Random jottings…

December 8, 2008December 9, 2008 BookLady DebLeave a comment

Just some random thoughts this week ~ no rhyme, no reason ~ from a dictionary on the gentleman’s collar to a review of the latest book about Dickens….

Fashion thoughts: everything you ever wanted to know about the gentleman’s collar

Regency romance: A Wallflower Christmas” (St. Martin’s, 2008 ) by Lisa Kleypas: this historical romance takes readers to England’s Regency period, where a young innocent abroad, under pressure from his father, must choose between love and duty

Some thoughtful review questions for Pride & Prejudice at http://apbaionedoda.blogspot.com/2008/12/review-materials-for-pride-and_07.html

treat yourself to a visit to Factual Imagining, a blog about film adaptations of English history and literature, and scroll through the last few weeks of posts about Austen-related movies and various other costume drama news !~ there is even an interesting deleted kiss between Elinor and Edward (the Emma Thompson and Hugh Grant version) on YouTube!

Food & Drink in Regency England by Laura Wallace (an outdated page, but with some great recipes]

An article in the New York Times “Book Club Trouble Often Has Little to do with Books” – the highs and lows of these gatherings, and how even the suggestion of an Austen or a Trollope title can send people scurrying to the door! [I know this to be true … it has happened in my book group!]

Another book on Dickens: see this book review in the NYTimes:

THE MAN WHO INVENTED CHRISTMAS: How Charles Dickens’s “A Christmas Carol” Rescued His Career and Revived Our Holiday Spirits, by Les Staniford [Crown, 2008]

The Man Who Invented Christmas

READ THIS before you buy any books this season: Michael Dirda at the Washington Post on The 10 Commandments of Book Giving

Gifts for the Bookish at Book Hunters Holiday blog

this is really cute: Austenbook on Pride & Prejudice

the Janeite Supply Shop at Cafe Press offers all manner of shirts and buttons, and signs and bags, all to do with Jane or Darcy or Knightley or Henry Tilney….

Laurel Ann and Ms. Place trade off on views of the book Two Guys Read Jane Austen…. they want your views on why “real men are not afraid to read Jane Austen” ~ click here to give your opinion. And see our own Janeite Kelly’s review of the book here

And for some ideas for that “manly” man in your life, especially those most deserving ones who read Jane Austen, head over to The Art of Manliness for their Manly Holiday Gift Ideas ~ there are some great ideas and more in the many comments…

Books · Collecting Jane Austen · Jane Austen · Regency England · Social Life & Customs

Jane Austen’s Christmas

December 4, 2008December 4, 2008 BookLady DebLeave a comment

In my email today, the latest newsletter from the Jane Austen Centre in Bath: see this link to an article on “Christmas Day with the Austen Family.”

And on my bookshelf … I highly recommend the book Jane Austen’s Christmas: the Festive Season in Georgian England, compiled by Maria Hubert [Sutton Publishing, 1996] (the book is out of print: search at www.biblio.com or www.abebooks.com; available copies are mostly in the UK).

Hubert offers a mix of selections from Austen’s novels and letters, and from other contemporary writers; there are poems about Christmas, along with games and dances and recipes ~ all accompanied by black and white illustrations from various sources. It is a must-have addition to your Austen collection.

You can visit this link at The Christmas Archives for a few excerpts from the book, as well as information on several of the author’s other books on Christmas (Shakespeare’s Christmas; Brontes’ Christmas; Christmas in Wartime are a few examples.]

Here is one of the excerpts ~ a recipe for

BLACK BUTTER

Black Butter would have been a novel recipe indeed, which one of the Austen’s wide circle of seafaring family and friends might have brought them.

Take 4 pounds of full ripe apples, and peel and core them. Meanwhile put into a pan 2 pints of sweet cider, and boil until it reduces by half. Put the apples, chopped small, to the cider. Cook slowly stirring frequently, until the fruit is tender, as you can crush beneath the back of a spoon. Then work the apple through a sieve, and return to the pan adding 1lb beaten (granulated) sugar and spices as following, 1 teaspoon clove well ground, 2 teaspoons cinnamon well ground, 1 saltspoon allspice well ground. Cook over low fire for about ¾ hour, stirring until mixture thickens and turns a rich brown. Pour the butter into into small clean jars, and cover with clarified butter when cold. Seal and keep for three months before using. By this time the butter will have turned almost black, and have a most delicious flavour.

[I will be posting more on the holidays in Jane Austen’s time after our tea this weekend!]

Books · Jane Austen · News

Rejection Letters

December 3, 2008December 3, 2008 BookLady Deb2 Comments

We all know that Jane Austen’s first attempt at getting published [her book was First impressions, later to become Pride & Prejudice), was a humbling experience ~ an outright rejection from the publisher her father had approached; her second book, Susan (Northanger Abbey), sat on a publisher’s shelf for 10 years before she bought it back, and it was not actually published until after her death. So Austen was familiar with rejection…but she went on revising and writing and we are all the better because she persisted.

Today I see a blog post from the Guardian.co.uk on the “Fine Art of Literary Rejection Letters”by Jean Hannah Edelstein on her own history as an editor writing more than 1000 rejection letters and her discovery of a book to be published by Bill Shapiro (author of Other People’s Love Letters) titled Other People’s Rejection Letters [click here for the author’s request for letters, and here for his letter outlining the book]. See Edelstein’s article for some excellent and humorous comments from rejectees, and this blog link to Literary Rejections on Display where you will find all manner of the polite and impolite “no thank you.”

Jane Austen · JASNA-Vermont events · Query

“Why Jane Austen Matters”

December 2, 2008December 2, 2008 BookLady DebLeave a comment

I am just reading an article in the online Charlotte Observer by Kay McSpadden on Why Jane Austen Matters. McSpadden is a high school English teacher in South Carolina and writes of her student’s love of reading, and how Jane Austen speaks to them. I am reminded again of why Austen matters to me, but I put the question out there to you … as her December 16th birthday approaches, and we here in our Vermont JASNA Chapter prepare for the annual tea celebration on December 7th, I wonder, why does Jane Austen matter to you? Please comment! ~ I would like to share some of your responses at our gathering. Thank you!

Jane Austen · News

Chawton Cottage Request: No More Ashes Please!

December 1, 2008 BookLady DebLeave a comment

It is all over the newswires today that the staff of the Jane Austen House in Chawton, Austen’s home from 1809-1817, have written an open letter to the Jane Austen Society to have devotees refrain from leaving human ashes on the grounds and gardens of the house. See this article at the Daily Mail.co.uk for the full story.

chawton-cottage-garden — Chawton Cottage Gardens

Books · Jane Austen · News

Tidbits of the week… All Things Austen

November 30, 2008 BookLady DebLeave a comment

The Central New Jersey JASNA Chapter posts about the Christmas celebration: “A Jane Austen Christmas: Vignettes of Customs and Traditions,” which will include “holiday recreations as inspired by the writings of Jane Austen.” On December 10 at 7 p.m., Margaret C. Sullivan [author of AustenBlog] will speak about Christmas traditions in Jane Austen’s time and sign copies of her book, The Jane Austen Handbook: A Sensible Yet Elegant Guide to Her World. [Click on the Chapter link for more information.]

The Dolphin Hotel, home to Jane Austen’s various balls when she lived in Southampton, is on the market. See this article in The Daily Echo.co.uk

Lady Helga continues her Golden Couple’s Series , this week with Emma and Mr. Knightly.

A new collection of Elizabeth Bowen’s essays includes her words on Jane Austen; read this review of the new book People, Places, Things: Essays by Elizabeth Bowen, edited by Alan Hepburn [Edinburgh, December 2008]

Another Georgette Heyer review at Jane Austen Today: The Reluctant Widow; and also one for Simon the Coldheart

A few bits of Austen movie trivia at the Becoming Jane Fansite: Hugh Grant too handsome for Edward Ferrars?? of course he was!

A few blog posts on Regency weddings: at Historical Romance UK and at Jane Austen’s World

The author of the blog Jane Austen, Here I Come! is sharing all her plans for a trip to England and Austen country in May 2009. The blog has some great links for planning your own such itinerary as well…

A graphic design blog has created two Jane Austen book covers, for Emma and Pride & Prejudice

On the blog History Hoydens, Kathrynn Dennis posts on “Mending the Bodice” and how the term “bodice ripper” came into common use as a derogatory reference to romance novels. There is also an excellent post on this same topic at the Teach Me Tonight blog, as well as a good number of thoughtful comments.

Here is an interesting bit of news that restores my faith in all things technical (I think, anyway … I will forever favor a real book to touch!), but Nintendo has announced the release of its 100 Classic Book Collection, available December 26 in the UK, which features an initial 100 classic books to read from, with 10 additional books available for download from Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. A bookmark feature allows you to save your place in a book, and a suitability feature similar to Cooking Guide allows you to select a novel based on time constraints and subject matter. See this article at N-Europe for information and a listing of the 100 titles: all of Austen’s works are included, as well as many of Shakespeare, Dickens, the Brontes, Hardy, Hugo, Alcott, Stevenson, Trollope, Burnett, Twain, and many more. If this is the way to reach young readers, I am all for it!

The JASNA site has added a map of Bath to its “Maps of the Novels” page, as well as the full-text online of Persuasions No. 6 (St. Louis, 1984 and largely on Persuasion). Check the Table of Contents for this early and hard-to-find JASNA journal.

And finally, as Jane Austen’s birthday on December 16th is fast approaching, the Becoming Jane Fansite is requesting anyone who would like to submit birthday wishes or gift ideas for Jane to their site prior to December 16, when they will post all submissions.

Jane Austen · Movies · News

A few tidbits…

November 22, 2008November 22, 2008 BookLady Deb1 Comment

Lady Helga at the Jane Austen Podnovel has announced that each week shall be dedicated to one of Austen’s “golden couples” with new videos posted everyday. She starts with Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy…

And speaking of Mr. Darcy, the blog on Colin Firth has returned … see Colin Firth – An Appreciation Redux.

And Laurel Ann at Austenprose wants to know which of the film adaptations has captured best the Mr. Darcy of YOUR imagination (as Dear Jane leaves it up to each of her readers to decide!) See her post and vote!

But enough of Mr. Darcy …. who do YOU see as the next Mr. Knightley? Mags at Austenblog is rooting for Richard Armitage (and all the comments seem to concur!)…and I must indeed follow suit- I believe he was born for the role!

Which leads me to the PBS schedule for the upcoming Masterpiece Classics…a perfect winter adventure! and Dickens wins by a long shot! [please note that this is the full schedule from PBS; check your local listings for times]

January 4 and 11th: Tess of the D’Urbervilles [Thomas Hardy]
January 18 and 25th: Wuthering Heights [Emily Bronte]
Feb 1 and 8th: Sense and Sensibility (Jane Austen] – repeat from last season
February 15 and 22nd: Oliver Twist [Charles Dickens]
March 15 and 22nd: David Copperfield [Charles Dickens]
March 29 to April 26: Little Dorrit [Charles Dickens] ~ with Matthew MacFadyen!
May 3: The Old Curiosity Shop [Charles Dickens]
May 10: Persuasion [Jane Austen] – repeat from last season
May 17: My Boy Jack [about Kipling]- repeat from last season

Makes one ALMOST look forward to winter!

Jane Austen

Quote of the Day

November 21, 2008November 21, 2008 BookLady DebLeave a comment

“Let us read and let us dance … two amusements that will never do any harm to the world.”

(on Garrison Keiller’s Writer’s Almanac this morning….) Jane Austen may have lived it, but Voltaire said it! (his birthday was today, in 1694)

Books · Jane Austen

The Oxford Illustrated Jane Austen set on sale…

November 20, 2008 BookLady DebLeave a comment

Oxford University Press has the 6-volume set of the Oxford Illustrated Jane Austen [3rd edition, edited by R.W. Chapman] on sale from $175. to $43.75. Click here for ordering information…

Jane Austen · News

Jane Austen Society Conference~London

November 17, 2008 BookLady DebLeave a comment

In case any of you are to be in London next week, there are spaces still available at the Jane Austen Society Conference on “The Cult and Commerce of Jane Austen”, November 22, at the University of London. Click here for information.