Jane Austen Week Blog Tag

Love Jane Austen? This is for you! Hamlette’s Soliloquy is hosting an I Love Austen Week blog event this week, February 11-18. I’m absolutely thrilled to participate in the blog tag, as Jane Austen is one of my favorite topics. Check out Hamlette’s master post to explore all the other activities for the week.

The Tag:

1. Which did you experience first, a Jane Austen book or a movie based on one?
An audio book of Pride and Prejudice. I was young (maybe about twelve) and I didn’t understand it all that well, so it didn’t make much of an impression. But in my teens I read the novels and fell in love before I saw all the movies.

2. What is your favorite Austen book?
Sense and Sensibility. I love the characters, especially the sweet relationship and personality contrast between the sisters Elinor and Marianne. They go through so much together. When the opportunity arose for me to participate in a new series retelling the Jane Austen novels in the 1930s, there was no question which one I’d pick: Sense and Sensibility. My love and appreciation for the original has grown even more.

3. Favorite heroine? Why do you like her best?
Elinor Dashwood. The other Austen heroines are all wonderful, but there are so many reasons why I like Elinor best, I don’t know where to start. She’s a picture of the ideal woman, who’s sweet and kind yet strong, capable, level-headed, and resilient. She puts other people’s needs over her own. I tend to favor quiet, unassuming characters like her. I also see aspects of myself in her—I try not to let my emotions show overmuch, and I’m more of a listener than a talker. She’s a role model for me . . . if I’m somewhat like her already, maybe I can be more like her in other admirable ways.

4. Favorite hero? Why do you like him best?
Edward Ferrars—to go with Elinor, of course! I know he’s not a popular hero, but I think he’s extremely sweet. They’re good for each other. He’s quiet and unassuming as well, but not so sure of himself as Elinor is of herself. Even though he’s not bold, he has the courage and principles to make hard, honorable choices.

5. Do you have a favorite film adaptation of Austen’s work?
So far, I would have to say either Emma Thompson’s Sense and Sensibility or Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth’s Pride and Prejudice. I think S&S is a delightful and well-made movie, even if it leaves out much of the book, and I find P&P to be an accurate and completely entertaining version.

6. Have your Austen tastes changed over the years? (Did you start out liking one story best, but now like another better? Did you think she was boring at first, then changed your mind? Etc.)
My tastes have changed somewhat. I listened to a couple of audio books first and thought them a little dry, but that changed when I read the books myself and found them lovely and fascinating. She used to be hands down my favorite author, one who could do wrong, but as I’ve gotten older, other authors have joined her at the top (namely Elizabeth Goudge and Elizabeth Gaskell) and I can acknowledge that she’s not perfect. Her books seem lighter than they used to since I’ve matured. But I haven’t ceased to thrill over her whenever she’s being discussed, and reading her books are like coming home in winter to a warm cup of tea.

7. Do you have any cool Austen-themed things (mugs, t-shirts, etc)? (Feel free to share photos if you want.)
Um . . . I’m a bit of a collector, so yes, I do. Some of my favorites include a shoulder bag with her profile printed on it and quotes about all her heroes; a book about the Jane Austen House Museum (Chawton Cottage) that I bought when I visited there; greeting cards with Hugh Thomson’s illustrations; a piano book; and playing cards with quotes and pictures.

8. If you could ask Jane Austen one question, what would you ask her?
Only one? Well, I suppose she’d be busy answering a whole line of us if she were open to querying at all! I love the questions that other bloggers in the tag have asked, but I’ll choose: “Can you give me some tips on analyzing human nature and using that knowledge in fiction?”

9. Imagine someone is making a new film of any Jane Austen story you choose, and you get to cast the leads. What story do you want filmed, and who would you choose to act in it?
I want to see a version of Mansfield Park that I can unequivocally like. The 1983 version, with Nicholas Farrell and Sylvestra Le Touzel, comes the closest, but I have issues with some of the characters. As for who I would cast . . . I must apologize, but I have no idea! I don’t know my actors and actresses that well.

10. Share up to five favorite Jane Austen quotations!
“My idea of good company is the company of clever, well-informed people who have a great deal of conversation; that is what I call good company.” - Anne Elliot, Persuasion

“The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid.” - Henry Tilney, Northanger Abbey

“Seven years would be insufficient to make some people acquainted with each other, and seven days are more than enough for others.” Marianne Dashwood, Sense and Sensibility

“My being charming is not quite enough to induce me to marry. I must find other people charming – one other person at least.” Emma Woodhouse, Emma

“We all have a better guide in ourselves, if we would attend to it, than any other person can be.” - Fanny Price, Mansfield Park
 

Jane Austen Watercolor, public domain

Make sure you go to Hamlette’s Soliloquy for more Jane Austen merriment! What would you say in answer to any of these questions above?

Emma's Anniversary

“I do so wonder, Miss Woodhouse, that you should not be married, or going to be married—so charming as you are.”
“My being charming, Harriet, is not quite enough to induce me to marry. I must find other people charming—one other person at least.”

I had to chuckle at that, since it so wittily expresses how single women feel sometimes. It’s just one of many clever, timeless, spot-on statements that appear frequently throughout Emma, the last novel that Jane Austen saw published. She died a year and a half later. It was published in December 1815; I read Emma this year in honor of its 200th anniversary.

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Although Sense and Sensibility is my favorite, I think Emma may be her best novel. It certainly is her most mature work. She was older and more experienced when she wrote it than when she wrote all her other completed novels save Persuasion; and Persuasion, published posthumously, did not have the benefit of her final edit. Emma is symmetrical and tightly plotted. Every circumstance and character is tied off in probably the most satisfying ending of her novels (the others tend to finish too quickly for us romantics). The major characters, from Emma to Miss Bates, are so realistic and well drawn you can know them like real people; none of them are the least bit unbelievable or caricature-ish. Their dialogue sparkles. Emma’s character development is probably the most detailed of all Jane Austen’s heroines. The setting of Highbury is a living portrait of a small English village.

I seldom reread books, but I plan to always reread Jane Austen’s novels. This was my second time reading Emma. Just a few things I would like to draw attention to that I especially enjoyed this time around:

- Emma and Mr. Knightley’s delightful relationship and repartee: “Mr. Knightley loves to find fault with me, you know—in a joke—it is all a joke. We always say what we like to one another.” Their conversations are some of the best in all of Jane Austen’s works!

- The cohesiveness of the plot: Perhaps more than any other of Miss Austen’s novels, marriage is the driving plot of Emma. It opens with a wedding and ends with a wedding; a wedding shakes up Emma Woodhouse’s world in the beginning, and rectifies it at the conclusion. Emma’s character arc is bound to it—marriage removes her best friend and former governess, Mrs. Weston, causing her to commandeer Harriet Smith, a graduate of the local girls’ school, as a new constant companion. Matchmaking becomes her hobby as she tries to manage Harriet’s marital prospects. Marriage between her sister and Mr. Knightley’s brother defines Emma’s and Mr. Knightley’s friendship and blinds them to their own feelings for each other. Marriage, or the desire of marriage, brings three new characters to Highbury—Jane Fairfax, Frank Churchill, and Augusta Elton. One of Emma’s most prominent wishes is that she not marry, and one of her father’s most defining characteristics is that he dislikes marriage because it changes things. By the end of the book, we have met no less than six married or soon-to-be married couples, and most of them are the major characters. Only two other major characters are unmarried, Mr. Woodhouse and Miss Bates. Marriage, proposals, engagements, and romantic speculation propel the story. And at the end, marriage between the right pairs puts the world aright again.

- The beautiful theme: While marriage is the driving plot, the take-away theme seems to be truth. I’m indebted to Peter J. Leithart and his book Miniatures and Morals for pointing this out (highly recommended for all Jane Austen fans!). Mr. Knightley, the epitome of a truthful man (he won’t even tolerate any equivocation, but always speaks and acts decisively), is the only man who is right for Emma. Only when there is truth in all the characters’ dealings with each other is the story ready for conclusion. The biggest plot developments hinge on cleared-up misunderstandings (such as those that concern Mr. Elton, Harriet, and Emma; Frank Churchill and Jane Fairfax; and Emma, Mr. Knightley, and Harriet). Although marriage propels Emma’s character arc, her growth is measured by the amount of truth she tells, learns, and recognizes about herself. She is ready for marriage when truth triumphs in her life. Takeaway point: Truth is essential for a happy marriage and really, for any wholesome relationship.

I know this is sort of an unconventional review, but I’ll end properly: Not only is Emma humorous and well written, it’s full of insight and rich character studies. It’s a novel that has lived two hundred years without losing any of its freshness or power. It will surprise and delight you with every read!  

What do you think of Emma?

Happy Birthday, Jane Austen

It's Jane Austen's birthday today! I am so thankful for this talented woman, one of my very favorite authors. She was born 240 years ago, in 1775.

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She wrote six of my favorite books:

1. Sense and Sensibility, 1811
2. Pride and Prejudice, 1813
3. Mansfield Park, 1814
4. Emma, 1816
5. Northanger Abbey, 1817
6. Persuasion, 1817

If you're interested in more of my thoughts about this world-renowned English author, here are three posts: one, two, and three.

Introducing the Vintage Jane Austen

Saturday has arrived, and with it my special announcement!

You may have noticed me mentioning my WIP from time to time … but also, that I never went into any details. I was saving up until today.

The Vintage Jane Austen

A multi-author series due to be released Spring 2017! Six novels, six authors, six retellings of Jane Austen’s classic works set in turbulent Great Depression America.

I am honored to be a part of this team with my novel Suit and Suitability:

                                   
Canton, Ohio, 1935. Ellen and Marion Dashiell’s world crumbles when their father is imprisoned for a crime he didn't commit. What is left of their family must relocate to a small town where survival overshadows dreams. Hard-working Ellen, trying to hold the family together, loses her job and is parted from the man she’s falling in love with, while Marion fears she will never be the actress she aspires to be and will never marry the dashing hero who has entered her life. But does a third man hold the key to the Dashiells’ restoration and happiness?

Visit the other Vintage Jane Austen authors!

Emily Ann Benedict

Laura Engelmann

Sarah Holman

Rebekah Jones

Sarah Scheele

Do you want to be involved, too? Also added to this special series will be a collection of short stories inspired by Jane Austen. Click the banner for more details! 

Submissions now closed

Now that the special announcement is made, keep an eye on my blog for WIP updates and articles!

Book Review: Friendship and Folly

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Happy January! On December 31, I finished reading my last book of the year: Friendship and Folly, by Meredith Allady. It is the first book in the Merriweather Chronicles, so far a two-novel and one-novella series about a group of family and friends in early 19^th-century England. It was published in 2012, so is one of the more recent books I’ve reviewed on my blog.

The beauty of Friendship and Folly, however, is that you wouldn’t know it was written in the twenty-first century just by reading the story. In fact, I’d wager that you’d think you were reading a book written two hundred years ago. Yes, Ms. Allady was that good at evoking the voice of the past and the feel of a historical period. For example: she didn’t get out of the story to even drop an explanation or definition of a term or custom; she used all the correct words, dialogue, and syntax (occasionally I had to reread a paragraph to catch the meaning, and then smiled over the insightful thing she was saying, just like a Jane Austen!); and her characterization was accomplished in the same way as in old novels (i.e., memorable and solidly described personalities).

Set in 1805 England, the story is heartwarming because it’s about two friends, Ann Northcott and Julia Parry. Julia is part of a wonderful family that any normal person would wish they were friends with—Ann is consistently grateful for them—because they’re hospitable, fun-loving, genuine, and down to earth. Ann is an only child whose parents are dismissive of her; her mother is only concerned about getting her married, which appears to be a difficult task, since Ann is not especially beautiful and also has a hip injury that affects her walk and prevents her from dancing. (And how could anyone back then get a spouse without being able to dance?)

When the Parrys, through a set of circumstances, decide to go to London for the Season, Ann accompanies them and they meet with several adventures. Clive, Julia’s younger brother, tries to fend off from his sister suitors he deems foolish or foppish. But eventually the family meets a couple of young men who suit their sensibilities, and they welcome them into their circle as “friends” … what follows is an often hilarious series of misunderstandings, false estimations of the young men (mostly on Ann’s part) and a gradual unraveling of their story, and intriguing “anything can happen” visits with amusing acquaintances, all on the whirlwind stage of a London autumn. Ann learns lessons about friendship and meddling—or folly, as she calls it; but she and the members of the Parry family grow only closer together as they are forever changed by their adventure.

The story could be considered slow in some respects, but that’s because it reads like a classic. It’s all about witty dialogue and penetrating insights into personalities and relationships, so the pace is perfect. And there were times when I had to tear through the pages to find out what would happen next. So it definitely kept my interest! The prose is incredibly clever. I enjoyed the look at characters and situations that Jane Austen perhaps touched on but didn’t explore—among other things, a whole family portrait where the young children actually had names and lines; a look at the Irish rebellion; an endearing character who wasn’t quite right in the head; the ins and outs of a London season; and several unequivocal references to characters’ spiritual beliefs.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves Jane Austen (particularly if they appreciate her humor and character insight most of all!).

It Should Be a Holiday

Even though today is a very busy and ordinary day and I can’t do much to celebrate, I feel festive. Why? Because today is the birthday of my favorite author, Jane Austen. She was born in 1775, so that would make this her 239th birthday. She only lived to see her forty-first, but her legacy has mushroomed more than she could ever have imagined in her wildest dreams. People don’t always interpret her correctly, but many love her. Our literary lives would be missing so much if she had not written her books; I feel that she is one of the people that God has used to bless the world, if only to inspire us with moral characters, help us become wiser in our choices, and entertain us with much-needed laughter and skillful writing.

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This year, I can picture her quietly observing her birthday at home in early 1800s Chawton because, in September, I was privileged to see where she lived for the last eight years of her life. (See this post for more.)

I wish I had time to make this a more full-bodied article, but perhaps you’d like to read my previous Jane Austen-birthday posts here and here.

Until next week!

P.S. You also might be interested to know that tonight is the first night of Hanukkah on the Jewish calendar. To those of you who celebrate it, Happy Hanukkah! If you would like to read more about it, go to this post, when, last year, Thanksgiving and Hanukkah coincided. 

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Days in England: Chawton and Oxford

Before I pick up where I left off, I just wanted to say something in honor of Elizabeth Gaskell, whose 204th birthday was September 29. This British Victorian lady is the author of two of my favorite books, Wives and Daughters and North and South, of two others I enjoyed very much, The Moorland Cottage and Mary Barton, and of many others that I hope to read one day. Four well-loved miniseries dramas were made from her stories. I am planning a special post about her one of these days—it’s too bad I wasn’t ready for her birthday!

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As much as London stimulated me, I felt a peace when we left it for the country. As Laura and I drove on the highway to Chawton Friday afternoon with new friends whom we had met online, it felt much like the highways here, only smaller and busier and, of course, reversed. All those roundabouts were a new experience, too! Though surrounded by fields and trees, there were houses, farms, and small towns always in view. The sky was cloudy, and the rich greenery seemed to infuse the air with moisture and freshness.

The drive went quickly because we were busy getting to know one another (it was one of the sweetest hours of the whole trip!), so before I knew it, we had entered Chawton and a red-brick Georgian house slid by the corner of my eye. Wait! That’s it! That’s her house already! You see, Chawton is where Jane Austen’s last home still stands. It’s a large, square, homey building right on the corner in the center of town; you can’t miss it. Across the road is the car park, and just like some of the characters in my novel about England, I couldn’t wait to park and go explore what is now Jane Austen’s House Museum. This was the place Jane Austen loved for eight years and where her creativity flourished: here she prepared all six of her novels for publication.

To describe it further, let me use a passage from my novel England Adventure:
The bricks were mottled red, orange, and brown, the roof dark-brown shingles. It was three-storied, with only two little dormer windows in the garret story sticking out from the roof. There was a delicate wooden fence in front, a brick wall along the side, and a lawn. The flowers and shrubs around everything were too diminutive to do more than decorate; they didn’t creep up the walls and pull the house down into its natural environment. But it was picturesque nonetheless, even sagacious with its earthy coloring and without the flourishes of overgrown blooms.

Jane Austen's writing table

It’s a whole, small complex, with outbuildings and gardens. It’s wonderfully old and cozy inside, with creaky hardwood floors, little rooms, and furnishings much like it would have possessed when Jane Austen, her mother, her sister, and her friend lived there two hundred years ago. Some of the items actually belonged to the family and Jane herself, while others were only similar. If you love this author, you will love her house and her village. The coziness spreads to the yard and outward to all the surroundings. Walking down the road to St. Nicholas Church made me imagine all the Sundays the Chawton Cottage ladies trod the same path.

We left reluctantly; it was getting late. I will remember it as perhaps my favorite of all the days in England.

But Laura and I had almost the complete adventure to look forward to: eleven more days! We went to Oxford the next day and oh, what a beautiful place. It’s the ultimate university town, with classic architecture, tree-shaded avenues, and interesting things going on all the time. Oxford University’s thirty-eight colleges are scattered throughout; I probably walked by several without knowing what they were. Every building has its own character. We weren’t there for long, but we got to do several cool things. We ate at the seventeenth-century pub, The Eagle and Child (or the “Bird and Baby”), in the very room (“The Rabbit Room”) where C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien met with a group of friends called the Inklings, sharing conversation and their writings. I could easily imagine the creative energy coursing through that dark, pleasant room when those men gathered. We visited Blackwell’s Bookshop, a three-storied establishment right in the center of town. It was quite crowded when we were there! (It seemed to me that England has a bigger concentration of bookstores than here, and they were better frequented, too; Blackwell’s was the biggest of all that we visited.) On Sunday morning, I attended a service at Christ Church, Oxford’s cathedral, and that was the perfect way to say goodbye to this lovely city. 

One of the colleges, I believe

In the Rabbit Room with Tolkien's and Lewis's books

The Camera at the Bodleian Library

“The Bridge of Sighs," part of Hertford College, somewhat resembles the Bridge of Sighs in Venice

Christ Church Cathedral

It’s time to bring this section to a close, but next week I can wrap things up with tales about Hereford, Hay-on-Wye, Lacock, and Bath! Which is your favorite Oxford building of those pictured?