My article on Willougbhy’s Apology in Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility has been published.

By the end of work today, I was a jittery wreck.

I had too much coffee, the (awesome, fascinating and informative) FHU with Google reps combined with the Media Contact List From Hell* (that I just can’t escape) to cause severe Information Overload, I spent the day jumping from one project to another before I could even make a dent in the first and I found out I was rejected for an internship I really wanted – and the rejection came the day after I submitted my application.

Whew.

Luckily my dry cleaning was ready for pick-up tonight, so I came home to my peacoat finally ready for fab winter evenings, a cute vest I’d forgotten I owned until last week and a pair of slacks I accidentally bought in a ‘long’ fit (What the hell was I thinking? My legs are about seven inches long.) hemmed so I can debut them tomorrow.

And I needed to do a little adventuring for a Secret Santa gift. My department has its own little holiday shindig tomorrow night (after an incredible company party last week at a chic restaurant – we’re talking platefuls of ambrosia and an open bar), and I’ve been a little slow on shopping for my recipient.

I had a place in mind from which to buy a gift card, but thanks to my awful sense of direction and only a 2-second glance at Google maps before throwing on the peacoat (love) and heading out, eleven blocks later I had no idea how to get to the place.

I know it’s not ON Wash Ave but I thought it was close to it…. Locust, right? Wait…Locust runs parallel to this street. Ohhh sh–

I called Kristin for the address.

While waiting for her to text me the address, I continued ambling through the brisk evening, and I discovered a plethora of niche stores and quaint eateries I didn’t know were around. After four months of thinking downtown sucks, suddenly I’ve found it might be worth exploring a little more closely.

My favourite finds? A tiny veterinary office/pet supply store (and they sold cats?) that will treat rats(!!!) and a Thai place that I want to check out.

I also listened to some music that made me think a lot about the new plans and goals I’ve been turning over in the back of my mind for the last few months. For the first time, I have some tentative ideas about where I’m going and how I’m getting there. It’s all mostly a jumble still, but I think I finally am seeing some clarity in the midst of the mess.

An hour and a half after I left, I made it back to my apartment. My ears and thighs were red and frozen, but I felt more relaxed than I have since August. I also have a strange feeling that I’m starting to not mind the cold** so much anymore….

Of course, the store I was initially looking for was closed so I’ll need to go back on my lunch tomorrow, but that’s alright. That insignificant detail somehow made the journey that much better.

*Despite my complaints, working on this list has been all sorts of useful. It’s given me good reason to check out a lot of business publications and has made me very familiar with a lot of the big names – from reporters to EICs to outlets I didn’t know previously.

**’Cold’ ends at 32f. Mercury lower than that is still classified as ‘Cold as balls’ and is still unacceptable.

Jane Austen would have been 234 today

I’m a little late in the day posting this update – but happy 234^th birthday Jane Austen!

Austen’s enduring popularity is proven, in part, by the uncountable number of spinoffs her life and books have spawned. Why has Jane Austen resonated with so many authors and readers? In my opinion, feisty heroines with a knack for clever dialogue will never get old, along with social commentary via drawing room gossip. Plus, as far as romance with handsome gentlemen is concerned, I think I agree with my grandmother on this one: leaving something to the imagination is just as titillating (if not more so) than the spiciest sex scene. What do you think?

It would be impossible to name all the Jane Austen-themed books, but read on for a few covered in BookPage, spanning genres from self-help to mystery:

Kristina Springer’s modern-day Emma, The Espressologist
Shannon Hale’s Austenland, which Trisha dubbed “Jane Austen with soul”
Laurie Viera Rigler’s tale of time-traveling to Jane Austen’s day, Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict
Karen Joy Fowler’s hit, The Jane Austen Book Club
Lauren Henderson’s self-help book Jane Austen’s Guide to Dating
Tracy Kiely’s Murder at Longbourne, where Pride and Prejudice meets cozy mystery
Beth Patillo’s “smart chick lit” Jane Austen Ruined My Life
Cathleen Schine’s February 2010 release, The Three Weissmanns of Westport, a re-imagined Sense and Sensibility

Perhaps the most unlikely adaptation is Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. On December 11, The Telegraph announced that Natalie Portman would star as Elizabeth Bennet in a film adaptation of the spoof. (Read more about Jane vs. the supernatural beings.)

Oh, and by the way: As much as I love Pride and Prejudice, my favorite Austen novel is Mansfield Park. What about you?

I hope 2009 was the year that finally made Jane Austen roll over in her grave.  If it didn’t happen in 2006 with the release of Pride and Prejudice with Keira Knightly butchering the role of Elizabeth Bennet, then I’m sure the 2009 release of the book Pride and Prejudice and Zombies could have done it.  But, in the off-chance she could stomach that (and not to mention Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters), then the film release of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies HAS to be the last straw.

Oh, the horror!

Becaus I haven’t read the book, I cannot critique it, but the title alone is enough to make me weep for what has happened to Austen’s work.  Really, we had to introduce zombies into my favorite story of all time?  It’s really no wonder that children (and adults) today won’t pick up a classic – or even a respectable book.  Instead we get books like Twilight, which you really don’t want to get me started on.  I certainly have my theories on the dumbing down of the American public thanks to pop culture, and these types of books and movies play right into them. 

The popularity of this book overwhelms me; it currntly ranks #67 in book sales on Amazon.  Some will say that Austen’s book is so powerful that nothing can spoil it.  However, I am a purist at heart, and the only way I want my future daughters to be introduced to this book is through the original.  Not by a zombie.

I think I’m going to force my sister to read some decent literature and turn the tide one kid at a time.  So, Erin, if you are reading this – get ready!

To take care of my self imposed responsibility to post a blog entry every day, I’ll just keep referring people to other websites for the whole month of December (what a poorly constructed sentence, tsk, tsk).  Anyway – quick go here:  One Scheme of Happiness…. to view another great video from Alan Rickman’s talk at the Hudson Union Society.  Mr. Rickman is addressing a question about Ang Lee and Sense and Sensibility.  BTW – thank you very, very much to Katie Benedict for letting us “virtually” attend the lecture through her videos.  We look forward to the next installment.

Friday night a few of my girlfriends and myself gathered for the inaugural meeting of our NEW Jane Austen Book Club.  Indian food was on the menu and the topic of discussion for the evening: Sense and Sensibility; Austen’s first novel (and my personal favorite).

Indian food = YUM!

None of us (us being Caroline, Adora, Rhonda, and myself) had ever moderated a book club gathering before – since this meeting was scheduled to take place at my home I took charge by using scholarly questions from sparknotes.com.  I assumed the website was a great place to start since a majority of high school students use the site for the required readings (To Kill a Mockingbird, Jane Eyre, etc.) of English classes across America.  The questions got us off to a great start and discussion naturally started flowing from there.

It was decided that we were all enamored with Colonel Brandon and would have willing professed our love for him in Chapter 8.  The group was unsure as to why Austen felt it was necessary for Willoughby to give “his side of the story” to Elinor when Marianne was ill.    I felt it was a cop out – Willoughby made some very poor decisions and brought on the series of events that followed.  Losing Marianne was a result of his reckless (and unforgivable) actions of the time and I did not feel sorry for him.  Personally, Marianne starts out as my favorite character but as the story continues and she gains her “sense” I am disappointed.  I wanted Marianne to have the passion for Colonel Brandon she had for Willoughby.  I wanted her character to continue to wear her heart on her sleeve and experience emotions that were so often surpressed by societal norms.  Marianne loses her  ‘fire’ as she matures and it seems as if a part of her died when Willoughby broke her heart.  By the end of the book Elinor and Marianne are mirror images of each other – both boring and both emotionally withdrawn.  I wish Elinor would lighten up a bit – talk about a Debbie Downer.  Actually, now that I think about it I guess she was simply being emo – pining for a man she thinks she can’t be with and won’t admit to having feelings for – for 300 pages.  I also wish that Austen would elaborate on the actually marriages of the sisters so the reader can experience their ‘assumed’ happiness – you already wrote 300+ pages; whats 50 more?

Did you know Pride and Prejudice and Zombies has ninjas?

Reading Jane Austen isn’t anything new for me but getting together with a group of friends to discuss is certainly a new experience.  I haven’t been involved in a literary discussion since a Monsters and Literature course at UC (which was an amazing class focused on Frankenstein, Dracula, etc).  Rhonda and Caroline had never read Austen before this and really enjoyed Sense and Sensibility.

At the end of the meeting I had a little surprise for the girls.  I bought The Jane Austen Book Club movie and Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (which has now been added to our book club required readings) for each of them.

Our next meeting is January 29th at Caroline’s house to discuss Pride and Prejudice.

Have you started your own book club?  How did you organize it? How many people participate?  Do you have any ‘best practices’ tips?

From this weeks Jam Cellar email, a swing dance newsletter I write:

Random Facts about the Victorian Era

If you have read this letter for more than a few weeks then you probably know by now that I have a love for 19th Century Literature, and am quick to make a consumption joke. But it’s particularly bad these days because I’m working on the third draft of a novel, and my lead character is from the Victorian era. So, I’ve been buried in research, and since I’m not currently in my usual mindset for a Jam Cellar email, I thought I’d just give you a peak at my Victorian obsession by giving you a bunch of random facts I’ve dug up in my research. It has nothing to do with swing dancing. But that does remind me of something that does involve swing dancing. It’s something I said this last weekend while teaching a workshop at Penn State University.

While in class, we were teaching the leaders how to lead a move called swivels in Balboa. In the move, the leader moves the followers body quickly so that her hips whip back and forth. To lead it, it’s easier if the leader moves his hips himself. To explain this, the following came out of my mouth. “So Leaders, for this to work best, we really have to put our hips into it. And believe me, I know that dorky guys like myself aren’t used to putting our hips into anything.”

I meant it innocently, but then someone lost it and Kate, my partner, suddenly covered her mouth and busted out laughing. It was at this point I realized what I had said. So, anyway, onto:

Random Facts about the Victorian Era

1 “Going to university” meant either going to Cambridge or Oxford. There, one did not attend classes; they simply had a tutor come a few hours a week, and attended a few lectures. One was not even necessarily expected to graduate with a degree; it was mainly a place where the wealthy youth could go and meet other wealthy youth to get connections for when they were older.

2 One regular crime committed in the era was the abduction of children for their clothes. Well-dressed youth would be captured, stripped, and left running home in their underwear. This was one of the reasons chaperones were often employed.

3 If a single man called another single woman by her first name, it implied engagement. If you have seen the Emma Thompson version of Sense and Sensability, there is a part where befuddled Hugh Grant befuddledly calls Ms. Dashwood “Elanor,” and says he’d like to ask her a question. By calling her her first name, Elanor knows exactly what the question will be-alas, he doesn’t get to finish. If you haven’t seen Emma Thompson’s version of Sense and Sensibility, buy it now on amazon.com.

4 Shark Week could just as easily be called “Seal Death Week.” I only mention this because I just got interrupted writing the email because my room mate, who just got an enormous TV and a blue ray player, put on Planet Earth, the incredible nature documentary that took five years to make and has slow motion pans of changing seasons that look like CGI but aren’t. It shows you, among four thousand other things that make you go “woah,” a slow-motion shot of a great white jumping out of the water eating a seal, so clear you can see the individual drops of water and blood shoot out of the whole affair, and the two-ton shark is COMPLETELY OUT OF THE WATER, and it made me think they could probably get away with making a Shark Week “Seal Holocaust Week,” like mentioned before. Also, the slow-motion shark footage reminded me of a cat for some reason.

Sorry, back to

Random Facts about The Victorian Era

5 Whist is like Spades, except not as exciting.

6 The “delicate” lady’s place in fashion probably lead in many ways to the Victorian woman’s high death rate. As a healthy appetite, labor, exercise, and spending a lot of time outdoors was considered manly, women didn’t eat a lot, hardly ever got good exercise, and spent a lot of time indoors, where the air was stagnant and germs ran amok. The working men got the best food and meat, and the women in the family looked after the sick, who coughed in their faces all day. Many of the middle and upper class women suffered from “Green Sickness”, which describes the skin of an anemic person. This was due to the lack of iron in people’s foods.

7 Tuberculosis (the chronic pulmonary type was called “consumption”) was the main killer of the 19th century. It accounted for half of the deaths of women from age 15 to 35; more than the dangers of childbirth.

8Until the 1890s, when microscopes proved diseases existed, most learned people believed that bad odors caused sickness.

9 Rugby was invented because the prep schools (like the one called Rugby) had added their own rules to the game of football (soccer), such as picking up the ball and punching each other. The next time that stereotypical Southern good-old-boy football fans talk about the British being dandies, remind them that the British version of football has less penalties and only sweaters for padding.

10Why don’t we have more manly sports that require sweaters? I myself have only played touch football, and that only poorly. What’s strange, though, is that, in college, my friend’s intramural basketball team needed me to come in on a game against the School of Theology’s intramural team, who were known for throwing elbows, tripping people, and faking fouls. By which I mean, they were lying, dirty dogs, and your Episcopal priest –the one who’s telling you to turn the other cheek and asks you to love your neighbor–is possibly one of them. Anyway, things got rough, there was no way we would win, and consequently I was called in. I got thrown on the ground and the “theolog” somehow made it seem like I had fouled him. “Save the whine for sunday” my friend David Low said (I’m serious), and with a mind bent on revenge, I suddenly became a rugby player. If one of their guys got the ball, I more or less threw myself selflessly towards him and did whatever was in my means to get the ball from him, short of kicking him in the cod, which would have moved me to the Australian Football level of athlete. Imgaine a tall, dorky white guy flying will all his 170 pound awkwardness at a priest built like a cathedral, and basically surprising the ball away from him. I left that night bruised and battered, knowing the strange glory of having fought for good, and in doing so, having had a future-priest cuss me out. Oops. I forgot. Where were we? Oh, yes:

Random Facts about The Victorian Era

10 For the entire century, London smelled exactly like soot and horse poo. (There is no London Fog, either; that’s apparently a crack about all the smoke from Industrial period). If you have been there recently, this might make you think better of the foul smell that comes to you right before the Tube train. Your boogers, however, will still be black. They haven’t fixed that yet.

11 Port, to the Victorians, was the masculine drink, and sherry the feminine drink.

12In Victorian England, class did not depend on money– a working man who just won a small fortune of money at the horse tracks, and could afford a “first class” ticket on the train home, wouldn’t dream of it, knowing what class he was in. A middle class person who was broke was still middle-class. Family connections, where you were born and lived, these were more important than the money aspect. People were expected to live the way their classes dictated, and acting either above or below your class was considered wrong by people in all classes.

13The term “Esquire” was used not by lawers, but by men aspiring to be gentlemen and the landed gentry. The “esquire” supposedly comes from the word “squire,” the apprentice to a Knight.

Alright, I have already finished reading this section of Sense and Sensibility, so I took the time this morning to go over what I’ve read and make comments, etc.

Sense and Sensibility

I was impressed with how short a section could move the action to Devonshire so quickly. The two adaptations, Emma Thompson’s 1995 and Andrew Davies’ 2008, extended the Norland activities, so when I went into reading this, I expected to come across almost the same type of stuff that they’d dramatized.

But no, it seems in the novel, we get a shorter, far quicker glimpse of Norland. The opening pages confused me–there had been another gentleman who’d owned Norland before Mr Henry Dashwood, which I didn’t know about. Then exposition quickens the pace and moves us to Mr Henry Dashwood’s death, his son’s subsequent promise to him, etc etc.

Character changes/fill-in are abundant between book and adapts. I suppose I shouldn’t be so surprised with this, but Mr John Dashwood’s character description surprised me. The adapts seem to portray John as a sort-of caring but easily persuaded man (these days we’d call him whipped). Especially in the 2008 adapt, John seems homely and wants to give his half-sisters a lot of money. But in the novel he is portrayed as being just as mean-spirited as his wife, which doesn’t necessarily fit in with the dialogue between him and Fanny.

Lady Middleton has more depth here as well. In 2008, she hardly says a word and seems rather negative or self-serving. But in the book, she’s calm if reserved and proud of her eldest child. Colonel Brandon’s introduction is as rapid as that of Edward’s. One minute he’s not there, then suddenly he is. We get a description of him after-the-fact, provided by Elinor.

I loved the line on Mrs Jennings: “And she had now therefore nothing to do but to marry all the rest of the world.” This amply states Mrs Jennings’ main goal in life in one sentence and makes her out to be a caricature at the same time.

I was also surprised that we did not get to see Edward coming to Norland. His relationship with Elinor is so distant from us in the novel that I was surprised when the narration slipped in Edward’s name. Like, what? Edward’s here? I want more of their romance. It doesn’t seem as believable to me that Edward and Elinor fall in love as it does in the adapts because we don’t even see them together before the idea of marriage between them is presented.

In the adapts, we are fortunate enough to have visuals of Edward and Elinor together. In 1993, they persuade Margaret to come out of hiding but tricking her. Then Elinor watches as Edward and Margaret go outside and battle. They take rides together. In 2008, we see them walking outside, talking about the death of parents and what Edward’s family expects of him. She beats a carpet when he comes upon her. Etc.

To me, all of this is very effective for the building of a romance between them. But perhaps the distance of this relationship in the novel is to distance the readers from expecting a marriage between them. The women in the family get excited at the prospect of the marriage, and the adapts seem to induce the viewers to get excited as well. But being privy to the marriage third-hand may let the reader know that there is trouble up ahead and the marriage may not come to pass.

Or perhaps it is to reflect Elinor’s personality. Elinor is restrained; she wouldn’t show her emotions unless the situation absolutely warranted it, or her feelings her more moderate. But with Marianne and Willoughby, we are shown an abundance of their love because both of those lovers are very open in their feelings. In contrast, the love between Elinor and Edward is hidden because they are both reserved. Hmm. I already feel smarter.

Some things that I was thinking of during the threshold period between Norland and Barton Cottage: what does Jane Austen mean by furniture? At one point, she mentions that the furniture, which is being sent to Devonshire by the sea, is “household linen, plate, china, and books” (21). How is any of that furniture? And what other pieces of furniture would Mrs Dashwood send by water, since the cottage was ready furnished? I was also entertained by Mrs Dashwood’s ideas of renovating the cottage, making it bigger, when (if) she had any money in the spring. My mother and I hardly have any money to buy new paint for the walls, and Mrs Dashwood believes she’ll have money for construction. I doubt it.

Next up! The horse! How insipid could Marianne be that she wanted her family to starve so that she could have Willoughby’s horse? It irks me that she thinks only of herself and doesn’t think of the money that such large-size gifts would require to maintain. Yes, Marianne, how romantic a notion it would be to ride a horse that is “exactly calculated to carry a woman” (don’t get me started on the misogyny of that line), and starve yourself at the same time too!

I was impressed that Andrew Davies chose to include the conversation around the horse between Marianne and Elinor and Willoughby. Willoughby accidentally walks in and discovers just how poor they are, but doesn’t turn away from her, keeps on loving her. I think that is the only part in 2008 that raises his character in my estimation.

I don’t really like Willoughby at all. I feel so sorry for Colonel Brandon throughout the book and both adapts. Though I like Dominic Cooper, who plays Willoughby in 2008, I just can’t get into him. I don’t feel sorry for him at all.

I do admit that I am one of those people who will probably have seen the adapts before reading the book (exceptions: Twilight and HP).  Someone should do a study on what people get from adaptations versus from the books themselves.

So…

Book: Sense and Sensibility

Author: Jane Austen

Section: Chapters 1-12

POV: 3rd-person limited

I’ve already Twittered the titles of these books, which I’ve started reading, but I will post them here as well.

Book 1: The Sweet Hereafter by Russell Banks

Sense and Sensibility

Book 2: Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen (Chapters 1-12)

Gah! I’ve been fooling around with these images, but I can’t seem to get them the way I want them, so I’ll just stop and ignore them. I’ll blog as I go.

Today’s bad boy of choice is Hugh Laurie.  He is an awesome actor.  I loved him before he became the mean Dr. Gregory House.  He is a great comedian-  he was amazing in the shows he did as Wooster in the Jeeves and Wooster series.   He also played Prinny in the Black adder series  

absolutely hilarious.  He was part of the Cambridge College players with Stephen Fry and Emma Thompson.  He played in Sense and Sensibility (a precursor to Dr House maybe?  Same sarcasm). 

And  he is just a great all around actor.  He was even the dad in Stuart Little.   Very versatile.  And, he’s cute, to boot!  Tall like I like them.   Enjoy.

Today’s Isis Ceramic’s flower brick is surprisingly full of roses.Not rose in the best of condition, admittedly…But roses still and in the first week in December I don’t consider that a bad achievement

The flower brick is of a nautical scene-and the blue and white looks sufficiently wintery for today, which began frosty.

Just look at the wind blowing though that leafless tree

I’m sure Marianne Dashwood of Sense and Sensibility would approve of it and its picturesque bending…However these days I take Edward Ferrars’s side in the argument . I too prefer to see a well grown tree…

“I am convinced,” said Edward, “that you really feel all the delight in a fine prospect which you profess to feel. But, in return, your sister must allow me to feel no more than I profess. I like a fine prospect, but not on picturesque principles. I do not like crooked, twisted, blasted trees. I admire them much more if they are tall, straight and flourishing. I do not like ruined, tattered cottages. I am not fond of nettles, or thistles, or heath blossoms. I have more pleasure in a snug farm-house than a watch-tower — and a troop of tidy, happy villagers please me better than the finest banditti in the world.”

To today’s flowers…

Jane Austen has provided us with a few blooms…

OK so its really  Jayne Austin….I can never get away with that one, can I? I do wish avid Austin would turn towards Jane Austens characters for inspiration rather than Chaucer of Shakespeare….Imagine what a Darcy  rose might  resemble? Or an Elinor Dashwood White , flushing pink? Lady Susan would be crimson surely? I think Elizabeth Bennet might be a golden yellow, with her optimistic and happy nature…..perhaps someone from the Austin corporation might take the hint……

It has very little scent left, but I think this  rose is exquisite.

The Badly Pruned Hebe is providing a lot of the structure for this arrangement.

And the blooms, which are freakishly early or late depending on your view, are still fragrant. I have no idea why it is in bloom now when it should be dormant…

The other roses are Little White Pet with two tiny pink buds

And Yvonne Rabier the old Edwardian Polyantha which still has a few blooms and decorative buds on the bush.

And that’s it…I wonder if any roses will survive into next week…we shall see.

And so it only remains for me to wish you a good weekend My Reader, and a happy and peaceful one too…And to apologise for the tardy nature of todays post:my internet server has been down all day…I’m not in a particularly happy frame of mind!

“She raised herself from the ground, but her foot had been twisted in the fall, and she was scarcely able to stand. The gentleman offered his services, and percieving that her modesty declined what her situation rendered necessary, took her up in his arms without further delay, and carried her down the hill.”

Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen p 36.

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along!

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

So what is it about Jane Austen that captivates her readers? That is a question that I am waiting to find the answer to. I mean here she has written only of women who are waiting to get married or are already married. I agree that at one point I was a major fan and then suddenly I lost interest. I mean: The point of marriage in her books seemed so banal. Like my boyfriend says, “It suits the Indian aesthetics. They can relate to her heroines who lead a provincial life and marriage is the only end to happiness”. True, isn’t it?

Pride and Prejudice to top the list talks of 5 sisters – capable in every single way, talent and otherwise and yet yearning to walk down the aisle with men of substantial income. Yes, may be I get it. The fact that women did not work in those times. Therefore the only occupation was to find them an eligible groom. Have things changed much? At least not in India. The same situation exists around the world as well, I am sure.

I loved Austen’s dry humour while I was growing up. I thought Mrs. Bennett and Mrs. Dashwood (of Sense and Sensibility) were fabulous when it came to comic timing and yet I also think that probably Ms. Austen should not have emphasized on marriage much. In her defense though there is also the fact that women in her novels just happened to get embroiled in the so-called concept of matrimony. They could not do much in the 17th century, could they? How could they defy their parents? We still don’t in our country.

All said and done, there have been times that I have loved reading Mansfield Park, Sense and Sensibility and Northanger Abbey. I think I have outgrown them, however one never knows when the need to read about clashing egos of men and women and marriage in-between arises.

Thanks to J Kaye’s Book Blog for hosting this weekly meme.

Happy Thanksgiving Week!

Last week I finished up one book. If you remember, my next book up was going to be Fallen by Lauren Kate, but I got a message from J Kaye about doing a read-along/twitter chat. So we are going to do that, but not until after the Thanksgiving holidays (if you also have an ARC of Fallen and want to join in the chat, let me know).

That left me wondering what I should read next. I have had no luck in completing any books for the Back to School challenge, so I decided to start reading Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen. It’s a little slow going, and with a festive holiday week ahead, I wanted to switch things up for this week.

So, I am picking The Lost Symbol back up (after reading where my bookmark was sitting, I realized this morning it would be better to start over again, so that’s where I’m at), and then I plan to read Decoding the Lost Symbol by Simon Cox, which FSB Associates sent to me for review.

With the holidays, I will probably be a little quiet on posting, commenting and chatting – so I hope you have a wonderful week!

What will you be reading?

BOOK I COMPLETED
1. The Private Papers of Eastern Jewel by Maureen Lindley

BOOKS TO BEGIN/CONTINUE
1. The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown
2. Decoding the Lost Symbol by Simon Cox

In celebration of the publication of Willoughby’s Return, Vic (from Jane Austen Today) and I have decided to write a series of posts as Jane Austen characters from Sense and Sensibility. Recently, Lucy Ferrars wrote a letter to Elinor Ferrars – Vic is writing as Lucy and my response shows Elinor’s thoughts and point of view! We thought it might be fun to see how these sister-in-laws might behave now they are married to Robert and Edward Ferrars.

My Dear Mrs. Ferrars, (or may I call you Elinor now that we have been SISTERS for more years than I care to admit!)

I write seemingly out of the blue, for I have been the poorest of correspondents. Unfortunately, my duties as Mrs. Robert Ferrars keep me too busy to attend to this important duty as MATRIARCH of the family (now that Mrs. Ferrars, that dearest of mama-in-laws, has been laid to rest). Be assured that I have managed to apprise myself of both your and Rev. Ferrars’ well-being through Mrs. Jennings’s cheery correspondence and through my association with Mrs. John Dashwood, whose conversations have been nothing short of ENLIGHTENING.

First, let me extend my felicities on the INCREASE of your family. How you are able to accommodate the addition of even one child, much less two, given Rev. Ferrars’ modest income, astonishes me. Your methods of economy are laudable, for I assuredly could not have contrived to be comfortable with twice the amount of his living, and yet somehow you have managed.

The purpose of my inquiry is this: It has come to my attention that Colonel Brandon is frequently away from home and that during his current absence, Mr. and Mrs. Willoughby have ARRIVED IN TOWN to settle Mrs. Smith’s estate. Pray tell, how is Mrs. Brandon bearing up under this new development? Is there aught I can do to help the situation, for she must be torn twixt her unresolved feelings towards her former lover and a husband whose attentions are ELSEWHERE? Pray, tell me how I can be of service to you or Mrs. Brandon.

My sincere well wishes to you, Rev. Ferrars, and your dear children. If you would be so kind as to extend my courtesies to Colonel Brandon, Mrs. Middleton and Mrs. Jennings, I would be most obliged. T’would save the cost of franking additional letters, and as you have discovered firsthand, a penny saved is a penny earned.

Ever your servant,
Lucy, Mrs. Robert Ferrars

Elinor read the letter twice through. Lucy’s relationship by marriage to Edward’s brother Robert did make her a relation, but the address of sister; she felt more than a little wanting. Lucy had made it perfectly clear from the start that Elinor held no interest for her apart from being the means by which she might be invited to the Mansion house. For her own part Elinor must admit to being ashamed that the feelings she harboured of intolerance and prejudice towards Lucy were not those that a clergyman’s wife should possess, struggling with her feelings towards the woman who had once captured her husband’s heart. But, she kept her thoughts to herself and did her utmost to keep them under regulation whilst determining to behave with due civility.

Unlike Lucy, Elinor had written regularly to her sister-in-law and her husband informing them in a general and friendly way of the news from Delaford Rectory and the Mansion house. It had never surprised Elinor that Lucy had ignored her letters, and that in the last five years Robert and Lucy had only come to Delaford once shortly after they were all married. Lucy had made no secret of the fact that she found the rectory too cramped and too plain for her taste. There had been some amusement in listening to Lucy’s plans for its improvement. Her suggestions of verandahs on two sides, and a large extension complete with bow windows festooned in lace and brocade had brought a smile to Elinor’s lips, not to mention biting them as she received her advice on colour schemes, empire fripperies and new-fangled lamps. Lucy’s taste reflected the mode of the day whereas Elinor felt far more comfortable with dear, familiar objects from the past arranged with more thought to comfort than to fashion. A chair from her father’s study held pride of place in the parlour along with his writing slope arranged on Edward’s desk. The set of her mother’s breakfast china given on the occasion of their marriage sparkled in the glass-fronted cabinet that had been in the drawing room at Norland and the walls glowed with paintings executed by the mistress of Delaford Rectory during her courtship. Colonel Brandon had been very generous but as a gentleman sensitive to the feelings of others, his interventions had been made only where he felt he could be of use without offence. The rectory was very comfortable though luxuries were few, but all who entered the house felt charmed. It was true, Reverend and Mrs. Ferrars enjoyed a modest income, but what they lacked in material wealth, they more than made up for in the accumulation of other, less worldly goods. Their fortune was founded on the simple pleasures that days spent in worthwhile service to their community bring, and in the love, respect and admiration each held for the other.

Elinor sat down in her father’s chair to stroke the scrolled arms as she had often seen him do as he sat lost in thought musing over a problem. How was she to answer this letter? Could it possibly be true that the Willoughbys had returned to the neighbourhood or was Lucy bent on making mischief as usual? And if it were true – Elinor did not want to think about the possibility. Surely Mr.Willoughby would not wish to live so closely to her mother and Margaret where the likelihood of running into them might be a daily occurrence. No, impossible, that surely could not be! Besides, she had heard nothing of the matter and she was certain if Marianne had known of it, she would have confided in her. Elinor folded the letter and consigned it to the flames roaring in the grate deciding it would be best if she simply refuted the whole affair assuring Lucy that she must be quite mistaken.

The photograph is of Teigh Old Rectory which was used for Mr Collins’ rectory in the 1995 Pride and Prejudice. You can actually stay there – just imagine!

You can read our letters inspired by Lydia Bennet’s Story by clicking here

Som de fleste har fått med seg, er vesener fra underverden hete på lerretet om dagen. Mange har latt seg bite av vampyrdilla, men kan vi også gå gode for deres naboer, zombiene og øvrige monstrer?

Det mener tydeligvis amerikaneren Ben H. Winters. For anledningen har han spritet opp Jane Austens to klassikere “Pride and Prejudice” og “Sense and Sensibility”. Etter han har lagt hånden på disse verkene har de byttet navn til følgende; “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies” og “Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters”.
I en reportasje i Store Studio forrige mandag forteller Winters hvordan han lager sin egne sprøe versjoner av de gamle bøkene. Han beholder rundt 85 prosent av selve hovedhistorien, men spriter opp de kvinnelige hovedrollene og birollene så det holder. I ekte “Buff – vampyrjegeren”-stil kaster overklassekvinnene fra seg broderiet og begir seg ut på deres oppdrag i livet; å drepe zombier/ sjømonstre. I alle fall inntil de er gift…

Bøkene høres hysterisk morsomme ut! Ser ikke bort fra at jeg leser dem etter hvert;)

Sense and Sensibility was actually the first book of Jane Austen’s I read and haven’t managed to see one adaptation of. Although I have always wanted to see the 1995 Sense and Sensibility film adapted by Emma Thompson, she also joined the star studded cast which included Kate Winslet, Tom Wilkinson, Hugh Grant and Alan Rickman. Even with the incentive of all those stars I still haven’t got round to seeing this film, even managed to miss the brand new BBC adaptation televised last year. This seems to be the way unfortunately for Sense and Sensibility, not the first book Austen wrote but it was the first to be published as a novel in 1811. However it is probably the one book that is over looked the most of all Austen’s books. Pride and Prejudiced was technically written first and is loved for its irony and humour, then there is Emma that is a ‘subtle craft’ as well as witty and Mansfield Park has morality (so they say I haven’t read this one). Sense and Sensibility doesn’t fit so neatly into a box which makes it more interesting to me.

The story begins on the death of Mr Henry Dashwood who leaves his estate and money to his first wife’s son John, leaving his second wife and their three daughters Elinor, Marianne and Margaret at the mercy of John’s generosity. Mrs John Dashwood convinces her husband that he has no responsibility for his stepmother and her daughters, the small allowance he allows them is more than generous. So Elinor, Marianne, Margaret and their mother are forced to leave their family home to take the kindly offer of a cottage from their distant relatives the Middletons. Elinor is the most upset to leave as she has grown extremely attached to her brother in law Mr Ferrars. Their new cottage is situated on the Middletons estate Barton Park, the cottage is small but comfortable and the Middletons are very generous with the attention they pay to the family. Inviting the mother and sisters to come dine with them where they are introduced to the lively character of Mrs Jenkins and the dependable Colonel Brandon. Life is only to become even more complicated with the arrival of Willoughby a love interest for Marianne and the Steele sisters who have news that could shatter Elinor’s hopes for her and Mr Ferrars. Which could possible be too much for the already over burdened Elinor who is already precariously holding up the rest of her family.

Sense and Sensibility in my opinion is a perfectly formed little book, not filled with as much drama as other Austen books but just as charming and moving. Elinor is the character I really became attached to, she is a strong character much like Elizabeth Bennet in Pride and Prejudice but for different reasons. Elinor very much wants to live up to the role of a genteel young woman, as well as be the best daughter and sister she can be. No matter how she is feeling which at times can be very low, she will always make the effort to be courteous to others and comfort those she loves, rather than wallowing in her own sadness like her sister Marianne. Again Austen has created a timeless character that could be living in our own modern world, Elinor is a character I would like to be more like myself, as our world has not become less selfish since the time this book was written.  

The flow of the story is very good, when the characters are happy the story seems to flow very quickly almost like life does however when the characters are upset the story can drag. Which instead of being a criticism I feel actually works rather well as it feels like you are sharing more fully the ups and the downs of the characters, especially with Elinor. Austen had apparently originally written this story as an epistolary novel entitled Elinor and Marianne, which meant that the story was told through letters. On her second draft Austen changed it to a narrated novel and of course changed the title to Sense and Sensibility. I prefer the second title however I think it would have been really interesting to read this story through letters rather than being told by a narrator. I wonder how different the experience of reading this story would be.

If you are an existing fan of Jane Austen then of course you need to read this book, it is a very good example of her work. For everyone else if you are a fan of escaping into an nostalgic past then this will also appeal to you.

You can find me guest blogging on Fresh Fiction today talking about descriptions of Georgian dress in my books.

I’ve been very busy this last fortnight mostly talking about my book! Here’s my chat with Naida from The Bookworm.

Thank you Naida for inviting me to talk about my about my favourite Austen novel, and how it helped me to write my new book, Willoughby’s Return.

My favourite Austen novel is a difficult choice because I love them all, but, if I could only choose one, it would have to be Persuasion. Of course, Willoughby’s Return was inspired very much by Sense and Sensibility, another favourite, but my love of Persuasion is very strong, and sometimes themes and motifs from that book creep into my writing. One of these themes is of love being renewed after it is lost between the hero and heroine. I wanted to explore the idea in a different way in Willoughby’s Return. Although Marianne is very happily married, I wondered what would happen if her love was tested. If circumstances forced her to doubt her husband, and Willoughby returned to tempt her, would the love that Marianne and Willoughby had known be rekindled, or would Marianne’s “sense” prevail?

I also wanted to tell Margaret Dashwood’s story, as in Sense and Sensibility she only has a small part. I decided she was now old enough to fall in love! Enter Charles Carey – although we only hear of the Miss Careys in Sense and Sensibility, I thought it might be fun to introduce their brother. Charles is a sailor, and early on we learn he has gone to sea, and that he is strongly attached to Margaret. There are definite echoes of Persuasion here, but Mr. Carey is not her only suitor!

Finally, Jane Austen tells us that Colonel Brandon’s house is at Delaford in Dorset. I could not resist having Lyme Regis (from Persuasion) for some of the action that takes place in the book and it is also here in a village just out of Lyme that the Colonel’s ward has made her home. Marianne finds it difficult to talk about the Colonel’s ward, Eliza Williams, partly because she is the daughter of the Colonel’s “first love,” and partly because of Eliza’s past liaison with Mr. Willoughby. However, circumstances arise that are beyond Marianne’s control, and she is forced to face some ‘ghosts’ from the past.

Here’s an extract from Willoughby’s Return which was heavily inspired by Persuasion, taking place in the same setting as that book:

On the third day Marianne entered Lyme, weary but thankful she was nearing her destination. She had made occasional visits to the watering hole in the past with her sister Elinor and the children on hot sunny days and remembered them with happiness. The splendid situation of the town with the principal street almost rushing into the water looked very different in the winter light. Everywhere was shut up; only the fishermen were to be seen on the Cobb, their boats bobbing on the water, their nets prepared for fishing. In warmer weather the pleasant little bay would be lively with bathing machines and company in the season. Her eye sought the beautiful line of cliffs stretching out to the east of the town; they passed through Charmouth, backed by dark escarpment, trotting down narrow lanes and past Pinny, finally entering the village of Wolfeton Fitzpaine where the forest-trees and orchards waved bare, skeletal arms as if to hasten the warmer winds of summer.
They were soon stopped outside a cottage in the centre of the village, a neat-looking house with mullioned windows to either side of a canopied doorway over which was trained an old rambler. There was a small garden to the front behind a wicket fence with a bench under a window and a stone path winding between the flower beds, where the first signs of spring were starting to sprout in the form of green shoots. Now she was here, Marianne felt very apprehensive. With anxious fears attending every step, she was assisted down from the coach and took a deep breath as she looked toward the house. Before she took another step, the door was flung back and a young girl, her dark hair framing her pretty features, rushed down the path to take Marianne’s hands in her own.
© Jane Odiwe, Sourcebooks Landmark, 2009

The photos were taken on a recent trip to Lyme Regis – Looking towards Charmouth, Me throwing stones on the beach, Two views of the harbour showing the old cannons and boats.

Please join me today for a guest blog on Jane Austen’s World. It was lovely to be interviewed by Vic again – thank you so much for the opportunity to talk about my book, Willoughby’s Return.

Today’s question is for fun! Which hero from Sense and Sensibility do you like best – would you fall for an Edward Ferrars or a Colonel Brandon? Are you influenced by the actors who play these roles? The top photo shows Alan Rickman and David Morrissey as two very gorgeous Colonel Brandons and the equally dashing Hugh Grant and Dan Stevens as Edward Ferrars below. I have to admit I loved them all!
Please leave a comment below if you are brave enough to join in.

And not one of them implies “shit”, “screwed” etc.  All about sex.

So the last few months of my life have been hectic, to say the least.  Work, sick, no cell phone, and Luke got fired for something that was so not his fault.  Why is it that every time we catch a break, some bitch comes along and frames Luke for something that gets him fired?  Why?

Irregardless, I cannot pay my cell phone bill at the moment so I don’t have one!  And let me tell you, it has been difficult surviving without one to say the least.

Alas, my semester is already almost over!  And I turn the big 2-1 in less than a month officially (Yay).  Needless to say, I missed you, my dear wordpress.  I would write a detailed, exact description of my life since my last blog, but it’s really not worth it.  Other than to say I am learning a lot about schools through my observations.  Also, I’ve learned an awful lot about directing plays and the such.  Even if my professor *might* hate me.  But that’s for another day.  I could write all about it know but I’ve decided not to be negative.  Instead, here’s a picture of Hugh Laurie (yummy)…holding a plastic heart.

I actually had an extended conversation with my co-workers this morning about which Hugh Laurie is sexier.  British (ala Sense and Sensibility) or American (ala House M.D).  Consensus was British.  And Yes, I know he is old enough to be my father.  But.  I.  Do.  Not.  Care.

- Beckie