AUSTEN ON STAGE - EMMA WOOD PRESENTS HER "MR BENNET'S BRIDE" + GIVEAWAY

It’s a pleasure to have a chance to connect with other Jane Austen enthusiasts. I’m an English and drama teacher as well as a playwright, actor and director. Like many people, my passion for Jane Austen grew hugely with the 1996 mini-series of Pride and Prejudice. The theatricality of the characters and the beauty of her dialogue delivered by that magnificent cast made that series one that was watched time and time again for me!

My first full length play (Water Child) was produced in Newcastle Australia in 2012. Having won an award for that play and received very enthusiastic reviews and comments from audience members, I was keen to write another. But I had no particular idea about what until one day, like a gift, an idea presented itself. Mr and Mrs Bennet. How – ? why – ? And what inspired this unlikely union? I read Pride and Prejudice again eagerly with those characters in focus, and noted that very little context is provided for their past.

Chapter 42 opens with reflections on their courtship and marriage:

‘HAD Elizabeth's opinion been all drawn from her own family, she could not have formed a very pleasing picture of conjugal felicity or domestic comfort. Her father, captivated by youth and beauty, and that appearance of good humour which youth and beauty generally give, had married a woman whose weak understanding and illiberal mind had, very early in their marriage, put an end to all real affection for her. Respect, esteem, and confidence had vanished for ever; and all his views of domestic happiness were overthrown.’

TEN DARCY QUESTIONS FOR MONICA FAIRVIEW + GIVEAWAY

Monica Fairview's new Mr Darcy tale is out: Mr. Darcy's Pride and Joy: A Pride and Prejudice Variation (The Darcy Novels Book 3).

A Jane Austen “what-if” novel. Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet are engaged at last, and Mr. Darcy is preparing to take out a special license to get married quickly. But, just when everything seems to be going just right, he encounters opposition from an unexpected quarter. Then, when his engagement is announced – to someone else – Elizabeth, understandably, begins to doubt his sincerity. 

Perhaps their love is doomed after all…  

You'll find out more reading this third part of the Darcy Novels series.

Meanwhile, let's discover more of what Monica thinks of her favourite Austen hero, Fitzwilliam Darcy. 

BLOG TOUR - SECOND IMPRESSIONS, A NOVELLA BY AMY GEORGE + GIVEAWAY

Imagination is everything.

Those three words changed my life in 1995. They brought an amazing and diverse group of people into my orbit and have blessed me with friendships that continue to this day. They brought me a conviction, something solid to believe in. And, finally, importantly they brought me into the world of JAFF.

When I finished P&P2 (1995) and then the book, I wasn’t done with Darcy & Lizzy. Who could be? They were such rich, realized characters. And the story left off just when the story was getting good. Toni Morrison told us to write the story we want to read, so….Challenge accepted.

Jane Austen gave me a world less ordinary.

 Amy George

6 MUST-SEE PLACES JANE AUSTEN FANS CAN'T MISS

(by guest blogger Cassie Phillips) 

Wanderlust goes hand in hand with reading an Austen novel. Every time I turn a page I can’t help but want to follow Mr. Darcy all the way to Pemberley. For me, every read through or movie adaptation leaves me longing for the cobblestoned streets of London or the expansive grounds of the Peak District, with its epic landscapes and rolling hills. 

Therefore, I’ve compiled a list must-see destinations that no Austen fan should miss. Some are beautiful backdrops from movies sets, and others are grounded in the writer’s history. These locations are all points on the Jane map and will make any fan of Emma Woodhouse, Fanny Price and Lizzie Bennet stare in wonder.