LOVELY JANEITES: MEET ABIGAIL BOK, AUTHOR

First and foremost, I’d like to express my appreciation to Maria Grazia for so graciously inviting me to post as a guest on her fabulous Web site!

My life in Austen began at age thirteen. Someone gave me a one-volume collection of all six novels, and in an idle moment, I started to read. I kept going, and going, till I had read all thousand-plus pages. Then I went back to page 1 and started again. Five times before I could be torn away to read anything else.

Like so many Janeites, I’ve often thought about why her work so obsessed me, and I think I have an answer, at least for myself. At that point in my life, I spent night after night attempting to construct a viable plan for how I could survive after running away from my guardian. As it turned out, I never did run away, because I never came up with a plan that seemed realistic. For me, Jane Austen was never about the romance (though that part is a lot of fun!)—her books have always been about how a young woman, finding herself in a world in which she is completely powerless, crafts a future that offers her security without loss of integrity. It’s about how you find that one place where you belong.

WRITING GEORGE WICKHAM, GUEST POST BY GAIL McEWEN - STRONGER EVEN THAN PRIDE BLOG TOUR

  

According to Newton’s Third Law of Fiction, for every protagonist there is an equal and opposite antagonist. The truth is immutable, but it’s the ‘equal and opposite’ part that gets a little tricky.

Clever got me this far

And tricky got me in

You see, though I dearly love to read action adventures, Stronger Even Than Pride is a character driven story—no one is abducted by pirates, contracts amnesia or time travels through a portal into another dimension in its universe. Instead, I wanted to explore how Jane Austen’s obstinate and headstrong Elizabeth and proud and aloof Darcy would fare if one small but significant detail in their journey to self-knowledge was changed: Elizabeth does not read the letter Darcy presses upon her in the grove at Rosings Park. And with that one alteration, the entire progression of the story changes: Darcy’s Hunsford Awakening is interrupted and Elizabeth’s “till this moment I never knew myself” realization never takes place. Instead, each goes about his or her way, every bit as flawed and mistaken as ever. So I had to spend a lot of time thinking… trying to get into their heads to figure out how my un-Hunsfordised protagonists would behave and react to each other and their choices.

SPOTLIGHT ON ... 'JANE AUSTEN AND NAMES' BY MAGGIE LANE + GIVEAWAY

"They say his name is Henry. A proof of how unequally the gifts of Fortune are bestowed — I have seen many a John & Thomas much more agreeable. " (from J. Austen,  Letters)

What's in a name? According to William Shakespeare - or better his Juliet -  not so much, "That which we call a rose. by any other name would smell as sweet". But Maggie Lane thinks otherwise and has researched the importance given to names by Jane Austen, especially in her mature work. That means Ms Lane focuses her analysis on the major six novels: Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, Mansfield Park, Emma, Northanger Abbey and Persuasion. 
In the six sections of the book, the author proposes interesting reflections, comparisons and analysis related to the use of names in history, in Jane Austen's time and in Jane Austen's most famous novels: A Brief History of Names, Naming Patterns and Practices, The Use of Christian Names, Jane Austen's Feeling For Names, Names in the Novels of Jane Austen: An Alphabetical Index.
Take your chances to win 1 of the 5 ebook copies I was kindly granted  to give away among you readers. It's a precious addition to any Austenite's collection! Check out the giveaway contest in the rafflecopter form below this post.

TALKING JANE AUSTEN WITH ... SARAH PRICE, AUTHOR OF FIRST IMPRESSIONS, AN AMISH ADAPTATION OF PRIDE AND PREJUDICE.

Join Sarah Price and me in our "Talking Jane Austen Session" and take your chances to win her retelling of Pride and Prejudice, First Impressions. 5 ebook copies for 5 lucky winners! Check out the rafflecopter form below this post. 

Hello and welcome, Sarah. It's a great pleasure to make your acquaintance and present you to our Austenite friends here at My Jane Austen Book Club. My first question for you is: Why Jane Austen? I mean, what  are  the reasons  of the appeal  of Jane Austen’s world for the  21st century reader?

I’ve always been a reader as well as a writer. I read Jane Austen’s books so many times over the years, starting as a young girl. In today’s world, I believe more people are starting to read again after a lull. However, I also believe that in the world of 140 characters or less statuses, we have lost an appreciation of the classics. Many of my regular readers have not read books like Pride & Prejudice or Sense & Sensibility. This was my way of blending my love for the classics with my deep appreciation of the Amish. It was a way of showing readers that the themes in Jane Austen’s books transcend far beyond one particular time period. It was also my way of introducing my Amish genre readers to Jane Austen and vice versa. 

THE JANE AUSTEN FESTIVAL AT LOCUST GROVE, LOUISVILLE - REGISTRATION OPENS TODAY!

Beautiful Locust Grove, the Georgian farm that hosts the Jane Austen Festival, awaits.  It is not hard to imagine you have stepped into Meryton, the fictional village of Pride & Prejudice.  Inside the home, a beautiful array of Regency fashions will be on display as well as a bobbin lace making demonstration (Mr. Bennet will ignore this we are sure).  In the basement/cellar, Commonstock Entertainment will be performing shadow puppet shows.  The restored house itself is a wonder to behold.

We are pleased to say THE BRITISH ARE COMING, THE BRITISH ARE COMING  to the Jane Austen Festival!  Jo Baker, author of LONGBOURN, will join us Saturday to talk about her book.  Ever wonder what Hill thought of Lizzie's petticoat 6 inches deep with mud.. read Longbourn and know!

Our other author from across the pond is...

MARY RIZZA, CHARLOTTE'S WEDDING: A 21st CENTURY JANE AUSTEN NOVEL + GIVEAWAY

Discovering Jane Austen when you are young is a particular pleasure. Not only can you delight in the stories and the characters, but you are also guided by the author’s voice as to exactly what to make of them.

When I first read the novels, I shared Austen's scornful attitude to the snobbishness and vulgarity of Mrs Elton in Emma. I winced at Emma's self-delusion. I derided the vain Sir Walter in Persuasion. I rooted for the meek and overlooked Fanny in Mansfield Park.

And how I mocked Mrs Bennet in Pride and Prejudice for her limited intelligence and lack of judgement. As for Charlotte Lucas in the same novel – I shared Elizabeth's opinion of her. How could she marry such man as Mr Collins?

Really, I thought, with the certainty of youth, Charlotte is letting down women everywhere. She sacrifices self-respect for the sake of a comfortable home, I thought, with the smugness of one who had yet to fend for herself in the world.