Wednesday 2 February 2011

AUSTENESQUE NEWS

1.  JUST RELEASED 

Karen Wasylowski, DARCY & FITZWILLIAM

For the first time ever, a bromance with the famous Mr. Darcy takes readers on a whirlwind look at an elegant sequel to Pride and Prejudice.
The novel is set into three parts; Volume 1 focuses on Darcy and the continuation of what began in Pride and Prejudice, Volume 2 focuses more on Fitzwilliam and where he is heading in life, and Volume 3 is the conclusion of the two and focuses on the family as a whole.


Michael Thomas Ford, JANE GOES BATTY

Readers and critics alike embraced Michael Thomas Ford’s clever and campy novel Jane Bites Back, which recasts everyone’s favorite Regency era author as a vampire.  Now Jane returns—fangs and all—in JANE GOES BATTY (Ballantine Trade Paperback Original; On Sale from  February 1, 2011) and the pre-pub reviews have been glowing. 


Caroline Bingley and George Wickham begin to besmirch Darcy's good name and sow seeds of discontent, but while Darcy and Elizabeth are already at odds, revelations of past conduct emerge that threaten to destroy their happiness...
Jane Odiwe's latest release promises great twists and surprises! 






2. THE HEALING POWER OF JANE AUSTEN

Emma Thompson reveals the work of Jane Austen saved her from depression and  romantic novelist JoJo Moyes examines the healing power of literature in this article from  The Telegraph. Emma Thompson suffered severe depression after the break-up of her first marriage, and to such a debilitating extent that, in her own words, she “should have sought professional help”.
But her choice of self-medication drew a huge nod of recognition, in this house at least. For Thompson was “saved” not by Prozac, or Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, but by immersing herself in Sense and Sensibility, the Jane Austen novel she turned into an Oscar-winning screenplay. Obviously meeting the very handsome Greg Wise, starring opposite him in said film, and then marrying him might have provided a little balm to the soul too, but as anyone who loves books knows, fiction – and Austen especially – is a great remedy for the steeper humps of the human condition.  Read more 

3. SOCIAL NETWORKING IN THE AGE OF AUSTEN?

Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet on Facebook? With social networking the hot topic of the day, a computer science grad student, his advisor and a literature professor teamed up to analyze social interactions in 19th century British novels.
The answer was to use Elson’s program to try to analyze a longstanding literary theory that Victorian novels set in the city have more characters, looser social networks and less dialogue than those with country settings. Read more

4. JANE AUSTEN'S HOUSE MUSEUM AT CHAWTON - CELEBRATING SENSE AND SENSIBILITY

2011 is the 200th anniversary of the publication of Jane's first published novel, Sense & Sensibility. Celebrations are going over the Net and everywhere there's a big or small community of Austenites. Chawton House Museum will be celebrating throughout the year with a range of events including talks, music events, family activities and more. Events will be added to the website as they are confirmed. If you would like to join our Event Mailing List please sign up via the Contact Us page of the website. CLICK HERE

5. JANE AUSTEN'S EMMA PERFECT FOR THE STAGE

Very positive review for Emma on stage, the musical: "All 12 members of the cast gave stand-out performances, most notably Murin. Her sunny portrayal of the lead role makes her immediately engaging and it helps that she has strong comedic, drama and musical skills. Her Mr. Knightley (Adam Monley) is very sarcastic and completely believable as he banters and playfully insults Emma while she innocently wreaks havoc on others’ lives. The Jan. 29 performance had an understudy play Emma’s father, Mr. Woodhouse (Richert Easley). His interpretation of a man who does not like change is hilarious, because he takes everything much more seriously than the other villagers of Hartfield".
  
Tickets and information on “Jane Austen’s Emma” can be found at theoldglobe.org.  

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