Jane Austen Quote of the week - Week 133

I have chosen a quote from a conversation between Catherine and Henry in chapter 16 of Northanger Abbey.

“With you, it is not, How is such a one likely to be influenced, What is the inducement most likely to act upon such a person’s feelings, age, situation, and probable habits of life considered — but, How should I be influenced, What would be my inducement in acting so and so?”

“I do not understand you.”

“Then we are on very unequal terms, for I understand you perfectly well.”

“Me? Yes; I cannot speak well enough to be unintelligible.”

I chose this quote as I have recently been in the company of too many people who think it clever to over complicate language with the aim of making themselves seem more superior. I love Catherine's retort here and I think it highlights how sometimes intentions can be expressed alot clearer when put simply. I think that the world is filled with overcomplications.

Pic: Henry and Catherine

Tom Lefroy Quote Week 2

For the second quote of Tom Lefroy this weekend, I chose the opening paragraph from a letter he wrote to his eldest daughter Jane Christmas Lefroy. From the Memoir of Chief Justice Lefroy p. 31, noting that Thomas Lefroy (TLL’s son) only disclosed the initial of Jane’s Christian name instead of her full name. The date was not clear either; but perhaps because I read the digital version. I shall peruse the print out copy tomorrow at the office and recheck the correct date. It must be around 1810 though, for Tom Lefroy alluded that Jane Christmas was still very young (she was born in 1802) and in the early stage of learning how to write a letter.

Limerick, Monday.

MY DARLING J---, Your letter gave me great pleasure; it was fairly written, well worded and no mistakes in the spelling; and I hope, by employing your time regularly between this and the next time I leave home, you’ll be able to correspond with me on subjects of more importance. Believe me, my darling girl, there is no progress to be made in anything without steady and continued application, which, besides the advantages it brings in the way of improvement, makes labour pleasant from habit instead of being irksome, as it always is to the idle and irresolute. A saunterer when young, continues a saunterer through life.

I particularly love the two last sentences, although I enjoyed the affection Tom Lefroy clearly had for his eldest daughter. A saunterer when young, continues a saunterer through life. He certainly knew how to motivate a child for the better…

Pic: 'Snow Child' by Hilda Boswell

Jane Austen Quote of the Week - Week 133

I have chosen a quote from chapter 21 of Persuasion. Anne and Mrs Smith are discussing Mr Elliot and his desire to marry a woman solely for her wealth. Mrs Smith explains that her husband was good friends with him and tells Anne how Mr Elliot ruined her husband. My particular quote is taken from the part where Anne is learning why Mr Elliot knew so much about her (she learns it was from discussions with Mrs Smith):

What wild imaginations one forms where dear self is concerned! How sure to be mistaken!

I found that this quote resonated well with me. I am frequently told that I think too much and analyse every situation rather unnecessarily. I do think it is natural to formulate wild imaginations when concerning self, particularly when holding a measure of insecurity, and this may be exaggerated in some more than others. Often these imaginings are not a true reflection of the situation and we find ourselves mistaken. I like that Jane has once again made an accurate observation of human behaviour.

Pic: Anne Elliot

Tom Lefroy Quote of the Week 1

This week I wish to return to our study of dear Tom Lefroy by looking in the Memoir for a bit. I do think more attention is deserved to some particular details that were possibly overlooked by others (and I won't mention any "lit critters" by name).

Let us begin at the beginning – namely the first paragraph of the Preface found in the "Memoir of Chief Justice Lefroy", by his son, Thomas Lefroy, M.A., Q.C., Published 1871.

The following Memoir of the Right Honourable Thomas Langlois Lefroy, late Lord Chief Justice of Ireland, has been written, not so much as a record of his public career as of those traits of character which, in private life, endeared him to all who had the privilege of enjoying his society; and in the hope that the bright example he has left behind, in the unswerving consistency of his political principles, the simplicity of his Christian faith, and his deep humility, may be blessed to many who knew him not while here. To those who did know him it will be interesting to retrace some of the steps of one who, through all the arduous duties of professional, political, and judicial life, seemed to live in constant communion with Him who was the source of that singularly unruffled peace of mind which characterized his whole career.
I particularly wanted to quote this in order to set the tone for further insight to the "real" Tom Lefroy. Yes, I know that one is supposed to speak (or write) nice things about those who have passed on, but I wish to believe that the above is true in all aspects as our future searches and quotes will bear witness. So stay tuned!

You may see a reference to the Memoir on amazon Here. Other Lefroy sources include a book titled "Notes and documents relating to the family of Loffroy" by a cadet [J.H. Lefroy] which is online HERE. Geez, are there any more that would shed light on our dear Tom and the Life and Times of those days? Do let us know.

Linda the Librarian

Pic: Thomas Langlois Lefroy by George Engleheart

Icha's note:
Starting from this week, we start coding the Tom Lefroy quotes separately. This week is Week One of Tom Lefroy Quote. We will alternate with Jane Austen quotes every other week or so; the next Jane Austen Quote will be JA Quote of the Week 133.

Lovely Becoming Jane wallpapers

I found two elegant BJ wallpapers from fanpop.com here and here, and thought that I'd like to share them with you. Click the two links for higher resolutions.


I'm not sure who created them, but I thank him/her nonetheless. So poetic. Methinks I shall watch an Austen DVD tonight...

'Pride and Prejudice' fetches 140,000 pounds at auction

From the Times of India (Nov 1, 2010, 01.35am IST):

LONDON: A copy of the first edition of Jane Austen's romantic novel " Pride and Prejudice" has fetched 139,250 pounds at an auction in Britain, more than 150,000 times its original price.

The book, when first published in three volumes in 1813, cost 18 shillings - just 90 pence in today's money. The masterpiece, in which the heroine Elizabeth Bennet falls for the dashing Fitzwilliam Darcy, has since sold more than 20 million copies worldwide, according to the Daily Mail.

The book was among 149 volumes sold by London-based auction house Sotheby's for an anonymous 75-year-old collector, raising more than 3.1 million pounds.

The auction also included a signed first edition of "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens, which went for 181,250 pounds.

An 1847 first edition of Emily Bronte's "Wuthering Heights" fetched 163,250 pounds, more than double its estimated price.

A collection of poems by William Shakespeare published in 1640 sold for 135,250 pounds and Charles Darwin's "On The Origin Of The Species" fetched 127,250 pounds.

A 1922 edition of "Ulysses" by James Joyce went for 121,250 pounds and Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein" from 1818 fetched 115,250 pounds, the report said.

Sotheby's Peter Selley said it took the wealthy collector 45 years to amass his "extraordinary library". "The quality drew bids from around the world," he was quoted as saying.