Category: Jane Austen Popular Culture

Jane Austen · Jane Austen Popular Culture · JASNA

The Jane Austen Birthday Soiree! ~ A Love Letter to Jane Austen ~ and Giveaway!

BookLady Deb53 Comments

Please note: JASNA’s gift to us all today is the publication of volume 32 of Persuasions On-Line!

*********************************

Today I welcome JASNA-Vermont member Michelle Singer, whose love of Jane Austen has inspired her to rally several of her literary neighbors to form our new co-ed literary / quizzing book group .  Michelle originally wrote this letter for the newsletter of a Montpelier, Vermont parent group called Mama Says – in it she shares the sheer joy in her discovery of Jane Austen… and I wanted to share it with you today, in celebration of Jane Austen’s 236th birthday as part of the December 16th Soiree.  Please see below for instructions on commenting and the prize drawing. 

 **************************

Dear Miss Austen,

I am tempted to begin this letter with “My Dearest Jane” because you
are dear to me although we don’t know each other and I suspect that if
we did, I would be your social inferior by quite a bit (what I wouldn’t
give for a couple of good servants)!

Today, your 236th birthday, I’m wearing a white t-shirt with Mrs. Darcy in glitter iron-on letters that I made myself complete with rhinestone embellishments. What?! Exactly. Skipping the necessary explanations—rhinestone, iron-on, and even t-shirt—and the complete wonder of the world as it is now, is the line I’ve crossed by making (and wearing) this shirt—not just a reader who loves your novels, but a fan. Maybe even an embarrassing fan. But I’m willing to risk it because of my love.

It’s the novels, yes. It’s the mastery of the language and structure, wit,
satire, characterizations—all those words we learned to describe the joy
of reading your work. But you know what it really is? It’s the hours
spent in your “company”: The pale mornings when I held a newborn
baby in my lap and read Emma, Persuasion, and Mansfield Park while
they slept; The way entering the world of your novels has lifted me up
as a mother and a woman, fanning tiny pieces of myself and my sanity
back to life when they were burning low.

Thank you for telling a story so well that I could get lost in it. For
showing the possibilities of language, beautifully wrought. Thank you
for the laughs! For Pride & Prejudice and Mr. Darcy (oh how I wish you
could see Colin Firth)! For Emma and Mr. Knightley andMiss. Bates!

Thank you for your “own darling children” which have grown up to
make me a better mother. Two hundred years after Sense & Sensibility
was published, for all the times you sat down, pen and ink, despite everything else that might have claimed you, I am eternally grateful.

Your friend and fan,
Michelle A. L. Singer

************************ 

Thank you Michelle for that beautiful tribute to Austen! 

As part of Austen’s birthday celebration, I entreat you all to cancel all other commitments today and visit these thirty other Austen-related blogs [see below for the list and links – it will take all day!] – there are prizes awaiting at each! – all you have to do is comment on any and all to be entered into the various random drawings. 

At Jane Austen in Vermont, please comment with a few words on what you would say in a love letter to Jane Austen, thanking her for whatever her works have done to inspire you in your daily life, or what you would like to give her as a birthday gift.  All comments will be entered into the drawing for the 2012 JASNA Calendar from the JASNA-Wisconsin group [I will be giving away two calendars – and the giveaway is worldwide]. Deadline is midnight December 23rd – I will announce the winners that morning of the 23rd!

This calendar is a must have addition to your Austen collection! – there is a tidbit for almost every day of the year as to some aspect of Austen’s life and fiction. Today’s entry in my 2011 calendar says: 

December 16. 

1775 – Jane Austen is born

1810 – Charles Musgrove marries Mary Elliot

[one does wonder why she chose to have them marry on her birthday?! – any comments??]

The 2012 Jane Austen Wall Calendar is an updated edition with beautiful illustrations by C.E. and H.M. Brock, new quotations from Austen’s novels and letters, with an entry on each date.  The calendar measures 11 inches by 17 inches and is printed in color.  Each page features a Brock color tinted drawing from one of the six novels, suggested by an entry for that month.  Based upon biographies, R.W. Chapman’s chronologies of the stories, and Jane Austen’s letters, the calendar is a year-long reminder of Austen’s life and novels.

And if you don’t win, you can purchase the calendar at the JASNA website here.  

And finally – what would I give Jane Austen for her birthday? Last year I compiled a veritable treasure trove of gifts for Jane  – I send you back to that link [please note that some of the links are no longer working – a tribute to the illusive nature of the blogsphere…] – you can also comment there to be entered into this drawing!  

So for this year I would add the following: Jane Austen’s own very best love letter, that from Captain Wentworth to Anne:

 a Letterpress Broadside from the Bowler Press;  you can also order it from their Esty shop. 

[they also have on offer Mr. Darcy’s letter, all five pages of it in an envelope!

*************************** 

The December 16 Birthday Soiree Participants: 

1. Sharon Lathan –  Blog: Sharon Lathan 
Giveaway : Miss Darcy Falls in Love 

2. Emily Snyder – Blog: O! Beauty Unattempted
Giveaway: Letters of Love & Deception  

3. Laurel Ann Nattress –   Blog:  Austenprose  
 Giveaway: signed copy of Jane Austen Made Me Do It 

4. C. Allyn Pierson – Blog:   SemiTrue Stories
Giveaway: Mr Darcy Little Sister (open worldwide)

5. Cindy Jones – Blog: First Draft  
Giveaway:  a signed copy of My Jane Austen Summer”and a package of Lily Berry’s Pink Rose Tea by Bingley’s, Ltd. 

6. Farida Mestek – Blog:  Regency stories set against the backdrop of Regency England
Giveaway: I was Jane Austen Best Friend by Cora Harrison 

7. Marilyn Brant – Blog:    Brant Flakes
Giveaway : A canvas ACCORDING TO JANE tote bag and a pair of A SUMMER IN EUROPE luggage tags.

8. Prue Batten – Blog: Mesmered’s Blog
Giveaway : Anna Elliot’s  Georgiana Darcy (Kindle book)

9. Erin Blakemore – Blog:   The Heroine’s Bookshelf  
Giveaway :  a set of Potter-Style Pride and Prejudice notecards  

10. Velvet – Blog: vvb32 reads
Giveaway: Jane Austen’s Little Instruction Book (Charming Petites)       

11. Karen Doornebos – Blog: The Fiction vs. Reality Smackdown
Giveaway: 2 Jane Austen Candles and 2 signed DNMD books plus drink coasters and tea!

12. ReginaJeffers –   ReginaJeffers’s Blog
Giveaway:  An autographed copy of “Christmas at Pemberley

13. Alyssa Goodnight – Blog: Alyssa Goodnight   
Giveaway: Jane Austen Action figure

14. Deb Barnum – Blog: Jane Austen in  Vermont
Giveaway [open worldwide]:  JASNA 2012 calendar from the Wisconsin JASNA Region

15. Laura Hile,  Susan Kaye, Pamela Aidan, and Barbara Cornthwaite – Blog: Jane Started It!
Giveaway: One copy of Young Master Darcy: A Lesson in Honour by Pamela Aidan;
One set of Frederick Wentworth, Captain (Books 1 and 2) by Susan Kaye;
Two copies of Mercy’s Embrace: So Rough a Course (Book 1) by Laura Hile;
George Kinghtley, Gentleman (Books 1 and 2) by Barbara Cornthwaite.

16. Juliet Archer – Blog: Choc Lit Authors’ Corner
Giveaway:  a copy of “Persuade Me”  and one of “The Importance of Being Emma”

17. Jane Greensmith – Blog: Reading, Writing, Working , Playing
Giveaway: a copy of  “Intimations of Austen”, and Sense & Sensibility (Marvel Illustrated) 

18. Jenny Allworthy – Blog : The Jane Austen Film Club 
Giveaway:  a copy of Northanger Abbey DVD starring Felicity Jones and JJ Feild (The winner will choose region 1 or 2 DVD)

19.  Sitio Jane Austen – Blog: El Salón de Té de Jane
Giveaway:  – Spanish edition of Sense and Sensibility for the 200th Anniversary + A DVD package with adaptations of Jane Austen
(It’s only zone 2, but it’s in Spanish and English ) +  blu-ray of the BBC’s Emma with Romola Garai 

 20. Kaitlin Saunders – Blog : Kaitlin Saunders  
Giveaway: “A Modern Day Persuasion”

21. Becky Rhodehouse – Blog: One Literature Nut
Giveaway: selection of Austenesque Reads

22. Patrice Sarath – Blog: Patrice Sarath
Giveaway: A copy of The Unexpected Miss Bennet

23. Adriana Zardini –  Site: Jane Austen Brasil
Giveaway: DVD – Sense and Sensibility (1995) – English / Portuguese subtitles

24.  Jane Odiwe – Blog: Jane Austen Sequels 
Giveaway:  a mug with one of  Jane Odiwe’s illustrations and a copy of her “Mr Darcy’s Secret”

25. Courtney Webb – Stiletto Storytime  
Giveaway: Noble Satyr by Lucinda Brant (Regency Romance)

26. Jennifer Becton – Blog: Jennifer W. Becton
Giveaway: An ebook of the Personages of Pride and Prejudice Collection, which contains all of my Austenesque works: Charlotte Collins, “Maria Lucas,” and Caroline Bingley. The giveaway will be open internationally.

27. Vera Nazarian – Blog: Urban Girl Takes Vermont
Giveaway: a copy of Vera Nazarian’s gift hardcover edition of her inspirational calendar and diary, The Perpetual Calendar of Inspiration

28. Abigail Reynolds – Blog: Pemberley Variations
Giveaway:   a signed copy of “Mr. Darcy’s Undoing”

29. Blog: AustenAuthors
Giveaway:  Georgette Heyer’s Regency World by Jennifer Kloester

30.  Katherine Cox – Blog: November’s Autumn
Giveaway :$10 B&N Gift-card (US only)

31. Maria Grazia –  Blog: My Jane Austen Book Club
Giveaway : A selection of Austenesque reads

*************************

I welcome your comments! Please do so by midnight December 23rd. May everyone win something!

Happy Birthday Jane!

Copyright @2011, Jane Austen in Vermont  
Austen Literary History & Criticism · Jane Austen · Jane Austen Popular Culture · Museum Exhibitions

Jane Austen News for Today [that could not wait…]

BookLady Deb1 Comment

Two things of interest to Jane Austen fans:

See this Publishers Weekly blog and their list of their “Top 10 Favorite Book Covers for 2011” – A Jane Austen Education comes in at number 8:

8. A Jane Austen Education: How Six Novels Taught Me About Love, Friendship, and the Things That Really Matter by William Deresiewicz (Penguin Press)

 

“The formality of Austen’s novels is contrasted by the cartoonish style and informality of an outfit (and personality) being simply applied adhesively.”

***********************

The photograph of the month at the National Portrait Gallery [UK] is Colin Firth – and on exhibit through December:

Colin Firth by Jillian Edelstein from the NPG Website.

He still looks like Mr. Darcy, doesn’t he?!

@2011 Jane Austen in Vermont
Jane Austen · Jane Austen Merchandise · Jane Austen Popular Culture

Let’s Celebrate Jane Austen’s Birthday!

BookLady Deb7 Comments

Please join me and THIRTY other bloggers as we all celebrate Jane Austen’s 236th Birthday during the December 16th Soiree. 

 Sponsored by Katherine Cox at November’s Autumn  and Maria Grazia at My Jane Austen Book Club , each of the following Austen-related bloggers will post a birthday message to Austen – a card, a letter, a gift – and each blog will be offering a gift to the random winner from those who post comments!

Stay tuned ~  and Please join us for the celebration on Friday December 16th! 

LIST OF PARTICIPANTS IN THE JANE AUSTEN’S BIRTHDAY SOIREE : 

1. Sharon Lathan –  Blog: Sharon Lathan 
Giveaway : Miss Darcy Falls in Love 

2. Emily Snyder – Blog: O! Beauty Unattempted
Giveaway: Letters of Love & Deception  

3. Laurel Ann Nattress –   Blog:  Austenprose  
 Giveaway: signed copy of Jane Austen Made Me Do It 

4. C. Allyn Pierson – Blog:   SemiTrue Stories
Giveaway: Mr Darcy Little Sister (open worldwide)

5. Cindy Jones – Blog: First Draft  
Giveaway:  a signed copy of My Jane Austen Summer”and a package of Lily Berry’s Pink Rose Tea by Bingley’s, Ltd. 

6. Farida Mestek – Blog:  Regency stories set against the backdrop of Regency England
Giveaway: I was Jane Austen Best Friend by Cora Harrison 

7. Marilyn Brant – Blog:    Brant Flakes
Giveaway : A canvas ACCORDING TO JANE tote bag and a pair of A SUMMER IN EUROPE luggage tags.

8. Prue Batten – Blog: Mesmered’s Blog
Giveaway : Anna Elliot’s  Georgiana Darcy (Kindle book)

9. Erin Blakemore – Blog:   The Heroine’s Bookshelf  
Giveaway :  a set of Potter-Style Pride and Prejudice notecards  

10. Velvet – Blog: vvb32 reads
Giveaway: Jane Austen’s Little Instruction Book (Charming Petites)       

11. Karen Doornebos – Blog: The Fiction vs. Reality Smackdown
Giveaway: 2 Jane Austen Candles and 2 signed DNMD books plus drink coasters and tea!

12. Regina Jeffers –   ReginaJeffers’s Blog
Giveaway:  An autographed copy of “Christmas at Pemberley

13. Alyssa Goodnight – Blog: Alyssa Goodnight   
Giveaway: Jane Austen Action figure

14. Deb Barnum – Blog: Jane Austen in  Vermont
Giveaway [open worldwide]:  JASNA 2012 calendar from the Wisconsin JASNA Region

15. Laura Hile,  Susan Kaye, Pamela Aidan, and Barbara Cornthwaite – Blog: Jane Started it!
Giveaway: One copy of Young Master Darcy: A Lesson in Honour by Pamela Aidan;
One set of Frederick Wentworth, Captain (Books 1 and 2) by Susan Kaye;
Two copies of Mercy’s Embrace: So Rough a Course (Book 1) by Laura Hile;
George Kinghtley, Gentleman (Books 1 and 2) by Barbara Cornthwaite.

16. Juliet Archer – Blog: Choc Lit Authors’ Corner
Giveaway:  a copy of “Persuade Me”  and one of “The Importance of Being Emma”

17. Jane Greensmith – Blog: Reading, Writing, Working , Playing
Giveaway: a copy of  “Intimations of Austen”, and Sense & Sensibility (Marvel Illustrated) 

18. Jenny Allworthy – Blog : The Jane Austen Film Club 
Giveaway:  a copy of Northanger Abbey DVD starring Felicity Jones and JJ Feild (The winner will choose region 1 or 2 DVD)

19.  Sitio Jane Austen – Blog: El Salón de Té de Jane
Giveaway:  – Spanish edition of Sense and Sensibility for the 200th Anniversary + A DVD package with adaptations of Jane Austen
(It’s only zone 2, but it’s in Spanish and English ) +  blu-ray of the BBC’s Emma with Romola Garai 

 20. Kaitlin Saunders – Blog : Kaitlin Saunders  
Giveaway: “A Modern Day Persuasion”

21. Becky Rhodehouse – Blog: One Literature Nut
Giveaway: selection of Austenesque Reads

22. Patrice Sarath – Blog: Patrice Sarath
Giveaway: A copy of The Unexpected Miss Bennet

23. Adriana Zardini –  Site: Jane Austen Brasil
Giveaway: DVD – Sense and Sensibility (1995) – English / Portuguese subtitles

24.  Jane Odiwe – Blog: Jane Austen Sequels 
Giveaway:  a mug with one of  Jane Odiwe’s illustrations and a copy of her “Mr Darcy’s Secret”

25. Courtney Webb – Stiletto Storytime  
Giveaway: Noble Satyr by Lucinda Brant (Regency Romance)

26. Jennifer Becton – Blog: Jennifer W. Becton
Giveaway: An ebook of the Personages of Pride and Prejudice Collection, which contains all of my Austenesque works: Charlotte Collins, “Maria Lucas,” and Caroline Bingley. The giveaway will be open internationally.

27. Vera Nazarian – Blog: Urban Girl Takes Vermont
Giveaway: a copy of Vera Nazarian’s gift hardcover edition of her inspirational calendar and diary, The Perpetual Calendar of Inspiration

28. Abigail Reynolds – Blog: Pemberley Variations
Giveaway:   a signed copy of “Mr. Darcy’s Undoing”

29. Blog: AustenAuthors
Giveaway:  Georgette Heyer’s Regency World by Jennifer Kloester

30.  Katherine Cox – Blog: November’s Autumn
Giveaway :$10 B&N Gift-card (US only)

31. Maria Grazia –  Blog: My Jane Austen Book Club
Giveaway : A selection of Austenesque reads

************************

 [image: daily clip art]

Copyright @2011 Jane Austen in Vermont
Austen Literary History & Criticism · Jane Austen · Jane Austen Popular Culture · JASNA · JASNA-Vermont events · Movies

Celebrating ‘Sense & Sensibility’ ~ “Marianne as Heroine”

BookLady Deb5 Comments

JASNA-Vermont celebrated in style this past Sunday at our annual Jane Austen Birthday Tea.  As always, a delicious repast of afternoon tea goodies catered by Champlain College with additional tasty holiday cookies by various JASNA members, made for a lovely afternoon of food and Austen conversation.

This year in celebration of the Bicentenary of Sense & Sensibility,  we welcomed Rebecca McLaughlin, lecturer at the University of Vermont, as she shared her insights on “A Second Chance for Sense and Sensibility ~ Marianne as Heroine.”

Marianne Dashwood 1995 - Kate Winslet

As part of the course offered at UVM Austen: Page and Film**, McLaughlin presented an interesting and insightful look at Sense and Sensibility from the standpoint of Marianne as the Heroine [which then of course makes Colonel Brandon the true Romantic Hero!, with which I heartily concur!], backing up all her views with text examples, scholarly interpretation, and film clips from the various adaptations.  This year we had the advantage of sitting at eight tables of eight with all engaged in lively discussion and much laughter as McLaughlin, in true college style, prompted us with questions and a quiz! *

those who dressed for the occasion!

I think all there would agree that it was one of our best teas to date, the table arrangement being a great hit and Rebecca’s presentation one to remember – I do know that she has certainly prompted many to re-read their S&S with renewed vigor and plan into the night movie marathons of all six film adaptations! *** and perhaps even sign up for her next class,  sure proof that Jane Austen is alive and well in Vermont!

The CAKE!

A thank you to all who so generously helped with baking and at the event – I could not do it without you, and mostly to Janeite Marcia for her work as Hospitality Maven, Treasurer and Keeper of the Mailing List! – and a hearty THANK YOU to Champlain College for their generosity in providing the room for us, and their superb catering team.  And finally, many thanks to Rebecca McLaughlin for sharing her love of Austen with us and making all feel like we were back in that ole’ college classroom, wondering whether to become English majors or not!

Alas! only a few pictures – with thanks to Janeite Margaret for adding to my very few taken – I need to remember to TAKE PICTURES at these things, especially of the Tea Table….

JASNA Members Hope and Marcia

*******************************

* Sense and Sensibility Quiz:
        [scroll to the end for answers, but no cheating!]

1.   What was the original title of the story that would become Sense and Sensibility?

a.       Reason and Emotion
b.       First Impressions
c.       Second Attachments
d.       Elinor and Marianne

2.    How old is the story that we now know of as Sense and Sensibility?

a.      200 years
b.      195 years
c.      216 years
d.      225 years

3.    Originally, the story was written in letters; this style of novel is known as which of the following?

a.            realist novel
b.            epistolary novel
c.            sensation novel
d.            epic novel

4.   Although revised from its original form, how many complete letters may be found within Sense and Sensibility?

a.            none
b.            three
c.            six
d.            ten

 5.   Which of the following is the narration style Austen uses in Sense and Sensibility?

a.            first-person narration
b.            third-person omniscient narration
c.            stream-of-consciousness narration
d.            all of the above 

6.   Which of the following characters notices that Edward is wearing a ring with a lock of hair in it when he visits Barton?

a.            Mrs. Dashwood
b.            Mrs. Jennings
c.            Marianne
d.            Elinor

 7.   How much is Colonel Brandon’s estate, Delaford, worth (in pounds)?

a.            2000
b.            1000
c.            600
d.            5000

8.   Which of the following represents Marianne’s favorite maxim, or saying, within Sense and Sensibility?

a.            always think of oneself first
b.            you can only love once
c.            money is everything
d.            nature is man’s place of worship

[S&S Quiz, @2011 Rebecca McLaughlin and printed with permission]

************************ 

**The course at UVM:  Austen: Page and Film will be offered online in the Summer 2012 semester.  Course description:

Women’s & Gender Studies: Austen: Page and Film [WGST 095 OL1 : 3 Credit Hours  ]

After nearly two centuries in print, Jane Austen’s works continue to enthrall us, whether in their original form or in the numerous television and film adaptations created since 1938. This course examines the role Austen played during her own time as well as the role she continues to play within our contemporary cultural imagination by analyzing four of Austen’s novels (Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, MansfieldPark, and Emma) and by viewing faithful adaptations, reinterpretations and modernizations of each novel. We begin by placing each novel within its social and historical context, by defining themes that may help explain Austen’s modern appeal, and by creating our own vision of the action and characters. We then turn to the adaptations and investigate the historical moment of production, analyze changes to script and character, and think about how prose fiction differs from film in an attempt to understand the screenwriter’s choices and our current love of anything Austen. Course requirements include lively participation via blogs, reading quizzes, and a final written assignment. 

Instructor:  Rebecca McLaughlin, Lecturer, UVM Dept of English.
May 21, 2012 to June 29, 2012.  Location: Online Course

More information available at the UVM website.

******************************

*** The Six film adaptations of Sense and Sensbibility:
                              [ visit the JASNA site for details ]

  • From Prada to Nada (2011)
  • Sense and Sensibility (2008):  Screenplay by Andrew Davies
  • Kandukondain Kandukondain (I Have Found It) (2000) – with English subtitles
  • Sense and Sensibility (1995): Screenplay by Emma Thompson
  • Sense and Sensibility (1980): BBC – Screenplay by Alexander Baron
  • Sense and Sensibility (1971): BBC – Screenplay by Denis Constanduros

*******************

Who is your favorite Colonel Brandon?

Colonel Brandon 1995 - Alan Rickman
Colonel Brandon 2008 - David Morrissey

Quiz answers:

  1. D
  2. C
  3. B
  4. C
  5. B
  6. C
  7. A
  8. B

**************************

Upcoming post: Publishing Sense and Sensibility

Copyright @2011 Deb Barnum, Jane Austen in Vermont
Jane Austen · Jane Austen Popular Culture · JASNA · Movies

Mr. Collins ~ Alive and Well! ~ in Charleston, South Carolina!

BookLady Deb8 Comments

Update! – two items of interest regarding Mr. Collins:

Here is the picture of Vince Lannie and his wife Joanne at his talk [my camera is  finally speaking to my computer!]

[Vince and Joanne Lannie – notice Vince’s shirt – a great find at the Fort Worth AGM! – and this might be the only such shirt in existence!]

– and two, I alert you to visit the Austen Authors site to read Diana Birchall’s latest, this time on Mr. Collins, as he writes to Lady Catherine after his proposal to Elizabeth, a proposal he still thinks is to be accepted…

“Mr. Collins and His Successful Love,” by Diana Birchall.
_____________________________________________________

Jane Austen in Vermont has been spending some time in South Carolina! – so what a treat to visit the South Carolina JASNA Region last week and hear Vince Lannie (husband of Regional Coordinator Joanne Lannie) give a rousing talk on of all people, Mr. Collins! In his “The Two Mr. Collins: ‘Underbred’ Social Misfit or Opportunistic Regency Clergyman?” Lannie presents a Mr. Collins who in his words “never stands a chance” – he is ridiculed in print by all the characters and Austen herself, and certainly in all the films.  

David Bamber - P&P 1995

Lannie begins his talk defining Austen’s take on “the Proper English Gentleman” – Mr. Bingley the perfect personification, Mr. Darcy a close second –  handsome, wealthy enough to not have to work, and approved by all [and I guess why Mr. Darcy is second-best – it takes a while to realize that he is after all the epitome of the English Gentleman, is he not?] – but Mr. Collins? – he is presented to us as outside the realm of the Gentleman before we even meet him!  His letter to Mr. Bennet suggests his best efforts to bridge the gap, to mend the family feud – but he is rendered ridiculous by his creator and in the reaction to him by her Bennet family characters. 

Ingres – Portrait-Dupaty c1805

 “The Proper English Gentleman” – Regency Period

 

The Proper English Gentleman - 21st century style

Collins is initially described in lowly terms – unattractive, deficient in intelligence and social status, one who only rises in this overly socially-conscious world due to the “fortunate chance” of Lady Catherine as patroness.  The facts of this chance act are never revealed in the text – why indeed does Lady Catherine choose to bestow her gifts on Collins?? Lannie calls Lady C a “Sugar Mamma”! – she and Collins forming a “Regency coalition,” a partnership that attempts to wield power and control over all the family and the neighborhood. 

Brock's Mr. Collins - Mollands

There is much analysis of Charlotte Lucas and her role as a “marital prostitute” as some have called her, with her very clear practical views on marriage where woman acquiesces vs. the hope for independent choice based on love. Elizabeth’s rejection is such a shock for Collins; it is so against the tradition of little choice in marriage for the woman, he is quite stupified. Lannie emphasizes that the “discordant dialogue” between Elizabeth and Charlotte on marriage and romantic love is one of the major themes of the novel. 

Malcolm Rennie - P&P 1980

In the end Lannie places Collins with other opportunistic men of the age who need to align themselves with patrons and helpmates who will raise them to the gentleman status that they are in reality far below. The irony perhaps is that while Mr. Collins is not Jane Austen’s version of the perfect Regency Gentleman, Mr. Collins certainly thinks he is!

Tom Hollander - P&P 2005

I offer only a quick skim of Mr. Lannie’s talk – I cannot give it all away, as all in the audience thought it was such a great defense of Mr. Collins that it is more than worthy of a breakout session slot for the Pride and Prejudice AGM meeting in Minneapolis in 2013!  Certainly Lannie’s fear that a roomful of Janeites might be compelled to throw tomatoes (Joanne supplied plastic ones to toss in the event!] or engage in “hissing” behaviors as he staunchly defended Mr. Collins against his fellow characters and his own creator did indeed not come to pass! – on the contrary, we all behaved exceedingly well as proper Jane Austen fans should, and heartily encouraged him to send it in to JASNA…! 

Nitin Ganatra - Bride & Prejudice

But I can ask, as we did get into some discussion about Mr. Collins [Should he perhaps have ended up with Mary and solved the entail dilemma for the Bennets? – Could he and Charlotte be truly happy together? Etc…] –

  •  What are your thoughts on Mr. Collins? 
  •  If you think on all the films you will agree that Mr. Collins is made to be quite ridiculous in all of them! – who is your favorite of the lot?
Guy Henry - Lost in Austen

So, all in all a delightful day meeting a whole new group of Janeite friends, in the lovely setting of the Charleston Library Society.  Up next from this visit: The Charleston Library Society’s copy of Emma.

[p.s. my pictures of the event will have to wait until my camera and my computer can agree to talk to each other… in the meantime enjoy the various above shots of the Proper English Gentleman and the various players of Mr. Collins!]

Melville Cooper - 1940 P&P

And there are others – is your favorite Lockwood West from the 1952 adaptation, or Julian Curry from 1967, or any of the other versions?

Lockwood West - 1952 P&P
Julian Curry - 1967 P&P

Let’s hear your thoughts on Mr. Collins!

Brock - P&P - RofP
Copyright @2011 Deb Barnum of Jane Austen in Vermont.
Books · Fashion & Costume · Jane Austen · Jane Austen Popular Culture · JASNA · Literature · London · Museum Exhibitions · Regency England

The Penny Post Weekly Review ~ All Things Jane Austen!

BookLady Deb11 Comments

The Penny Post Weekly Review

 November 20, 2011

 News & Gossip 

*Lindsay Ashford on her new book The Mysterious Death of Miss Austen – and how Austen perhaps died from arsenic poisoning, whether intentional or not – has created quite the kerfuffle on the airwaves. Miss Ashford has written a fictional account of what might have happened [and it certainly reveals a good number of Austen family secrets! – all fiction of course…or is it?]

The Daily Mail: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2060743/Im-convinced-Jane-Austen-poisoned-arsenic-A-startling-revelation-Britains-leading-novelists.html

and The Guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/nov/14/jane-austen-arsenic-poisoning

 [I had the pleasure of meeting Ms. Ashford at the Fort Worth AGM – I’ve also read the book! – more on this in a future post I hope… has anyone else read it? – it deserves some conversation!]

*Those who have been following Downton Abbey [and who in their right costume-drama mind is not] will be pleased to know that the series has been granted a third season! – meanwhile we on this side of the pond “patiently” wait until January for Series 2, now finished in the UK – watch your PBS station for details on the re-running of Season 1 prior to the new shows – [do I dare admit that at our WWW (Wild Women Weekend) we watched the entire first season straight through [well, parts 5 and 6 on the Sunday morning – is there anything better than sharing this show with your very own group of fabulous wild women?!] 

Anyway, here is an interview with Dan Stevens – the hero of the piece, soon to be a soldier in WWI who returns home injured – however will Mary fit into this lifestyle change?? http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2011/11/04/downton-abbey-dan-stevens-interview_n_1075617.html?just_reloaded=1

 
JASNA and JASNA-Vermont News

The JASNA website has added its annual link to Austen-related gifts from various JASNA Regions here: http://jasna.org/merchandise/index.html – a great place to start your holiday shopping, even for those not so Austen-crazed – what a better time than this to convert a few friends…

The JASNA-Vermont Annual Birthday Tea is next Sunday December 4, 2011 – please send in your reservation form if you are planning on attending! – https://janeausteninvermont.wordpress.com/2011/11/06/jasna-vermont-event-annual-jane-austen-birthday-tea/

This at the JASNA South Carolina Region:  I went – wonderful time – will report the full details this week…http://www.charlestoncitypaper.com/charleston/vince-lannie/Event?oid=3642559
 

The Circulating Library 

*Has anyone read any of these books? Are they any good? – the Jaine Austen mysteries by Laura Levine: http://www.lauralevinemysteries.com/index.html

Humor is the key ingredient in this slick debut by television comedy writer Levine. Freelancer Jaine Austen (her mother loved the classics but couldn’t spell) makes a living writing love letters, personal ads and industrial brochures, but she never expected her work to involve her in murder.

Titles in the series: 

  • Pampered to Death 
  • Death of a Trophy Wife
  • Killer Cruise 
  • Killing Bridezilla 
  • Death by Pantyhose 
  • The PMS Murder 
  • Shoes to Die For 
  • Killer Blonde 
  • Last Writes 
  • This Pen for Hire

*For the Sense and Sensibility bicentenary – an article in Fine Books & Collections:
http://www.finebooksmagazine.com/fine_books_blog/2011/10/by-a-lady.phtml

FB&C asks: Have any FB&C readers attempted to collect all known editions and translations of Austen’s debut title?  Does anyone know of any individual or institution that may have made such an attempt…?

* a great resource: “Fiction in the Hampshire Chronicle 1772-1820” on the Chawton House Library website:
http://www.chawton.org/library/chronicle.html

 
* A new book with a great title:  Freud’s Couch, Scott’s Buttocks, Bronte’s Grave by Simon Goldhill.  There are chapters on traveling to the homes and haunts of Shakespeare, Bronte, Wordsworth, Scott, and Freud, but alas! no Austen – what was Mr. Goldhill thinking?!: http://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/F/bo10997683.html

And the press release:  http://press.uchicago.edu/news/2011/November/1111goldhillprs.html 
[with thanks to Joe T.!] 

*Do you like Sherlock Holmes? – there is some good stuff at Victoria Magazine: 

http://www.victorianamagazine.com/archives/12989 and http://www.victorianamagazine.com/archives/12964 

And while we are on Mr. Holmes, visit the website for the Sherlock Holmes Society of London:
http://www.sherlock-holmes.org.uk/ – where you can order your Christmas cards for 2011 complete with Holmes and Watson in the “Blue Carbuncle”…

And you can get on your Kindle with the touch of your keyboard, a new Holmes-inspired book: Barefoot on Baker Street by Charlotte Anne Walter:
http://www.amazon.com/Barefoot-Street-Sherlock-Holmes-ebook/dp/B005CD789G/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1317030802&sr=8-2

 This all in preparation for the second installment in the Holmes / Watson – Downey / Law due out it is said on of all days, December 16th! Would Jane Austen like Sherlock Holmes?? what do you think??

 
Websites and Blogs worth a look 

*Harvard University has set up a page Jane Austen: Online Resources http://www.hup.harvard.edu/features/austen/austen-resources.html

Harvard recently published the annotated editions of Pride and Prejudice and Persuasion – Emma, NA, MP, and S&S are forthcoming.  Note that our esteemed Austenblog and Jane Austen’s World blog are both included in the resource list! Congratulations to Mags and Vic!

*One can never have enough of London, as Samuel Johnson so wisely opined – so here is yet another site to visit to satisfy your London wanderlust: the online exhibition Glimpses of London’s Past at the University of Otago: http://www.library.otago.ac.nz/exhibitions/london/index.html

Norden map of London 1593

[via Vic at Jane Austen’s World]

*Another Jane Austen blog to spend your spare minutes visiting: Vicariously Jane Austen at  http://vicariouslyjaneausten.com/ 

*An oldie but worth a listen:  Claire Tomalin on Jane Austen at TTBOOK.org:
http://ttbook.org/book/claire-tomalin-jane-austen
[TTBOOOK = To the Best of Our Knowledge – check out the various interview podcasts…]

*Old Print Giclees – reproducing prints of all sorts – here is a Gibson print – you can own your own [and very affordable], either on paper or canvas in any size – check out the website for other print selections on various subjects:  http://old-print-giclees.com/?wpsc_product_category=gibsonbook

"She Finds Some Consolation in her Mirror"

Museum Musings – Exhibition Trekking 

*The V&A:  Number 11 Henrietta Street – follow this audio and transcript for a tour through the house next door to Henry Austen’s No. 10: http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/a/the-henrietta-street-room/ a tad larger than this image!

*The First Ladies Exhibit at the Museum of American History, opened November 19, 2011 http://americanhistory.si.edu/exhibitions/exhibition.cfm?key=38&exkey=1674&utm_source=Monthly+newsletter+subscribers&utm_campaign=50a804aaae-oct2011monthlynews&utm_medium=email

 The First Ladies explores the unofficial but important position of first lady and the ways that different women have shaped the role to make their own contributions to the presidential administrations and the nation. The exhibition features more than two dozen gowns from the Smithsonian’s almost 100-year old First Ladies Collection, including those worn by Frances Cleveland, Lou Hoover, Jacqueline Kennedy, Laura Bush, and Michelle Obama. A section titled “Changing Times, Changing First Ladies” highlights the roles played by Dolley Madison, Mary Lincoln, Edith Roosevelt, and Lady Bird Johnson and their contributions to their husband’s administrations. The First Ladies encourages visitors to consider the changing role played by the first lady and American women over the past 200 years.

*Robert Burns at the Morgan: http://www.themorgan.org/exhibitions/exhibition.asp?id=55

Burns - Auld Lang Syne

 
Regency Life 

*Fashion: video of Regency fashions as worn by Jane Austen, courtesy of the Yorkshire Post from an exhibit at Fairfax House that runs through December 31st:  http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/at-a-glance/main-section/video_autumn_fashions_as_worn_by_jane_austen_1_3702171

*Music: a reminder about the Jane Austen Music Transcripts by Gillian Dooley: http://dspace.flinders.edu.au/jspui/handle/2328/15193

 – and see this Regency Musical Timeline blog: http://regencymusicaltimeline.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2007-05-16T10%3A42%3A00-07%3A00&max-results=7 – no longer updated it seems, but a few good posts there worth looking at…
 

Shopping 

*Begin your holiday gift giving by sending all your friends this Jacquie Lawson Advent Calendar – London again!  http://www.jacquielawson.com/advent/london [click this link not the picture for the demo]


And for Fun! 

*Buy your own London Taxi! from London Taxi Exports – see the story at Mary Ellen Foley’s Anglo-American blog: http://mefoley.wordpress.com/2011/11/08/drive-your-own-london-taxi/

*And finally, How Shakespearean are you?  – visit the Oxford Words blog to find out:
http://blog.oxforddictionaries.com/2011/08/how-shakespearean-are-you/  

So, I couldn’t resist typing in: 

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.

Result??

Your English is 96 percent Shakespearean.

You ARE William Shakespeare!

No surprise there!

Copyright @2011 Deb Barnum of Jane Austen in Vermont 
Domestic Arts · Fashion & Costume · Jane Austen · Jane Austen Popular Culture · Regency England · Social Life & Customs

Guest Post ~ Jane Austen Knits

BookLady Deb5 Comments

Gentle Readers! ~ I welcome today Janeite Lynne, a JASNA-Vermont member and occasional contributor to this site, as she writes on Jane Austen and knitting!

***********************

Jane Knits

 

They were entering the hall. Mr. Knightley’s eyes had preceded Miss Bates’s in a glance at Jane. From Frank Churchill’s face, where he thought he saw confusion suppressed or laughed away, he had involuntarily turned to hers; but she was indeed behind, and too busy with her shawl. [Emma]

                                                                                                         *********************                                                                                                                               

              Have you ever wanted to create the kind of shawl that Jane Fairfax might have hid behind or slippers that would have kept Elizabeth Bennet’s feet warm?  If your answer to this question is yes!, then, like me, you may be both a Janeite and a knitter.  I imagined that people with these two interests would be a very small subset of the larger groups, but this month Interweave Knits made me think I was wrong.  They have released a special edition of their magazine: Jane Austen Knits.

 

The patterns in the edition are organized around places: country, manor, garden, and town. There are over thirty patterns including:  shawls, shrugs, scarves, handwarmers, slippers, reticules,  Mr. Knightley’s Vest, and, of course, a tea cozy.  If you are a lace knitter, you will be in heaven.  Lace abounds!

Lydia Military Spencer

Jane Austen Knits goes beyond the patterns, though.  There are articles about knitting during Austen’s time; both Mrs. Austen and Cassandra knit.  People speculate that Austen herself probably knit, but there is no concrete evidence for this.  We know that she did needlework.  But knitting may have been one of the household chores that the family sheltered her from so that she could write.  There are other articles in the special edition on regency fashion, muslin, a timeline of her life and the historical events that happened during her lifetime, and even suggestions for Austen-inspired movies and auidobooks to watch or listen to while you are knitting.

Knitting during the Regency Period was a utilitarian activity, and therefore was a job for those without money.  Mrs. Bates in Emma, Mrs. Smith in Persuasion, and Mrs. Jennings in Sense and Sensibility all mention projects or engage in knitting.  Of course, Mrs. Jennings would be undaunted by fashionable society’s prejudices and continue to knit even when she was wealthy.  Still, I like to imagine that knitting not only served a necessary household function for the other characters but also gave them solace and satisfaction.  As Mrs. Smith says about Nurse Rooke: “As soon as I could use my hands, she taught me to knit, which has been a great amusement.”  I couldn’t agree with her more.

Pemberley slippers

[Images: from the Interweave website]

******************************** 

More information at the Interweave website where you can order this special issue for $14.99. http://www.interweavestore.com/Knitting/Magazines/Jane-Austen-Knits-2011.html

Thank you Lynne for sharing this! – makes me want to dig out my old knitting needles and get to work! 

Miss Bennet's beaded bag
Copyright @2011 by Lynne H, of Jane Austen in Vermont
Jane Austen · Jane Austen Popular Culture · JASNA · JASNA-Vermont events · Schedule of Events

JASNA-Vermont Event ~ Annual Jane Austen Birthday Tea!

BookLady Deb1 Comment

You are Cordially Invited to JASNA-Vermont’s December Meeting 

~ The Annual Jane Austen Birthday Tea! ~
In celebration of the Bicentenary of Sense & Sensibility (1811) 

  Rebecca McLaughlin* 

A Second Chance for ‘Sense & Sensibility’: Marianne as Heroine 

Is S & S not your favorite Austen novel? ~
 Using the composition history of Sense & Sensibility, Austen’s biography, S&S film adaptations, and the novel text, McLaughlin argues that Marianne is the true Heroine of Austen’s first novel!

*****

~ Traditional English Afternoon Tea ~ 

Sunday, 4 December 2011, 2 – 5 p.m. 

 Champlain College, Hauke Conference Center,
375 Maple St Burlington VT 

$20. / person ~ $5. / student
RSVPs required!  ~ Register by 25 Nov 2011

* the December event flyer: Dec 2011 flyer
* the reservation form: Dec Tea Reservation form 2011

or email: jasnavermont [at] gmail [dot] com

~ Regency Period or Afternoon Tea finery encouraged! ~ 

************************************ 

*We are honored to welcome Rebecca McLaughlin, a life member of JASNA [she wrote her MA thesis on Jane Austen in 2000], and now a Lecturer in the Department of English at UVM, where she frequently teaches an online ‘Austen: Page & Film’ course. 

~ Upcoming in 2012 ~
March 25: UVM Professor Eric Lindstrom on “How to Love Sanditon”
June 3: Brooklyn College Professor Rachel Brownstein on her new book Why Jane Austen?

Hope to see some of you there!

Copyright @2011 Deb Barnum of Jane Austen in Vermont
Books · Jane Austen · Jane Austen Popular Culture · Jane Austen Sequels

Book Giveaway announced! – Jane Austen Made Me Do It by Laurel Ann Nattress

BookLady Deb1 Comment

And the lucky winner is:

Margay who responded on October 24 with:

Well, I’m always interested in what authors think should or could have happened to these characters if Jane Austen had ever revisited them. But what intrigues me most about this book is how many well known authors participated in it – how many of them like Austen enough to want to write about her characters. I can’t wait to read them!

Congratulations Margay! Please email me [ jasnavermont [at] gmail [dot] com ]by Monday October 31st with your email and address and phone number, and I will have the book sent off to you right away.  If I get no response I will draw another name.

Thank you all for your interesting comments about this book  and all things Jane Austen!  Let’s hope the dialogue never stops!

Copyright @2011 Deb Barnum, of Jane Austen in Vermont 
Author Interviews · Books · Jane Austen · Jane Austen Popular Culture · Jane Austen Sequels

Book Giveaway Reminder! ~ Jane Austen Made Me Do It

BookLady Deb1 Comment

Reminder to post a comment on the interview with Laurel Ann Nattress, to be thrown into the mix for the giveaway of her book Jane Austen Made me Do It – you have until tomorrow night October 26 at midnight [i.e. the wee hours of the morning of October 27th] – I will announce the winner during the  day of the 27th…

Worldwide eligibility!

Good luck one and all!