of man; and of late it has been shifting about pretty much. For my part, I am inclined to believe it all Mr. Darcy’s; but you shall do as you chuse.”

p. 172. Elizabeth to Jane:

“Oh! no, my regret and compassion are all done away by seeing you so full of both. I know you will do him [Darcy] such ample justice, that I am growing every moment more unconcerned and indifferent. Your profusion makes me saving; and if you lament over him much longer my heart will be as light as a feather.”

… [Elizabeth:] “And yet I meant to be uncommonly clever in taking so decided a dislike to him, without any reason. It is such a spur to one’s genius, such an opening for wit, to have a dislike of that kind. One may be continually abusive without saying anything just; but one cannot be always laughing at a man without now and then stumbling on something witty.”

… [Elizabeth:] The general prejudice against Mr. Darcy is so violent, that it would be the death of half the good people in Meryton to attempt to place him in an amiable light….”

p. 175.

She [Elizabeth] felt anew the justice of Mr. Darcy’s objections; and never had she before been so much disposed to pardon his interference in the views of his friend.

p. 183.

With the mention of Derbyshire there were many ideas connected. It was impossible for her [Elizabeth] to see the word without thinking of Pemberley and its owner. “But surely,” said she, “I may enter his county with impunity, and rob it of a few petrified spars without his perceiving me.”

p. 184. [Mrs. Gardiner to Elizabeth:]

“My love, should not you like to see a place of which you have heard so much?” said her aunt; “A place, too, with which so many of your acquaintance are connected. Wickham passed all his youth there, you know.”

Elizabeth was distressed. She felt that she had no business at Pemberley, and was obliged to assume a disinclination for seeing it. She must own that she was tired of great houses; after going over so many, she really had no pleasure in fine carpets or satin curtains….

Elizabeth said no more — but her mind could not acquiesce. The possibility of meeting Mr. Darcy, while viewing the place, instantly occurred. It would be dreadful! She blushed at the very idea, and thought it would be better to speak openly to her aunt than to run such a risk…

…and her alarms being now removed, she was at leisure to feel a great deal of curiosity to see the house herself; and when the subject was revived the next morning, and she was again applied to, could readily answer, and with a proper air of indifference, that she had not really any dislike to the scheme. — To Pemberley, therefore, they were to go.

Lyme Park, a.k.a. Pemberley P&P 1995

End of Volume II – anything I missed that you want to share?

Stay tuned for Volume III!

*Page citations from: Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. Ed. James Kinsley. Introd. Fiona Stafford. New York: Oxford UP, 2008.

c2013 Jane Austen in Vermont

Austen Literary History & Criticism · Books · Collecting Jane Austen · Jane Austen · Literature · Publishing History · Rare Books

A Little Jane Austen with Your Daily Hygiene? ~ Janine Barchas on “Sense, Sensibility, and Soap”

December 1, 2013 BookLady Deb3 Comments

For those of you interested in the publishing history of Jane Austen, Professor Janine Barchas has recently published another of her fabulous bibliographical articles on Austen covers, this time in the journal Book History. It discusses the little-known fact of a Lever Brothers soap marketing campaign that offered various giveaways, including hardbound editions of classic literature, Jane Austen among them. I append here the beginning of the article, one of the many [and interesting!] illustrations, and a link to the rest of it … with thanks to Janine for alerting me to it!

Source: Janine Barchas. “Sense, Sensibility, and Soap: An Unexpected Case Study in Digital Resources for Book History.” Book History 16 (2013): 185-214.

Unrecorded in even David Gilson’s A Bibliography of Jane Austen is the little-known fact that soap manufacturer Lever Brothers published editions of Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice during the 1890s as part of a unique marketing campaign for Sunlight soap. The first English company to combine massive product giveaways with large-scale advertising, Lever Brothers offered a range of prizes in “Sunlight Soap Monthly Competitions” to “young folks” (contestants could not be older than seventeen) who sent in the largest number of soap wrappers. The Sunlight advertising blitz, targeted to working- and lower-middle-class consumers, proved such a boon to sales that Lever Brothers ran the competition for a full seven years, annually escalating the giveaways. Prizes included cash, bicycles, silver key-chains, gold watches, and—for the largest number of winners—cloth-bound books. For this purpose, Lever Brothers published and distributed its own selection of fiction titles by “Popular Authors” and “Standard Authors,” including cloth-bound editions of Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice. By 1897, the year the competition closed, Lever Brothers had awarded well over a million volumes.

Continue Reading: Barchas-SSandSoap-BookHistory

Jane Austen, Sense and Sensibility in red cloth (Port Sunlight: Lever Brothers, n.d.).

For those of you with Project Muse access, here is the direct link: http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/bh/summary/v016/16.barchas.html

c2013 Jane Austen in Vermont

Auctions · Austen Literary History & Criticism · Books · Jane Austen · Publishing History · Rare Books

More Austen on the Block! ~ A Jane Austen Portrait, First Editions, and More

November 15, 2013March 26, 2014 BookLady Deb3 Comments

UPDATE: Prices realized [with buyer’s premium] are noted as made available

I wonder what is going on – I posted last week on several upcoming auctions with a number of Jane Austen offerings – and now I write about even more – there seems to an abundance, more than usual – why is this do you think??

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I will start with this, out of date order, but perhaps the most unique, interesting, (and expensive) to us:

Sothebys – 10 December 2013: English Literature, History, Children’s Books & Illustrations. London.

Lot 283:

Austen, Jane – by James Andrews. PORTRAIT OF JANE AUSTEN.

watercolour over pencil heightened with gouache on card, depicting the author with brown curly hair and hazel eyes seated and facing towards the right, in a white frilled bonnet with light blue ribbon and a white dress with a dark blue ribbon under the bust, a small section at the bottom of the portrait apparently unfinished, oval, 143 x 100mm (overall sheet size 170 x 125mm), 1869, series of pin-holes at the top and bottom of the card, pencil markings probably by the engraver, mounted, framed, and glazed, frame size 327 x 247mm, the frame being a reused lid from a casket or box, French or German, probably eighteenth century, walnut inlaid with boulle-style marquetry of flowers and scrollwork in brass, silver, ivory, and mother of pearl, loss to surface of portrait probably due to insect damage, mostly affecting the dress, slight discolouration at edges seemingly where previously mounted in a rectangular frame.

The portrait of Jane Austen was commissioned by her nephew, James Edward Austen-Leigh, to illustrate his memoir of his aunt. This watercolor by painter James Andrews was the basis for the engraved version that is the best known and most reproduced image of Austen. It has been in the family ever since.

Estimate: £150,000 — 200,000

[Note: For those of you in the New York area, this portrait will be on view from November 19 to 21 on the fourth floor of Sotheby’s, 1334 York Ave at 72nd St. Sotheby’s is open from 10 to 5. ]

There are other must-have items at this auction – see below [all are in chronological order]

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Swanns Galleries. November 21, 2013. 19TH & 20TH CENTURY LITERATURE. Sale 2332.

Lot 4:

–

AUSTEN, JANE. Mansfield Park. 2 volumes. Philadelphia: Carey & Lea, 1832.

4 page publisher’s catalogue inserted at front of volume 1. 8vo, original publisher’s 1/4 cloth-backed drab boards, lettering labels on spines (absent but for trace remnants on each volume, and with small contemporary institutional labels either perished or remnant only below on each volume), cocked, few short splits at spine tips, generally mild staining and light wear to boards, corners rubbed with light exposure; hinges tender, pastedowns coming loose from boards in volume 1, scattered foxing throughout, at times heavily to volume 2, occasional small chips at deckle, old penciled numerals on front free endpapers, paper repairs on 2 leaves in volume 1 with no loss of text; housed in custom drop-back cloth case.

First american edition, extremely rare in the original binding. One of 1250 copies printed. Few copies of any of Austen’s first American editions have survived. “No appearance of the 1832 M[ansfield] P[ark] at auction has been traced” (Gilson, rev. ed., 1997). A survey of ABPC and AE records only one unsophisticated copy sold in the last 30 years. Gilson B4.

Estimate $4,000 – 6,000 – Price Realized $5,376

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Lot 5:

AUSTEN, JANE. Pride and Prejudice. Second Edition. London: Printed for T. Egerton, 1813.

3 volumes. Lacking half-titles. 12mo, contemporary 1/2 calf over marbled boards, spine gilt with leather lettering pieces (two perished, one with partial loss), covers and spines scuffed with some splitting along spine ends, fore-edges bumped in areas, joints strengthened; scattered light foxing, neat contemporary ownership inscriptions on title-page of each volume.

The less common second edition. According to Gilson, the publishing history is rather furtive (“The size of the edition is not known”). It does differ from the first edition in that it is entirely reset, resulting in occasional variations within the page. In addition, there are numerous small changes to spelling and punctuation and, occasionally, a change in wording (see Gilson A4 for list of alterations.); Chapman 4.

Estimate $3,000 – 4,000 – Price Realized $4,096
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Lot 6:

AUSTEN, JANE. The Novels. Edinburgh: John Grant, 1911-12.

12 volumes. Portrait frontispiece to volume 1. 8vo, later 1/4 olive calf, spine gilt in 5 compartments with gilt-lettered morocco lettering pieces in 1, top edges gilt. the Winchester Edition, a bright and clean set. One of the more desirable editions of Austen’s works.

Estimate $800 – 1,200 – Price Realized $1,875

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Also of interest: [to me anyway!]- as well as some wonderful offerings in children’s literature, lots of Dickens, alas! only one Hardy, but some lovely Hemingways and Twains…

Lot 238:

Steinbeck, John. ASSOCIATION COPY WITH ‘PIGASUS’ DRAWING.
The Grapes of Wrath. New York: Viking, (1939)

8vo, publisher’s pictorial tan cloth, covers clean with virtually no rubbing or wear; outer pastedown edges with faint evidence of binder’s glue as usual, though with no offsetting to facing endpapers; first state dust jacket, mild rubbing to folds, small skillful restorations to spine panel tips and flap folds, bright and clean, a superb example with the original $2.75 price present.

First edition, an excellent association copy, inscribed on the front free endpaper “For Jules and Joyce and also Joan [underlined] with love John Steinbeck.” Below his signature Steinbeck added his “Pigasus” drawing. Jules Buck was a movie producer; he and Steinbeck made an early attempt toward a collaborative screenplay for what would become Elia Kazan’s “Viva Zapata,” though Steinbeck’s contribution was such that he received sole credit. Buck produced such post-war film classics as Robert Siodmak’s The Killers (based on the story by Ernest Hemingway), and Jules Dassin’s The Naked City. His wife Joyce Gates was an actress and their daughter Joan became the editor of French Vogue. Steinbeck generally reserved his flying pig doodle for close friends or significant occasions. In a letter (March, 1983) Elaine Steinbeck explained the significance of the image: “The Pigasus symbol came from my husband’s fertile, joyful, and often wild imagination … John would never have been so presumptuous as to use the winged horse as his symbol; the little pig said that man must try to attain the heavens though his equipment be meager. Man must aspire though he be earthbound” (The Martha Heasley Cox Center for Steinbeck Studies). An excellent inscribed copy with a fine association. Goldstone & Payne A12.a.

Estimate $18,000 – 25,000 – Price Realized $18,750
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Lot 71:

[Cruikshank, Isaac Robert]. UNRECORDED CRUIKSHANK (illus.). Mock Heroics, on Snuff, Tobacco, and Gin; And A Rhapsody on an Inkstand by J. Elagnitin. London: Hodgson and Co., 1822.

Frontispiece and 3 full page color engravings by I. R. Cruikshank. 8vo, contemporary full dark green crushed morocco, French fillet covers, spine decorated in gilt in compartments, all edges gilt, wide inner dentelles, by Riviere; tiny marginal repair on frontispiece, mild offsetting to title-page, else quite clean.

First edition of rare Cruikshank title with very bright, clean impressions of the plates. Shows London denizens taking snuff, on the pipe, at the debauch, and a more lonely pursuit. Not in Krumbhaar.

Estimate $700 – 1,000 – Price Realized $469

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Doyle, New York. Monday, November 25, 2013 at 10am Rare Books, Autographs & Photographs – Sale 13BP04

Lot 522:

AUSTEN, JANE. The Novels. Edinburgh: John Grant, 1911-12.

The Winchester edition. Twelve volumes, full blue morocco gilt, the spines elaborately tooled and lettered in gilt with red morocco lettering labels, top edge gilt. 8 1/2 x 5 1/2 inches (22 x 14 cm). A fine and attractive set.

Estimate $1,000-1,500

[Note: This set is similar to the one noted above, just with a different binding – which do you like best?]
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There is quite a collection of photographs and political collectibles at this auction, including this Tom Jones, Theodore Roosevelt’s copy:

Lot 515:

FIELDING, HENRY. The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling. London: printed for A. Millar, over-against Catharine-Street in the Strand, 1749. First edition, Theodore Roosevelt’s copy, with his “Qui plantavit curabit” bookplate to each pastedown. Six volumes, later full brown morocco gilt, all edges gilt. 6 1/4 x 3 3/4 inches (16 1/2 x 10 cm); with the errata leaf present in vol. I and with most called for cancels: Vol. I: B9, 10; Vol. II: N12; Vol. III: H8-10, M3; Vol. IV: B1, Vol. V: N8. [without the cancels at B4 and 5 in vol. II and Q11 in vol. III]. A 1910 inscription to front free endpaper on vol. I in an unknown hand, some foxing throughout, D10 in vol 2 with tear not affecting text, joints and extremities rubbed, losses to lettering labels, a sound set.
First edition of one of the earliest English works to be called a novel – with a very fine American provenance.

Estimate $2,000-3,000

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Sotheby’s auction December 5, 2013 New York: Fine Books and Manuscripts, Including Americana

This is my birthday, so in case you are wondering what I might like, I will take any of these…

Lot 85:

Austen, Jane. Sense and Sensibility. London: Printed for the Author and published by T. Egerton, 1811.

3 volumes, 12mo (6 3/4 x 4 in.; 172 x 104 mm). Half-titles (with the correct length of rules as called for) in all volumes but lacking the terminal blanks in each, lower corner of B2 torn away in vol. 1, very occasional and mostly marginal faint staining throughout. Modern three quarter tan morocco and linen cloth by Sangorski and Sutcliffe, red morocco labels.

Estimate: $20,000 — 30,000. Did Not Sell

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Lot 86:

Pride and Prejudice: A Novel. London: T. Egerton, 1813

3 volumes, 12mo (6 3/4 x 4 1/16 in.; 171 x 105 mm). Lacks half-titles, some staining and browning throughout but less so in vols. 2 and 3, closed tear in gutter of first text page in vol. 1 and last of vol. 3, front endpapers lacking in last volume. Contemporary half calf and marbled boards, spines with six gilt-ruled compartments and black morocco labels, a little rubbed overall, with minor wear at head of volume 1.

Estimate: $20,000 — 30,000

SOLD for $46,875.

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Lot 87:

Austen, Jane. Mansfield Park. London: Printed for T. Egerton, 1814

3 volumes. 12mo (6 7/8 x 4 1/4 in.; 176 x 105 mm). Lacking half-titles but terminal blanks present, lower corner of Q3 in vol. 1 torn away, vol. 3 pg. 175 with clean tear repaired, few light stray spots to title pages, but text unusually free from staining and browning. Near-contemporary half calf and marbled boards, spines gilt in 5 compartments, red and black morocco labels; sides rubbed, vol.1 rebacked preserving spine, upper joint of vol. 3 starting.

Estimate: $7,000 — 10,000 – SOLD for $13,750.
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Lot 88:

Austen, Jane. Emma: A Novel. London: Printed for John Murray, 1816.

3 volumes, 12mo (6 ¼ x 4 1/8 in.; 165 x 105 mm). Lacking half-titles; intermittent spotting and some staining, more so in vol. 2. Near-contemporary half calf and marbled boards, spines gilt in 5 compartments with black morocco labels; some rubbing to sides and minor shelfwear along bottom edges, some skinning at top of spine ends.

Estimate: $7,000 — 9,000 – SOLD for $11,875.
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Lot 89:

Austen, Jane. Northanger Abbey: and Persuasion. London, John Murray, 1818.

4 volumes, 12mo (6 3/4 x 4 1/4 in.; 172 x 106 mm). Lacking half-titles; some very minor and mostly marginal spotting. Contemporary black half roan and marbled boards, spines ruled and gilt-titled; some rubbing to joints, slight wear at corners and along bottom edge, but a generally handsome set.

Estimate : $5,000 — 7,000 – SOLD for $8,125.

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Other items of interest at this auction:

Lot 92: Love this binding!

Burney, Frances. Cecilia, or Memoires of an Heiress. London: for T Payne and Son and T Cadell, 1782

5 volumes, 12mo (6 3/4 x 4 ins; 172 x 100 mm). Advertisement leaf present in first volume, vols. 2, 3, 5 lacking rear endpapers. Contemporary calf, rebacked to style with red morocco and green morocco labels.

Estimate: $2,000 — 4,000.
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Lot 93:

Burney, Frances. Camilla: or a Picture of Youth. London: for T. Payne, T. Cadell Jun and W. Davies, 1796

5 volumes, 12mo (174 x 102 mm). The occasional proud gathering and a few closed marginal tears to a handul leaves only. Contemporary speckled calf, single rule border to sides, spines with double-ruled compartments, green morocco labels; trace of rubbing to joints, upper joint of vol. 2 tender, but a lovely set.

Estimate: $3,000 — 5,000.
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Lot 96:

Byron, George Gordon, Lord. Autograph verses for The Corsair. [1814].

Autograph fragment of two verses. 1 page (7 x 1 in.; 180 x 28 mm). Mounted in a portfolio with a portrait of the author; “And sad & lonely mid the holy calm / Near Theseus’ fence y on solitary Palm.”

These two lines are the verses 1213 and 1214 of The Corsair, Canto III, published in 1814. In the edition of the Works of Lord Byron (Coleridge & Prothero, 1898-1905), the verses are: “And, dun and sombre ‘mid the holy calm, / Near Theseus’ fane yon solitary palm.”

Together with: autograph letter, signed (“Lord Byron” in third person). 1 page (8 5/3 x 6 7/8 in.; 219 x 175 mm), “13 Piccadilly Terrace, August 15th 1815”; to an unidentified correspondent: “Lord Byron presents his compliments to Mr. Juling [?] & would be glad to know if the letter of which he encloses the cover was not overcharged upon the [District?] stated on the address by the postman. The charge was thirteen pence half penny”. Formerly folded, soiling and foxing, tiny repair on the address. –Autograph address panel, cut from the address leaf of a letter addressed to his sister, August Leigh. 1 page (4 3/4 x 3 in.; 121 x 75 mm); wax seal; mounted in tinted roan folder.

Estimate: $4,000 — 6,000.

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Sothebys – 10 December 2013: English Literature, History, Children’s Books & Illustrations. London

This auction includes the portrait noted above, but there a number of other offerings worth sharing: see the catalogue online where you will find a treasure-trove of children’s books and their illustrators [Rackham, Tolkien, Potter, Robinson, Shepard, Pogany, Nielsen, Dulac, De Brunhoff, Carroll, Blyton, and more] , and also Johnson, Dickens, Pope, and Swift… and more…

Lot 284:

[Brontë, Charlotte]. JANE EYRE. AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY. EDITED BY CURRER BELL. SMITH, ELDER AND CO., 1847

8vo (198 x 124mm), 3 volumes, first edition of the author’s first published novel, half-titles, publisher’s 32pp. catalogue dated October 1847 at the end of volume 1, without the extra advertisement leaf present in some copies (no priority), original dark greyish reddish brown vertically-ribbed cloth, covers decorated in blind with triple line border enclosing decorative trellis-like border, pale yellow endpapers, tear to inner margin of T2 in volume 1 (not affecting text), small portion of lower outer margin of U3 in volume 2 torn away (also not affecting text), occasional foxing and browning to text leaves, lower hinges of volumes 1 and 3 starting, hinge of upper hinge of volume 2 slightly cracked, cloth at top of spine of volume 1 slightly chipped, further slight edge-wear to covers and some slight fading.

Estimate: £35,000 — 45,000

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These are just fun!

Lot 219:

Playing cards: Popish Plot cards. [LONDON: ROBERT WALTON, C. 1679 OR LATER]

52 cards, each 90 x 54mm., engraved with captions, grey patterned versos, 12 mounted in a frame, the rest in a folder attached to the back of the frame, three cards somewhat worn (two of diamonds, ten of spades and ace of hearts), king of clubs torn with loss of club symbol.

Estimate: £2,500 — 3,000
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There are several other playing cards on offer as well – another example – because the images are fabulous!

Lot 236:

Playing cards: The Beggar’s Opera [LONDON: JOHN BOWLES, C. 1730]

52 cards, each 95 x 62mm., engraved with the hearts and diamonds coloured in red, plain versos, 13 mounted in a frame, the rest in a folder attached to the back of the frame, a few cards cut close, a few light stains

Estimate: £3,000 — 5,000

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Lot 335:

Cruikshank, George. THE OUTRAGED HUSBAND.

165 by 228mm., ink and watercolour drawing, signed lower right, mounted, framed and glazed, some minor browning at extremities from former mount

Estimate: £1,500 — 2,000

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Some great items to add to your wish list! – go to the auction catalogues for even more treasures! Happy hunting [and wishing…]

C2013 Jane Austen in Vermont

Austen Literary History & Criticism · Books · Collecting Jane Austen · Decorative Arts · Fashion & Costume · Georgian England · Georgian Period · Jane Austen · Regency England · Social Life & Customs

Your Jane Austen Library: Jane Austen and the Arts: Elegance, Propriety, and Harmony

November 11, 2013 BookLady Deb1 Comment

Another book to be added to your wish list, due out early December!

Jane Austen and the Arts: Elegance, Propriety, and Harmony
Edited by Natasha Duquette and Elisabeth Lenckos.
Lehigh U P / Rowman & Littlefield, 2013

What makes this book so special to JASNA-Vermont is that one of the chapters is by our founding member Kelly McDonald! – see chapter 2 in the table of contents below, and her blog post on it here. Congratulations Kelly!

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About the book, from the Rowman & Littlefield website:

Contributions by Jessica Brown; Diane N. Capitani; Christine Colón; Alice Davenport; Deborah Kennedy; Kathryn L. Libin; Kelly McDonald; Belisa Monteiro; Jeffrey Nigro; J. Russell Perkin; Erin J. Smith; Vivasvan Soni; Melora G. Vandersluis and Frederick A. Duquette.

The essays collected in Jane Austen and the Arts; Elegance, Propriety, and Harmony examine Austen’s understanding of the arts, her aesthetic philosophy, and her role as artist. Together, they explore Austen’s connections with Edmund Burke, Adam Smith, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Madame de Staël, Joanna Baillie, Jean Jacques Rousseau, Mary Anne Schimmelpenninck, and other writers engaged in debates on the sensuous experience and the intellectual judgment of art. Our contributors look at Austen’s engagement with diverse art forms, painting, ballet, drama, poetry, and music, investigating our topic within historically grounded and theoretically nuanced essays. They represent Austen as a writer-thinker reflecting on the nature and practice of artistic creation and considering the social, moral, psychological, and theological functions of art in her fiction. We suggest that Austen knew, modified, and transformed the dominant aesthetic discourses of her era, at times ironically, to her own artistic ends. As a result, a new, and compelling image of Austen emerges, a “portrait of a lady artist” confidently promoting her own distinctly post-enlightenment aesthetic system.

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Table of Contents:

Preface: Jane Austen’s Critique of Aesthetic Judgment by Vivasvan Soni
Introduction by Natasha Duquette and Elisabeth Lenckos

I. The Fine Arts in Austen’s World: Music, Dance, and Portraiture

Ch 1. “Daily Practice, Musical Accomplishment, and the Example of Jane Austen” – Kathryn Libin
Ch 2.”A ‘Reputation for Accomplishment’: Marianne Dashwood and Emma Woodhouse as Artistic Performers” – Kelly McDonald
Ch 3. “Miss Bingley’s Walk: The Aesthetics of Movement in Pride and Prejudice” – Erin Smith
Ch 4. “The Sister Artist: Cassandra Austen’s Portraits of Jane Austen in Art-Historical Context” – Jeffrey Nigro

II. Austen and Romanticism: Female Genius, Gothicism, and Sublimity

Ch 5 – “Portrait of a Lady (Artist): Jane Austen’s Anne Elliot, Madame de Staël’s Corrine, and the Woman of Genius Novel” – Elisabeth Lenckos
Ch 6 – “Jane Austen’s Comic Heroines and the Controversial Pleasures of Wit” – Belisa Monteiro
Ch 7 – “An Adaptable Aesthetic: Eighteenth-Century Landscapes, Ann Radcliffe, and Jane Austen” – Alice Davenport
Ch 8. “Exploring the Transformative Power of Literature: Joanna Baillie, Jane Austen and the Aesthetics of Moral Reform” – Christine Colón
Ch 9. “Jane Austen’s Influence on Stephenie Meyer” – Deborah Kennedy

III. Austen in Political, Social, and Theological Context

Ch 10. “Aesthetics, Politics, and the Interpretation of Mansfield Park” – Russell Perkin
Ch 11. “Reflections on Mirrors: Austen, Rousseau, and Socio-Politics” – Melora Vandersluis
Ch 12. “‘So much novelty and beauty!’: Spacious Reception through an Aesthetic of Restraint in Persuasion” – Jessica Brown
Ch 13. “Augustinian Aesthetics in Jane Austen’s World: God as Artist” – Diane Capitani
Ch 14. “‘Delicacy of Taste’ Redeemed: The Aesthetic Judgments of Austen’s Clergymen Heroes” – Fred and Natasha Duquette

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Due out in December, you can pre-order the book here – the ebook will be available this month for a penny less!

978-1-61146-137-4 • Hardback -December 2013 • $80.00 • (£49.95)
978-1-61146-138-1 • eBook – November 2013 • $79.99 • (£49.95)

You can also pre-order it here for a little less at Amazon.

[Text and image from the Rowman website]