Tag: Pride and Prejudice

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Austen on the Block! ~ An Austen-Filled Autumn at Upcoming Auctions

BookLady Deb6 Comments

UPDATE: Prices realized noted in red as they become available

There are a number of Jane Austen materials coming up for auction in the next few weeks, some actually affordable! – and then some, not so much…  here are brief synopses – visit the auction house websites for more information.

This one is a bit different and an interesting addition to anyone’s Pride and Prejudice collection!

November 18, 2012. Heritage Auctions, Lot 54353. Pride and Prejudice 1939 Movie photographs:

Pride and Prejudice (MGM, 1939). Photos (16) (8″ X 10″). Drama.

Vintage gelatin silver, single weight, glossy photos. Starring Greer Garson, Laurence Olivier, Mary Boland, Edna May Oliver, Maureen O’Sullivan, Ann Rutherford, Frieda Inescort, Edmund Gwenn, Karen Morley, Heather Angel, Marsha Hunt, Bruce Lester, Edward Ashley, Melville Cooper, Marten Lamont, E.E. Clive, May Beatty, Marjorie Wood, Gia Kent. Directed by Robert Z. Leonard.

There are 14 different photos with a duplicate each of 1136-190, and 1136-149; unrestored photos with bright color and a clean overall appearance. They may have general signs of use, such as slight edge wear, pinholes, surface creases and crinkles, and missing paper. All photos have a slight curl. Please see full-color, enlargeable image below for more details. Fine.

SOLD $179.25 (incl buyer’s premium)

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November 18, 2012.  Skinner, Inc. – Fine Books and Manuscripts, Boston. Sale 2621B

Lot 208:  Austen, Jane (1775-1817). Letters. London: Richard Bentley & Son, 1884. 

Octavo, in two volumes, first edition, edited by Edward Knatchbull-Hugessen, first Baron Brabourne (1829-1893), in publisher’s green cloth, ex libris Henry Cabot Lodge, with his bookplate; preliminaries in volume one a bit cockled, with some discoloration.

Jane Austen’s letters speak for themselves: “Dr. Gardiner was married yesterday to Mrs. Percy and her three daughters.” “I cannot help thinking that it is more natural to have flowers grow out of the head than fruit? What do you think on the subject?”

Estimate $300-500. SOLD $250. (incl buyer’s premium)

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Lot 4 : AUSTEN, JANE. Northanger Abbey. Volume 1 (only, of 2). 12mo, original publisher’s drab boards backed in purple cloth (faded to brown), lacking paper spine label, edgewear; text block almost entirely loose from spine, few binding threads and signatures loose, several leaves in first third heavily creased, few other margins creased; else quite clean overall. Philadelphia: Carey & Lea, 1833

FIRST AMERICAN EDITION AND ONE OF 1250 COPIES. In need of some repair, but complete and in original cloth. All First American Editions of Austen are difficult to find. Later printings of this title did not occur until 1838, as a one-volume collected edition and, as a single volume in 1845. Gilson B5.

Estimate $500-750. SOLD: $600. [incl buyer’s premium]

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This is the big one!

November 21, 2012. Christie’s. Valuable Manuscripts and Printed Books. London.  Sale 5690.

Lot 150:  AUSTEN, Jane (1775-1817). Sense and Sensibility … second edition. London: for the author by C. Roworth and published by T. Egerton, 1813. 3 volumes. (Lacks half-titles and final blanks, some browning and staining.) Gilson A2; Keynes 2.

Lot Description

AUSTEN, Jane (1775-1817). Sense and Sensibility … second edition. London: for the author by C. Roworth and published by T. Egerton, 1813. 3 volumes. (Lacks half-titles and final blanks, some browning and staining.) Gilson A2; Keynes 2.

Pride and Prejudice. London: T. Egerton, 1813. 3 volumes. (Lacks half-titles, lightly browned, a few leaves slightly torn along inner margin or with fragments torn from outer margin, margin of B10 in vol. I a little soiled, title of vol. III with slight stain at bottom margin, quires I and M in same vol. somewhat stained.) FIRST EDITION. Gilson A3; Keynes 3.

Mansfield Park. London: T. Egerton, 1814. 3 volumes. (Lacks half-titles, without blank O4 in vol. II or final advertisement leaf in vol. III, weak printing impression affecting 3 lines on Q10r.) FIRST EDITION. Gilson A6; Keynes 6.

Emma. London: John Murray, 1816. 3 volumes. (Lacks half-titles, E12 of vol. I misbound before E1, tear to bottom margin of E7 in vol. II, other marginal tears, L7-8 of vol. II remargined at bottom, title of vol. III with closed internal tear, some spotting, staining and light soiling.) FIRST EDITION. Gilson A8; Keynes 8.

Northanger Abbey and Persuasion. London: John Murray, 1818. 4 volumes. (Lacks half-titles and blanks P7-8 at end of vol. IV, some browning and spotting.) FIRST EDITION. Gilson A9; Keynes 9.

Together 6 works in 16 volumes, 12° (177 x 100mm). Uniformly bound in later 19th-century black half morocco over comb-marbled boards, marbled endpapers and edges (vol. I of Mansfield Park with scuffing at joints and upper corner of front cover).

Second edition of Sense and Sensibility, ALL OTHER TITLES IN FIRST EDITION. A rare opportunity to purchase the six most admired novels in the English language as a uniformly bound set. (16)

Estimate: £30,000 – £50,000 ($47,610 – $79,350) SOLD: £39,650 ( $63,004) (incl buyer’s premium)

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November 27, 2012. Bonham’s. Printed Books and Maps. Oxford. 19851.

Lot 26:  AUSTEN (JANE) The Novels…Based on Collation of the Early Editions by R.W. Chapman. 5 vol., second edition, Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1926; together with The Letters of Jane Austen, 2 vol., frontispieces, uniform half calf by Hatchards, gilt panelled spines, faded, 8vo, Richard Bentley, 1884 (7)

Estimate: £300 – 500 ( US$ 480 – 810); (€380 – 630) – SOLD: £525  ($844.) (incl. buyer’s premium)

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December 7, 2012. Christies. Fine Printed Books and Manuscripts Including Americana. New York. Sale 2607.

 Lot 140: [AUSTEN, Jane (1775-1817)]. Pride and Prejudice. London: Printed for T. Egerton, 1813.

Lot Description:

[AUSTEN, Jane (1775-1817)]. Pride and Prejudice. London: Printed for T. Egerton, 1813.

Three volumes, 8o (171 x 101 mm). Contemporary half calf and marbled boards, spines gilt-ruled, black morocco lettering pieces (a few stains and some rubbing); cloth folding case. Provenance: H. Bradley Martin (bookplate; his sale Sotheby’s New York, 30 April 1990, lot 2571).

FIRST EDITION. Originally titled First Impressions, Pride and Prejudice was written between October 1796 and August 1797 when Jane Austen was not yet twenty-one, the same age, in fact, as her fictional heroine Elizabeth Bennet. After an early rejection by the publisher Cadell who had not even read it, Austen’s novel was finally bought by Egerton in 1812 for £110. It was published in late January 1813 in a small edition of approximately 1500 copies and sold for 18 shillings in boards. In a letter to her sister Cassandra on 29 January 1813, Austen writes of receiving her copy of the newly publishing novel (her “own darling child”), and while acknowledging its few errors, she expresses her feelings toward its heroine as such: “I must confess that I think her as delightful a creature as ever appeared in print, & how I shall be able to tolerate those who do not like her at least, I do not know.” Gilson A3; Grolier English 69; Keynes 3; Sadleir 62b. (3)

Estimate: $30,000 – $50,000 –  SOLD:  $68,500  (incl buyer’s premium)

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Lot 86: Presentation copy of Emma. Provenance: Anne Sharp (1776-1853) “Anne Sharp” in vol. 1 and “A. Sharp” in vol. 2 and 3.

Lot Description:

One of twelve presentation copies recorded in the publisher’s archives and presented to Jane Austen’s “excellent kind friend”: the only presentation copy given to a personal friend of the author.

In a letter to the publisher John Murray dated 11 December 1815, Austen noted that she would “subjoin a list of those persons, to whom I must trouble you to forward a Set each, when the Work is out; – all unbound, with From the Authoress, in the first page”. Most of these copies were for members of Austen’s family. David Gilson in his bibliography of Austen lists these presentation copies, based on information in John Murray’s records, as follows:

  • two to Hans Place, London (presumably for Jane Austen and Henry Austen)
  • Countess of Morley
  • Rev. J.S. Clarke (the Prince Regent’s librarian)
  • J. Leigh Perrot (the author’s uncle)
  • two for Mrs Austen
  • Captain Austen (presumed to be Charles Austen)
  • Rev. J. Austen
  • H.F. Austen (presumed to be Francis)
  • Miss Knight (the author’s favourite niece Fanny Knight)
  • Miss Sharpe [sic]

Anne Sharp (1776-1853) was Fanny-Catherine Knight’s governess at Godmersham in Kent from 1804 to 1806. She resigned due to ill-health and then held a number of subsequent positions as governess and lady’s companion. Deirdre Le Faye notes that by 1823 she was running her own boarding-school for girls in Liverpool (see Jane Austen’s Letters, third edition, 1995, p. 572). She retired in 1841 and died in 1853.

In 1809 Austen wrote to her sister Cassandra Austen that “Miss Sharpe… is born, poor thing! to struggle with Evil…” Four years later Jane wrote to Cassandra that “…I have more of such sweet flattery from Miss Sharp! – She is an excellent kind friend” (which may refer to Anne Sharp’s opinion of Pride and Prejudice). It is known that Anne Sharp thought Mansfield Park “excellent” but she preferred Pride and Prejudice and rated Emma “between the two” (see Jane Austen’s Letters, third edition, 1995, p. 573).

There is one known extant letter from Jane Austen to Anne Sharp, dated 22 May 1817. She is addressed as “my dearest Anne”. After Jane Austen’s death, Cassandra Austen wrote to Anne Sharp on 28 July 1817 sending a “lock of hair you wish for, and I add a pair of clasps which she sometimes wore and a small bodkin which she had had in constant use for more than twenty years”.

“In Miss Sharp she found a truly compatible spirit… Jane took to her at once, and formed a lasting relationship with her… [she occupied] a unique position as the necessary, intelligent friend” (Claire Tomalin, Jane Austen: A Life, 2000).

Anne Sharp is known to have visited Chawton on at least two occasions: in June 1815 and in August-September 1820. Deirdre Le Faye notes that James-Edward Austen-Leigh described her as “horridly affected but rather amusing” (see Jane Austen’s Letters, third edition, 1995, p.573)

Estimate: 150,000-200,000 GBP* UPDATE: UNSOLD

[*Now this confuses me: this copy of Anne Sharp’s Emma sold at Bonhams for a record £180,000 in 2008, and was subsequently sold to an undisclosed buyer for £325,000. in 2010 [see my post here and here on these sales] – I have got to hit the calculator to see what’s up with this…]

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Also in this sale:

Lot 87:  Austen, Jane. Northanger Abbey and Persuasion. John Murray, 1818.

Lot Description:

A set of Austen’s posthumously published novels in an attractive binding to a contemporary design. It appears that this set was the property of the Revd Fulwar-Craven Fowle (1764-1840). He was a pupil of Rev. George Austen at Steventon between 1778 and 1781. He is occasionally mentioned in Austen’s letters; it appears he participated in a game of vingt-un in 1801 and sent a brace of pheasants in 1815. Fulwar-Craven Fowle’s brother, Thomas (1765-1797) had been engaged to Cassandra Austen in 1792.

Deirdre Le Faye notes that he had “an impatient and rather irascible nature” and “did not bother to read anything of Emma except the first and last chapters, because he had heard it was not interesting” (see Jane Austen’s Letters, 1995, p. 525).

 Estimate: 4,000 – 6,000 GBP UPDATE: UNSOLD

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And a few from Austen’s Circle I could not resist reporting on: these are all in the Swann Auction on November 20th – lots of other finds, so take a look:

Swann Sale 2295 Lot 40

BYRON, LORD GEORGE GORDON NOEL. Works. 13 volumes. Titles in red and black. Illustrated throughout with full page plate engravings. 4to, contemporary 1/4 brown crushed morocco, spines handsomely tooled and lettered in gilt in compartments, shelfwear to board extremities with some exposure, corners bumped; top edges gilt, others uncut. London, 1898-1904
Estimate $1,000-1,500   SOLD: $1200. (incl buyer’s premium)

limited edition, number 97 of 250 sets initialed by the publisher. This set includes a tipped-in ALS (8vo, one folded sheet. April 7, 1892) by the editor of this edition, Ernest Hartley Coleridge, the grandson of Samuel Taylor Coleridge, to a Mr. Tours[?], recounting a lecture he had recently given in Minneapolis.

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Swann  Sale 2295 Lot 204:

(ROWLANDSON, THOMAS.) The English Dance of Death. 2 volumes. * The Dance of Life. Together, 3 volumes. Engraved colored title-page and 37 hand-colored engraved plates in each volume of the Dance of Death, 25 hand-colored plates in the Dance of Life, by Rowlandson. Tall 8vo, later full tree calf gilt, spines tooled in gilt in 6 compartments with morocco lettering pieces in 2, rebacked; top edges gilt; occasional offsetting to text from plates and spotting to preliminaries; leather bookplates of Stephen M. Dryfoos mounted to front pastedown of 2 volumes; the whole slipcased together. London: R. Ackerman, 1815-16; 1817
Estimate $1,000-1,500 – SOLD: $3600. (incl buyer’s premium)

first editions in fine condition. “Indispensable to any Rowlandson collection, one of the essential pivots of any colour plate library, being one of the main works of Rowlandson”–(Tooley 410-411); Hardie 172; Abbey Life, 263-264; Prideaux 332; Grolier, Rowlandson 32.

 

Swann Sale 2295 Lot 205:

ROWLANDSON, THOMAS.) [Combe, William.] The Tour of Doctor Syntax, in Search of the Picturesque * In Search of Consolation * In Search of a Wife. Together, 3 volumes. Colored aquatint frontispiece in each volume, volumes 1 and 3 with additional aquatint title-page, and 75 colored plates by Rowlandson, colored vignette at end of vol. 3. Large 8vo, uniform full crimson crushed morocco blocked in gilt with corner floral ornaments, spines richly gilt in 4 compartments, titles in 2; turn-ins; by Root & Son, top edges gilt; bookplates of Edward B. Krumbhaar (vol. 1 only) and Christopher Heublein Perot (with his autograph). first edition in book form, second state, handsomely bound. London: R. Ackerman, 1812-20-(21)
Estimate $600-900 – SOLD: $960. (incl buyer’s premium)

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And despite my love of Austen, I do periodically enter the 20th century [sometimes the 21st!] and I still harbor my great admiration and love of John Steinbeck, so this I share because it is so rare and lovely to behold:

Swann Sale 2295 Lot 234 John Steinbeck. Cup of Gold.

STEINBECK, JOHN. Cup of Gold. 8vo, original yellow cloth lettered in black; pictorial dust jacket, spine panel evenly faded with minor chipping to ends with slight loss of a few letters, light rubbing along folds, small rubber inkstamp on front flap; bookplate with name obscured in black pen on front pastedown. New York: Robert M. McBride & Co., 1929
Estimate $8,000-12,000 – SOLD: $14,400 (incl buyer’s premium)

scarce first edition, first issue of steinbeck’s first book with the McBride publisher imprint and “First Published, August 1929” on copyright page. Jacket flap corners evenly clipped as issued with “$2.50” printed price present. The publisher printed only 2476 copies, 939 of which were remaindered as unbound sheets and evidently sold to Covici-Friede who issued them with new preliminaries, preface, binding, and jacket in 1936. Variant copy (no priority) with the top edges unstained. Goldstone-Payne A1.a.

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All images are from the respective auction houses with thanks.

Have fun browsing, and bidding if you wish!

 c2012 Jane Austen in Vermont
Books · Collecting Jane Austen · Jane Austen · Jane Austen Sequels · Jane Austen Societies · JASNA · JASNA-Vermont events · Schedule of Events

JASNA-Vermont ~ Annual Jane Austen Birthday Tea! ~ Dec 2, 2012, with Sandy Lerner!

BookLady Deb3 Comments

  Please Join us if you can!    

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

~ The Annual Jane Austen Birthday Tea! ~

  Sandy Lerner* 

“Writing Second Impressions” 

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~ Traditional English Afternoon Tea ~
~ and Playing Word Games with Jane Austen! ~ 

Sunday, 2 December 2012, 2 – 5 p.m. Champlain College, Hauke Conference Center,
375 Maple St Burlington VT  

$25. / JASNA members and pre-registrants;
$30. at the door; $5. / student

Pre-registration is required!  ~ Please do so by 23 Nov 2012!

~ the form: Dec Tea 2012 Reservation form
~ Regency Period or Afternoon Tea finery (hats!) encouraged! ~ 

For more information:   JASNAVermont [at] gmail [dot] .com
Please visit our blog at: http://JaneAustenInVermont.wordpress.com

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*Sandy Lerner, co-founder of Cisco Systems, founder of Urban Decay Cosmetics,  founder of the Ayrshire Farm in Virginia, and, most dear to us, is also the founder and moving force behind the Chawton House Library. She is now Chairman of Trustees, Chawton House Library and the Centre for the Study of Early English Women’s Writing, a place for research and camaraderie for scholars from all over the world. What better place than the former home of Jane Austen’s brother Edward Austen-Knight to study Austen and her literary antecedents and contemporaries!

Lerner’s book Second Impressions, written under the nom de plume of Ava Farmer, is set 10 years after the action in Pride and Prejudice, and explores the changes to the Darcy family’s lives, to Europe post-Napoleon, and to life in late Regency England, all as homage to Jane Austen, written in her “stile”, and with a fascinating yet credible plot. So let’s step into Lerner’s world to discover such things as: What do Darcy and Elizabeth do all day at Pemberley? Is Lady Catherine a welcome and constant visitor? Are the Wickhams reformed?  And what becomes of England’s most eligible female Georgiana Darcy? And Anne de Bourgh? And dare we ask about Mr. and Mrs. Collins?!

Second Impressions will be available for purchase and signing, all proceeds to benefit Chawton House Library.

During the Tea we shall engage in Playing Word Games with Jane Austen, a most suitable and refined entertainment for a wintry afternoon!

*****

Sandy Lerner, c2012 Pal Hansen

Links for further reading:

c2012, Jane Austen in Vermont
Author Interviews · Collecting Jane Austen · Fashion & Costume · Jane Austen · Jane Austen Merchandise · Jane Austen Popular Culture · Social Life & Customs · Women Writers

Guest Post ~ Pride and Prejudice RPG with Vanessa Paugh

BookLady DebLeave a comment

Gentle and Fun-Minded Readers: today I welcome Vanessa Paugh, creator of Pride and Prejudice RPG*, a mind-challenging Jane Austen-related game for your iphone. I have downloaded it, but alas! have not had the time to really become “accomplished” [one must practice as Elizabeth so wisely reprimands herself and Mr. Darcy] – but I invite you to read what Vanessa has to say about why she created this game – you can find it at the iTunes store for 99c – try it out and let me know how you fare! – and Thank You Vanessa for sharing your game with us today!

[*for the uninitiated: RPG = role-playing game]

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Pride and Prejudice RPG is a musical, fashion role playing game based on the first part of Jane Austen’s novel. The player becomes Elizabeth Bennett and strives to complete the accomplishments that will lead her to Mr. Darcy. There are four sections in the game: Pianoforte, Hertfordshire, Shoppe and Closet.

  • In the Pianoforte section, the player earns musical note points by practicing classical songs.
  • The player uses the notes in the Hertfordshire section to complete accomplishments such as “suffer Mother’s nerves” and “ascertain a blue coat” and to earn fortune points.
  • The Shoppe section allows the player to buy parts with her fortune that can be used to make gowns in…
  • …the Closet section. The more gowns the player makes, the more accomplishments she can do and finishing all the accomplishments wins the game.

With Pride and Prejudice RPG, the player can enjoy literature, fashion and music, and painlessly improve her math skills at the same time.

Pianoforte section

            The primary reason that I created Pride and Prejudice RPG was to ultimately increase the numbers of women in Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM). As Ghandi said, “be the change you want to see.” Studies have shown that many gamers become interested in STEM from curiosity about the inner workings of the games they play. Subsequently, they want to make games themselves and eventually choose programming or other STEM fields as careers. In addition, when many women see how technology can solve problems which interest them, they realize that STEM fields don’t have inherent gender association.

Currently, many concerned woman are debating the best methods to increase the numbers of women in STEM. Some say that gender neutral toys, clothes, media and attitudes are the only way to go. Others are trying the girly geek route with perfume chemistry sets, pink Legos, computer engineer Barbie and glamourous magazine style math books. The problem comes when these groups forget the goal and end up fighting each other. STEM fields don’t have to be limited by gender and cultural gender norms don’t have to limit careers in STEM fields. According to Kim Tolley’s research, in the 1830’s, Americans debated whether women could study classics, because many “experts” thought they should continue to study science. In 2005, Americans debated whether woman could study science because some “experts” thought they should continue to study classics. It’s time to take the gender limitations out of academics, period. I hope Pride and Prejudice RPG is one step in that direction. It includes literature, musical math, historical fashion and creative experimentation. These are the four main subjects that we require all students to learn: Language Arts, Mathematics, History and Science. When roadblocks are removed and encouragement is not withheld, woman can learn all of them.

Although I had played many computer games, I never considered becoming a game designer until I heard about Brenda Laurel and Purple Moon’s “Rocket’s New School.” Janet H. Murray’s “Hamlet on the Holodeck” inspired me to read all of Austen’s work and start turning “Pride and Prejudice” into a game. I was enlightened by Sherri Graner Ray’s “Gender Inclusive Gaming” and investigated redesigning traditional violent gameplay into other game playing mechanisms. Talking with Julienne Gehrer, the developer of the Pride and Prejudice board game, inspired me to focus on selecting the genre of the game first. Emma Campbell Webster’s “Lost in Austen” confirmed my research that a role-playing game would be the most appropriate genre. I was also inspired by the mommy iPhone game company Appsnminded and intrigued by some iPhone task based RPGs, which led me to discover the right game mechanisms to trade narrative accomplishments for violent acts. A post on Balancing Jane’s blog gave me the idea to combine music and math. And after reading Peggy Orenstein’s “Cinderella Ate My Daughter” and debating on Reel Girl’s blog, I refined Pride and Prejudice RPG’s presentation, so that it was more about accomplishment and less reflective of cultural gender biases.

Hertfordshire section

I started designing my Pride and Prejudice game in 2004 with girls in mind, continuing in the footsteps of the girl games movement from ten years before. However, at the Women’s Game Conference in 2004, I heard a woman ask when games that reflected her fantasies would be addressed by the game industry. A man on the panel dismissed her question, so I started focusing on software for women. My research predicted that Jane Austen readers who hadn’t played games might try my game if the text was fairly literal. It also indicated that gamers who hadn’t read Austen might read her work as a result of playing a literal Pride and Prejudice game. Realizing that there had been a lot of debate among women over video game violence, I excluded weapons, stereotypes, and moving targets from my game. I also left out timed challenges, timed energy replacement, and long written passages from Pride and Prejudice RPG to make it more fun for novice gamers.

Shoppe section

 Closet section

The current version of Pride and Prejudice RPG covers the first part of Jane Austen’s novel up to the end of the Meryton Assembly. In future updates, I want to add accomplishments for Elizabeth’s adventures in Kent and Derbyshire, and important events such as refusing Mr. Collins and Mr. Darcy. I also plan to include more challenging songs, and of course, Elizabeth will need more shoes, gowns and bonnets. If women who play my game and love it let me know, I will be very glad to hear from them. However, I really challenge anyone who wishes Pride and Prejudice RPG were different to seriously consider making her own game. There are only three other electronic Jane games out there so far: Matches and Matrimony, Rogues and Romance, and Hidden Anthologies. There are millions of Jane Austen fans and thousands of openings in STEM fields waiting.

About the Author: 

Dr. Vanessa Paugh is a college professor and indie game developer in Dallas, Texas.
She holds a Bachelor’s in Electrical Engineering,
an MFA in Arts and Technology and a Ph.D in Aesthetic Studies.

Images and text courtesy of Vanessa Paugh, with thanks!

You can find the game at the iTunes store here:  http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pride-and-prejudice-rpg/id510978515?mt=8

and please comment if you have any questions or thoughts for Vanessa about her game!

c2012 Jane Austen in Vermont
Author Interviews · Books · Jane Austen · Jane Austen Popular Culture · Jane Austen Sequels · Regency England

Guest post ~ Vera Nazarian on her Pride and Platypus: Mr. Darcy’s Dreadful Secret

BookLady Deb15 Comments

Hello all! Today I have invited Vera Nazarian, now a Vermonter!, and author of a series of supernatural novels that expand upon Jane Austen, to write a little something about her latest book Pride and Platypus: Mr. Darcy’s Dreadful Secret – whatever would Jane think you might ask? – well for the next two days you can download Vera’s latest book onto your kindle for free [details below] – so give her a try, the least one Vermonter can do for another!  I look forward to having Vera speak to us at one of our future gatherings, so stay tuned!

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Greetings, Gentle Vermont Janeites!

I am thrilled to be here, and to be able to say that I am now a proud Vermont resident. I would like to introduce myself as the Harridan—ahem—the author and illustrator of the Supernatural Jane Austen Series of books, which are witty and hilarious (and slightly insane) fantasy parodies of our beloved Austen classics.

The books in the series so far are Mansfield Park and Mummies, Northanger Abbey and Angels and Dragons, and, my most recent release this June—the third book, Pride and Platypus: Mr. Darcy’s Dreadful Secret.

I look forward to getting to know you better and sharing all kinds of things (such as the true nature of the Brighton Duck—you do know about this infernal and mystical duck, right? No? Aha! Stay tuned!). But today I will be brief and just let you know that if you’ve never had a chance to read any of my books yet, and have no idea who I am, well, this is your lucky day. . . .

Because you can try one of my books for free!

Yes, absolutely free on Amazon Kindle all this weekend, and until midnight on August 12th, is none other than Pride and Platypus: Mr. Darcy’s Dreadful Secret!

You can download your free ebook here:  http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008D303J4/

And even if you do not own a Kindle, you can easily grab a free Kindle Reader App for your PC, Mac, smartphone, or other online device here, and then read the novel on pretty much anything short of an Etch-a-sketch!

Free Reading Apps:  http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/ref=sv_kstore_1?ie=UTF8&docId=1000493771

Enjoy the free book with all my compliments! And be sure you are sufficiently equipped (and properly attired) to survive the effects of unbridled laughter!

You can visit the books’ website here: http://www.norilana.com/pap.htm

Book description:

When the moon is full over Regency England, all the gentlemen are subject to its curse. 

Mr. Darcy, however, harbors a Dreadful Secret…

Shape-shifting demons mingle with Australian wildlife, polite society, and high satire, in this elegant, hilarious, witty, insane, and unexpectedly romantic supernatural parody of Jane Austen’s classic novel.

The powerful, mysterious, handsome, and odious Mr. Darcy announces that Miss Elizabeth Bennet is not good enough to tempt him. The young lady determines to find out his one secret weakness—all the while surviving unwanted proposals, Regency balls, foolish sisters, seductive wolves, matchmaking mothers, malodorous skunks, general lunacy, and the demonic onslaught of the entire wild animal kingdom!

What awaits her is something unexpected. And only moon, matrimony, and true love can overcome pride and prejudice!

Gentle Reader—this Delightful Illustrated Edition includes Scholarly Footnotes and Appendices.

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And now, here is a bit more word-of-mouth about the novel, including “authentic testimony” from the splendid mouth of Mr. Darcy himself:

REGENCY ERA PRAISE FOR…

Pride and Platypus: Mr. Darcy’s Dreadful Secret

“A sufficiently pleasing literary trifle. Only, might one be kind enough to explain why a certain gentleman constantly finds himself in wet shirtsleeves for no apparent reason?”  —A Gentleman of Impeccable Attire

“I require an introduction to this Mr. Darcy, in all haste. Does the gentleman possess a male unattached sibling? Preferably, with a proper beastly Affliction, in place of what the gentleman himself suffers?”  —A Lady of Elegance

“An outrage indeed! My own person and relations, to be thus referenced in this vile compendium of vulgarity! Why, this is not to be borne! Also, I recommend emu oil for polishing wooden surfaces.”  —A Certain Lady of Rosings 

“I would have it known that, in my present condition, I am not altogether concerned with pollution.” —A Shade of Pemberley

“There is entirely no excuse for the unseemly public behavior of some people’s gauche relations. I have returned this distasteful tome to the Lending Library, and shall henceforth endeavour to forget all of which I have inadvertently read in one sitting.” —A Gentleman of Distinction

“I have been placed in numerous sequels, adored and worshiped by millions, scrutinized, analyzed, satirized, undressed, dressed again and soaked in various water reservoirs, and parodied in every manner possible, but never quite so audaciously as in this tome!”  —Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy

“The gentleman with the satirical eye is being entirely too modest. Furthermore, for inexplicable reasons, he has also been seen in more wet shirtsleeves than all the Royal Navy on the high seas and the House of Lords after a London downpour, and I am yet to understand the mystery behind it.”  —Miss Elizabeth Bennet

“QUACK!” —The Brighton Duck

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

Pride and Platypus: Mr. Darcy’s Dreadful Secret
by Jane Austen and Vera Nazarian
Trade Paperback (First Edition): Curiosities (an imprint of Norilana Books) June 15, 2012
Retail Price: $16.95 USD – £12.50 GBP
ISBN-13: 978-1-60762-078-5 ISBN-10: 1-60762-078-2
500 pages

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

About the Authors:

Jane Austen is an author of classic immortal prose.

Vera Nazarian is a shameless Harridan who has taken it upon herself
to mangle Jane Austen’s classic immortal prose.

She is also a two-time Nebula Award Finalist, an award-winning artist,
and the author of Mansfield Park and Mummies and Northanger Abbey and Angels and Dragons.

Images and text courtesy of Vera Nazarian with thanks!

c2012 Jane Austen in Vermont
Jane Austen · Jane Austen Merchandise · Jane Austen Popular Culture

Pride and Prejudice Confetti anyone??

BookLady DebLeave a comment

The latest from the Jane Austen Centre:

 

Pride and Prejudice Heart Confetti

  This heart confetti is made from your favourite romantic book – Pride & Prejudice.

This is perfect for your wedding and makes a unique table decoration. *
Presented in a pretty ivory envelope ready for giving (or keeping!)
Bring Darcy and Lizzie, and all your other favourite characters, to your wedding today!
Only £3 per pack

You can order here from the Jane Austen Centre in Bath

[* or you can sit around on a rainy day and try to piece the book back together? – wedding or not, I think this is a must-have for any true Austen fan…]

Text and image from the Jane Austen Centre (except for the last bit…)

c2012 Jane Austen in Vermont
Auctions · Books · Jane Austen · Literature · Rare Books

Jane Austen on the Block! ~ The RING and the Books…

BookLady DebLeave a comment

An exciting day in Austen-Land! The much-touted Ring is up for auction!, as well as first editions of five of Austen’s novels [wherever did the Sense and Sensibility end up?] – here are the details from Sotheby’s Sale No. L12404 English Literature, History, Children’s Books and Illustrations – London | 10 July 2012  – I will report later today the results… See the results in red below – to include buyer’s premium…..

Lot 59: Austen, Jane. GOLD AND GEM SET RING

ESTIMATE: 20,000 – 30,000 GBP Sold for £152,450  (about $236,298.)- also learned that the ring is actually natural turquoise not the odontalite as noted in the catalogue.  The bidding was quite fun to watch – all quite dramatic as the auctioneer baited the bidders in room, on the telephone and the internet  to keep the bidding going…  [update 2: “a battle between eight bidders … was eventually bought by an anonymous private collector over the phone, the auction house said” (from Reuters.com)]

set with a cabochon blue stone, natural turquoise, size K½ with sizing band, once belonging to Jane Austen, in a contemporary jeweller’s box (“T. West | Goldsmith | Ludgate Street | near St Paul’s”)

[with:] autograph note signed by Eleanor Austen, to her niece Caroline Austen, “My dear Caroline. The enclosed Ring once belonged to your Aunt Jane. It was given to me by your Aunt Cassandra as soon as she knew that I was engaged to your Uncle. I bequeath it to you. God bless you!”, 1 page, November 1863, with address panel on verso and remains of black wax seal impression, fold tears; also with three further notes by Mary Dorothy Austen-Leigh detailing the ring’s later provenance, 5 pages, 1935-1962

[more detailed provenance here: http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2012/english-literature-history-childrens-books-and-illustrations/lot.59.html – click on “catalogue notes”]
Lot 55: Austen, Jane. MANSFIELD PARK: A NOVEL. EGERTON, 1814

ESTIMATE: 3,000 – 5,000 GBP  Sold for £5250 (about $8,138.)

12mo (174 x 102mm.), first edition, 3 volumes, without half-titles, nineteenth-century half calf, marbled boards,  some spotting and browning, some gatherings proud,  recent expert repairs to binding and joints.

Lot 56: Austen Jane.  NORTHANGER ABBEY: AND PERSUASIAN…WITH A BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OF THE AUTHOR, JOHN MURRAY 1818

ESTIMATE: 2,500 – 3,500 GBP  Sold for £4000 (about $6200.)

12mo (175 x 102mm.), 4 volumes, first edition, watermarks, without half-titles, nineteenth-century half calf, marbled boards,, some slight staining to edges of some leaves, browning and spotting, recent expert repairs to joints and spines, some edge-wear. Northanger Abbey was completed in 1798 or 1799, and then substantially revised over time. Persuasion, a more gentle satire of manners, was written between 1815 and 1816. The novels were published posthumously in this tandem edition of 1,750 copies.

Lot 57:  Austen, Jane.  PRIDE AND PREJUDICE: A NOVEL. LONDON:G. SIDNEY FOR T. EGERTON, 1813.

ESTIMATE: 20,000 – 30,000 GBP  Sold for £22,500 (about $34,875.)

12mo (174 x 102mm.), 3 volumes, first edition, watermarks, without half-titles and advertisements, nineteenth-century half calf, marbled boards, B12 of volume 1 crudely opened and slightly creased, some gatherings proud, some spotting, staining and browning to text, volumes 1 and 3 re-backed, some recent expert repairs to binding and joints, some edge-wear.

Lot 58: Austen, Jane. EMMA: A NOVEL. C. ROWORTH FOR JOHN MURRAY, 1816.

ESTIMATE: 10,000 – 15,000 GBP  UNSOLD – bidding went to £7500

12mo (172 x 103mm.), first edition, without half-titles, nineteenth-century half calf, marbled boards, some creases at edges of some leaves, some spotting and browning, some gatherings proud, volume 1 re-backed, recent expert repairs to binding and joints, some edge-wear.

[All titles have the bookplate of Bridget Mary McEwen.]

Further Reading about The Ring:

The Guardian, 6 July 2012: http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2012/jul/06/jane-austen-ring-for-auction

Diana B. at Austen Authors: http://austenauthors.net/jane-austens-ring

Julie W. at Austenonly: http://austenonly.com/2012/06/21/first-editions-and-jane-austens-ring-a-bumper-austen-sale-at-sothebys-on-july-10th/

[and please note at the end of this post wherein Deirdre Le Faye weighs in on the ring’s provenance – the date of the note from Eleanor Austen as noted in the printed catalogue is incorrect … and now corrected in the online version]

[Text and image from the Sotheby’s catalogue]

@2012 by Jane Austen in Vermont
Jane Austen · Jane Austen Popular Culture · Literature · Movies · Query

A Jane Austen Siting ~ Pride & Prejudice in 16 words or less…

BookLady Deb11 Comments

Scrolling through the “guide” on my television the other day, in dire need of pure entertainment, I came upon the 2005 Pride and Prejudice, though barely recognizable by its description – it read:

A convoluted courtship begins between a young woman and
the handsome friend of a wealthy bachelor.

And thus a major classic of the English language reduced to sixteen words, with nary a mention of Jane Austen, not to mention Elizabeth or Mr. Darcy! I was quite sure I had slipped off the guide into the Hallmark Channel!

If you had the assignment to do a write-up on any of Austen’s novels in 16 words or less, what would you write?? [I was asked this once in a radio interview and I had a complete brain-cramp and froze up, not my greatest life moment! – one should always be prepared for such a question, don’t you think?]

So Gentle Readers, please comment with your capsule of Austen! – think Twitter but even shorter…

Copyright @2012 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.
Jane Austen · JASNA-Vermont events

The Great Pride & Prejudice Trivia Quiz Throwdown

BookLady Deb3 Comments

Enquiring readers: Today I welcome our own JASNA-Vermont member Michelle Singer with her guest post on our very interesting adventure in the world of Pride and Prejudice trivia…!

Pride & Prejudice Trivia Quiz Throwdown

Guest blog by Michelle A.L. Singer

November 3, 2011

Somewhere in Vermont, we knew, a men’s Jane Austen book group was meeting. You can imagine our regard. Were they based in Montpelier, we wondered, where we were? Or in Burlington, where JASNA Vermont held its quarterly meetings? With delicacy, we inquired after the gentlemen and found that they had been in our own village the whole time! We approached a known member of the group at the next JASNA meeting at Champlain College in Burlington, and what fortune! Two of the group’s members were there and had such pleasing manners! Dropping all pretense of modesty, we immediately challenged them to a Pride & Prejudice trivia quiz throwdown, battle of the sexes style. (I had been exercising great strength of will by not opening the Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice Trivia Game by Marina Games that I had bought months before.) They accepted.

And that’s how we found ourselves at the home of Thierry Guerlain on an October Sunday afternoon, laden with hors d’oeurves, mini apple pies, and a recycled team bowling trophy fitted out for the occasion with “Jane Austen Champions” lettering and little gold P & P books for the bowlers, I mean Janeites, to hold in their front hands. [editor’s note: a brilliant concoction! – see below]

After the necessary introductions, we sat across a table covered with food in Mr. Guerlain’s side parlor, four women and four men. Deb Barnum, JASNA Vermont Regional Coordinator, Erica who had read the entire text in preparation, Sarah Madru who made the sweet potato and goat cheese bruschetta, and I, Michelle Singer who brought the game and the trophy.

Sarah, Michelle, Erica, sans Deb

Across from us, four members of the famous [editors’ note: ‘infamous’] men’s Jane Austen book group, our host Thierry Guerlain, George Shumar, John Bollard and Ed Good, gentlemen all.

John, George, Thierry, and Ed

The game instructed us to roll the die and, if we answered the Pride and Prejudice trivia question correctly, to collect the amount of points on the die. Answering correctly allowed the team to roll again and answer another question, until they missed. The turn then passed to the other team. The first team to earn 25 points could then claim victory. Rejecting the handicap of “Ladies first” we rolled to see who would start, and the women won the right to begin the game.

We immediately found ourselves in a good position to answer the very text-specific question, “How far was Lucas Lodge from Meryton?” It was possible to guess since it was obviously not above five miles, but we didn’t need to guess. It was the kind of answer (“About a mile”) that you could only know if you had JUST read it, which some of us (ahem) had.

We were half way to 25 points before the men even had a chance to answer a question (and get it wrong) before we regained control of the game and answered question after question, overcoming the 25 points in just two turns. And so it was that the women won the first game of the night and the men suggested we change the structure of the game. [editor’s emphasis]

In an effort to be lovely and amiable, we agreed. We decided to take turns asking questions. The first team to 11 (ping pong) correct answers would win. The men answered first, creating confusion from there on out about who was “winning” since they were always one point ahead…until we answered and evened the score (every time). We soon both reached 11 without a misstep and then continued without missing a question until we just stopped counting. It was now sudden death; the first team to answer incorrectly would lose.

Warm up counts for a lot. Questions that seemed confusing at first like, “Who warned Elizabeth of Mr. Wickham’s mistreatment of Mr. Darcy?” (Miss. Caroline Bingley) became obvious once our heads were fully focused on P & P for an hour. Soon it felt like they were all as easy as, “Who sometimes arranges such little elegant compliments as may be adapted to ordinary occasions?” (Mr. Collins, of course.)

Finally, after at least 30 questions back and forth, the fateful moment came, or rather, the fateful question: “What did Mrs. Bennet think was Lady Catherine de Bourgh’s reason for visiting Longbourn?” Uhhhhhhh. We tried to recreate the scene. I said something about the middle of the night. We were immediately docked one point for giving an answer from a movie version rather than the text (Lady Catherine de Bourgh bangs on the Bennet door in the middle of the night only in the Kiera Knightly version of P & P. As we all know, when Lady Catherine visits and they take the walk in the “prettyish kind of a little wilderness” on one side of the lawn in full daylight). Even after getting our scene straight, we could not account for what Mrs. Bennet thought of the visit. And so, we were sunk. (The answer is very obscure. She expects news from Mr. & Mrs. Collins.)

And so it was that the second game of the evening came to an end with the men’s team as victors. I will say that it seemed like the vast majority of easy multiple choice questions seemed to go to them. Questions like, “What town did Georgiana Darcy go to when Mr. Wickham tried to elope with her?” were good trivia questions until you got to the multiple choices of “Hunsford, Bath, or Ramsgate.” The question, “Which Bennet girl did Mr. Collins pursue for a wife? Lydia, Mary, or Elizabeth” inspired a collective groan. We ended the evening with no team able to claim the trophy, so it was relegated to the office…to await next time.

Jane Austen Champion

The best part of the evening, aside from the good food, good company, and good conversation was that a new co-ed quiz and reading group was formed out of our absolute delight in finding each other and enjoying the same diversions. And so, the quest of the female JASNA members in Montpelier to track down and pit ourselves against our male counterparts, who we had only heard rumor of, was happily answered with the perfect union of a new book group—not unlike an Austen novel itself.

Quick, what was the name of Mr. Darcy’s mother? [scroll down below for answer]

Copyright @2011, Michelle Singer at Jane Austen in Vermont

Our next read? ~ E. M. Forster, A Room with a View 

[ quiz answer:  Lady Anne Darcy ]

Jane Austen

Winston Churchill on Jane Austen

BookLady Deb3 Comments

My husband has been reading Winston Churchill’s The Second World War series, currently on the 5th book Closing the Ring.  He was quite excited to find this paragraph in the middle of Churchill’s writings of December 1943 when he was ill with pneumonia while in Tunis with General Eisnhower.   I have heard this quote before, and you might all be familiar with it as well, but worth a shout-out here – again showing, as Kipling had done so admirably before, how Jane Austen in time of distress is just the thing!

The days passed in much discomfort. Fever flickered in and out.  I lived on my theme of the war, and it was like being transported out of oneself. The doctors tried to keep the work away from my bedside, but I defied them.  They all kept on saying, “Don’t work, don’t worry,” to such an extent that I decided to read a novel.  I had long ago read Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility, and now I thought I would have Pride and Prejudice.  Sarah read it to me beautifully from the foot of the bed.  I had always thought it would be better than its rival.  What calm lives they had, those people!  No worries about the French Revolution, or the crashing struggle of the Napoleonic Wars.  Only manners controlling natural passion so far as they could, together with cultured explanations of any mischances.  All seemed to go very well with M and B*.

* “Mand B” refers to Lord Moran and Dr. Bedford who came to his aid

 From Winston Churchill, Closing the Ring. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1951, p. 425.

Copyright @2011 by Deb Barnum, of Jane Austen in Vermont