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Showing posts from 2009

The Most Romantic Character Is:

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I popped in to see the results of the poll conducted at Laura's Reviews for the most romantic male character in literature, and discovered that Jamie Fraser (Outlander) was the winner, followed by Rochester (Jane Eyre), with Mr Darcy as third. Somewhere at the bottom of the list was Sharpe (Sharpe's series), which puzzled me, living in the UK as I do, since Sharpe is very popular over here, and Bernard Cromwell's books are just about everywhere. Then Laura mentioned that she hadn't seen the series and I realized that perhaps people in the US haven't had as much exposure to it. I confess I haven't read many of the Bernard Cromwell novels, mostly because I have so many other books I want to read first, but the few I have read are goldmines of information about the everyday realities of the Napoleonic wars from the point of view of an ordinary soldier, albeit a very "heroic" one. However, I did devour the Collector's Edition, which is 14 episodes

National Novel Writing Month productive, but rain, rain, please go away...

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I've been trying to catch up on my writing, so I haven't been here as often as I like. As NaNoWriMo winds down, though I haven't met my goal of 50,000 words in a month, I'm satisfied that it's been a productive experience. My emotional pendulum swings between disappointment and a sense of achievement. There's always next year. In the meantime, I haven't been visiting any National Trust or historical properties for a long time because the weather has been so atrocious. I really jinxed myself (and the whole of England with me) when I wrote that piece a while ago about the myth of rain here in England. Just to prove me wrong, it's been pouring almost continuously for what seems like months now, though I know it must only have been a couple of weeks. Everything is growing damp and moldy, though the famed English verdure is magnificent -- the grass looks almost edible, it's so crisp and fresh. The sheep must be grazing very happily. I wonder if they&#

Men in (Casual) Regency Regimentals, and news snippets

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For a fun thing today, I thought I'd redirect you to Regency historical writer  Jo Beverley's website, where she has photos with young men in (admittedly casual) Regency-era Regimentals, just to give you a sense of what Lydia Bennet was ogling when she was chasing after the officers in Meryton. Can't blame Lydia, really. Some news items I'm very pleased to let you know that The Other Mr Darcy was  number one  in the category Regency Romance on Amazon.ca yesterday. I should add that Amazon represents a very small share in book sales, but still, I'm really amazed (no pun intended)! (Please wait as I do a little jig) There is still a chance to win a copy of The Other Mr Darcy out there at  Mary Simonsen's blog . Mary Simonsen is a long term Jane Austen fan fiction writer whose Austen inspired novel Searching for Pemberley will be published by Sourcebooks in December 2009. I encountered Mary several times here on my blog during the Jane Austen discussions la

Meaning of a Jane Austen Quotation

"Silly things do cease to be silly if they are done by sensible people in an impudent way." Emma I was looking at this quotation yesterday, wondering what it means, and thought I'd put in up for people to share their thoughts about it. I rather think of it as a tongue twister but for the brain -- a brain twister. You have to slow down and think about it for your mind to be able to follow its twists and turns. So what do you think it means? Is Jane Austen supporting impudence, and saying that if you're impudent you can carry off anything, and she admires impudent people for it? Or is it the opposite? That silly things are still silly, even if it's sensible people do them? Or is she condemning the fact that sensible people can get away with silly things because of people's perceptions that they are sensible? Or is she laughing at us and talking about herself? Let me know what you think Jane Austen is saying here.

Newsflash! The Other Mr Darcy is a Desert Isle Keeper on All About Romance!

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Just wanted to share this exhilerating news with everyone: The Other Mr Darcy was given the much coveted title of DIK (Desert Isle Keeper) on the romance site All About Romance , along with a super-great review. If you want to see one reader's visual interpretation of Robert Darcy, check out Laura's at The Calico Critic . I love it! Her blog is also one of the few remaining opportunities to win a free copy of The Other Mr Darcy. Only three days left! I'd also like to thank Laura for the Creativ Blogger award she gave me (on the right) for the Pride and Prejudice month-long questions. I'm very flattered.

London Fog?

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Today we woke up to find a thin mist spreading over everything. It's the first "fog" we've had here in southeast London this autumn. Fog is unfamiliar enough that my daughter looked out of the window with shining eyes: "Jack Frost is here!" she exclaimed. "It means it's almost Christmas!" There wasn't a trace of frost anywhere, so clearly this strange weather event is very unfamiliar. Which got me thinking about the famed London fogs. What happened to them? My father described fogs in the fifties so thick that you would lose your way home, wondering around and around for hours without being able to see further than your hand. Even allowing for some exaggeration, we know London is notorious for its fogs. Jack the Ripper would not be the same without the swirling fog, and where would Sherlock Holmes be without the London fog? What of the famous pea-soup fog or pea souper? Or, as it was called in the 19th century, the London Particular?  The

Pride and Prejudice Contest Winners!!!

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Just an update on two more suggestions for actors to play Darcy and Elizabeth: Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattison when they're older and Audrey Hepburn with Richard Harris when they were younger *** Well, all good things must come to an end (sniff). I've very much enjoyed our month-long exploration of Pride and Prejudice, and was delighted that we had so many diverse opinions. I got to know some of you pretty well after a month of reading your posts (the extra long posts, complaints about Friday mornings, NN (who shall remain unnamed) who liked to come in right at the end) and I have to say it was a pleasure. Amazingly, some of you posted almost every time. Big applause to you! For those of you who added your opinions later when you discovered the blog or found the time, glad to see you here! For newcomers, there's always time to go back and voice your thoughts. The questions are in the archives, and you can add to them any time if the mood strikes you. Alas

Halloween and... our last Pride and Prejudice question

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Well, it's Hallowe'en, and apart from the spooky stuff, this is also the night when the barrier between the future and the present is at its thinnest, and you can try and divine who your future life partner will be. At the turn of the 19th century, there were many different traditions to determine this. Here's one of them, from Robert Burns' 1786 poem, Halloween . Jane Austen may well have read this poem, since we know she read Burns' poetry. Burning the nuts is a favorite charm. They name the lad and lass to each particular nut, as they lay them in the fire; and according as they burn quietly together, or start from beside one another, the course and issue of the courtship will be.-R.B. The auld guid-wife's weel-hoordit nits Are round an' round dividend An' mony lad an' lasses' fates Are there that night decided Some kindle couthie side by side And burn the gither trimly; Some start awa wi' saucy pride, An' jump out owre the c

Pride and Prejudice's Popularity, and question 30

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We have one additional contender so far for Mr Darcy: Eric Dane. What do you think? I picked an image where he could well be Darcy at his most arrogant. I hope people will continue to post some other ideas for either Elizabeth or Mr Darcy so I can put up the photos. Meanwhile, there was some great answers as to why more people tend to gravitate towards Pride and Prejudice rather than Jane Austen's other works: the timeless and archetypal love story which is at its centre, the witty remarks, Mr Darcy as a hero who drives the plot, the multiple themes of the novel, Elizabeth as a strong heroine, amount of exposure, its youthful energy and vibrancy, its realistic events. At the same time, in answer to the original question as to whether sequels to other novels could be successful, a number of people said that they would be very happy to read sequels to other Jane Austen novels. We're down to one more question after this one. I will be announcing our 5 winners on Sunday 1s

Alternative Mr Darcys & Elizabeths, and Pride and Prejudice question 29

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Well, we had some fun suggestions for Mr Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet, though I think we need new blood. The idea was that it would be younger versions of some of these actors that played the roles. New input would be welcome. If you can think of other actors that would work, please don't hesitate to make suggestions, and I'll put them up on a later blog. So here's what we have for Elizabeth Bennet: Zooey Deschanel, Scarlet Johansson, Anne Hathaway, Kate Winslet For Mr Darcy we have Jude Law, Liam Neeson, Adrien Brody, Richard Armitage, and James McAvoy. Pride and Prejudice Question 29 Publishers tend not to publish too many sequels that are not Pride and Prejudice , because they say they don't sell as well. Why is it that people generally seem to prefer Pride and Prejudice to Jane Austen's other novels?

Marriage in Jane Austen and Pride and Prejudice question 28

The general consensus yesterday about Jane Austen's concept of marriage was that, though sad, it's true that Jane Austen would not encourage her heroines to marry for love if there was no money. Poor Mr Darcy may never have had the chance to marry Elizabeth if he wasn't fabulously rich, though I'd prefer to think she would have loved him anyway. It's hard for us to understand this now, when there are career opportunities out there for people who are determined to improve their lot in life (though with the economic crunch, there are certain limitations), but in Jane Austen's world, few people could aspire to move beyond their class. People like Captain Wentworth are all the more "heroic" because they actually succeeded. The general objection to the Navy was that people could rise from the ranks and advance despite not having the backing one would need in the army. (If you haven't seen/read Sharpe, that's a great place to see how hard it is to

Pride and Prejudice question 27

I enjoyed all your posts yesterday. You've pinpointed yet another example of Jane Austen's independence of spirit and refusal to give in to what was fashionable at the time. Her refusal to allow sentimentality to cloud her characters' relationships sets her aside from earlier writers such as Richardson, whose works were a mix of lustfulness and morality, and from the Gothic writers of time, with their fainting and terrified heroines beating off evil villains, and from the Brontes with their brooding dark heroes, and even from those of our contemporary romances "teeming with throbbing passion" as Elizabeth B puts it. If Elizabeth and Darcy are soul-mates, it is only because they have changed and learned to adapt to each other, as Laura's Review points out, not because they are consumed by passion. Or, as kt says, Jane Austen isn't concerned with the "drama" of love, she's concerned with the practicality of it. My question today springs direc

BBC Emma Episode 4 and Pride and Prejudice Question 26

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Well, the new BBC interpretation of Emma is over. Just when I was really getting into it! As I don't want to introduce any spoilers (as if everyone doesn't know what happened!) I won't talk about it in any detail except that I found it very satisfying. Jonny Lee Miller could never rival Mr Darcy for romance, but he plays his role as Mr Knightley admirably. Certainly this is the most romantic production of Emma I've seen. I really loved the way Garai's Emma developed gradually from a really naive, overconfident young woman into a responsible adult who recognizes that people's lives are not to be trifled with, and realizes the very serious consequences of doing so. I can't help marvelling at the versatility of Sandy Welch, who can move from the dark grit of Gaskell's North and South and the intensity of Jane Eyre to produce a light and airy piece like Emma . My overall evaluation: Too slow at the beginning (personally, I'd cut the first 20 minute

Pride and Prejudice Question 25

We're almost at the end of a long month of quite challenging questions. For those of you who've been following along, great job! We're in the home stretch! Don't lose energy now! For those of you who're just joined us -- feel free to jump in! Pride and Prejudice Question 25 What role does Lady Catherine play in Pride and Prejudice. Would you call her role positive or negative?

Elizabeth Bennet's Endearing Qualities, and Pride and Prejudice question 23

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Well, there was no disagreement about Elizabeth being a very likeable heroine! I would have been shocked if there had been. Among her positive qualities people named her affection towards her sister (Laura's Reviews), her determination and ability to stand up to society and marry for love (Meredith), her lack of self-consciousness (Tracygrrrl) and her ability to laugh at her mistakes and move on (Elizabeth B). Can you think of other qualities which make Elizabeth so endearing? You can add to the answers any time. Well, it's raining here in South London. You may think that's the norm here, but in fact it always seems to take us by surprise. People turn very surly on rainy days. It's not at all like when I lived in Oregon, where there would be long stretches when you didn't see the sun at all. Over there, you get used to the on-off drizzle, and of course you have all the jokes about moss growing between your toes, and about recognizing people who weren't

Pride and Prejudice Question 23

I won't post a response to yesterday's questions here, as I posted an exceedingly long comment already. There isn't any consensus about whether Elizabeth sees Caroline as a rival. In many senses, asking whether Elizabeth unconsciously perceived Caroline as a rival goes against the time period. Since the idea of the unconscious didn't yet exist, JA herself, at least, wouldn't have thought about it that way. Still, it's fascinating to look back and see if and how writers who are so very skilled at portraying human nature were able to portray this aspect even if the concept didn't exist. I think that's part of why the production of Emma is a bit jarring at the beginning. It's trying to bring in a psychological reading of the novel by giving a background to the characters. I don't think it works initially, but as the play unfolds I can see that it brings a new dimension to the character. Should we interpret classics using modern concepts? It

Pride and Prejudice Question 22

Your enthusiasm is so infectious I think I might rush off and watch Pride and Prejudice yet again, even though I did a marthon viewing just a bit more than a month ago of the Firth version. I'm glad some of you mentioned the Macfadyen version, too. Yes, those gazes are really heart melting, aren't they? My question for today is something that came up earlier in discussion. A point was raised that Caroline never really took Elizabeth seriously as a rival until the end, despite her catty behavior, because she could never have believed Darcy could  be serious about someone like Elizabeth. At the same time, Elizabeth's flawed viewpoint presents Caroline almost immediately as very disagreeable, despite Jane's protests that they were perfectly nice to her. Putting the two together, here is my question. Pride and Prejudice Question 22 How much do Caroline and Elizabeth consciously or unconsciously see each other as rivals throughout the story?

Emma Episode 3 and Pride and Prejudice Question 21

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Finally caught up with Emma on the BBC iplayer, and I have to say I really enjoyed this episode. I confess that Emma grows on me. Now that I know where Welch is going with it, I rather like it. (from Shootastic) Much as I loved the previous versions of Emma, Garai's makes the most sense. It explains why she's so much into matchmaking: tied down to her father and his ailments, unable to travel and see the world, having few young people in Highbury to associate with. This is most definitely an aspect of Emma that is brought to light. The fact that she is childish and in need of guidance, too. In the past, I always wondered what she saw in Knightly (sorry, Knightly fans). But now I can see that she does need someone to keep her in check, and Knightly is perfect for her. The romance blossoms, by the way, and Knightly redeems himself as a hero. I also loved the dancing. This is the first time I've actually seen the illustrations of Regency dancing put into practice, and I w

November is National Novel Writing Month

Well, it  looks like things haven't changed that much in two hundred years. You've named most of the characters in Pride and Prejudice as people you could come across today! No one mentioned Mr Collins, I noticed. The end of November is coming closer, as is the time for the draw. I really can't believe how quickly this month has passed! As a reminder, for copyright reasons, the contest is open only to those in the US and Canada. I'm looking forward especially to seeing who the lucky person is who is going to win that Grand Prize! At the moment I'm gearing up for National Novel Writing month, a misnomer of course because it's pretty international. NaNoWriteMo, if you haven't heard of it, is a frantic month of writing in which your goal is to produce a 50,000 word novel by the end of November, and is a wonderful goal setting exercise. This will be my third year doing it. I haven't done anything with the "novels" I wrote during this month, but

Pride and Prejudice Question 19

Well, I do admit it's difficult to pick out just one passage/section out of the book. I would have picked most of the ones you picked, as they're really hillarious. I like this passage, both because it's funny but also it's an unusual moment in which we suddenly see Elizabeth from Darcy's perspective. "I cannot talk of books in a ball-room; my head is always full of something else." "The present always occupies you in such scenes -- does it?" said he, with a look of doubt. "Yes, always," she replied, without knowing what she said, for her thoughts had wondered from the subject..." Exquisite! A few skilful strokes of the pen, and you have it! And now to my new question: Pride and Prejudice Question 19 Jane Austen is often praised for her knowledge of human character. If you had to choose a character in P&P who was the most “human” in the sense of being someone you could easily meet in the world today (and isn’t typi

These are my favorite things and Pride and Prejudice Question 18

Today's the end of my official Blog Tour, which ends with a bang (not a whimper) since Fresh Picks have chosen  The Other Mr Darcy  as an official Pick for today! I'm very flattered because this isn't a paid ad. The Fresh Picks are chosen by a number of readers who vote for the novel. The Blog Tour has been a great experience, and I'm sure I'll be having withdrawal symptoms. I was having such a good time reading the reactions to my interviews, meeting people, and answering questions. Sigh. Now I suppose I'll have to settle down and actually write! I still have the Pride and Prejudice contest going strong here, however, which is wonderful. As usual, I loved your answers, which this time seem to be pretty unanimous. The verdict then, is that Elizabeth is every bit as proud at the beginning as she was at the end, but she has come to recognize Mr Darcy's emotional generosity and his willingness to give without return, which is much more "humbling"

Jane Austen's Villains and Question 17

The reponses to the question yesterday about Wickham overall articulated an issue in Jane Austen that is really fascinating, and that is, her way of depicting her villains, more particularly her male villains. As Laura pointed out, even though they do terrible things that we condemn whole heartedly, they somehow seem to get away with it, perhaps because they continue to be "charming" in spite of being caught out, or perhaps because of the general attitude of Regency society towards bad boys, rakes, and sharps, who were never really held accountable, unless they did something against the nobility, in which case duels were really the only way to respond. There was the legal system, of course, but that was so slow and so public (especially when it came to a women's reputation) that it was rarely the first recourse. In fact, in my novel The Other Mr Darcy , I have a discussion about the issue of making duelling illegal at the time, in which I let my characters have their say.

Dancing with Mr Darcy and Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice Question 16

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                (a collection of short stories inspired by Jane Austen and Chawton House) Yesterday I attended the launch of Dancing with Mr Darcy at "London's most famous bookshop," which is... Foyles, of course (established 1903). Before the event, I met up with fellow author Jane Odiwe ( Lydia Bennet's Story and soon to be released  Willoughby's Return ) in Leicester Square. I really enjoyed comparing notes and discussing our reasons for choosing less popular characters in Jane Austen's cannon to write about. We sauntered down full-of-life Charing Cross Road, narrowly avoiding being run over by the abundant bicycle rickshaws (pedicabs) on our way to Foyles. I couldn't help reimagining the scene in my mind, with the rickshaw runners carrying ladies to the theatre or a ball amidst the bustle of carriages instead of cars. At the entrance to the Gallery at Foyles we were met by Helena Earnshaw, from Honno, the Welsh publishers of the book, and, win

Mr Darcy's Marriage, and Pride and Prejudice Question 15

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I can't believe it, but we're already half way through the Pride and Prejudice questions, and it has passed so quickly. It's been much better that I could ever have expected. I really didn't think the discussions would be so varied and so ... long(?). Just kidding. I love the long answers. It shows how much you all have to say about Pride and Prejudice, and of course, I have a lot to say. Of course yesterday's question is in the realm of speculation, and as such there can't be any wrong or right answer because we don't know enough. By and large, most of you discarded Anne, though of course, as kt says, family wishes and duty may have prevailed, given the fact that he was very concerned with family connections when he proposed initially to Elizabeth. He certainly was not happy to have fallen in love and gone against them! He gave no sign of favoring Anne. Yet at the same time, he and his cousin Col. Fitzwilliam did make it a habit of going and staying with

Pride and Prejudice Question 14

A variety of reactions here to Longbourn in comparison to Netherfield, though overall, everyone seems to agree that Longbourn is more chaotic, while Netherfield is more proper and well kept. If you're like Meredith and Laura Hartness, you find that the chaos adds as sense of warm and family. Others, like jnanj, think the chaos as a humorous reflection of the dysfunctional inhabitants. Certainly, as people pointed out, the two households, especially the number of servants, are far apart. I should point out that in the 1995, Netherfield is accurately shown to have a lot of male footmen and servants. Male servants at that time were much more expensive, so they indicated wealth and status. On to the next question: Pride and Prejudice Question 14 Knowing Mr Darcy's snobbish attitude before he met Elizabeth, would Mr Darcy have have married his cousin Anne or Caroline Bingley? Why/Why not? 

BBC Emma, Episode 2, and Pride and Prejudice Question 13

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On Sunday I watched the second episode of the new production of Emma, staring Ramola Garai. I have to say it's growing on me. The first episode grated. It took such a long time to introduce the characters and set the background (including Emma's mother in a coffin) that I found it difficult to get involved in it. (Blake Ritson) This second episode, however, shows a great deal of promise. Two characters in particular stand out. Blake Ritson as Mr Elton provides such a wonderful mix of smooth sensuality (he can certainly use his voice to good effect!) and creepy calculation that I'm beginning to think he's the best Mr Elton so far. And Mr Woodhouse's fretfulness, which I usually find quite irritating, is so well done that I find him adorable. I'm actually looking forward to seeing the next episode. As for yesterday's question, high scores for those of you who answered yesterday, for originality at the very least. JaneGS, I love your comparison of Pride an

Perfect Accord: Elizabeth loves Darcy! and Pride and Prejudice Question 12

What happened to you all? How did such perfect accord happen? jnaj, what did you do to them? Is it possible that there is absolutely no controversy about the question: did Elizabeth love Darcy?? I suppose, given that Pride & Prejudice provided the blueprint for one of the most basic plots upon which many romance novels afterwards were based, it makes no sense to question whether the hero and heroine really love each other. So, without much ado, on to the next question, which is related, but which requires a little more work. [I did give you a break]. In my Fallen Angels Review guest blog, I talk about Pride and Prejudice as a blueprint, and compare it to the Cinderella story (scroll down the page to find it). In what way is Pride and Prejudice an archetypal love story, one that we see over and over in romance, and in what other ways is it totally unique? (reading the guest blog will give you a starting point, I hope).

Dinner in St James's, Madam? and Pride and Prejudice Question 11

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To judge by the discussion yesterday, I was (perhaps mistakenly) taking for granted the fact that Elizabeth does fall in love with Darcy. But reading your comments, especially jnaj's, made me wonder if this is something which needs to be discussed. So, at the risk of being a sacreligious here, I'm going to ask this as my next question. Meanwhile, this has been an eventful week for me. As well as having several guest appearances on blogs as wonderful and diverse as Books Like Breathing, The Burton Review, Bloody Bad Books, Austenprose, The Long and Short of It, and Love Romance Passion, I've had a couple of new reviews. In her review on Bloody Bad, Katrina picked up on an added dimension of Robert Darcy: his position as an American on British soil during the war, and his reliance on Caroline for the nuances of English polite society. Her conclusion: "just what I needed on a rainy Saturday night." Marie Burton provides a detailed review of the plot and cast of