Winner of Jane and the Canterbury Tale

Congratulations... NA !

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If we do not receive a response within three days we will draw a new winner.

Thank you to everyone who entered the contest!

Winner of Jane Austen Made Me Do It

Congratulations... Amy Belle !

We'll be contacting you to get your mailing details shortly.

If we do not receive a response within three days we will draw a new winner.

Thank you to everyone who entered the contest!

Historical Fictional Factual Actual…

Guest Post by Daphne Kalotay

When I began drafting my novel Russian Winter in 2003 or so, I knew I wanted my main protagonist, a Bolshoi ballerina living during the final years of Stalin’s reign, to defect at some point in the early 1950s. It was important to the timing of my plot that she leave before Stalin’s death, yet I struggled with the knowledge that in reality the era of dancer defections (think Nureyev, Makarova, Baryshnikov) did not begin until the early sixties.

So wedded was I to the idea of factual truth that I even snooped around on the Internet in search of some real-life version of my ballerina, thinking that if only I could find an actual Soviet dancer who escaped during those years (when Stalin’s grip was especially fierce and Russian borders particularly impenetrable) I would have much more confidence in my own flight of fancy. Doing so, I read about Violetta Elvin, the first fully-Soviet-trained Russian dancer to perform in the West—but she left in 1945, legally, as the wife of an Englishman. So that didn’t necessarily help my case.

Yet it was a reminder of the many possible and varied stories that exist in real life—and that, while of the utmost importance to me that I remain true to history, what I was writing was still fiction. So what if there had been no real-life ballerina defection in the early fifties. My ballerina would be the first!

I thought long and hard about how to whisk her out of the USSR. I knew that Bolshoi dancers often toured Soviet satellite countries, and after looking at a map of eastern Europe I settled on East Germany, since the Wall would not yet have been built and my own family knew people who had escaped via Berlin in those years. I read up on the city during that time, mapped everything out in my head, and planned my heroine’s escape.

I completed the manuscript in December of 2008. The following month, reading the New York Times, I spotted the following headline among the obituaries: Nora Kovach, Ballerina who Defected to the West. As my surname too is Hungarian, the name caught my eye, and I read that Kovach and her husband, dancing with the Budapest Opera Ballet in the late 1940s, were so talented that Galina Ulanova brought them to Leningrad to receive Russian training. In 1953, on tour in East Berlin, they noticed that the subway stopped close to their hotel and, taking a chance, hopped on and made their way to the English sector. In doing so, they were the first Soviet-trained ballet dancers to defect to the West.

At that early stage the term “defector” was not yet in currency; newspapers referred to Kovach and her husband as “Iron Curtain refugees.” To me, though, they remain remarkable in another way altogether: as one more example of truth being stranger than fiction, and of life imitating art imitating—unknowingly—life.

Book Description

A mysterious jewel holds the key to a life-changing secret, in this breathtaking tale of love and art, betrayal and redemption.
When she decides to auction her remarkable jewelry collection, Nina Revskaya, once a great star of the Bolshoi Ballet, believes she has finally drawn a curtain on her past. Instead, the former ballerina finds herself overwhelmed by memories of her homeland and of the events, both glorious and heartbreaking, that changed the course of her life half a century ago.

It was in Russia that she discovered the magic of the theater; that she fell in love with the poet Viktor Elsin; that she and her dearest companions—Gersh, a brilliant composer, and the exquisite Vera, Nina’s closest friend—became victims of Stalinist aggression. And it was in Russia that a terrible discovery incited a deadly act of betrayal—and an ingenious escape that led Nina to the West and eventually to Boston.

Nina has kept her secrets for half a lifetime. But two people will not let the past rest: Drew Brooks, an inquisitive young associate at a Boston auction house, and Grigori Solodin, a professor of Russian who believes that a unique set of jewels may hold the key to his own ambiguous past. Together these unlikely partners begin to unravel a mystery surrounding a love letter, a poem, and a necklace of unknown provenance, setting in motion a series of revelations that will have life-altering consequences for them all.

Interweaving past and present, Moscow and New England, the backstage tumult of the dance world and the transformative power of art, Daphne Kalotay’s luminous first novel—a literary page-turner of the highest order—captures the uncertainty and terror of individuals powerless to withstand the forces of history, while affirming that even in times of great strife, the human spirit reaches for beauty and grace, forgiveness and transcendence.

To read Marg's review of this book, click here.

Daphne Kalotay grew up in New Jersey, where her parents had relocated from Ontario; her mother is Canadian, her father is Hungarian. She attended Vassar College, majoring in psychology, before moving to Boston to attend Boston University's graduate program in fiction writing. She stayed on at BU to study with Saul Bellow as part of the University Professors program, where she earned a PhD in Modern and Contemporary literature, writing her dissertation on one of her favorite writers, Mavis Gallant. Her interview with Mavis Gallant can be found in the Paris Review's Writers-at-work series.

At Boston University, Daphne's stories won the school's Florence Engell Randall Fiction Prize and a Henfield Foundation Award. Her first book, the fiction collection Calamity and Other Stories, includes work first published in Agni, Good Housekeeping, The Literary Review, Missouri Review, Michigan Quarterly Review, and Prairie Schooner, and was short-listed for the Story Prize.

Daphne has taught literature and creative writing at Boston University, Skidmore College, and Middlebury College. She lives in the Boston area.

Imperial Highness by Evelyn Anthony

Imperial Highness is set in eighteenth-century imperial Russia and centres around the life of Catherine the Great and her Romanov descendants. Against this Czarist background, Evelyn Anthony vividly recreates the deformed and immature figure of Grand Duke Peter, to whom Catherine was first betrothed as a young German princess. And to whom she became a wife in name only. Alongside him, the dazzling person of Catherine herself is made  to live again: a woman who dreamed of leaving her name in the annals of world history even as a child.Whether as wife, mother, lover or future Empress of Russia, the role of Catherine Alexeievna is never without colour. And in Imperial Highness, Evelyn Anthony captures the personal fascination of her subject while also telling the story of Catherine's adulterous love affairs, and the struggle for the imperial throne.

Some times when I look at the recent and upcoming historical fiction releases I scan through looking for something other than yet another Tudor book, or this year in particular another book about Eleanor of Aquitaine and I wonder why there aren't books about some of the other fascinating characters in history. For example, I cannot for the life of me figure out why there are so few books around about the life of Catherine the Great, Empress of Russia.

Here we have a strong, beautiful, charming and beautiful ruler clad in fabulous clothes and jewellery who ruled her land for many years- everything that a queen is supposed to be really. She lived a very dramatic life filled with tension, conflict, lovers and scandal, led her country into a period of learning and culture and so much more.

I was glad to see that next year there is going to be a new book on Catherine, but in the mean time I was even happier to see someone reference this book on Goodreads. My own library doesn't have this book but fortunately I was able to borrow it through inter library loan. If you don't read any further in this review, the fact that I have already requested the next book in the trilogy, also through ILL, should tell you that I enjoyed this first book very much.

Young Princess Augusta Frederica was from a very noble, but very poor family in what is now modern day Poland. When she is summoned by the Empress Elizabeth of Russia everyone knows that it will likely lead to marriage, but for the young princess it is also a potential way out from underneath the harsh control of her mother and her very pious father.

Upon arrival in Russia, the young princess takes the court by storm, with one exception. Her future husband Peter, nephew and heir of the Empress Elizabeth, takes an instant dislike to the newcomer, and so a relationship that will be the source of much scandal over the years to come is formed. The Peter portrayed in the book is maniacal, immature, ill-formed and basically unsuitable for his future role as Emperor of Russia, particularly because of his very Prussian views and loyalties. For Elizabeth though, she sees no choice but to keep him as her heir, and initially she see the young princess that she has named Catherine as a possible positive influence on Peter. She could hardly have been more wrong.

However the Empress also had a somewhat changeable nature and it doesn't take much to upset her, so Catherine goes from being in favour to very much out of favour, especially given that the marriage between Catherine and Peter does not and can not provide the one thing that Elizabeth desperately needs from them - a legitimate heir.

One of the questions that I have thought about off and on over the years is one related to time travel - Where and when would you like to travel to if you could? While I always struggle to the where, I always know what I wouldn't want to be - a noble. Being highly born seems to have been quite treacherous in many countries and the imperial court of Russia was no exception. When there was no baby forthcoming, the Empress Elizabeth had the couple basically locked up together for years in the misguided hope that there may at last be a child. Time and again Catherine was bought before the aging Empress and feared for her life having offended the ruler in some way or another. Then again, I wouldn't really have wanted to end up as a serf either, so maybe I will just stay in the comfortable surroundings of here and now.

Years later, when finally freed from captivity, we see a much harder, much wiser Catherine, but also a woman who knows what she wants, and this includes various lovers! Catherine had used her time in captivity to educate herself and emerged having studied many of the great minds of the age. She was still young, still beautiful, intelligent and above all ambitious! And with her husband seemingly barely capable of controlling himself let alone an entire empire, the Catherine that we know from history emerges to take control. The book closes with Catherine coming to the throne, ably assisted by those loyal to her including her powerful lover who orchestrates the bloodless coup.

I wouldn't say that I am particularly knowledgeable about the life and times of Catherine the Great. Even just a quick look at a few websites after finishing the book seems to indicate that there are some discrepancies between the history portrayed in this book and what actually happened, but when all is said and done, this was a really entertaining read full of dramatic moments, court intrigue, passion and ambition, and this reader was left wanting more!

Please note that this book was also published under the title Rebel Princess, and is the first book in the Romanov trilogy.

Rating 4.5/5

Cross posted at Adventures of an Intrepid Reader

Jane Austen Week: the end

First of all, we wanted to give a really big thank you to all those who participated in this Jane Austen Week. We are always delighted to share and received some good book (or series) recommendations.

Before closing this week's events, we wanted to do a recap (both giveaways are open, so if you forgot to leave a comment there's still time):

Monday, 10th October
- Welcome to our Jane Austen Week
- Share Your Jane Austen Experiences...
- Our 10 Favourite Things about Jane Austen


Tuesday, 11th October
- Persuasion by Jane Austen
- Captain Wentworth's Diary by Amanda Grange
- Persuasion (1995)


Wednesday, 12th October
- Revisiting the past in Jane Austen Made Me Do It + GIVEAWAY (open until Oct. 19th)
- Shades of Milk and Honey by Mary Robinette Kowal
- Lost Memories of Jane Austen by Syrie James


Thursday, 13th October
- A Discreet and Quiet Life? Jane Austen’s Interesting Times by Stephanie Barron
- Emma (2009)
- GIVEAWAY: Jane and the Canterbury Tale by Stephanie Barron (open until Oct. 20th)


Friday, 14th October
- Jane Austen Made Me Do it - A Conversation
- One of my favourite Jane Austen spin-offs
- Pride & Prejudice (1995)

 
Saturday, 15th October
- Northanger Abbey (2007)


Sunday, 16th October
- Sense & Sensibility by Jane Austen
- Sense & Sensibility (2008)

 
We truly hope you had a great time with us and Jane during this week. Thanks !

BBC Sense & Sensibility (2008)

It's impossible not to compare this series with Ang Lee's movie but each one has a different approach to Jane Austen's novel.

Andrew Davies decided to spice up things and give more sexual tension to this story, especially between Marianne and Willoughby. The opening scene is a perfect way to grab the viewers attention and wonder who the young couple is.

The two Dashwood sisters are marvelously played by two young actresses: Charity Wakefield (Marianne), who kept all the freshness and impetuosity of her young years, and Hattie Monahan (Elinor), always so practical with her good sense and hidden feelings.

Like all those who liked Emma Thompson's adaptation, I was a bit afraid to see the new Col. Brandon. Who could do better than Alan Rickman ?! That was simply not possible, right?! Well, David Morrissey was up to the task and he gives us a very good performance. This man simply filled the screen each time he appeared. He is tall, strong, protective, wise, he likes music and a good conversation. Just a perfect Jane Austen hero! When he holds Marianne during the party when she meets Willoughby again, I could only sigh and wish for more.

In this version we get to see more about Marianne and Brandon's relationship. Somehow, I think I needed to see their love growing for each other to make their ending more real, something that we do not see in Thompson’s adaptation.

While watching the first episode and when I saw for the first time Edward Ferrars (Dan Stevens), I immediately saw a more handsome Hugh Grant. Same shaggy hair, the blue eyes, the hesitant and shy attitude, but with a little something more.

Dominic Cooper as Willoughby worked quite well, even if I expected to see a much more handsome actor. He clearly lacks the finesse of a Greg Wise, but in the novel he is rather young and not all that polished. The actor even manages to create a repellent and sleazy character who can only see his own interests without any care for others. But, in the end, Cooper doesn't really achieve to deliver a more passionate and even ambiguous Willoughby. The scene where he returns to talk to Marianne at the end seems forced and not really captivating...

While following the novel pretty close, this version lacks the usual Austen humor, especially the scenes with the Palmers and the Middleton's. I missed this terribly ! One of my favourite moments in Ang Lee S&S are the scenes with Mr. Palmer (Hugh Laurie).

One of my favourite aspects of this adaptation : the Dorset seacoast landscape. The scenery is beautiful and breathtaking. You cannot help to fall in love for the region.

Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen

I wonder if there is a word that describes people that make the same confession over and over again? If there is, I am about to be guilty of it.

This is my confession:

I have never read Jane Austen.

I know that in the past I have shocked people before when I have confessed this, but somehow I made it through school without reading her, and then managed until now without picking up her books despite being an avid reader for most of my adult life.

This year it is the 200th anniversary of the publication of Sense and Sensibility so I signed up for the associated challenge with the vague intention of reading Austen at some point this year. It was really only when the call went out for this Classics Circuit event that I got the incentive to start. I had read a Dickens book a couple of years ago so now was the perfect time for me to finally, finally read Jane Austen.

I think there are a couple of reasons for not having read Jane Austen. The first is that I was a bit concerned that maybe I might be one of those people who doesn’t actually like her writing (and they do exist!). It’s not the quickest read as you do have to concentrate on the language but I am enjoying the characterizations, the dialogue and the sharp observations on the society of the time.

The major reason for not reading the books is that I already knew the story that was contained within the pages, particularly in relation to Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility and to a lesser extent Northanger Abbey. What I am finding though is that I only thought I knew the story. I have only partial memories of the story of Sense and Sensibility which I gained through watching bits and pieces of the mini-series. I found myself reading something early in the book and thinking how can there be more than 200 pages to go if this is happening now! I am finding that I can’t help but see Alan Rickman whenever Colonel Brandon enters the narrative, and similarly Hugh Grant every time that Edward Ferrars is mentioned, but that isn’t a totally terrible imposition really.

So far, I like the book. I am not quite finished, but I can definitely see myself reading more. It’s not all plain sailing though. Let’s start with the not so good aspect. Reading this book, particularly the section where we first meet Colonel Brandon makes me feel very old! I am rapidly approaching the end of the decade where my age begins with a 3, so when this is the first description that we read of Colonel Brandon, I wasn’t particularly thrilled:

He was silent and grave. His appearance was not unpleasing, in spite of his being in the opinion of Marianne and Margaret an absolute old bachelor, for he was on the wrong side of five and thirty; but though his face was not handsome, his countenance was sensible, and his address was particularly gentlemanlike.

Perhaps he is so gentlemanlike because he had so much practice! A bit further on there is reference to the rheumatism he occasionally suffers from. In context, I know that the expected life span was much shorter when the book was written, and that when you are 19 years old, then 35 does look like a long way away, but when you are past that point, you don’t necessarily feel old.

There were plenty of times that I really could appreciate Austen’s ability to comment on the human condition. This passage, for example, very much sums up how I think I am thought of by all but my very closest friends:

"Brandon is just the kind of man,” said Willoughby one day, when they were talking of him together, “whom every body speaks well of, and nobody cares about; whom all are delight to see, and nobody remembers to talk to.”

As I think about the characters, it is clear to me that Austen either likes her characters, or she doesn’t. There isn’t always a lot of nuance. I do expect that this is partially because this is her first published book and so will be interested to see if this changes in future books. To be fair, for several of the characters like Mrs John Middleton for example, there isn’t much to like, and for those sensible characters like Elinor, Edward Ferrars and Colonel Brandon there is obvious affection from the author, which this reader shares.

I have about 80 pages left to go, and I have every intention of finishing the book in the next couple of days. Not only do I want to get to the end so that I can say that I have finished it, but also because I will have yet another reason to watch the mini series again, and then this short clip from Vicar of Dibley, just because I can (not a blatantly gratuitous Richard Armitage posting - honest).

And then, it will not be another 20 to 30 years before I read another book from Jane Austen.










Updated to add...

As a result of Jane Austen Week here at Historical Tapestry I decided that it was time that I finished off those last pages of this book, and I did!

My favourite scenes included where Marianne confesses that she should have been modelling her behaviour on that of Elinor and also this passage from the latter part of the book:

Elinor made no answer. Her thoughts were silently fixed on the irreparable injury which too early an independence and its consequent habits of idleness, dissipation, and luxury, had made in the mind, the character, the happiness, of a man who, to every advantage of person and talents, united a disposition naturally open and honest, and a feeling, affectionate temper. The world had made him extravagant and vain - extravagance and vanity had made him cold-hearted and selfish. Vanity, while seeking its own guilty triumph at the expense of another, had involved him in a real attachment, which extravagance, or at least its offspring, necessity, had required to be sacrificed. Each faulty propensity in leading him to evil, had led him likewise to punishment. The attachment, from which against honour, against feeling, against every better interest he had outwardly torn himself, now, when no longer allowable, governed every thought; and the connection for the sake of which he had, with little scruple, left her sister to misery, was likely to prove a source of unhappiness to himself of a far more incurable nature.

One of the things that you hear about Jane Austen's writing is that she is excellent at writing the human condition, but that she has not lost relevance in these modern times. I have to say that when I read the first part of this passage it was very reminiscent of the constant comments that you hear about "kids today"!


I am so glad that I finished the book eventually. Now I need to decide which of her books to read next. I am leading towards Persuasion, but if you strongly recommend another read let me know in the comments.

ITV Northanger Abbey (2007)

Northanger Abbey was adapted by Andrew Davies (Pride & Prejudice, BBC Sense & Sensibility) and it follows the book more or less closely, taking a few liberties sometimes a bit astonishing (we'll talk about it a little further).

The most agreable surprise in this adaptation was definately JJ Feild - Mr Tilney - who was perfect as the wise and sensitive young clergyman. His first scenes with Catherine Morlan (Felicity Jones) are wonderful and it's easy to understand why he feels so attracted to her cheerfulness. His good looks and smile conquered my heart immediately.
Felicity Jones was refreshing as Catherine, the young naive and sweet girl obsessed with gothic novels. I couldn't keep from laughing watching her daydreaming with brigands and duels and playing the damsel in distress. Such a vivid imagination !

Let's not forget Carey Mulligan who gives an incredible performance as the scheming and sensual Isabella. She certainly made my blood boil with anger, just like her bully of a brother.
An interesting note about the casting of this adaptation, Sylvestra Le Touzel - Mrs Allen - interpreted Fanny Price in 1983 version of Mansfield Park.

Now, about the liberties… Some scenes were spiced up (tipically of Davies) or entirely invented, like Catherine nude in her bath or Isabella in bed with Captain Tilney. Also, some of heroine's dreams made scandal especially the bounding scene but, for us, it didn't spoiled this version at all. Northanger Abbey remains one of my favourite Jane Austen adaptations.

Besides the impecable acting, the attention to detail and the scenery with it's vibrant colors made a wonderful period drama.

Pride & Prejudice (1995)

In this lavish adaptation of Jane Austen's classical romance, Elizabeth Bennett is a strong-willed yet sensible young woman whose father is a gentleman with a quite modest estate and whose uncle suffers in status from being a businessman in Cheapside. She has four sisters, a long-suffering but loving father, and a mother anxious to marry them to wealthy young gentlemen. At a local ball, she encounters one such wealthy young man, Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy -- and as Mr. Darcy is arrogant, cold and rude, it is hatred at first sight. As her older sister Jane falls in love with Mr. Darcy's best friend Mr. Bingley, and her youngest sister Lydia flirts with anyone in a military uniform, Lizzie finds herself fighting off the attentions of the unctuous Mr. Collins and quite taken by the charming Mr. Wickham - who also happens to be an enemy of Mr. Darcy. However, as the characters succumb in many ways to pride and prejudice, Lizzie learns that not all is quite as it seems...and that Mr. Darcy might not be so disagreeable after all.

For years I have been hearing how wonderful Colin Firth is as Mr. Darcy. I have had the chance to watch this mini-series several times, but never dedicated the time to it. When we decided to do this week, though, I jumped at the chance to finally see what all the fuss was about. While searching for a plot summary I found you can actually watch the mini-series on YouTube. I had seen the Keira Knightley movie several times. My sister loves it and probably can quote it word for word. It's rather obvious that Knghtley had seen this mini-series. You can see many of Jennifer Ehle's movements and speech patterns adopted.

I think Jennifer Ehle did a wonderful job playing Elizabeth. She acted a lot like I would have pictured her back when I was reading the book. I thought she took way too many walks in this mini-series, though. I know it was expected to give a scene of her need to behave differently from others, but in the beginning I was worried those dull scenes were going to take away from the overall mini-series. It didn't work out that way at all. I found the mini-series got better as it went along and I enjoyed watching it. I also agree with the assessment that Colin Firth makes a very good Mr. Darcy. He is moody and anti-social to a tee. As you start to get used to him, you will definitely be hoping that they wind up together. Not to mention hoping that Jane Bennet ends up with Mr. Bingley. That romance has just as many unfortunate pitfalls as Elizabeth's, but those two at least admit they care about each other.

I enjoyed the other characters, too. Mrs. Bennet was sufficiently hard on the head. After just reading an imagined story of how the couple came to be; I still find it hard to believe they are the same people. She started out so quiet. Now her voice rather grates on the nerves. Mr. Bennet is played really well, too. He is bookish and comical when it comes to his daughters. I rather enjoyed those moments. All of the sisters were believable, too. Lydia was, well, Lydia. Mary was the scholar. Kitty was Lydia's shadow. And even when you knew that Wickham was going to turn out to be bad, you couldn't help liking him along with Elizabeth in the beginning.

I think for a book to mini-series adaptation, this was done really well. The cast were all believable, the story stayed very close to the book, and the time period really came alive. I have no major complaints with the mini-series and hope to watch it many more times in the future. If you are slow to see it like I was, I do recommend it. I am not a huge Austen fan and not a big fan of romances in general, but this is worth checking out.

One of my favourite Jane Austen spin-offs

A couple of years ago, a friend knowing my feelings for Mr Darcy recommended me a trilogy based on Pride & Prejudice -  the Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman trilogy written by Pamela Aidan :

1. An Assembly Such as This

2. Duty and Desire

3. These Three Remain

Being a huge fan of P&P, I often wondered (and like so many others around the world) about Mr. Darcy’s point of view and what did he do during those times he was away from Elizabeth.

In the first book, we follow him to Netherfield, with his friend, Mr Bilgley, and his sisters. We understand better his behavior at the public assembly at Meryton and his attitude towards the Bennett family and his meddling in Mr Bingley and Jane burgeoning courtship. This must be my favourite book of all three, because if it follows closely Jane Austen’s story, there’s some very refreshing perspectives that really captivated me all along the story.

Duty and Desire starts after the departure of Darcy and the Bingleys from Netherfield. During all those months apart from his love interest, Mr Darcy cannot stop questioning his feelings for Miss Elizabeth Bennett and he does his best to forget her (without much success, I must say). Not only we learn more about him and his social life, but Aidan also gives us some particular adventures. I did had some troubles imagining Mr Darcy acting like he did in some occasions, but my interest never falter.

In These Three Remain, Darcy visits his aunt, Lady Catherine de Bourgh, and, surprise, he meets Elizabeth there. In the final part of this trilogy, I especially enjoyed reading about THE proposal from Darcy’s POV.  And later, his explanations about his dealings with Wickham or the reasons why he convinced his friend, Bingley, to leave Netherfield and Jane, really show us his real intentions. While reading P&P I always find Darcy mysterious and distant, at the beginning at least, here he seems more human.

The Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman trilogy brings a new light about the haughty, snobbish and arrogant man we meet in Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice. This is absolutely no critic to P&P (I would never dare !), I like the book exactly as it is. Nonetheless, it’s always fun to read more about the character we love so much.

These three books were an absolute pleasure to read and one that I will certainly repeat during one of those windy and rainy Winter days with a wonderful cup of tea.

Jane Austen Made Me Do it - A Conversation

Welcome to our conversation of the Jane Austen Made Me Do It anthology. If you have read any of the stories, please feel free to join in on the discussion in the comments!

Ana: Did you like the idea of an anthology of stories inspired/related/connected to Jane Austen? Even if I haven’t loved all the sequels/spin offs/etc I’ve read I am always looking forward to read more and see how I like them.

Marg: I have avoided all the Jane Austen spin offs for the longest time. The main reason for doing so is that I actually haven’t read the originals and so I didn’t want to spoil them, at least  not more than what I already knew from movies etc and the pop culture references that I have gained over the years.

Ana: I have to say that not all stories were to my taste. Quite normal when you realise that there are so many periods, types and settings. Since my favorite genre is historical fiction it is not difficult to guess the ones I liked better - Jane and the Gentleman Rogue by Stephanie Barron (it felt that there should be more about this one btw), Jane Austen and the Mistletoe Kiss by Jo Beverley (a sweet short story in Austen’s style), Heard of You by Margaret Sullivan (I love to know what happens to interesting secondary characters). But I also enjoyed two contemporary tales -  Faux Jane by RJ Meiers and The Love Letter by Brenna Aubrey. What about you?

Kelly: I have to admit that I am not a huge Jane Austen fan. I have always been intrigued by her as a person, but I have basically avoided all the spin-offs from her books. I thought maybe I should branch out a bit, though, and this book looked like an interesting way to get brief glimpses of the potential stories that can come about because of Jane Austen. I was basically lost when the stories were about characters from Jane Austen’s novels. I have only read Pride & Prejudice and that was a few years ago now. I think I missed a lot when the stories centred around that.

I did enjoy some of the stories, though. I enjoyed ‘Jane Austen’s Nightmare’ by Syrie James, which was actually the very first story in the book. It is imagined that Jane Austen gets the chance in her dream to visit with characters from her novels. I enjoy the idea because not all of the characters were that happy with how they were written. The funny thing is that when I was reading Ana’s response, I could just basically copy and past because I also enjoyed Jane and the Gentleman Rogue (really must read more than the one book I have read from this series), Jane Austen and the Mistletoe Kiss, Faux Jane by RJ Meiers, and The Love Letter by Brenna Aubrey. I also sort of liked A Night at Northanger by Lauren Willig because I like ghost stories.

Marg: Really it was the mention of two authors that made me want to read the anthology - Lauren Willig and Adriana Trigiani! The others were all new to me! One surprise for me was that Frank Delaney is one of the co-authors that writes under the name F J Meier. I had no idea!

As to favourites, mine were Jo Beverley’s Jane Austen and the Mistletoe Kiss, Jane Austen’s Nightmare by Syrie James, Intolerably Stupid and Heard of You by Margaret C Sullivan.

Ana: Kelly aren’t you curious now to try some of Austen’s other books? Some of the stories I enjoyed because they were related to my favourite, Persuasion, and I know I wouldn’t have enjoyed Margaret Sullivan’s Heard of You and Brenna Aubrey’s The Love Letter as much if I hadn’t read Persuasion first. Heard of You is a really sweet story about the Crofts, so well written that I had no trouble believing that that’s their real story. The Love Letter is a contemporary but also very nicely written and with a perfect last sentence!

Kelly: Yes, I really think I would have enjoyed this collection more if I had read the actual novels they were based off. I felt like I was missing out by not knowing the original stories. In some cases it wasn’t that much of a problem for me, but in other cases I wasn’t really all that interested in the story. ‘The Love Letter’ still worked for me, though.

Marg: I thought Heard of You worked pretty well despite the fact that I hadn’t read Persuasion. It was still one of my favourites.

I wanted to specifically comment on Brenna Aubrey’s story The Love Letter. Brenna was the winner of a short story contest that was held to choose one story to put into the anthology. I was very impressed with it, and thought it held up pretty well in comparison to the other stories in the collection.

We thought we would give just a brief one or two line glimpse of our thoughts about each of the stories.

Jane Austen’s Nightmare by Syrie James - (Ana) What if Jane Austen met her characters and found out they weren’t all that happy with how she portrayed them? A true nightmare for the author.

Waiting: A story inspired by Jane Austen’s Persuasion by Jane Odiwe - (Kailana) A spin-off from Austen’s novel Persuasion where a romance that has been put on hold is rekindled and taken to the next level.

A Night at Northanger by Lauren Willig - (Marg) When Cate left journalism school  she was hoping for CNN or some other respected news agency - not Ghost Trekkers. Ghost Trekkers has however lead her to Northanger which may or not be haunted!

Jane and the Gentleman Rogue: Being a fragment of a Jane Austen mystery by Stephanie Barrons - (Ana) Jane Austen gets to play the detective and find out who is trying to pass some naval secrets to France. She and Lord Harold seem to share an interesting friendship while they both protect the nation’s best interests.

Faux Jane by F J Meier - (Kailana) Did you know it was impossible to possess a signed first-edition of Pride & Prejudice? Many people do not, so it makes easy targets for swindlers and thieves.

Nothing Less than Fairy-land by Monica Fairview (Marg) - Emma and Mr Knightley are married but it is not all smooth sailing. In order to compromise, Knightley has agreed to live at Emma’s home, but Mr Woodhouse is not making it easy.

Love and Best Wishes, Aunt Jane by Adriana Trigiani - (Ana) On the occasion of her niece’s wedding Aunt Jane shares some interesting advice and congratulates her.

Jane Austen and the Mistletoe Kiss by Jo Beverley - (Kailana) This was a quaint story about the magic behind mistletoe for a woman that has been widowed and a man that she believes is too good for her. Jane Austen makes an appearance and inspires a romance.

When Only a Darcy Will Do by Beth Pattillo - (Marg) An impoverished student in London is trying to make a little cash on the side and so has organised a tour of Jane Austen’s London. Each week she dresses up in period costume and waits for her first paying customer. When he turns up full dressed as a Regency gentleman she finds out that sometimes only a Darcy will do!

Heard of You by Margaret C Sullivan - (Ana) How the Admiral Croft and Sophie Wentworth met and fell in love, and the role that Captain Wentworth played in their story.

The Ghostwriter by Elizabeth Aston - (Kailana) Sara, an author, is in love with Mr. Darcy to the point where the man she is with, Charles, can’t take it anymore. He leaves her, but her life is about to drastically change because Jane Austen herself appears to help her out with both her career and her love life.

Mr Bennet Meets His Match by Amanda Grange - (Marg) The story of how Mr and Mrs Bennet met!

Jane Austen, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah! by Janet Mullany - (Ana) A teacher makes Jane Austen appealing to her students by making them imagine that the characters are the Beatles.

Letters to Lydia by Maya Slater - (Kailana) As the title says, these are letters that are written to Lydia Bennet. They come from Maria Lucas who played a minor role in Pride & Prejudice, but was present for most major events.

The Mysterious Closet: A Tale by Myretta Robens- (Marg) Cathy needs a break from her life, especially given her broken heart, and so books a room at a converted abbey, not realising that it was haunted... or perhaps Henry is real?

Jane Austen’s Cat by Diana Birchall - (Ana) Jane Austen likes to tell stories to her nieces and in this one the main characters are cats.

Me and Mr Darcy, Again.... by Alexandra Potter (Marg) - A Mr Darcy obsessed tourist in London realises that her fascination with him may be getting in the way of her happiness. With Mr Darcy  helping to orchestrate events with her boyfriend will there be a happy ever after?

What Would Austen Do? by Jane Rubino and Caitlen Rubino-Bradway - (Marg) When your name is James Austen there’s not much chance that you wouldn’t know the stories of Jane Austen, or at least think you know them without actually having read them. That is until you meet a young lady who you think may be a kindred spirit. Contained my favourite quote of the whole anthology.

“In Jane Austen it’s always a big deal - what people are versus what people think they are.”

The Riding Habit by Pamela Aidan - (Ana) - A sequel of Pride and Prejudice. Mr Darcy want to teach his wife to ride but her first day doesn’t go as smoothly as planned.

The Love Letter by Brenna Aubrey - (Marg) - Mark is a Doctor just about to sit the most important exam of his career. What he doesn’t need is the distraction of a mystery page from a book, and thinking about his love life, particularly the woman he left behind a few years before.

The Chase by Carrie Bebris - (Marg) The story of the ship board battles which led to Jane Austen’s brother becoming a Captain in the Navy. He eventually rose through the ranks to become Admiral of the Fleet

Intolerably Stupidity by Laurie Viera Rigler - (Ana) - Contemporary writers are tried by how they portrayed Mr Darcy in all the sequels and spin offs they wrote. Judge Catherine de Bourgh presides...

GIVEAWAY: Jane and the Canterbury Tale by Stephanie Barron

Three years after news of her scandalous husband’s death, Adelaide Fiske is at the altar again, her groom a soldier on the Marquis of Wellington’s staff. The prospects seem bright for one of the most notorious women in Kent—until Jane Austen discovers a corpse on the ancient Pilgrim’s Way that runs through her brother Edward’s estate. As First Magistrate for Canterbury, Edward is forced to investigate, with Jane as his reluctant assistant. But she rises to the challenge and leaves no stone unturned, discovering mysteries deeper than she could have anticipated. It seems that Adelaide’s previous husband has returned for the new couple’s nuptials—only this time, genuinely, profoundly dead. But when a second corpse appears beside the ancient Pilgrim’s Way, Jane has no choice but to confront a murderer, lest the next corpse be her own.

The rules:

- to participate, just leave a comment
- open to US & Canada
- one entry per household
- the giveaway closes October 20

A big thanks to Stephanie Barron for her generosity.
Good luck !

BBC Emma (2009)

As any Jane Austen fan, I was eager to see the new BBC Emma adaptation. Until now, my favorite was Kate Beckinsale's and while I was convinced it would be difficult to do better, there was hope for something outstanding, something that would surprise me and knock my socks off. The result wasn't quite what I expected, nerveless I did enjoy revisiting Jane Austen world.

The story happens somewhere in the beginning of the 19th century in Highborn, a small village in England. Emma Woodhouse is a rather proud young lady who imagines herself as the perfect matchmaker. Her family is healthy and respected and as the younger child she is spoiled and surrounded by people who admire her. Miss Taylor, her governess and later her companion, can't find any fault with the enchanting and lively girl.

When Miss Taylor becomes Mrs Weston, Emma tries to find a new friend. In one of her visits to Mrs Goddard's School she notices a charming young woman, Harriet Smith. Not much is known about her except she has a mysterious protector who always paid for her expenses. Emma immediately thinks her future friend might be the illegitimate daughter of a gentleman and decides to take her under her wing.

After the success of her matchmaking schemes with the new Weston couple, Emma is convinced she can find the perfect husband for Harriet. Her first choice is the new reverend, Mr Elton. But she will learn the hard way that her wishes are not always the right ones for the people she loves.

I have to be completely honest and confess right away that Emma was never quite among my JA favourite female characters. She is the kind of heroine difficult to warm up at first, her proud attitude and snobbish comments don't make the task easier. In this new adaptation, Romola Garaï managed to give her the little thing that made her much more agreable and funny at my eyes : a mischievous and free caring attitude that quite suits the character and shows her in a much more sympathetic light. If there were moments where I was not entirely convinced by Romola Garaï's choice, she taught me how wrong I was with her bright smile and bouncing blonde curls. This more immature side of Emma made some things more easily forgiven.

My main complain about this new adaptation is the lack of screen time of Mr. Knightley. Is there a need to explain to screenplay writers that Austen's men are one of the strong points in her novels? I felt Jonny Lee Miller gave us a wonderful performance but certainly he could have been even better if he had the chance. I know I’m not completely rational about this point, but I do have an explanation : I’m a big Knightley fan.

Harriet Smith was probably the most annoying character in the series. If she's gentle and sweet, she's also too insecure and easy manipulated. She gets in and out of love for three different men in a year without much thought. Her permanent whining is something that got really on my nerves.

 

Now, I couldn't end my review without mentioning the Elton couple.  You never really know if someone should slap them or thank them for providing us with some of the most hilarious moments in the series. Christina Cole is absolutely brilliant in this role !

A curious fact about Jodhi May who played already in a period drama with Romola Garaï - Daniel Deronda. There she was the young and beautiful Mirah Lapidoth and Garaï played the spoiled and selfish Gwendolen Harleth, both were about the same age. Strangely, here they must have 20 years of difference...

After watching this adaptation several times, I must say that I find the casting absolutely perfect. The costumes and surrounding were beautiful, as always with the BBC.

In the end, this was a good adaptation that certainly wins after being watched a couple of times, it grows on you without you noticing.

A Discreet and Quiet Life? Jane Austen’s Interesting Times by Stephanie Barron

We’ve all heard some variation of that ancient Chinese curse: May You Live in Interesting Times—the danger being that “interesting” is rarely devoid of the chaotic or the unsettling. I doubt Jane Austen was ever formally subjected to such a curse; but she got “interesting” all the same. Born on the eve of the American Revolution (1775), and dying just two years after the epic Battle of Waterloo (1817), Jane lived during one of the most turbulent periods in English history--over four decades of almost continuous warfare, set against the backdrop of the French Revolution, industrialization, Napoleon’s conquest of Europe, and the spread of Enlightenment ideals across the European continent. Yes, she lived her final six years in a quiet village in Hampshire, during which time her novels were published; and yes, she never married—but to see Jane merely as a spinster buried in an English garden, penning her sweet stories in obscurity, is to misread her history.

Some fifteen years ago, I made understanding Jane my personal winter project. I’d been reading her books, as I usually do when the weather turns bad, but this year it was with a peculiar purpose: I wanted to use Jane as the central detective in a mystery series I planned to write—and realized I knew Eliza Bennet and Anne Elliot better than I knew Austen herself. I’d studied Napoleonic France and Regency England as an undergrad, so the period was something I grasped. Jane, however, remained opaque behind the scrim of her novels and her time, an indistinct figure obscured by what other people chose to say about her. Brother Henry eulogized her as a God-fearing Christian woman of proper feeling, in the posthumous edition of her last two novels, Persuasion and Northanger Abbey; but Henry—probably Jane’s liveliest and favorite brother—had found God himself after bankrupting his clients and half his family when his financial industry ran aground. Jane’s descendants, who wrote the first “biography” of her in the form of Jane Austen: A Family Record, were Victorians anxious to tidy Aunt Jane for posterity. I needed to hear her actual voice—I needed Jane to tell me who she was--and the surest way to find her was among the pages of her surviving letters.

There are nearly one hundred and sixty of them, which is to say there are barely any letters at all. Jane wrote several times a day, to various members of her family and her acquaintance—probably as much as a hundred and sixty letters every few months—so the surviving correspondence is the proverbial tip of Jane’s iceberg. But the letters we have tell us tantalizing things: that she read several newspapers a day, and was absolutely current on the political debates and decisions of a government as much at war with itself as with the French; that she mingled with dangerous characters in London and Kent; and that far from being naïve or sheltered, she was no stranger to the scandals of her times.

Possessing two brothers who served as Post Captains in the Royal Navy, Jane constantly scoured the press for news of engagements—because her brothers’ letters would arrive, with word of their life or death, long after the actual battles. Jane was visiting her wealthy brother Edward in Kent during the summer of 1805, which was known as the Great Terror in England due to the constant fear of French invasion along the Kentish Coast—she witnessed the militia on forced marches while Edward’s household grappled with evacuation plans that summer. Naval brother Frank was on the Channel blockade that same August, sailing with Nelson up to the day before the epic battle of Trafalgar in October—and the first news of that horrific, bloody and epic engagement, as well as Nelson’s death, must have brought with it intense anxiety for the entire Austen family. Jane comments with apparent callousness on a battle years later in the Peninsula: “How horrible it is to have so many people killed!—And what a blessing that one cares for none of them!--” which is, of course, merely her way of saying thankfully that her brothers were not among the casualties of war.

In London, Jane often visited Henry and his wife Eliza, who claimed the French title of countess from her first husband, guillotined during the Terror; at Eliza’s house, Jane hobnobbed with the Regent’s cronies, who borrowed money from Henry’s bank to cover their gambling debts. In Sloane Street she also met Eliza’s particular friends, the d’Entraigues—a French opera singer and her aristocratic husband, who was secretly spying against the English for both Napoleon and the Tsar. By 1812, the d’Entraigues would be murdered in their beds, their throats slit by a vengeful servant—but was it in fact political assassination? Jane certainly must have had an opinion; but if she wrote it in one of her letters, it has not survived. Henry was comfortable enough among London’s ton to attend the party at White’s—the most aristocratic and breathless of Pall Mall’s Tory clubs—in celebration of the Regent’s coronation in June, 1811, but Jane was no fan of His Royal Highness: she despised the Regent and championed his estranged wife, Princess Caroline, in part because, Jane wrote, “she is a woman.”

For years, critics have derided Austen for writing nothing of the struggles of her time in her charming novels of manners. But again, this is to misread her work. Jane had no need to explain the context of her books to her contemporary readers—the fact of warfare was implicit in all their lives—and for those of us attempting to understand her milieu two hundred years later, the clues are subtle but present. When Eliza Bennet is forced to sit down at the Meryton Assembly, because gentlemen are scarce and more than one lady is in want of a partner—she is resigned to what every young woman of 1813 knew: the bulk of the male population was absent from home, serving in either the army or navy. Wickham’s regimentals underline the prevalent social reality of Jane’s time: militia were being drafted and quartered in every “obscure country village” in England, seriously disrupting the sanity of the female inhabitants. Anne Elliot in Persuasion can recite the various degrees of rank within the White, Red and Blue fleets of the Royal Navy, with all the assurance and familiarty of one who has been up late reading the Naval Lists by candlelight; and Fanny Price’s visit to Portsmouth in Mansfield Park betrays Jane’s intimate knowledge of the naval town, from her years of living with Frank in neighboring Southampton. The real world intrudes on the bucolic world of Austen’s ballrooms with constant pressure: Persuasion closes with Napoleon’s escape from Elba and Frederick Wentworth’s return to battle—a note of anxiety amidst the wedding bells.

In my detective series featuring Jane Austen, I’ve focused on her engagement with her turbulent times, by giving her an intriguing sidekick—Lord Harold Trowbridge, an aristocratic government spy—and a willingness to leave no stone unturned. The two return in a tantalizingly short episode in the new anthology, Jane Austen Made Me Do It.

May we all live in interesting times.

 
 
 
 
 
 

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To know more about Stephanie Barron and her novels, don't forget to visit her website: http://www.stephaniebarron.com/