Becoming Jane Fansite

Tom Lefroy Quote Week 15

2012-01-29T10:24:00.003+08:00

I wanted to find a Tom quote that would reflect the birthday of our lovely Linda, who will be 71 years old tomorrow Monday. From the Memoir of Chief Justice Lefroy page 329, an excerpt from Lord Derby (Prime Minister Edward Smith-Stanley, the 14th Earl of Derby) to Chief Justice Lefroy:

Downing Street,

July 11, 1866

“My dear Chief Justice, - Your son sent me, a few days ago, a most kind letter from you, the handwriting of which I should have taken to be that of a man of thirty instead of ninety, in which you express your readiness to surrender into my hands the high office which I had the satisfaction of intrusting to you fourteen years ago, and which you have filled with so much credit to yourself and advantage to the public service.”

That’s what I often feel when I communicate with Linda… Not exactly 30-90, but I often forgot that she is already 70 years old, and going to be 71 years old tomorrow. Linda still has her sharp mind and alert consciousness, something to be admired from people of her age.

Thank you for helping us these years, Linda. Have a happy birthday, may you be happy, healthy and prosperous always. God bless you.

Pic: Edward Smith-Stanley, Wikipedia

Jane Austen Quote of the Week - Week 181

2012-01-22T19:48:00.003+08:00

I chose a part of Pride and Prejudice that I love - chapter 43 when Elizabeth sees Pemberley for the first time. It triggers the beginning of her growing affection for Mr Darcy. She later meets him in the grounds and they connect like they havent before.

"They gradually ascended for half a mile, and then found themselves at the top of a considerable eminence, where the wood ceased, and the eye was instantly caught by Pemberley House, situated on the opposite side of a valley, into which the road with some abruptness wound. It was a large, handsome, stone building, standing well on rising ground, and backed by a ridge of high woody hills;—and in front, a stream of some natural importance was swelled into greater, but without any artificial appearance. Its banks were neither formal, nor falsely adorned. Elizabeth was delighted. She had never seen a place where nature had done more, or where natural beauty had been so little counteracted by an awkward taste. They were all of them warm in her admiration; and at that moment she felt that to be mistress of Pemberley might be something!"

I really love the part "nature had done more" and "natural beauty had been so little counteracted by an awkward taste" - what a wonderful description and I think that this can be linked to the natural development of her relationship with Mr Darcy.

Pic: Elizabeth Bennet at Pemberley

Jane Austen the Unseen Portrait

2012-01-16T16:06:00.006+08:00

Thanks to Mariana Georghe, here we are aware of the 'new' unseen portrait of Jane Austen. The clip is from BBC, but is now in SMaryG's YouTube account. The picture was found by Dr Paula Bryne and was later discussed in the recent BBC documentary titled 'The Unseen Portrait of Jane Austen?'.

A detailed article about this portrait can be found here.

I have to say that the picture does not match to my personal image of hers, which was more influenced by the sketches made by Rice and James Stanier Clarke (we discussed them here and here). The Rice and Clarke sketches displayed the frontal view of the young girl's faces, hence I was led to believe that the nose would not be so pronounced, as in the Bryne portrait.

But the facial features does speak of the talented, witty woman we know as Jane Austen. So... who knows?

Pic: Dr Paula Bryne's found portrait of Jane Austen.

Jane Austen Quote of the Week - Week 180

2012-01-16T06:02:00.004+08:00

Let's get serious for a minute this week and talk about LOVE and MARRIAGE. In Mansfield Park, Chapter 35 we find a discussion between Edmund and Fanny concerning Fanny's recent rejection of Henry Crawford's proposal of marriage. Edmund had just returned home and heard the news of the proposal. He wished to discuss her feelings about the matter so he joined her in a walk through the shrubbery.

Fanny, at one agitated and dejected, replied, "IF you hear of it from everybody, cousin, there can be nothing for me to tell."
Not of facts, perhaps; but of feelings, Fanny. No one but you can tell me them. I do not mean to press you, however. If it is not what you wish yourself, I have done. I had thought it might be a relief."
"I am afraid we think too differently for me to find any relief in talking of what I feel."
"Do you suppose that we think differently? I have no idea of it. I dare say that, on a comparison of our opinions, they would be found as much alike as they have been used to be: to the point - I consider Crawford's proposals as most advantageous and desirable, if you could return his affection. I consider it as most natural that all your family should wish you could return it; but that, as you cannot, you have done exactly as you ought in refusing him. Can there be any disagreement between us here?"
"Oh no! But I though you blamed me. I thought you were against me. This is such a comfort!"
"This comfort you might have had sooner, Fanny, had you sought it. But how could you possibly suppose me against you? How could you imagine me as advocate for marriage without love? Were I even careless in general on such matters, how could you imagine me so where your happiness was at stake?"

So the crux of the matter is this: one should marry for LOVE and is of the utmost importance. Certainly there are other things to consider, but love is to be considered FIRST. Speaking as one who has "been there, done that" I can vouch for the correctness of such advice. I only wish I had tended to those "other things to consider" a little more carefully. As we say "too soon old, and too late smart". Sigh.

Yrs aff'ly,

Linda the Librarian

Pic: Fanny Price

Jane Austen Quote of the Week 179 by Linda

2012-01-08T10:47:00.003+08:00

While tiding up my cluttered desk I ran across a scribbling dated for 2-21-09, but cannot find that I actually posted it. So I shall give it a try now.

It is from Mansfield Park, Vol. 3, Chapter 5 of my Signet Classic edition, where Miss Crawford made a request of Fanny:

Her [Fanny's] habits of ready submission, on the contrary, made her almost instantly rise and lead the way out of the room. She did it with wretched feelings, but it was inevitable.

I couldn't help but notice this character trait of "ready submission" when anyone makes a request. It simply must be done. It is a trait that has been passed down through the ages, because I have observed this very trait in my own Grandmother, as well as myself. I will also add that it is fostered in our Bibles as "wives be obedient to your husband's will". I have since learned that "ready submission" is not the way to go. But that's another story.

This is just one example of how Jane throws in so many small things that we can relate to. For instance, when I opened my copy of MP, I noticed all the notations I had made. There is enough material for a ton of quotes. So reader beware! Here I go!

Linda the Librarian

Pic: Cover to Oxford World's Classics of Mansfield Park

Jane Austen Quote of the Week - Week 178

2012-01-01T21:20:00.003+08:00

Firstly Happy New Year to you all and thank you very much for your continued support. If any of you have any suggestions on Jane-related things we can do this year on the blog then please do write to us.

Linda has kindly made me aware of a website that we wanted to bring to your attention. It provides information about The Rice Portrait of Jane Austen.
Before I continue I want to link this to a fantastic article that Icha wrote here on the blog in July 2007 about this very same topic Rice Portrait and Clarke's Sketch. Basically it is believed that the 'Rice Portrait’ refers to a portrait of a young girl made by Ozias Humphry, an English painter (1742-1810). It is proposed that the portrait is of Jane Austen when she was around 13/14 years old but there has been much debate about the authenticity of this portrait.

The website mentioned above, The Rice Portrait of Jane Austen, has recently been constructed by Anne Winston Rice who was married to Henry Rice, a descendent from Jane. She wants to set the record straight about whether this portrait is indeed Jane Austen, she believes it is.

The website is quite detailed and I will not try to summarise all the information here as it is well worth exploring yourself if you are interested. She describes 4 pieces of primary evidence which puts together an excellent case. I have simplified the information below:

- Colonel Thomas Austen, Jane's second cousin, had possession of the painting and gave it to his great friend Colonel Thomas Harding-Newman in 1818. Colonel Harding-Newman’s son wrote in 1880: “I shall hope to give another painting of Jane Austen to her relative Morland Rice. It is of a girl about 15, and came into my family the gift of Colonel Austen of Kippington, to my mother-in-law, or rather, step-mother, my father’s second wife, who was a great admirer of the novelist."

- Admiral Sir Francis Austen, Jane's brother, was very close to his grandson John H. Hubback and it is believed he shared valuable information regarding the Rice Portrait with him. Hubback told Mrs Graveson (a lady researching the portrait) that his cousins, the Rices, owned the only professionally executed painting of the authoress.

- Lord Brabourne was the eldest son of Fanny Knight, who married a Knatchbull Hugesson. He was Jane Austen’s great nephew, as also were John Hubback and Morland Rice. They were all cousins. In 1884, he published the first book about Jane, her “Life and Letters”. He relates how he has written to Mr Cholmeley Austen-Leigh about Morland Rice’s portrait, and that Mr Cholmeley Austen-Leigh has replied that if Morland’s portrait is authentic.

- Fanny Caroline Lefroy, the granddaughter of the Rev. James Austen was the family historian. Her mother, Anna Austen had lived in the same house as Jane Austen for some ten years, and therefore would have known what she looked like. Morland Austen, who received the portrait, asked Fanny Caroline Lefroy for her opinion about the portrait. She says she “knew before of the portrait in your possession”, and cites one or two little difficulties but only of when, and where, the portrait was painted.

Pic: Taken from Jane Austen Rice Portrait

Tom Lefroy Quote Week 14

2011-12-24T19:08:00.003+08:00

We will visit the Lefroy family for our Christmas quote. This is from Chapter 12 of the Memoir of Chief Justice Lefroy:

The habit of keeping the Easter and Christmas festivals, as seasons of family re-union, was invariably observed in our Home circle, and wherever the scattered members might be, as Easter or Christmas drew near, no pleasure had sufficient attraction for any of them, and no inconvenience was a sufficient hindrance, to prevent the family-gatherings that used to render these seasons the opportunities for a happy interchange of thought and affection, which seemed equally valued by all.

There is one other instance where "Christmas" plays a part in the Lefroy family. Our dear Tom married Mary Paul whose Grandfather was named "Christmas Paul". I thought that most unusual, since I have never heard of anyone naming their child "Christmas". But to top that off, Tom and Mary named their daughter "Jane Christmas Lefroy". I am of the mind that the name "Jane" was for the Mother of Mary Paul Lefroy and not our Jane Austen, as some may believe.

So, we of Becoming Jane Fansite wish the Christmas season pleasure enjoyed by the Lefroy family to you and yours this holiday season.

Blessings,
Linda the Librarian

Pic: Christmas tree

Jane Austen Quote of the Week 177

2011-12-17T19:04:00.003+08:00

Last Friday, 16 December, was Jane Austen’s 236^th birthday. To commemorate the birthday of our ‘girl’, I have chosen a quote she wrote to sister Cassandra on Wednesday 11 January 1809 from Castle Square. The quote was taken from Le Faye’s ‘Jane Austen’s Letters’, p. 165.

The Manydown Ball was a smaller thing than I expected, but it seemed to have made Anna very happy. At her age it would not have done for me.-

Jane was 34 when she wrote this letter. Anna Austen, being born in 1793, was 16. For our modern age, being 34 years old is definitely not old enough. However, for those days 34 years old was definitely seen as a very mature age. But just from the way Jane wrote her letters, I perceive no decline of her spirit at all. She might have danced slower and attended fewer balls, but that does not equate to being spiritless. I can hardly imagine how lively she was when she was at Anna’s age (16 years old), but I guess she must have carried on whatever spirit she had at that age into her twenties (when she met Tom Lefroy), her thirties (when she started to produce her famous novels) and even to the last day of her life.

So here’s a toast to Jane Austen. A fine lady who had made us captivated – until today – by her spirit and wit.

Pic: "Sisters Dancing"; Engraving by Marino or Mariano Bovi (Bova) (1758-1813)

Jane Austen Quote of the Week - Week 176

2011-12-08T17:56:00.002+08:00

Since the Christmas season is upon us, I began my search for a Christmas quote and found a lovely surprise. This week I will consider Christmas in general, because I will make a specific Christmas quote on the 24th.

I have a Pemberley friend, Julie Wakefield, who used to manage the Life and Times board at Pemberley. I had the good fortune to meet her at the Annual Meeting of Pemberley in 2003 at Cape Cod, Massachusetts. She now maintains a web site/blog which continues her interest in Jane's "Life and Times". The surprise I found is her section on "Jane Austen and Christmas"!

Here is a link to that page which has many links worth your perusal on the subject. CLICK HERE

Go to her home page for links to all the other subjects she writes about - it is a treasure indeed! Happy Reading!

Linda the Librarian

Pic: Plum pudding- Jane Austen centre

Jane Austen Quote of the Week - Week 175

2011-12-04T04:28:00.011+08:00

This quote is taken from near the beginning of chapter 48 of Emma.
Emma is discussing her feelings about Mr Knightley, and his possible feelings for Harriet.

"Wish it she must, for his sake—be the consequence nothing to herself, but his remaining single all his life. Could she be secure of that, indeed, of his never marrying at all, she believed she should be perfectly satisfied.—Let him but continue the same Mr. Knightley to her and her father, the same Mr. Knightley to all the world; let Donwell and Hartfield lose none of their precious intercourse of friendship and confidence, and her peace would be fully secured.—Marriage, in fact, would not do for her. It would be incompatible with what she owed to her father, and with what she felt for him. Nothing should separate her from her father. She would not marry, even if she were asked by Mr. Knightley.
It must be her ardent wish that Harriet might be disappointed; and she hoped, that when able to see them together again, she might at least be able to ascertain what the chances for it were.—She should see them henceforward with the closest observance; and wretchedly as she had hitherto misunderstood even those she was watching, she did not know how to admit that she could be blinded here."

Last night I was out with friends and we were talking in depth about relationships between fathers and their daughters. This quote leaped out at me and tells us something about the connection between Emma and her father.

I also understand found this quote resonated with me as I have definitely experienced not being able to dedicate myself fully to someone but at the same time not wanting anything to change or anyone else to have them. As selfish as that sounds, and it is, emotions sure can be complicated.

Pic: Simple Delights blog

Tom Lefroy Quote Week 13

2011-11-26T22:15:00.006+08:00

This week’s quote is taken from The Memoir of Chief Justice Lefroy (pp. 216-217) when he related the extent of a devastating hurricane of 6 January 1839 to his wife, Mary Paul. The excerpt showed how Tom always tried to see the brighter side of an event, for the hurricane indeed destroyed at least 4,600 trees in the park and the surrounding woods.

Carrig-glas,

April 3^rd, 1839

You will be glad to hear that I have recovered somewhat from my first anguish, and am suffering myself to be by degrees led into the dream that though Carrig-glas has decidedly lost all its peculiar beauty (at least what constituted its beauty in my eyes) new charms will be unfolded when the wreck and ruin which now strews the pleasure grounds shall be removed, for we shall get views of the distant woods that we had not before, and of the only mountain we can boast of in the county. You can form no idea of the desolation which the storm has made; I could not cross the pleasure-ground from the heaps of trees, but am obliged to walk round to survey the stupendous pile of ruin. A few solitary trees have been preserved by the shelter of the heaps which had fallen around them, but, strange to say, comparatively few of the single trees standing out in the more exposed parts of the demesne have been blown down, and almost all the destruction has been either in the woods or close to the house. I am glad dear A—is not to come here for some time. The new house will be all that a house need be, and I trust will be covered in this autumn, so as to make some compensation for the loss of other beauties before he sees Carrig-glas again.

As someone who had gone through a Category 3 Cyclone earlier this year, I can somewhat relate to what Tom experienced with the hurricane. Seeing the trees fell down like that was a sad sight indeed, my town lost almost 6,000 trees altogether. But Tom lost 4,600 trees just in one park, so Carrig-glas must have stored a huge amount of tree collection before the hurricane hit.

Pic: trees as the victim of the 1938 Hurricane that hit Long Island, USA (obviously I cannot find pictures of the 1839 hurricane that hit Ireland...)

Jane Austen Quote of the Week 174

2011-11-21T06:05:00.004+08:00

I have chosen a quote from Mansfield Park simply for the beautiful imagery and great construction of sentences by Jane Austen.

"Miss Crawford's attractions did not lessen. The harp arrived, and rather added to her beauty, wit, and good-humour; for she played with the greatest obligingness, with an expression and taste which were peculiarly becoming, and there was something clever to be said at the close of every air. Edmund was at the Parsonage every day, to be indulged with his favourite instrument: one morning secured an invitation for the next; for the lady could not be unwilling to have a listener, and every thing was soon in a fair train.

A young woman, pretty, lively, with a harp as elegant as herself, and both placed near a window, cut down to the ground, and opening on a little lawn, surrounded by shrubs in the rich foliage of summer, was enough to catch any man's heart. The season, the scene, the air, were all favourable to tenderness and sentiment."

This is taken from chapter 7 and the carefully chosen wording describes Edmund's lust for Miss Crawford- in my opinion there is almost an erotic tone to the description.

Pic: Austen prose

Jane Austen Quote of the Week 173

2011-11-13T21:51:00.004+08:00

I am always amazed at what one can find when looking into all things "Jane Austen". I picked a number at random and turned to that number in Deidre LeFay's book on Jane's Letters and then found it in Brabourne's edition here: http://www.pemberley.com/janeinfo/brablet2.html#letter11

It turned out to be No. XI in the Brabourne Edition written from Steventon: on Sunday (November 25). Here is the section that struck my fancy:

We have got "Fitz-Albini"; my father has bought it against my private wishes, for it does not quite satisfy my feelings that we should purchase the only one of Egerton's works of which his family are ashamed. That these scruples, however, do not at all interfere with my reading it, you will easily believe. We have neither of us yet finished the first volume. My father is disappointed -- I am not, for I expected nothing better. Never did any book carry more internal evidence of its author. Every sentiment is completely Egerton's. There is very little story, and what there is is told in a strange, unconnected way. There are many characters introduced, apparently merely to be delineated. We have not been able to recognise any of them hitherto, except Dr. and Mrs. Hey and Mr. Oxenden, who is not very tenderly treated.

--------------

We have got Boswell's "Tour to the Hebrides," and are to have his "Life of Johnson"; and, as some money will yet remain in Burdon's hands, it is to be laid out in the purchase of Cowper's works. This would please Mr. Clarke, could he know it.

I like to know as much as I can about an author so that I can understand what their influences were and what they are trying to tell me. So this mention of "Egerton" led me to Egerton Brydges who happens to be a brother to her friend and neighbor, Mrs. Lefroy of Deane. That is why she was probably so interested in reading his book. It is still available today and if I had nothing else to do, I would read it just for fun to see what I could see. What is interesting also is the fact that she recognizes some of the characters as people she knew which leads one to think that it was a common practice to use 'real' people as inspirations. I know that I have seen people in my life that are right out of Jane's novels. In other words, as I say, people have not changed in 200 years.

While investigating Egerton, I found that he had written a commentary about a poet, namely, William Collins! Now where have I heard that name before? Ha! My amazement never ends!

In the next part of my quote she mentions Boswell and Cowper, who also bear some looking into, just for comparisons. This may not appeal to everyone, but this is an avenue I like to travel when I read books.

Happy reading,

Linda the Librarian

Pic: Samuel Egerton Brydges from Wikipedia

Jane Austen Quote of the Week 172

2011-11-06T20:44:00.004+08:00

To me, Jane Austen is many things altogether. One of them: she is one of the very few authors whose writings still attracts me, despite her long, long (and I mean LONG) sentences. So, when I found this letter today, I cannot help but laughing, because the short sentences were so unlike her long style!

But rest assure, dear friends. This letter was written by our dearest Jane, dated Wednesday 15 – Thursday 16 September 1813, to Cassandra Austen (LeFaye 1997 edition). The bolded parts are my own.

I am going to write nothing but short sentences. There shall be two full stops in every line. Layton and Shear's is Bedford House. We mean to get there before breakfast if it's possible; for we feel more and more how much we have to do and how little time. This house looks very nice. It seems like Sloane Street moved here. I believe Henry is just rid of Sloane Street. – Fanny does not come, but I have Edward seated by me beginning a letter, which looks natural.

Henry has been suffering from the pain in the face which he has been subject to before. He caught cold at Matlock, and since his return has been paying a little for past pleasure. – It is nearly removed now – but he looks thin in the face – either from the pain or the fatigues of his tour, which must have been great.

Lady Robert is delighted with P. & P – and really was so, as I understand, before she knew who wrote it – for, of course, she knows now. – He told her with as much satisfaction as if it were my wish. He did not tell me this, but he told Fanny. And Mr. Hastings – I am quite delighted with what such a man writes about it. – Henry sent him the books after his return from Daylesford – but you will hear the letter too.

Let me be rational, and return to my two full stops.

I talked to Henry at the play last night. We were in a private box -- Mr. Spencer's -- which made it much more pleasant. The box is directly on the stage. One is infinitely less fatigued than in the common way….

You know, I also attended several other forums, some of them are fan-fiction forums. In one of them, we sometimes made ‘round-robin’ fanfictions where every fan-fiction writer must write just a single sentence before another writer resume the sentence, in the style and direction entirely theirs! So what I did was copying Jane Austen’s paragraph-length sentence and got pretty much what I wanted to say in a sentence! A paragraph-length sentence, that is.

She’s such a delight, Jane Austen!

Pic: Cassandra (Anna Maxwell Martin) reading a (heavily edited) letter from Jane (Anne Hathaway) in Becoming Jane 2007

"Death Comes to Pemberley"

2011-11-03T21:42:00.003+08:00

This information was taken from Jane Austen Centre monthly newsletter.

Today a book is being published which was written by the English crime writer PD James called Death Comes to Pemberley

Sarah Crown from the guardian has written an article from which the following excerpt has been taken:

"The year," runs the press release, "is 1803, and Darcy and Elizabeth have been married for six years. There are now two handsome and healthy sons in the Pemberley nursery, Elizabeth's beloved sister Jane and her husband, Bingley, live within seventeen miles, the ordered and secure life of Pemberley seems unassailable, and Elizabeth's happiness in her marriage is complete. But their peace is threatened and old sins and misunderstandings are rekindled on the eve of the annual autumn ball. The Darcys and their guests are preparing to retire for the night when a chaise appears, rocking down the path from Pemberley's wild woodland, and as it pulls up, Lydia Wickham, an uninvited guest, tumbles out, screaming that her husband has been murdered."

Sounds interesting!!

Here is the link for the full article:
The latest Austen mashup: Pride and Prejudice and murder

Pic: Jane Austen centre, Bath

Gone Reading

2011-11-03T21:19:00.006+08:00

I would like to thank Brad for posting a comment and making us aware of a wonderful organisation called GoneReading. They provide products for book lovers which I am sure includes every one of our readers on this blog.

It was founded in 2011 and donates 100% of company profits to fund reading libraries and other literacy projects in the developing world.

They work with non-profit organisations such as READ global and Ethiopia Reads who partner local villages and communities in the most underdeveloped parts of the world to effect real change.

BETTER STILL they have a set of Jane Austen themed gifts, see here.

These gifts include t-shirts, mugs, bags.

So shop now to support such a wonderful cause. Founder Brad Wirz says "We believe that when people have open access to great reading materials, life always changes for the better," I couldnt agree more.

Pic : Taken from the GoneReading website

New wallpaper from Maria!

2011-11-03T21:13:00.002+08:00

My dearest Maria, please forgive us for missing your email notifying the new Becoming Jane Wallpaper! Totally unintentional!

So here's the beautiful wallpaper from Maria once more, dearest friends. Hope you like them as we do! Thank you so much, Maria. We hope you and your family are well.

1024 x 768

1680 x 1050

Tom Lefroy Quote of the Week - Week 12

2011-10-28T22:09:00.003+08:00

This quote jumped out at me this week. It is taken from page 243 of the memoir (part 6)- a letter written on 22nd February 1848.
The newspapers are full of stories of horrific crimes and it does make me feel very sick to think of the evil capabilities of some people.
I think Tom Lefroy was very accurate in this statement - "despair is no remedy", we should all be striving to do our duty to make this world a better place to live in and also for the sake of future generations. I fear that it is a sense of duty that has been lost.

"I confess I scarcely feel adequate to address you, for the heart sickens and the spirit flags at the contemplation of the apparently hopeless state of things which is presented to us by the amount of crime that it records, and the sadly demoralised state of your county which it exhibits.
But gentlemen, despair is no remedy for these evils; the only means by which they can be prevented is by every man in society doing his duty, and by a firm administration of justice. Emphatically, I say, gentlemen, that the state of your county demands that every man shall be found doing his duty, for that is the only way by which you can expect to remedy the evils which now press upon you."

I dont want this to appear as a negative quote, quite the opposite, I think it should be seen as some encouragement to work against some of the negative forces which exist.
I hope you all have a happy day.

Pic: Judges gavel

Jane Austen Quote of the Week 171 by Linda

2011-10-22T11:16:00.003+08:00

I wish to bring your attention once again to James Austen's periodical "The Loiterer" where we find in No. 36 a letter from a Lady named Mary Simple. I will go out on a limb and fanaticize that there is a possibility that it was written by our own dear Jane. She begins her letter thusly:

Dear Sir,

I HAVE always considered a Periodical Work, as a very useful, and necessary publication. For to omit all the amusement it dispenses, and all the morality it contains, I look upon the Author of it as a confidential friend, to whom we Women in particular can entrust our trifling narratives, whose advise we can demand on any occasion, and to whom we may unburden all those little griefs and complaints, which though not sufficiently important to awaken the attention of the public, are yet of too much consequence to be entirely concealed. With this view, Mr. Loiterer, I write to You; and after the recital, though you may not call my situation unhappy, at least you will allow it to be distressing.

Mary goes on to "unburden" her "little grief and complaint" which is entertaining though not earth shattering. To me, the letter sounds so much like our Jane's writing. You may wish to take a moment to read the entire No. 36 of The Loiterer HERE:

Yrs aff'ly,
Linda the Librarian

Pic: The Loiterer, currently being sold in Amazon! Linda, do you want to buy this copy?

Jane Austen Quote of the Week 170

2011-10-16T22:12:00.005+08:00

Australian and New Zealand readers, please forgive the rather late instalment for quote of the week. I have just returned from half a day tour de island where I live, and it would have been a quicker tour had we not experienced a mechanical trouble (flat, and I mean flat, battery!). Anyway, the tour was still pleasant, and my partner and I went out of the hustle and bustle of the southern part of the island, and clean and beautiful hills, mountains and beaches. Because I was still in travelling mode, this rather late quote is taken from Pride & Prejudice again (Chapter 42), when Elizabeth was about to go to Derbyshire.

The time fixed for the beginning of their Northern tour was now fast approaching; and a fortnight only was wanting of it, when a letter arrived from Mrs. Gardiner, which at once delayed its commencement and curtailed its extent. Mr. Gardiner would be prevented by business from setting out till a fortnight later in July, and must be in London again within a month; and as that left too short a period for them to go so far, and see so much as they had proposed, or at least to see it with the leisure and comfort they had built on, they were obliged to give up the Lakes, and substitute a more contracted tour; and, according to the present plan, were to go no farther northward than Derbyshire. In that county, there was enough to be seen to occupy the chief of their three weeks; and to Mrs. Gardiner it had a peculiarly strong attraction. The town where she had formerly passed some years of her life, and where they were now to spend a few days, was probably as great an object of her curiosity, as all the celebrated beauties of Matlock, Chatsworth, Dovedale, or the Peak.

Elizabeth was excessively disappointed; she had set her heart on seeing the Lakes; and still thought there might have been time enough. But it was her business to be satisfied—and certainly her temper to be happy; and all was soon right again.

I was a bit disappointed too today when the car broke down. The thing is, the car had already broken down yesterday, and we had fixed it. But apparently, the mechanic was not thorough enough and left the battery uncharged. Reminded me of the PP 2005 scene where Elizabeth and the Gardiners had to wait for the cart wheels to be repaired.

Still, it was a pleasant weekend after all. The time we took to repair the car had given us idea to go half-circling the island, hence we saw prettier sceneries than what we would have encountered in our original route.

What about you Ladies and Gents? Any recent trips that went a bit wrong, then it turned out to be another pleasant one in the end?

Pic: Keira Knightley as Lizzy Bennet viewing The Peak in PP 2005

Jane Austen Quote of the Week 169

2011-10-06T20:39:00.009+08:00

I decided on a funny quote this week. One of the characters I always have held with high regard is Mr Bennet for his wit and gentile nature.

This quote is from chapter 3 of Pride and Prejudice when Mrs Bennet and the girls have returned from the ball where Mr Bingley danced with Jane, and Mr Darcy and Elizabeth first set sights on one another.

"Oh! my dear Mr. Bennet,'' as she entered the room, "we have had a most delightful evening, a most excellent ball. I wish you had been there. Jane was so admired, nothing could be like it. Every body said how well she looked; and Mr. Bingley thought her quite beautiful, and danced with her twice. Only think of that my dear; he actually danced with her twice; and she was the only creature in the room that he asked a second time. First of all, he asked Miss Lucas. I was so vexed to see him stand up with her; but, however, he did not admire her at all: indeed, nobody can, you know; and he seemed quite struck with Jane as she was going down the dance. So, he enquired who she was, and got introduced, and asked her for the two next. Then, the two third he danced with Miss King, and the two fourth with Maria Lucas, and the two fifth with Jane again, and the two sixth with Lizzy, and the Boulanger --''

"If he had had any compassion for me,'' cried her husband impatiently, "he would not have danced half so much! For God's sake, say no more of his partners. Oh! that he had sprained his ancle in the first dance!''

What a fantastic father he was!

Pic: Mr Bennet and family

Tom Lefroy Quote - Week 11

2011-10-01T16:36:00.004+08:00

Our focus this week is on Tom Lefroy, so for a very interesting discussion of our Tom and Jane Austen, let me direct your attention to an essay written by my late friend Ashton Dennis which is posted on the "Male Voices in Praise of Jane Austen" web site that I maintain. He begins:

I wish to discuss a letter written by Jane Austen to her sister Cassandra on November 17 of 1798. This is the eleventh letter in the most recent edition of Jane Austen's letters published by Deirdre Le Faye (1997) and the tenth in the first collection of her letters published by her grand-nephew (Lord Brabourne, 1884). The latter reference is available on line at the Brabourne Collection . You won't need that link in this particular case, because I reproduce the entire letter for you at the end of this posting.

You are kindly invited to read the entire essay here: Jane Austen's Eleventh Letter

Ashton covers a lot of areas where Tom and Jane are concerned. I do hope you have a moment or two to read the entire page. It is in depth and will surely pull at your heart strings. Enjoy.

Yrs aff'ly,

Linda the Librarian

Pic: James McAvoy blog

Jane Austen Quote of the Week 168

2011-09-25T11:07:00.004+08:00

This week’s quote is from Sense & Sensibility, Volume III Chapter X, Penguin Classics 2003 edition. Elinor and Marianne had returned back to the Barton Cottage after Marianne’s illness. The sisters were having a walk.

The sisters set out at a pace slow as the feebleness of Marianne in an exercise hitherto untried since her illness required; -- and they had advanced only so far beyond the house as to admit a full view of the hill, the important hill behind, when, pausing with her eyes turned towards it, Marianne calmly said,

"There, exactly there" -- pointing with one hand, "on that projecting mound, -- there I fell; and there I first saw Willoughby."

Her voice sunk with the word, but presently reviving she added --

"I am thankful to find that I can look with so little pain on the spot! -- shall we ever talk on that subject, Elinor?" -- hesitatingly it was said. -- "Or will it be wrong? -- I can talk of it now, I hope, as I ought to do."

I have been in many situations where the act of mere looking at the spot of event gave me pain. But healthy intentions to heal, coupled with sufficient time, doth the trick. As I return back to my home island, I often drove by places that were too painful for me to look at in the past. I’m very grateful that those places are now just places for me. Nothing more, nothing less. Healing takes time, but when we set our purpose and actions on that matter, healing does happen.

Picture: Willoughby carrying Marianne after the accident, by C.E. Brock (Austenprose.com)

Jane Austen Quote of the Week - Week 167

2011-09-15T18:09:00.007+08:00

I have been away from the blog for a while and it is nice to be back.
Whilst I was away (in India) I did lots of self reflection as you can imagine and I realised just how busy my mind is and how I now endeavour to live my life with more calm. I am sure that will change swiftly with the return to the normal pace of life though.
These thoughts led me to my quote this week taken from Emma.
Emma is out shopping with Harriet and is led to the window as Harriet is "tempted by everything and swayed by half a word."

Emma is amused by what she sees and I like Jane Austen's observation of her mind:

"A mind lively and at ease, can do with seeing nothing, and can see nothing that does not answer."

I think that Emmas mind is always lively but less often at ease, but in standing watching the world she has found some calm and is content. However, sometimes it is just easier if we see nothing as this eliminates the pressure to process and contemplate what we see. I like the "can see nothing that does not answer" line as I think that this illustrates Emma's mental overactivity as she often has a habit of making something out of nothing - we see this throughout the whole novel.

It sure is tiring to have a lively mind. But also rather exciting.

Pic: Emma and Harriet

Tom Lefroy Quote – Week 10

2011-09-11T17:35:00.004+08:00

We have left behind Tom Lefroy for a while, so it’s time to revisit some of Tom’s personal aspects: gardening. Taken from his son’s (i.e. Thomas Lefroy) note in the Memoir of Chief Justice Lefroy page 51:

He had a great taste for gardening in early life, which induced him soon after his marriage to take a lot of ground in Leeson-street, (then on the outskirts of Dublin). On this lot he built the house which continued to be his town residence up to his death, enclosing a garden of about half an English acre; and here after he gave up going Circuit, he constantly spent a great part of his evenings during the spring and summer months in pruning his fruit trees and other garden work. I have still vividly before me our whole merry-hearted group – parents and children sallying forth into the garden after dinner, the youngest as well as the oldest taking share in the busy task of weeding borders, watering flowers, cutting shreds, or sitting at his side while he pruned the fruit-trees, and reading the pretty story book which he had bought on his way from Court in order that the evening might not pass without profit as well as pleasure.

Sigh…Beautiful… is it not? Reminding me that I must buy more flowers and shrubberies for my tiny weenie garden.

Pic: Camille Pissarro's The Gardener – Old Peasant with Cabbage

Jane Austen Quote of the Week 166

2011-09-04T21:29:00.004+08:00

My apologies for the near-last-minute instalment of the quote this week. I’ve been inspired by Sense & Sensibility for a few days, hence the quote is from this dear book. The Dashwoods and Edward Ferrars were talking about what to do when they have more than enough money. Something that Mrs Dashwood and Elinor said rang true to me today. Page 91 (Chapter 17 Penguin 2003 edition):

“I should be puzzled to spend a large fortune myself,” said Mrs Dashwood, “if my children were all to be rich without my help.”

“You must begin your improvements on this house,” observed Elinor, “and your difficulties will soon vanish.”

I like Elinor’s tongue-in-cheek observation. However, was it possible to renovate a rented property back in those days? I would think so, no? I wonder whether the Dashwood eventually bought the Barton Cottage from Sir John Middleton. I don’t recall reading it, but I of course can be wrong. I did find that the last page of the book explained that Mrs Dashwood remained in Barton Cottage.

At any rate, methinks home improvement is a very exciting project. I haven’t got enough cash flow to buy some new furniture for my rented place, but I did some gardening today. Not a 'home improvement' in the sense of renovation, but certainly seeing those greeneries at my backyard improved my mood!

Pic: Janet McTeer as Mrs Dashwood in Sense & Sensibility 2008

Jane Austen Quote of the Week 165

2011-08-28T14:30:00.006+08:00

This week's quote in honor of Jon Spence comes from "A Century of Wills from Jane Austen's Family 1705-1806" with introductions by Jon Spence.

From his introduction for Jane Leigh (born Walker) (1704-1768), Maternal grandmother of Jane Austen:

After Jane Walker's death [the maternal grandmother of our Jane Austen], her daughter Cassandra (by this time married to George Austen) [mother of our Jane Austen] purchased £3350 in South Sea Securities, which we may assume represents Cassandra's [our Jane Austen's mother] share of her mother's estate.

I have tried to simplify the complexity by adding information in brackets [] due to so many of the family having the same name.

What is interesting is to learn that Jane's mother did have some income/property. I am beginning to think that they were not all that desperately poor. Another interesting fact to discover is what exactly are "South Sea Securities". If anyone can shed more light on this subject, please do.

Linda the Librarian

Pic: Mrs Austen (Julie Walters) and Mr Austen (James Cromwell) in Becoming Jane (2007)

Jane Austen Quote of the Week 164

2011-08-21T11:07:00.002+08:00

This week's quote is from "Jane Austen's Brother Abroad" edited by Jon Spence and in Jon's honor. It is from Jon's introduction where he says:

I have implied here that the Jane Austen Society of Australia has decided to publish Edward's journals because he was Jane Austen's brother and assumed that admirers of Jane Austen would be curious to know more about him. In annotating the journals this assumption has been my guide; Historians and social historians might find interest in who Edward met, what he ate, where he stayed, how he travelled; art historians in what works of art he saw (and liked) and where he saw them; scholars with a special interest in the Grand tour in all the details of his time abroad; economists in what he paid.

And Jon was quite correct. We are interested in all those things. That is a very good reason to be grateful for all his editing work to get the Grand Tour published. Thank you dear Jon.

Linda the Librarian

Pic: Edward Austen Knight, from Jane Austen's World

Jane Austen Quote of the Week 163

2011-08-14T10:35:00.002+08:00

In honor of Jon Spence, this week's quote is from "Becoming Jane Austen" in Chapter 4 where he is discussing Jane's story in her Juvenilia named "Evelyn":

'Evelyn' is dedicated to Mary Lloyd, who with her widowed mother and elder sister Martha had been living at Deane parsonage since 1789. The hyperbolic graciousness of the Webb family in the story seems to be Jane's unsentimental, satirical way of thanking the Lloyds for their kindness to her at Deane.

This passage is especially interesting to me for Jane's use of the surname 'Webb' because that happens to be my maiden name. Jane also uses that name in Pride and Prejudice when she write of the "Miss Webbs". Because Jon mentions the Webb family, I went in search of the story 'Evelyn' since it was not in the paperback I have of the juvenilia. I did find it on line here: Evelyn

This nugget of information illustrates to me that we can never be sure of what treasure awaits us in some book or other.

Linda the Librarian

Pic: cover to 'Becoming Jane Austen' by Jon Spence

Jane Austen Quote of the Week 162

2011-08-06T20:30:00.003+08:00

Jon Hunter Spence born July 30, 1945, died June 20, 2011.

In tribute to Jon Spence, who wrote the biography "Becoming Jane Austen" we wish to dedicate our August quotes to him and his Jane Austen works. His book was the inspiration for the movie and this web site. We are saddened to learn of his passing and extend our condolences to his family and friends. He will be missed in the world of all things 'Jane Austen'.
You may read about him in the following two newspaper articles:

The Sydney Morning Herald (Australia) and The Telegraph (London)

I was surprised and touched to learn that he and I are of almost the same age and are (US) Southerners which renders a feeling of 'kinship'. Also, he received an MA from Tulane University in New Orleans and I spent 4 years working in New Orleans many years ago. It's an awesome feeling to find that you have something in common with someone so accomplished.

May he rest in peace.

In honor of him, this week's quote is from "Becoming Jane Austen" in Chapter 4 where he is discussing Jane's story in her Juvenilia named "Evelyn":

'Evelyn' is dedicated to Mary Lloyd, who with her widowed mother and elder sister Martha had been living at Deane parsonage since 1789. The hyperbolic graciousness of the Webb family in the story seems to be Jane's unsentimental, satirical way of thanking the Lloyds for their kindness to her at Deane.

This passage is especially interesting to me for Jane's use of the surname 'Webb' because that happens to be my maiden name. Jane also uses that name in Pride and Prejudice when she write of the "Miss Webbs". Because Jon mentions the Webb family, I went in search of the story 'Evelyn' since it was not in the paperback I have of the juvenilia. I did find it on line here:

Evelyn

This nugget of information illustrates to me that we can never be sure of what treasure awaits us in some book or other.

Linda the Librarian

Pic: Jane Austen Evelyn

Rest in Peace, Jon Spence...

2011-08-04T22:53:00.004+08:00

I cannot believe my eyes when I read Linda's email (dated two days ago but I didn't read it until just now).

Jon Spence, author of 'Becoming Jane Austen', the basic literature source for Becoming Jane the movie, had died at the end of July 2011. Forgive us for not knowing this earlier.

http://www.smh.com.au/national/obituaries/austen-expert-the-best-of-company-20110729-1i4c1.html

The article stated that Mr Spence took his own life. While we will never know what actually happened, we thank Mr Spence for his ideas and thoughts that shaped our current knowledge about Jane Austen, and Tom Lefroy.

In all honesty, I don't think this site would exist without Jon spending his days and nights writing Becoming Jane Austen. In many ways, we owe him a lot.

Rest in peace, Jon...

Pic: Jon Spence, from the Sydney Morning Herald

Jane Austen Quote of the Week 161

2011-07-31T20:54:00.004+08:00

This week's quote is taken from Mansfield Park, which reflects what I feel right now about time.

Oh! Do not attack me with your watch. A watch is always too fast or too slow. I cannot be dictated to by a watch.

These weeks I feel like time just slips away from my fingers... like sand on my fingers... I feel like I'm grasping here and there for life support... and I barely make it. I hope it won't last long... I hope I will regain control of my life sooner than later. But at the moment, I feel that a watch is useless to measure time.

Oh, special thanks to the Jane Austen Quotes site for providing me with this quote.

Jane Austen Quote of the Week - Week 160

2011-07-22T20:27:00.003+08:00

My chosen quote this week is from the opening words of chapter 6 of Persuasion.
Anne is leaving Kellynch Hall and visiting Uppercross where the Musgroves live.

"Anne had not wanted this visit to Uppercross, to learn that a removal from one set of people to another, though at a distance of only three miles, will often include a total change of conversation, opinion, and idea. She had never been staying there before, without being struck by it, or without wishing that other Elliots could have her advantage in seeing how unknown, or unconsidered there, were the affairs which at Kellynch Hall were treated as of such general publicity and pervading interest; yet, with all this experience, she believed she must now submit to feel that another lesson, in the art of knowing our own nothingness beyond our own circle, was become necessary for her; for certainly, coming as she did, with a heart full of the subject which had been completely occupying both houses in Kellynch for many weeks, she had expected rather more curiosity and sympathy than she found..."

I have bolded the line of particular interest. I chose this quote in light of the media frenzy which has been going on in the last few weeks in relation to phone hacking and immoral journalism. 200 years ago communication was so limited in comparison to the society of today; opinions and ideas changed with movement of only 3 miles. Now we are all subject to influence and are fed with opinions that we later vocalise as our own- the overwhelming power that the many newspapers, internet and television holds over us is really scary. I dont know about you but I would like to be transported back 200 years to have tea with Jane and formulate my own opinions with less interference.

Pic: Austenprose

Jane Austen Quote of the Week - Week 159

2011-07-16T03:13:00.004+08:00

This quote is from No. 9 of James Austen's "The Loiterer". The letter included in this issue most people believe to be written by our own Jane Austen. I firmly believe that myself. It sounds so much like something she would have written. She begins her letter to the editor thusly:

I write this to inform you that you are very much out of my good graces, and that, if you do not mend your manners, I shall soon drop your acquaintance. You must know, Sir, I am a great reader, and not to mention some hundred volumes of Novels and Plays, have, in the last two summers, actually got through all the entertaining papers of our most celebrated periodical writers, from the Tatler and Spectator to the Microcosm and the Olla Podrida. Indeed I love a periodical work beyond any thing, especially those in which one meets with a great many stories, and where the papers are not too long. I assure you my heart beat with joy when I first heard of your publication, which I immediately sent for, and have taken in ever since.

She continues on and chastises the editor in no uncertain words. You may read the entire letter here

It is my pleasure to inform you that I am the guilty party that put the entire Loiterer on line. When I aspired to do that, the Loiterer was being quite neglected and I thought it merited its own place on the internet. Jane's brother, James, was quite knowledgeable and educated in my opinion and deserves his own place in the sun as well as our dear Jane.

Because of 'Sophia's" mention of those other periodicals, I was intrigued so much so that I investigated and got my own copies (those that I could find in book form) or found on line to read. I am amazed at the subjects covered and the intelligence that appeared 'way back then'. We never know what treasures await us.

Linda the Librarian

Pic: James Austen

Jane Austen Quote of the Week 158

2011-07-10T09:41:00.004+08:00

This week's quote is taken from Sense and Sensibility, the first paragraphs of Chapter 6 when the Dashwoods moved to Barton Cottage in Devonshire.

THE first part of their journey was performed in too melancholy a disposition to be otherwise than tedious and unpleasant. But as they drew towards the end of it, their interest in the appearance of a country which they were to inhabit overcame their dejection, and a view of Barton Valley, as they entered it, gave them cheerfulness. It was a pleasant, fertile spot, well wooded, and rich in pasture. After winding along it for more than a mile, they reached their own house. A small green court was the whole of its demesne in front; and a neat wicket-gate admitted them into it. As a house, Barton Cottage, though small, was comfortable and compact; but as a cottage it was defective, for the building was regular, the roof was tiled, the window shutters were not painted green, nor were the walls covered with honeysuckles. A narrow passage led directly through the house into the garden behind. On each side of the entrance was a sitting room, about sixteen feet square; and beyond them were the offices and the stairs. Four bed-rooms and two garrets formed the rest of the house. It had not been built many years, and was in good repair. In comparison of Norland, it was poor and small indeed!- but the tears which recollection called forth as they entered the house were soon dried away. They were cheered by the joy of the servants on their arrival, and each for the sake of the others resolved to appear happy. It was very early in September; the season was fine; and from first seeing the place under the advantage of good weather, they received an impression in its favor which was of material service in recommending it to their lasting approbation.

The situation of the house was good. High hills rose immediately behind, and at no great distance on each side; some of which were open downs, the others cultivated and woody. The village of Barton was chiefly on one of these hills, and formed a pleasant view from the cottage windows. The prospect in front was more extensive; it commanded the whole of the valley, and reached into the country beyond. The hills which surrounded the cottage terminated the valley in that direction; under another name, and in another course, it branched out again between two of the steepest of them.

I had been looking for a house to rent the last two weeks. It's rather hard to find a decently priced house for rent in south Bali, everything seems to be excessively priced these days. I have started my work since 1 July, but I would not receive my salary until the end of the month (unfortunately, we don't have fortnight salary system in Indonesia). I have some savings for housing, but I cannot indulge on the more expensive options usually targeted for foreigners.

Having said that, I found a nice house just last Tuesday, situated by the paddy field. I have signed a contract last Saturday. It's every bit a scary adventure, for house renting in Indonesia is not protected by rigorous law. But the land lord and lady are a nice couple, so here's hoping that I will like my stay there. I signed the contract for two years, for I know how hard it is to get a good house in that price these days. Plus, I plan to start buying/building a house by the second half of 2012, so I definitely need a place to stay until then.

How about you, dear friends? Have any stories about house-renting (or house-buying) you can share with us?

Pic: Barton Cottage 1995

New header and desktop from Maria

2011-07-10T09:27:00.005+08:00

Dearest friends, last month Maria sent me a very lovely collection of new header and desktop for Becoming Jane Fansite. I am ashamed to say that I have neglected her email because of my thesis and the business of moving back to Indonesia. Hence, this is a make up post, terribly and excessively late by any standard. For that, we extend our apologies, particularly to dearest Maria.

The download links are here:

1024x768 px
1680x1050px

PS: Quote of the week is coming up.

"Emma" Production - Houston, Texas

2011-07-01T21:54:00.006+08:00

If any of you live in Houston, Texas and know the A. D. Players Theatre.
they have an upcoming production of Emma from July 6th - August 28th 2011.

More information about the show is available here.

If any of you do get to see it then please do leave us a comment with your review.

Pic: Theatre website

Jane Austen Quote of the Week - Week 157

2011-07-01T21:22:00.004+08:00

My chosen quote is from Mansfield Park. Edmund is speaking about the possible negative consequences of abdicating your own responsibilities:

"Had I a place to new fashion, I should not put myself into the hands of an improver, I would rather have an inferior degree of beauty, of my own choice, and acquired progressively. I would rather abide by my own blunders than by his.”

I think that he is a particularly moral and conscientious character in the novel and although his view is perhaps idealistic, it is definitely admirable.

I think that this quote can translate to many aspects of life; work, relationships, families, therefore it relates to us all.

Pic: Austenonly-Edmund Bertram (TV 2007)

Jane Austen and Kate Middleton

2011-07-01T20:49:00.010+08:00

Linda has directed us to an article written in the Daily Mail which suggests that the new Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton, may be related to Jane Austen. They may well be 11th cousins, six times removed but being a fan of Kate Middleton, I think it makes sense.

You can read the article here

Pics: Daily Mail article

Jane Austen Quote of the Week 156 by Linda

2011-06-26T15:58:00.003+08:00

I recently ran across a web site that prompted me to find out what our Jane Austen had to say on the subject of "defining a gentleman". Remembering that she used the word "gentlemanlike" quite a few times, I found this in Chapter 3 of Pride and Prejudice:

Mr. Bingley was good-looking and gentlemanlike; he had a pleasant countenance, and easy, unaffected manners. His sisters were fine women, with an air of decided fashion. His brother-in-law, Mr. Hurst, merely looked the gentleman; but his friend Mr. Darcy soon drew the attention of the room by his fine, tall person, handsome features, noble mien, and the report, which was in general circulation within five minutes after his entrance, of his having ten thousand a year. The gentlemen pronounced him to be a fine figure of a man, the ladies declared he was much handsomer than Mr. Bingley, and he was looked at with great admiration for about half the evening, till his manners gave a disgust which turned the tide of his popularity; for he was discovered to be proud, to be above his company, and above being pleased; and not all his large estate in Derbyshire could then save him from having a most forbidding, disagreeable countenance, and being unworthy to be compared with his friend.

The name of the site I found is titled "The Art of Manliness" and it appears to be quite civil and covers a whole lot of information, more than I am able to absorb at the moment. You may read about the site here: The Art of Manliness.

What is so extra nice is that there is a Jane Austen group there also called: Jane Austen Forum where I found 2 friends from the Male Voices site that I keep on the web.

I invite you all to explore the site 'to see what you can see'. Have fun.

Yrs aff'ly,

Linda the Librarian

Pic: the 2005 Mr Bingley (Simon Woods) and Jane Bennet (Rosamund Pike) from fanpop

Jane Austen Quote of the Week 155

2011-06-19T21:07:00.003+08:00

Still related to Father's Day, although not in the best of light compared to Rachel's thoughtful Tom Lefroy quote last week, I took a quote from a not-so-successful father figure in the Austen universe. From the first paragraph of Pride & Prejudice Vol III Chapter 8 (Chapter 30):

Mr. Bennet had very often wished, before this period of his life, that, instead of spending his whole income, he had laid by an annual sum, for the better provision of his children, and of his wife, if she survived him. He now wished it more than ever. Had he done his duty in that respect, Lydia need not have been indebted to her uncle, for whatever of honour or credit could now be purchased for her. The satisfaction of prevailing on one of the most worthless young men in Great Britain to be her husband, might then have rested in its proper place.

The bolded sentences are the focus here, while the rest of the paragraph are putting them in context. The main issue is Mr. Bennet's unpreparedness for secured funds, and that is I think something I need to work on now. I mean, I'm going to be 40 in three years, and I think it's time for me to lay an annual sum of money for - at least - my retirement fund, in addition to resume saving for my dream house that I've done so far. I have no child (yet), so I think at least I have to cover myself pretty well in the future. Perhaps some people see it silly that I start to think of retirement fund when I'm not even 40 yet, but my economist partner disagree. Retirement fund (we call it 'super-annuation' here in Australia) is very important and one must start as early as possible.

I will get a new job this July after (hopefully) submitting my PhD. As I get my first salary, I hope that I'm wise enough to save the greater proportion of it, instead of spending it for 'pretty but definitely can wait' items like (cough) dresses and shoes...

What about you Ladies and Gents? Any tips for retirement fund savings?

Pic: Benjamin Whitrow as Mr Bennet in the 1995 Pride & Prejudice

Bridget Jones’s Diary: A Classic Homage to Austen - by Laurie Viera Rigler

2011-06-17T18:09:00.009+08:00

I don't know about you but I love the Bridget Jones's Diary books (by Helen Fielding) and films. Laurie Viera Rigler (author of Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict and Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict) has written a great short article for International Chick Lit Month about the parallels between Pride and Prejudice and Bridget Jones's Diary.

You can read it here.

Pic 1: Pride and Prejudice Mr Darcy and Lizzy Bennet
Pic 2: Bridget Jones's Diary Mark Darcy and Bridget Jones

Tom Lefroy Quote Week 9

2011-06-12T05:57:00.013+08:00

Next sunday (19th June) in the UK it is Fathers Day so I thought I would chose a quote from a letter Tom wrote to his son taken from Tom Lefroy's memoir, page 33:

"I hope you are attentive to your business, and get your lessons, not merely so as to pass, but so as to understand them as perfectly as you can, and above all things, that you don’t loiter and waste time. When you play, - play, - but when you read, read and don’t play.
God bless you, my darling boy.
Your ever affectionate father,
T.L"

I thought that this was a lovely quote to demonstrate Tom's true affection for his son, and indeed all his children. I love the line "when you play, - play, - but when you read, read and don’t play." It is simple and direct but said with the authority of a father.

Pic: Father and son holding hands

James McAvoy as Prof Charles Xavier

2011-06-07T14:07:00.005+08:00

For you fine ladies and gents who do not dabble in science fiction literature, this post may not be for you. But I'd like to put it here for it talks about our dearest James McAvoy who had excellently portrayed Tom Lefroy (albeit a different version of the real one) in Becoming Jane 2007.

James McAvoy recently played the lead actor of X-Men: First Class and I saw his performance last night. And I remembered once again why I fell in love with his Tom Lefroy. Suffice to say that JMA is really a smart actor, able of expressing various emotional ranges in immediate successions, and very charming as well. Needless to say that his Scottish-turned-British accent was very soothing for my ears.

I recommend X-Men: First Class for you who misses JMA and wants to see him in a big screen again. I avoided him in Wanted because it was too action-packed for me. But X-Men: First Class was different, for it explores a wide variety of human emotions, the notion of being different and how one finds one's place on Earth despite (or because of) his/her uniqueness.

For those who have seen X-Men trilogy and wonder how JMA portrayed the young telepathic professor, you can read this interview. His explanations remind me of the role

Pic: Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) and Erik Lehnsherr (Michael Fassbender), best friends who later became enemies

Jane Austen Quote Week 154

2011-06-05T19:52:00.005+08:00

Here is the story that led me to this week's quote.

I have most recently looked into 'other cultures/lands' than my native America, because I stumbled across the movies "A Town Like Alice" (which I saw), "The Flame Trees of Thika" (at my library) both of which so intrigued me that I remembered a book recommended by a friend "Reading Lolita in Tehran" and then stumbling again across a book "Last Journey: a Father and Son in Wartime" (Iraq). Then I realized how little I knew of other places in this big, wide world of ours.

All that made me wonder what Jane might have written about other lands. Then I remembered this book I had: "Jane Austen's Brother Abroad - The Grand Tour Journals of Edward Austen" edited by our own Jon Spence of "Becoming Jane" fame. (My copy is autographed by Mr. Spence - you may turn green with envy now!). Here follows an excerpt from the first chapter dated August 5th, 1786 [Neuchatel to Berne]:

QUOTE:

I walked out in the evening with my new English companions and amused myself in feeding with bread a couple of enormous bears which are kept in a ditch at the entrance of the town for no other reason than through custom and a bear being the arms of the canton. From thence we continued our walk about a mile out of town to be spectators at a ball consisting of the nobility and gentry of the place which was had in the open air under a silken canopy suspended to four pine trees. The fineness of the evening, the dress and the seeming gayety of the dancers, the trees crowded with lamps of different colors, a number of sky rockets which continued to enlighten the air above us, and in short the whole sight pleased me exceedingly and gave me a good opinion of the manners in which the Bernois amuse themselves.

.....

The dress of the women of the lower rank in the Canton of Berne is very singular in the eyes of Englishmen. It consists of a short blue petticoat tied high up their waists and just reaching down to their knees. Their stockings are in general red. Their shift (for they wear not neck handkerchiefs) comes under their chin and buttons down their neck. Instead of stays they have a red cloth stomacher which comes up to the breast and is fasten'd round their waist with brass hooks and eyes. Their hair is combed back over their forehead and meets behind in two black ribbons, one of which is platted in to each plat, generally train on the ground. On the top of their heads they wear a plain cap of black velvet with broad lace of the same color. When they marry they no longer wear these long flowing plats of hair, but either cut them off or, what is more common, wear them in a kind of tress round the crown of their head, where they fasten them with a silver clasp. The men wear an odd sort of large puckered breeches, or rather trousers, which reach down to their feet, a short thick waistcoat, and frequently a small cloth hat, as do sometimes the women, when they go out.

END OF QUOTE

All I can say to that is "My! how times have changed!" You know what would be really fun to do - have ladies from many different lands get together and talk about their lives to discover how each of us really live and our beliefs, etc. Well, I can still dream.

Yrs aff'ly,
Linda the Librarian

Pic: Cover to 'Jane Austen's Brother Abroad' from JASA

Jane Austen Quote Week 153

2011-05-29T17:12:00.008+08:00

This week's quote is taken from Jane Austen's letter #22 (25 October 1800), written to Cassandra from Steventon:

The weather does not know how to be otherwise than fine.

Oh how I hope it shall be true for our friends in Midwestern USA where our dearest Linda lives. The weather there has been very terrible and it even cost life. Linda's town and her good self seem to be alright, but of course it is sad indeed to see the terrible news from that region, and from all around the world too (Iceland, for example).

I hope that we humans are wiser now and shall be more friendly towards our planet. I do believe that if we take care of the Earth, the Earth shall take care of us.

Picture: Emma (Romola Garai) in her umbrella

Anne Hathaway visited the JA Centre in Bath!

2011-05-25T09:36:00.006+08:00

Thanks to Linda for the lovely news, we found that Anne Hathaway visited the Jane Austen Centre in Bath! Awww... reminds me of the old time of watching the movie and crying over Jane and Tom...

The May Newsletter
Well, what an exciting month it has been here! Firstly, we had Anne Hathaway unexpectedly visit us at the Centre. She was absolutely lovely and signed a book for us. Then of course we’ve had the Royal Wedding. Did you watch it? I was there on the Mall! Now, if only Prince Harry would marry Pippa Middleton we could have a real life ‘Pride & Prejudice’ moment . . .

Pic: Anne Hathaway as our dearest Jane Austen in 'Becoming Jane'

Jane Austen Quote of the Week - Week 152

2011-05-18T22:39:00.004+08:00

I have chosen a quote from Northanger Abbey.

"Catherine would make a sad, heedless young house-keeper to be sure," was her mother's foreboding remark; but quick was the consolation of there being nothing like practice."

This stood out for me personally this week - over the last month I have attended a few meditation classes as it is a skill that has always seemed impossible for me, I just cannot rest my busy mind. I know it would benefit me and enrich my life but I find it so hard to focus and this agitates me. I went again last night and I saw it in a different way, there is no pressure, I will find it easier with time and practice - there really is nothing like practice.

Pic: Catherine Morland, Northanger Abbey

Memoir of Chief Justice Lefroy in Amazon

2011-05-16T08:00:00.003+08:00

Following the announcement we made over a year ago (geez... that long?), we'd like to inform you gentle readers that the Memoir of Chief Justice Lefroy is available in Amazon in a very lovely cover. It was published by Nabu Press in August 2010.

It's definitely a good price for an ancient book. And I cannot help thinking that our continuous discussions on Tom Lefroy has helped the publishing of this book. Perchance... the Radovici book might be reprinted as well one day?

Pic: Cover to the Memoir of Chief Justice Lefroy from Amazon

Tom Lefroy Quote - Week 8

2011-05-14T21:48:00.002+08:00

For our Tom quote this week, I have taken a small excerpt from a letter to his wife found in the "Memoir of Chief Justice Lefroy." The letter begins on page 28 where we find this report of his studies while traveling by coach:

"I read over and compared most part of the Epistle to the Romans, with all those to the Galatians and the Ephesians, and part of those to the Corinthians; every time I read and compare them new light breaks in, and I am determined I will work on without note or comment endeavouring to make out the meaning for myself, which I should think may be done by patience and attention."

He then continues on to explain what all he discerned from those scriptures and it is quite beautiful. You may read the entire letter yourself here: Memoir of Chief Justice Lefroy. The letter is found on pages 28 through 30. I can only imagine what this world would have gained if it had been possible for him to marry our dear Jane.

Yrs aff'ly,

Linda the Librarian

Pic: Tom and Jane, Becoming Jane

Jane Austen Quote of the Week 151

2011-05-08T10:52:00.003+08:00

This week’s quote was taken from Pride and Prejudice Chapter 32 (Penguin edition 2003, p. 175), where Mr Darcy visited Elizabeth at Mr Collin’s place.

Mr Darcy drew his chair a little towards her, and said “You cannot have right to such very strong local attachment. You cannot have been always at Longbourn.”

It was funny that I found this quote when I was counting down the days I have left in Australia. I have to return to Indonesia in less than two months due to visa expiry, and may not return here for one (if I’m lucky) or two years. Before I arrived in this little town where I live now, I never thought that I would settle in a place other than Bali. When I first arrived in my little town here in 2003, I was definitely NOT impressed by it. But now, I love it, and I am sad that I have to leave her. But leave I must, to make ways for my returning here in two years (if it makes sense at all).

I guess my point is, you never know where your life would take you. Although I never anticipated it, I am now glad that I now have two spiritual homes in Indonesia and Australia. Like Longbourn to Lizzy, Indonesia will always be my first home. But I have found my own little ‘Pemberley’ in Australia which I call home, and I want to return back here soon.

Did you ever flinch at the idea of leaving your hometown or a place you love the most, only to find your second home as you walk the path?

Pic: the 1995 Pemberley

BJ Calendar for May from Maria!

2011-05-05T15:17:00.003+08:00

Thanks ever so for Maria who is always excited to send us darling monthly Becoming Jane calendars! The May edition is this one, and can be downloaded from the links below.

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Jane Austen Quote of the Week - Week 150

2011-04-30T02:37:00.005+08:00

In chapter 21 of Emma the marriage of Mr Elton to Miss Hawkins has just been announced by Miss Bates. She says:

"It is such a happiness when good people get together—and they always do."

As I am sure all of you know today has been a very special day here in England (and all around the world) as Prince William married Catherine Middleton. The ceremony was wonderful and from the interviews I have heard and what I watched today, they really do appear to be "good" people. I wanted to use this quote to commemorate such a momentous occasion.

Pic 1: Mr and Mrs Elton
Pic 2: Prince William and Kate Middleton

Jane Austen Quote of the Week - Week 149

2011-04-22T16:22:00.005+08:00

Of special interest this week (with a surprise at the end) in Pride &Prejudice is Miss Mary King. We find her mentioned in the following chapters.

In Chapter 27 Elizabeth and her Aunt Gardiner are discussing Wickham's attachment to Miss King:

Mrs. Gardiner then rallied her niece on Wickham's desertion, and complimented her on bearing it so well.
"But, my dear Elizabeth," she added, "what sort of girl is Miss King? I should be sorry to think our friend mercenary."
"Pray, my dear aunt, what is the difference in matrimonial affairs between the mercenary and the prudent motive? Where does discretion end, and avarice begin? Last Christmas you were afraid of his marrying me, because it would be imprudent; and now, because he is trying to get a girl with only ten thousand pounds, you want to find out that he is mercenary." "If you will only tell me what sort of girl Miss King is, I shall know what to think."
"She is a very good kind of girl, I believe. I know no harm of her."
"But he paid her not the smallest attention till her grandfather's death made her mistress of this fortune."
"No -- why should he? If it were not allowable for him to gain my affections because I had no money, what occasion could there be for making love to a girl whom he did not care about, and who was equally poor?"
"But there seems indelicacy in directing his attentions towards her so soon after this event."

In Chapter 36 Elizabeth is re-evaluating the character (or lack thereof) of Wickham and she thinks:

How differently did everything now appear in which he was concerned! His attentions to Miss King were now the consequence of views solely and hatefully mercenary; and the mediocrity of her fortune proved no longer the moderation of his wishes, but his eagerness to grasp at anything.

In Chapter 39 we find that Miss King is saved from Wickham:

There is no danger of Wickham's marrying Mary King. There's for you! She is gone down to her uncle at Liverpool: gone to stay. Wickham is safe."
"And Mary King is safe!" added Elizabeth; "safe from a connexion imprudent as to fortune."
"She is a great fool for going away, if she liked him."
"But I hope there is no strong attachment on either side," said Jane.

Briefly, this covers Miss King's story. Now here is the surprise. Sophie St. Clair sent me an email at my web site "The Loiterer" to say that she had written a graphic novel about our "Miss King" in Pride and Prejudice. Sophie has a beautiful web site here: Sophie's Mary King and her book "Mary King- Volume 1" is available at Amazon here: Mary King. Both are definitely interesting. Enjoy.

Linda the Librarian

Pic: Sophie St. Clair

The Jane Austen Centre Features.....

2011-04-19T17:42:00.004+08:00

I wanted to acknowledge some of the great features in this months The Jane Austen Centre Monthly Newsletter.

Firstly an article entitled Art competition set to revive interest in Stoneleigh Abbey written in the The Courier, based in Warwick, UK.

Excerpts from the article:
"In 1806, the house passed to the Rev Thomas Leigh, a relative of Jane Austen, who is believed to have based descriptions in Northanger Abbey and Mansfield Park on the house and its grounds."

"Four Leaf Clover, which runs events at the historic house, is launching a competition to draw or paint either the west wing or its 14th century gatehouse."

"Pictures can be any size up to A1, in charcoal, pencil, watercolour, acrylic, oil or pastel. Entry is free. The closing date will be September 29 and winners will be announced on October 10."

I appreciate that the majority of our readers are not local to Warwick in the UK but I wanted to make you all aware of this excellent attempt to awaken interest in people about something so wonderful.

____________________________________________________________________

The Jane Austen Centre also points us to an article written by an English Literature teacher in the USA. It can be read here. The title of this article is "Why We Need Jane Austen or How to be a Gentleman with Examples Good and Bad."
He explains his experience of reading Pride and Prejudice with a group of young students and the joy it has brought him. Excerpts taken from the article:

"In short, Austen reminds us of the largely forgotten categories of the lady and the gentlemen. It is her genius to make us aspire to these roles even in a world where such notions are strange and often ridiculed."

"Austen’s gentlemen (I’m thinking especially of Darcy here) understand the call of duty; they are committed to family, reputation, propriety, and self-control. To be sure, Darcy takes himself quite seriously, but aren’t these pursuits serious by nature? To neglect one’s duty, to be careless of one’s family and reputation, to ignore the bounds of propriety and to indulge the appetites without restraint are not the actions of a gentleman. They represent, conversely, the behavior of a boor. Or, perhaps equally fitting, they are the actions of a male who has no sense of what it means to be a man."

Thanks to The Jane Austen Centre for making us aware. I would be really interested to here your comments ...

Pic 1: Article in The Courier
Pic 2: Period drama website

Jane Austen Quote of the Week - Week 148

2011-04-16T02:12:00.004+08:00

This week I have chosen a quote from Sanditon. Jane Austen died in 1817 leaving Sanditon unfinished. The novel is about the generation of a new town, named "Sanditon" and my chosen quote is taken from a letter (featured in chapter 5) in which one of its inhabitants, Diana Parker, wrote to her brother criticising the medical profession.

“We have consulted physician after physician in vain, till we are quite convinced that they can do nothing for us and that we must trust to our own knowledge of our own wretched constitutions for any relief.”

I have a personal interest in alternative therapies. I do not see them as a conventional medicine replacement but instead a means of complementing the conventional approach with less intrusive, supportive methods. My interest has led to many conversations with people who have a less than fond opinion of the medical profession and that is why this quote stood out to me.

I think that Diana's words are very wise and so true- ultimately we have to trust our own knowledge of self before any relief from an ailment can be experienced. I truly believe that a deep understanding of ourselves (body, mind and soul) has the power to achieve anything, what some would call miracles.

I find it interesting that Jane Austen in these last months of her life felt the urge to embrace such a topic as the pros and cons of the medical profession- it makes me wonder about her own experiences and whether she decided that her only relief was to try to truly understand herself.

Pic: Jane Austen sequels

Jane Austen Quote of the Week 147

2011-04-10T20:47:00.005+08:00

This week's quote was, once more, taken from Pride & Prejudice. Chapter 18 of Volume III (Chapter 60) in which Elizabeth and Darcy had confessed their love towards each other and Lizzy wrote a letter to Mrs Gardiner.

``I would have thanked you before, my dear aunt, as I ought to have done, for your long, kind, satisfactory, detail of particulars; but to say the truth, I was too cross to write. You supposed more than really existed. But now suppose as much as you chuse; give a loose to your fancy, indulge your imagination in every possible flight which the subject will afford, and unless you believe me actually married, you cannot greatly err.''

The context of this week's quote is the bolded phrase. Indulge your imagination in every possible flight. I feel it very relatable to me, for I had several problems last week (among others the final break down of my personal laptop) which made me cry big time today (well, not because of the laptop). But I felt better afterwards and started to look forward for better days. As my partner wisely put: when you have a bad day, just know that tomorrow will definitely be better.

Well, let's hope so. And that's what imagination is for.

Pic: found it over the internet last year, but I was careless not to note the source. Will search for it later... my apologies...

Jane Austen Quote of the Week - Week 146

2011-04-02T02:42:00.004+08:00

Since we are on the subjects of cakes, I did a bit more research on ‘sponge cakes’. The word ‘cake’ is mentioned once in Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, and Persuasion. Emma has 3 mentions and Sense and Sensibility and Northanger Abbey does not have any. Here is the one from Pride and Prejudice, Chapter 45 where Elizabeth finds herself visiting at Pemberley:

The next variation which their visit afforded was produced by the entrance of servants with cold meat, cake, and a variety of all the finest fruits in season; but this did not take place till after many a significant look and smile from Mrs. Annesley to Miss Darcy had been given, to remind her of her post. There was now employment for the whole party -- for though they could not all talk, they could all eat; and the beautiful pyramids of grapes, nectarines, and peaches soon collected them round the table.

The fruit is interesting also, especially the nectarines. I would not have thought that they were around way back then.

Next I did find a recipe for “Aunt Norris’ Spunge Cake” in the on line magazine from the Jane Austen Centre seen here: Recipe. This recipe is said to be from Raffald’s book quoted below, but I could not find that recipe in the original edition.

The reference on that page led me to look it up and here is the complete title “The Experienced English House-keeper, For the Use and Ease of Ladies, House-keepers, Cooks, &c. Wrote purely from PRACTICE, And dedicated to the Hon. Lady Elizabeth Warburton” by Elizabeth Raffald, and published in 1769. It has a recipe for ‘Spunge Biscuits’ and just to give you some idea of what all is involved, I’ll copy the recipe here from the Google copy of 1769:

Beat the Yolks of twelve Eggs half an Hour, put in a Pound and a half of Sugar beat and sifted, Whisk it well up ‘till you see it rise in Bubbles, beat the Whites to a strong Froth, Whisk them well with your Sugar and Yolks, beat in fourteen Ounces of Flour, with the Rinds of two Lemons grated, bake them in Tin Moulds buttered, or Coffins; they require an hot Oven, the Mouth must not be stopped, when you put them into the Oven, dust them with Sugar; they will take half an Hour baking.

This is beginning to sound like what we call “sponge cake” today, but please don’t ask me to explain ‘Coffins’ or ‘the Mouth must not be stopped’ because I have no idea. Whew, what a journey, and they did all this without the benefit of our electric kitchen gadgets.

Linda the Librarian

Pic: Period Dramas website

Jane Austen Quote of the Week 145

2011-03-27T16:41:00.007+08:00

This weekend’s quote was taken from Jane Austen’s letter in 1808 which was written for Cassandra Austen. It was a simple, no-brainer quote that I searched for because today I just tried a new green tea cake recipe. I am pleased to report that the cake did not disappoint me, although a slightly more moist texture would be preferable. The quote was directly taken from Pemberley.com.

Godmersham: Wednesday (June 15)

Your account of Anna gives me pleasure. Tell her, with my love, that I like her for liking the quay. Mrs. J. A. seems rather surprised at the Maitlands drinking tea with you, but that does not prevent my approving it. I hope you had not a disagreeable evening with Miss Austen and her niece. You know how interesting the purchase of a sponge-cake is to me.

So there you go. Miss Jane Austen loved sponge cake. I’m not certain that we can find a sponge cake recipe here in the Jane Austen Cookbook , but it’s always worth a try. Anyone has an award-winning sponge cake recipe they'd like to share?

Pic: Cover of the Jane Austen Cookbook (by Maggie Black & Deirdre le Faye)

Tom Lefroy Quote Week 7

2011-03-20T04:00:00.008+08:00

Since it seems to be the season for birthdays, I thought a quote from our own Tom Lefroy in “The Memoir of Chief Justice Lefroy” about his ninetieth birthday might be appropriate to celebrate Icha’s birthday today even though I am fairly certain that she is not 90.

Leeson Street, Jan. 9th, 1866

My Dearest Jeffry, - I have just received the congratulations of yourself, and your dear companions on God’s wonderful mercy in permitting me to see the ninetieth anniversary of my birth-day. It fills my heart with joy and thankfulness of no ordinary degree, when I find those I love ascribing praise for all our family mercies, to Him to whom all praise is due. I think I cannot do better in return than pray that the blessing which old Jacob gave to his loved son Joseph, may rest on my dear Jeffry, and his no less dear wife, who may well claim to be “a fruitful bough, and even a fruitful bough by a well.”

“May the God of thy fathers keep thee, may He bless thee with the blessings of heaven above, and bless thy progeny to the utmost bounds of the Everlasting Hills.” With fondest love from all the dear ones around me to you and yours, T.L.

I have to say that I admire his Godly expressions. They remind me of what I want to believe he discovered from our dear Jane at their ‘encounters’ at the dances. My beliefs are based on his notes at the beginning of the Memoir which I have quoted before. I especially want to wish our Icha the same blessing: “May the God of thy fathers keep thee, may He bless thee with the blessings of heaven above, and bless thy progeny to the utmost bounds of the Everlasting Hills.”

Happy Birthday, dear Icha from Team Jane. And I send Love from Linda the Librarian

Pic: Community live journal

Jane Austen Quote - Week 144

2011-03-13T02:35:00.005+08:00

In light of Icha's quote last week and the fact that it was International Women's Day last tuesday (8th March 2011), I would like to use a related quote from Northanger Abbey. This quote has been mentioned before on the blog when we wrote a review of Anne Newgarden's book The wit and wisdom of Jane Austen but not in the context of quote of the week.

This is taken from a conversation between Henry Tilney and Catherine Morland:

Henry: “As far as I have had the opportunity of judging, it appears to me that the usual style of letter-writing among women is faultless, except in three particulars.”

Catherine: “And what are they?”

Henry: “A general deficiency of subject, a total inattention to stops, and a very frequent ignorance of grammar.”

I shudder at the thought of the gender discrimination Jane Austen must have faced when she revealed herself as a 'female' authoress.
Icha commented in last weeks quote about how the wonderful gift of education is now offered to many more women in the world with each passing year. Things have come so so far in the 200 years since Jane Austen's time but lets hope that they can go further, and a time will come when men and women are truly viewed equally by all.

Happy International Women's Day!

Pic: Felicity Jones as Catherine Morland from The Lit Connection

Jane Austen Quote of the Week 143

2011-03-06T18:49:00.003+08:00

This week’s quote is taken from Persuasion, chapter 23 on the conversation between Capt Harville and Anne Elliot (Wentworth was writing THE love letter to Anne in the same room).

Capt Harville: “But let me observe that all histories are against you -- all stories, prose and verse. If I had such a memory as Benwick, I could bring you fifty quotations in a moment on my side the argument, and I do not think I ever opened a book in my life which had not something to say upon woman's inconstancy. Songs and proverbs, all talk of woman's fickleness. But perhaps, you will say, these were all written by men.”

Anne Elliot: “Perhaps I shall. Yes, yes, if you please, no reference to examples in books. Men have had every advantage of us in telling their own story. Education has been theirs in so much higher a degree; the pen has been in their hands. I will not allow books to prove anything.”

Two centuries have passed by since Miss Austen’s era, and so many had changed in the way education is conducted in many countries. Many women now have the same chance of enjoying education like men, such that I have nothing but utter gratitude for my luxury. However, at the same time, in many places too remote culturally, emotionally or geographically from where I am now, so many women are still without proper access to education, and if they do, they might have to do that in fear that it will be cut short one way or another, usually from the lack of fund in the family (forcing the parents to choose only the boys in the family to go to school and leave the girls to help in the kitchen) or from the lack of security (Afghanistan is an example popping into my mind now, but not the only one for sure).

So here’s to the hope that one day, sooner than later, any girls and boys in every spot in this planet will have equal opportunities to enjoy education and hence better their lives.

Pic: Art by Hugh Thompson on the scene where Wentworth gave Anne his love declaration letter, from Heritage Image. The conversation between Anne and Harville took place before this scene.

March desktop calendar from Maria!

2011-03-06T18:32:00.003+08:00

Sorry for the belated posting; I was a bit under the weather last week (and Maria sent it on 27 Feb!). But thanks a lot Maria!

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Jane Austen Quote - Week 142 - From Linda

2011-02-26T23:24:00.004+08:00

In Chapter 14 of Emma we find Emma mentally berating Mr. Elton in a very long paragraph, but in the very next paragraph we find her thoughts turning to Mr. Frank Churchill and marriage in our quote for this week:

"Now, it so happened that in spite of Emma's resolution of never marrying, there was something in the name, in the idea of Mr. Frank Churchill, which always interested her. She had frequently thought - especially since his father's marriage with Miss Taylor - that if she were to marry, he was the very person to suit her in age, character and condition. He seemed by this connection between the families, quite to belong to her. She could not but suppose it to be a match that everybody who knew them must think of. That Mr. and Mrs. Weston did think of it, she was very strongly persuaded; and though not meaning to be induced by him, or by anybody else, to give up a situation which she believed more replete with good than any she could change it for, she had a great curiosity to see him, a decided intention of finding him pleasant, of being liked by him to a certain degree, and a sort of pleasure in the idea of their being coupled in their friends' imaginations."

Please pardon me for dwelling on the subject of ‘marriage’ and the ‘how to do it’ ideas, but when you have been around as long as I have, one does learn a little something. And just as Emma has a tendency to do, I find myself wishing to pass on the bits that I did learn.

The crux of the matter is in those underlined words in the quote. I have previously commented on that subject a year ago in my post HERE. You may wish to read that one again to get the context. There are some books now that cover this topic in detail, so I admonish you all to do your ‘homework’ so as to not make any great mistakes and save yourself a lot of heart aches.

Yrs aff’ly,

Linda the Librarian – who’s been there, done that

Pic: Frank Churchill in BBC TV series of Emma (2009)

Tom Lefroy Quote - Week 6

2011-02-20T17:30:00.003+08:00

The quote I have chosen represents Tom's dedication to his religious faith and how it comforted him in times of need.

The following was written in 1852 (Tom was 76 years old) in a letter to his wife:

"Amidst all the gossiping rumours of the last few days these sweet words have kept my mind very quiet 'Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you : not as the world giveth, give I unto you - let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.' I cannot delay but a moment longer, except to send my love to all the dear ones around you."

The quote within the quote is taken from the bible - John 14:27.

We all have methods which comfort us in situations of unease and in my opinion the words which keep Tom's 'mind quiet' are quite beautiful. The fact that he shares them with his wife is very charming.

Pic: JamesMcAvoy.com

Quiz from The Jane Austen Centre

2011-02-16T22:55:00.005+08:00

There is an exciting new quiz on The Jane Austen Centre website for you to try.
There are 10 questions and the theme is Love. Your results are posted straight back to you.

The Jane Austen Centre Quiz

Give it a go and let us know how you do. Which questions did you find particularly hard?

The picture provides help with one of the answers ...

Happy quizzing

Pic: BBC website

And a new Valentine edition banner!

2011-02-15T09:03:00.002+08:00

Thanks a lot Maria! You are so valuable here!

And some love for Jane's brother George...

2011-02-14T08:58:00.004+08:00

I have been meaning to post this one, but I kept forgetting it. Last January, Jane Austen Centre of UK adopted one of our old articles about George Austen (Jane's brother, not her father), the deaf in the family. Laura of the JA Centre expanded it by adding a lovely letter from Jane that depicted her ability to use sign language. The letter is below, and the link to George in JA Centre is here.

"We spent Friday evening with our friends at the boarding-house, and our curiosity was gratified by the sight of their fellow-inmates, Mrs. Drew and Miss Hook, Mr. Wynne and Mr. Fitzhugh; the latter is brother to Mrs. Lance, and very much the gentleman. He has lived in that house more than twenty years, and, poor man! is so totally deaf that they say he could not hear a cannon, were it fired close to him; having no cannon at hand to make the experiment, I took it for granted, and talked to him a little with my fingers, which was funny enough. I recommended him to read Corinna." ~Jane Austen to Cassandra, December 27, 1808

Thanks so much Laura for thinking of George too. He is usually rather forgotten, and it's nice to give love to someone like that.

Pic: Jane (Anne Hathaway) and George (Philip Culhane) from Becoming Jane the movie

And a very lovely Valentine wallpaper from Maria!

2011-02-14T08:51:00.003+08:00

Thanks so much dearest!

Download here:

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Wallpapers by Maria from Sweden

Jane Austen Quote of the Week 141

2011-02-13T21:23:00.012+08:00

This week I ventured into Sense & Sensibility again to find anything for tomorrow's Valentine's Day. I found this passage and I hope it serves us all. Volume III Chapter 12, last paragraph. It was when the Dashwoods finally found out that Edward Ferrars was not married to Lucy Steele.

Elinor could sit it no longer. She almost ran out of the room, and as soon as the door was closed, burst into tears of joy, which at first she thought would never cease. Edward, who had till then looked anywhere rather than at her, saw her hurry away, and perhaps saw - or even heard, her emotion; for immediately afterwards he fell into a reverie, which no remarks, no enquiries, o affectionate address of Mrs. Dashwood could penetrate, and at last without saying a word, quitted the room, and walked out towards the village; - leaving the others in the greatest astonishment and perplexity on achange in his situation, so wonderful and so sudden;- a perplexity which they had no means of lessening but by their own conjectures.

Most of us feel for Elinor. Yes, of course we feel for Marianne too (and I am very happy that she was eventually married to my fave hero Col Brandon). However, Elinor never uttered a word about her own suffering, thus her happiness to me was somewhat special.

A friend of mine told me recently of an unfortunate engagement that was broken a few months ago; leaving her wings clipped. She asked me how I got over my own broken heart more than a year ago before I met my current partner. I told her, "With many tears and catharsis. But also by trying to truly enjoy being me and just live for the moment."

I hope what I said helped her. I think Elinor and Marianne would agree. Marianne would cry herself to sleep and Elinor would busy herself with anything around the house. And somehow, as Elinor (in this case) was ready to let go of the past and walk her life alone... somehow things changed rapidly around her for her benefit. I bet she had not expected that Edward would walk in with such a confession when she woke up that morning.

And there's the line of the week: we never know what's around the corner, so just do our best and enjoy the ride. Afterall, before we love someone else, we have to be totally in love with ourselves first. And there maybe something sweet as we turn around the corner which we might fail to see if we are too busy looking at the past.

Happy Valentine, everyone. Love and Peace for us all.

Pic: Elinor (Emma Thompson) and Edward (Hugh Grant) from Sense & Sensibility 1995

February Calendar

2011-02-07T19:22:00.005+08:00

To match the wonderful header, Maria has also produced a stunning calendar for this month. I can only apologise that we are already 7 days into the month.

Thanks Maria.

Update 8 Feb11:

Links to the high resolutions of the wallpaper:

1024 x 768

1280 x 800

1680 x 1050

New Header from Maria

2011-02-07T19:10:00.003+08:00

Thank you so much Maria for taking the time to produce such a wonderful new header.

Jane Austen Quote - Week 140- by Linda

2011-02-06T19:42:00.005+08:00

This quote is so very appropriate for this season’s weather conditions that I simply had to use it!

From Emma, chapter 13:

"What an excellent device," said he, "the use of a sheep-skin for carriages. How very comfortable they make it; impossible to feel cold with such precautions. The contrivances of modern days indeed have rendered a gentleman's carriage perfectly complete. One is so fenced and guarded from the weather, that not a breath of air can find its way unpermitted. Weather becomes absolutely of no consequence. It is a very cold afternoon -- but in this carriage we know nothing of the matter. Ha! snows a little I see."

What really struck me is the phrase “contrivances of modern days” – modern days, indeed! And then “snows” – wow, we have certainly had more than our share of snow this season, to be sure. I would love to see their reactions if they were able to see all our ‘modern contrivances’ of today!

Linda the Librarian

Pic: Emma-missvintagegirl blog

Tom Lefroy Quote - Week 5

2011-01-30T22:12:00.003+08:00

I hope she does not mind telling our readers but Linda is celebrating a very special birthday today. Happy Birthday Linda!!
I have picked a Tom Lefroy quote, taken from his memoirs. It is from a letter written to his wife in the year of 1846 (when Tom was 70 years old).

Page 240 of the Memoir of Chief Justice Lefroy

To his wife

Parsontown,
Saturday Night.

I fly about, as you will see, with great agility. I slept in Cork on Thursday night, at Mitchelstown Castle last night, and here I am to-night nearly seventy miles on my way to Carig-glas. I hope to-morrow to spend a quiet day with Lord Rosse, and mount to the skies by the help of his wonderful telescope, but in a better sense also by a quite Sunday passed as it ought to be in thanksgiving and praise for all the mercies of the last five weeks.

We wanted to highlight Tom's great commitment to activity, both mental and physical. He was a very strong, determined man and an inspiration to many. In his positivity and grace, he never forgot to be thankful for what he had.

I hope that this year is very special for you Linda.

Pic: Thomas Langlois Lefroy, circa 1855

Jane Austen Quote of the Week 139

2011-01-23T11:38:00.009+08:00

This week's quote is taken from Jane Austen's Letters (Le Fay 1995), p. 305.

Letter 132(D). To James Stanier Clarke

Monday 11 December 1815

Dec: 11.

Dear Sir

My Emma is now so near publication that I feel it right to assure You of my not having forgotten your kind recommendation of an early Copy for Cn H.-& that I have Mr Murray's promise of its being sent to HRH. under cover to You, three days previous to the Work being really out.-

I must make use of this opportunity to thank you dear Sir, for the very high praise you bestow on my other Novels - I am too vain to wish to convince you that you have praised them beyond their Merit.-

I am glad I found this letter, for it reminds me that every step of our success has been made with the help of others. Case in the point: I am to have my pre completion seminar for my postgraduate degree in a few days' time. While I was preparing my powerpoint slides yesterday, I realised that none of these would happen, I would have not been there to write my slides, had my respondents not allowed me to interview them. Had I not have amazing volunteers to help me, amazing supervisors to guide me, caring friends to comfort me... and my partner to catch me when I fell.

I realise now that when I stand to present my findings next Friday, I actually can only do so in the kindness of others. And for that, I sincerely thank them all. And I thank you all, dear friends, for accompanying us Team Jane this far.

Pic: My favourite Emma cover from Wordsworth edition

Tom Lefroy Quote Week 4 by Linda

2011-01-16T14:02:00.004+08:00

My Tom quote this week comes from a footnote explaining the Lefroy lineage in Chapter 1 of the Memoir of Chief Justice Lefroy:

"Antoine Loffroy came from Flanders about the year 1569, in the time of the Duke of Alva's persecution. He brought with him a considerable sum of money and jewels; but his estate shared the same fate with that of many other refugees who left France on account of their religion, being confiscated, and all the family writings, papers &c., destroyed. His wife was a Flanderine lady of the first quality, and very rich, of the family of the Du Hoorns. He had two sons, Isaiah, born in Flanders, and David, born after his arrival in England. He, finding a number of refugees in Canterbury, and induced by the convenience of the French church, resolved to fix there."

I quote this because I am on a mission to see if there is any truth to the belief of so many biographers of Jane and Tom that Tom was poor and found it necessary to marry "money". So far I have not found this to be true, but my mission is not completed as yet. As the old saying goes, "follow the money". So, if there is anyone out there with more time on their hands than I have to do research, you may want to look into this book on line: "Notes and Documents Relating to the Family of Loffroy, by a cadet [J.H. Lefroy]"

My personal opinion is that Tom and Mary Paul had some type of "understanding" before he met Jane, since he had known her a couple of years already. Because Tom was the gentleman that he was, he would not abandon Mary. So we shall see. More later.

Linda the Librarian

Pic: James McAvoy as Tom Lefroy in 'Becoming Jane'

Jane Austen Quote of the Week - Week 138

2011-01-08T19:35:00.003+08:00

Happy New Year to you all.

I was reading chaper 31 of Sense and Sensibility and I have chosen a couple of quotes. In this chapter Elinor and Marianne are still in London with Mrs Jennings. Marianne is distraught by the broken situation between herself and Willoughby and she has just received a letter from her mother who still does not know the situation. Elinor has started to write a letter to their mother to explain when Colonel Brandon arrives unannounced.

"It is Colonel Brandon!" said she, with vexation. "We are never safe from him ."
"He will not come in, as Mrs. Jennings is from home."
"I will not trust to that ," retreating to her own room. "A man who has nothing to do with his own time has no conscience in his intrusion on that of others."

I have highlighted the last line as it really made laugh, I am in complete agreement, it is so true. I fully believe that we should try to 'be' slower to counter the unbelievably fast pace of the life that we find ourselves in but on the other hand I have met many people who are totally oblivious to the situation and people around them and I have to admit, this has frustrated me.

The chapter continues with Colonel Brandon arriving to tell Elinor the truth regarding Willoughby's mistreatment of the daughter of Eliza, the woman Colonel Brandon loved deeply. He ponders whether he should declare such painful news:

"My regard for her, for yourself, for your mother -- will you allow me to prove it, by relating some circumstances, which nothing but a very sincere regard -- nothing but an earnest desire of being useful -- -. I think I am justified -- though where so many hours have been spent in convincing myself that I am right, is there not some reason to fear I may be wrong?" He stopped.

Again it was the last line that struck me. Decisions are very hard to make and personally (much to my dislike) I am a very indecisive character. The act of making a 'right' decision is impossible considering we do not have the resources to see into the future. People always say things like 'what will be will be' or 'things happen for a reason' but I am still not fully convinced of this theory. I have often been inflicted with what Colonel Brandon describes above; with all the repeated justification that a decision is a right one, there is always that element of doubt that you are in fact missing something. It is indeed scary.
Also, it is always a challenge to determine, particularly when others are involved, whether there are particular situations where words should be spared for the sake of anothers feelings.

So this quote is for all the thinkers out there who flit between one decision and another without any real certainty that they are right.

Pic: Elinor and Marianne

Jane Austen Festival Australia 2011

2011-01-06T17:47:00.008+08:00

I've been aware of this news for at least a month now, but just kept forgetting to post it.

Anyway, yes Ladies and Gents: the Jane Austen Festival Australia 2011 is to be conducted in the fine city of Canberra on 14-17 April 2011!

The early bird tickets were already sold out (!), but there are regular tickets (AU 225) and door tickets (AU 295) remaining for Adult over 18. You can also apply as a volunteer, there is discount ticket for that!

There are various programs, including Ribbon Trims, Regency Sleeve Styles (I was not aware of various sleeves in Regency era!), Regency Riding Habit (there you go Darcy!), Austen in Performance, Gothic Novels of the 18th CE (is Miss Morland to attend?), Regency Spicing, Chemisette workshop, Regency Makeup, Hair Styling the Regency Way, and Jane Austen's Music!

Alas, my student visa expires on 28 March and towards Bali I must thusly go beforehand. Otherwise, I'd tag my partner along (his birthday is the last day of the festival) and dress from head to toe in Regency style. I even have the dress ready, look! Just came from Etsy a few days ago.

I am just unsure that my partner wishes to dress as Mr Knightley in Regency style. Hmmm... Perhaps we can save it for next year instead... that is if the Immigration lets me visit with the tourist visa.

Pic 1: Jane Austen Festival Australia 2011
Pic 2: Me in my baby blue Austen dress!

Austen wedding dress

2011-01-03T12:08:00.006+08:00

Found this one on Etsy again; the tag says Edwardian wedding dress, but I think it's very much a Regency style. Size small, so definitely not for me (not that I have a wedding coming up soon anyway!). Lovely buttercup ivory satin with a medium train. A bit pricey at $98 (before 20% discount), but for a wedding in February or so, it might be worthwhile!

Tom Lefroy Quote Week 3

2011-01-02T12:42:00.010+08:00

Happy New Year my dear friends! From the bottom of our hearts, Team Jane wishes you the best year ever (so far of course, and much more to come), full of love, health, happiness and prosperity.

To celebrate the New Year, I looked for some quotes from Tom (because we have not quoted him for a while) and found this one. From The Memoir of Chief Justice Lefroy p 241, addressed by Tom Lefroy to his wife (Mary Paul):

Carrig-glas

March 31, 1846

Here I am again, thanks be to our gracious Lord, who has been with me at my going forth and my returning, and followed me all the way with His mercy and goodness. Oh, how we ought to desire not to be left to ourselves.

Indeed, I found myself utterly blessed and guided throughout the year 2010, I hope I shall receive the same (or more) bliss and guidance throughout 2011. And the same hope for you all, of course. Thanks for accompanying our journeys so far, and may the Eternal Light bless us all.

Pic: Fresh snow, fresh start

Jane Austen Quote of the Week 137 by Linda

2010-12-24T13:13:00.007+08:00

For our Christmas quote this year, I searched Pride and Prejudice for a mention of Christmas. What I was particularly looking for was something that resembled what we do during the season in today's world. In Chapter 25 I found this instance where Mrs. Bennet's brother and his wife, Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner, are introduced:

On the following Monday Mrs. Bennet had the pleasure of receiving her brother and his wife, who came as usual to spend the Christmas at Longbourn...

The first part of Mrs. Gardiner's business on her arrival was to distribute her presents and describe the newest fashions...

Here we see two customs mentioned, namely, the family gathering and the giving of presents. As a matter of fact, that is what my family does even today.

"Christmas" is alluded to 5 times in P&P to indicate the time of year when something else occurred. So now I am happy that times haven't changed so very much in all these years.

We, here at the Becoming Jane Fansite, wish to take this opportunity to wish you all the Merriest of Christmases and the Happiest of New Years!! Blessings to all.

Yrs affectionately,
Linda the Librarian

Pic: Regency family Christmas scene from Allposter.com

Jane Austen Quote of the Week - Week 136

2010-12-17T18:51:00.003+08:00

This week was meant to be Tom's turn but considering it was Jane's 235th birthday yesterday we thought that Tom would not mind if we recognised Jane instead!

I was looking for a quote that would link in nicely with Jane's birthday celebrations but I have found one which instead links in nicely with this time of year and the weather situation in the UK at the moment! As readers from the UK will know we have had our fair share of snow these past few weeks. I have heard alot of moaning and there is more due to arrive this weekend - I have found this lovely quote taken from a letter written by Jane to her sister Cassandra which echoes these views. The letter was written on December 2nd 1815 (two weeks before her birthday) at Hans Place (Henry Austen's home in London).

"I am sorry my mother has been suffering, and am afraid this exquisite weather is too good to agree with her. I enjoy it all over me, from top to toe, from right to left, longitudinally, perpendicularly, diagonally; and I cannot but selfishly hope we are to have it last till Christmas -- nice, unwholesome, unseasonable, relaxing, close, muggy weather."

I love the sense we get of her wanting to wrap herself up in the warm weather. She seems happy and I love the excitement in her tone. Such great use of adjectives in only two sentences. I am going to try to mimic the same excitement when I go out today in my coat, scarf, gloves and hat!

Happy Birthday Jane.

Pic: thesecretunderstandingofthehearts blog

Eliza de Feuillide at Jane Austen Centre UK!

2010-12-17T09:01:00.003+08:00

Our deep gratitude once more to Laura Boyle of the Jane Austen Centre UK for using one of Becoming Jane Fansite articles in their prestigious website. This time, Eliza de Feuillide nee Hancock is the Christmas feature of the year. JA Centre has taken this article, excellently written by Rachel in July 2007 (dear Lord, that long ago?!).

Once again, thanks to Laura for the adaptation and Rachel for the article!

Pic: Eliza (Lucy Cohu) and Henry (Joe Anderson) in 'Becoming Jane' (2007)

Happy Birthday Jane!

2010-12-17T08:41:00.008+08:00

Roxana reminded me that yesterday (Australian time) was Jane Austen's 235th birthday (thanks Roxana!). Since it's still 16 December in U.S., I can still safely wish Jane a very happy birthday without being ashamed of being late.

And Maria provided me with a Google picture of what looks like Jane Austen and Tom Lefroy here, so thanks to Maria as well!

More Austen dresses

2010-12-16T09:22:00.004+08:00

Nicole from Etsy gave me this link to a very pretty dress (right side) that might be desirable for some of us. It's not truly faithful to Regency style, but still has a high empire waist and overall Regency look. For $10, it's a big bargain!

There are some more dresses in Etsy (search for 'Austen dress' or 'Regency dress'), but this blue velvety one also attracts me (left side). It's too hot for my city and I'm not fond of long sleeves, but who knows it fits Austenites in Northern hemisphere?

A beautiful painting of Austen dresses

2010-12-15T16:21:00.004+08:00

I should stop visiting Etsy; but in my defense, if I didn't visit that place, I wouldn't find my Austen dress. There was another item I found a few days ago that I'd like to share: A very beautiful painting of Austen Dresses by Janet Hill. She's a very talented artist and I wish I have enough money to buy the original oil painting of this print; but I am certain another lucky soul has snatched it up to adorn her/his abode...

Oh how I wish I have those dresses... and opportunities to wear them!

Pic: 'Austen Dresses' by Janet Hill

The Jane Austen Made Me Do It Short Story Contest

2010-12-15T13:49:00.002+08:00

In conjunction with the publication of the new anthology Jane Austen Made Me Do It, Ballantine Books, Austenprose.com, and The Republic of Pemberley are pleased to announce an online short story contest. Enter for a chance to win the Grand Prize: publication of your entry in the anthology – a collection of original short stories inspired by the life and works of popular English novelist Jane Austen (1775-1817). Hosted by the Jane Austen web site The Republic of Pemberley, the contest begins on January 1, 2011. Publication of Jane Austen Made Me Do It is tentatively scheduled for publication by Ballantine in Fall 2011.

Contest Highlights

· Eligibility: Previously unpublished U.S. residents over the age of 18
· Entries must be approximately 5,000 words in length
· Manuscript submission January 1 – February 13, 2011
· Voting for the Top Ten finalists February 14 - 28, 2011
· Top Ten finalists announced on March 1, 2011
· One Grand Prize winner receives $500.00 and a contract for publication in the anthology Jane Austen Made Me Do It
· Grand Prize winner announced Fall 2011 in conjunction with the official release by Ballantine Books (Random House, Inc.) of Jane Austen Made Me Do It

Jane Austen Made Me Do It contains more than twenty best-selling and popular authors who have contributed short stories inspired by Jane Austen, her novels and her philosophies of life and love. From historical continuations of her plots and characters to contemporary spinoffs and comedies, the stories encapsulate what we love about our favorite author: romance, social satire and witty humor. Contributing to the line-up are best-selling authors Karen Joy Fowler (The Jane Austen Book Club), Adriana Trigiani (Brava, Valentine), Lauren Willig (The Pink Carnation series), Laurie Viera Rigler (The Jane Austen Addict series), Syrie James (The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen), Stephanie Barron (Being A Jane Austen Mystery series), and the husband and wife writing team of Frank Delaney (Venetia Kelly’s Traveling Show) and Diane Meier (The Season of Second Chances). Many Austenesque authors and others from related genres have also contributed stories to the project. One spot in the anthology remains open for the lucky Grand Prize winner.

The anthology’s editor, Laurel Ann Nattress of Austenprose.com, is very excited at the prospect of discovering the next star in the burgeoning sub-genre of Jane Austen sequels and inspired books. “Jane Austen has been inspiring writers for close to two hundred years. It seems quite fitting that she should be the witty muse of our anthology and short story contest. Encouraging writing and discovering new talent is in spirit with her true legacy. I am ‘all anticipation’ of what will develop, and am honored to be part of the selection team.”

Visit the official Jane Austen Made Me Do It Short Story Contest web page for official contest rules and eligibility requirements. Best of luck to all entrants.

“[S]uppose as much as you chuse; give a loose to your fancy, indulge your imagination in every possible flight which the subject will afford.” Elizabeth Bennet, Pride and Prejudice, Chapter 60

Another Austen dress for sale!

2010-12-13T12:00:00.004+08:00

Oh, I found another Austen dress for sale in Etsy! Click here for the said Etsy shop. I bought mine from the same shop. This green dress looks stunning, particularly with the mock buttons (authentic Regency dresses have real buttons at the back), but this lady has promised to shop no more, hence this lovely green Regency dress can be another lady's companion. Besides, green is not really my colour...

Jane Austen Quote of the Week 135

2010-12-11T17:15:00.005+08:00

Actually, it is my turn to do a Tom quote this week but having re-watched Pride and Prejudice (both 1995 and 2005) this week, I want to do a PP quote. I hope dearest Rachel will cover a Tom quote for us next week.

This PP quote was taken from Volume III Chapter I (Chapter 43), directly taken from Pemberley.com. Elizabeth and the Gardiners were visiting Pemberley for the first time. They were very impressed by the sight of the great house and the following was her first thought:

"And of this place,'' thought she, "I might have been mistress! With these rooms I might now have been familiarly acquainted! Instead of viewing them as a stranger, I might have rejoiced in them as my own, and welcomed to them as visitors my uncle and aunt. -- But no,'' -- recollecting herself, -- "that could never be: my uncle and aunt would have been lost to me: I should not have been allowed to invite them.'' This was a lucky recollection -- it saved her from something like regret.

Then, we fast forward to after Lizzy and Darcy confessed their love to each other. That night, Jane asked Lizzy when she knew that she loved Mr Darcy (Volume III Chapter 17/Chapter 59).

"My dearest sister, now be serious. I want to talk very seriously. Let me know every thing that I am to know, without delay. Will you tell me how long you have loved him?''

"It has been coming on so gradually, that I hardly know when it began. But I believe I must date it from my first seeing his beautiful grounds at Pemberley.''

Another intreaty that she would be serious, however, produced the desired effect; and she soon satisfied Jane by her solemn assurances of attachment. When convinced on that article, Miss Bennet had nothing farther to wish.

"Now I am quite happy,'' said she, "for you will be as happy as myself. I always had a value for him. Were it for nothing but his love of you, I must always have esteemed him; but now, as Bingley's friend and your husband, there can be only Bingley and yourself more dear to me. But Lizzy, you have been very sly, very reserved with me. How little did you tell me of what passed at Pemberley and Lambton! I owe all that I know of it to another, not to you.''

I have no doubt that Lizzy loved Darcy instead of his money. But there is another question here: Did the grandeur of Pemberley add to her increased acceptance of Darcy? Bearing in mind that it wouldn’t hurt to marry well as long as she loved him first and foremost?

Or at least, did Jane Austen herself tease us here? She was never in a good financial situation, but she wouldn’t marry if not for love. Hence it was natural for her to make her heroines marrying for love… with another benefit: rich and prospective husbands.

Pic: Pemberley in PP 1995

Jane Austen Quote of the Week 134

2010-12-04T10:18:00.005+08:00

This week's quote was provided by Linda. It is a Jane quote, but it is heavily related to Tom Lefroy. Enjoy!

JA Letter to Cassandra, Saturday 9 - Sunday 10 January 1796:

" . . . I am almost afraid to tell you how my Irish friend and I behaved. Imagine to yourself everything most profligate and shocking in the way of dancing and sitting down together."

Using the Memoir as a reference, I hope to point to some information contained therein, but not as a quoted passage as we have been doing here. This information answers a question that has been on my mind for quite a while.

Jane Austen has been quoted as calling Tom "her Irish friend". I accepted that without question until one day it hit me that his uncle and aunt Lefroy were in England thereby making them "English". That led me to do some digging for their 'roots' to find out just who they were.

In chapter 1 of the Memoir we find this place named: Cambray, Netherlands and Flanders. So I tried looking that up on a map, as a matter of fact several maps, only to find that the area changed nationality several times. Then Tom's father ended up in Ireland in the army where he chose to remain until his death. Now Tom's mother was from Ireland which makes our Tom at least half Irish. So deducting from all that information, since Tom was born in Ireland, lived in Ireland, and his mother was an Irish native of Doonass in the County of Clare, we might get away with calling him "Irish" also.

I guess my problem is that I was looking for a truly Irish persona and now I discover that he is only half 'Irish'. This is of interest to me since I became interested in discovering my own roots. Needless to say I was surprised to find out that this "American" is "English" with one "German" thrown in for good measure. So what does that make me? Your guess is as good as mine.

One other item that the Memoir is sure to shed some light on is the financial situation of Tom's family. I shall be taking notes on that subject also as I read, mainly because all those bios of Jane want to claim that he was too 'poor' to marry Jane. I believe there is more to the story than that. So this group of posts is 'to be continued' as we look into 'Tom'.

Yrs aff'ly,
Linda the Librarian

Pic: Tom Lefroy (James McAvoy) and Jane Austen (Anne Hathaway), 'Becoming Jane'

Crack myself on a Jane Austen dress!

2010-12-01T15:35:00.006+08:00

Forgive my indulgence Ladies and Gents... but I have a story to tell. I know this humble Jane Austen fan who could not help herself when she saw a beautiful 1960s empire dress that resembled a Regency dress being sold on an online shop called Etsy (weird shopping habits, these creatures of the 21st CE!). She must have it, although not at any cost (what with being a student), and after much deliberation (which lasted only a few minutes actually), she bought it!

In her defense, she had been searching for a decent Austen dress which would not make her ample bosoms look larger and would still fit her rather uhm... healthy frame. Several talented dress makers in Ebay (that is another online site, weird 21st CE citizens, very accessible through the famous Google Avenue!) have tempted her in the past, only to have her deterred by the excessive price (of over $100!). In recollection, it is only fair that we must forgive this rather reckless young lady, for indeed she had done her homework of researching better prices in the past, to no avail of course. Also we must consider her plan to visit a certain dear Miss Kingston in Surrey en route visiting Chawton and Bath, and what dress more proper to wear than this (old but) new blue 60s dress?

Do forgive her, Ladies and Gents... for she promises that she would publish the weekly quote in time this week (after one dear Mrs Fern supplies her one). And she solemnly promises not to be so impulsive in purchasing any other Regency artifacts next time, lest she would not have the means to visit the aforementioned Miss Kingston!

Jane Austen Quote of the week - Week 133

2010-11-28T07:49:00.003+08:00

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