Jane Austen Quote of the Week 156 by Linda

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!

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

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

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

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

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!

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

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

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.....

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

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

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

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

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)