THE LOST MEMOIRS OF JANE AUSTEN BY SYRIE JAMES - MY REVIEW

 My latest Austenesque reading is IL DIARIO PERDUTO DI JANE AUSTEN, the Italian translation of Syrie James's THE LOST MEMOIRS OF JANE AUSTEN. It's a book I got as a gift last June from my mates of the Jane Austen Book Club (see journal of the last meeting and the funny picture of me with  an awkward expression at receiving my gifts!) It has been a very pleasant reading, an intriguing story , which actually I had already "lived " in my mind and which I was so happy someone wrote down for me. Well, not only for me of course! Jane Austen's life as I wished it to be.  
This is my last task for the Everything Austen Challenge II and one of my reads for Jane Austen is My Homegirl Reading Challenge .

It is officially presented like this ...

What if, hidden in an old attic chest, Jane Austen's memoirs were discovered after hundreds of years? What if those pages revealed the untold story of a life-changing love affair? That's the premise behind this spellbinding novel, which delves into the secrets of Jane Austen's life, giving us untold insights into her mind and heart.

Jane Austen has given up her writing when, on a fateful trip to Lyme, she meets the well-read and charming Mr. Ashford, a man who is her equal in intellect and temperament. Inspired by the people and places around her, and encouraged by his faith in her, Jane begins revising Sense and Sensibility, a book she began years earlier, hoping to be published at last.

Deft and witty, written in a style that echoes Austen's own, this unforgettable novel offers a delightfully possible scenario for the inspiration behind this beloved author's romantic tales. It's a remarkable book, irresistible to anyone who loves Jane Austen—and to anyone who loves a great story. 

My review 

In Becoming Jane young Jane Austen is hooked by dashing Tom Lefroy and even agrees to  an elopment.  In Miss Austen Regrets ,  mature Jane regrets missing the chance of marrying and looks melancholicly at her niece’s love life . In the beautiful book I ‘ve just finished reading , THE LOST MEMOIRS OF JANE AUSTEN,  Syrie James imagines quite mature Jane in love with and loved  by a rich, handsome and fascinating Mr Ashworth. Their love story has got traits of the stories we all well know and love: Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice.

The novel , of course,  ends as anyone can expect since we all know that Jane never married ( and Ms James researched every detail so accurately).  The blend of biographical elements -  based on documents and letters -  with the events and characters from the novels results into an amiable page turner,  highly recommendable and, especially, believable! Never was fiction so near to the truth and  this is exactly how I’ve always interpreted Jane's decision not to marry: 

1. She must have loved to be so good at writing her very special love stories 
2. She must have loved someone she couldn’t marry to be so skillfull at describing that situation and the consequent  suffering.

Mr Ashworth is a unique character because he is a real Austen hero but, furthermore,  he combines three of Jane’s most loved  male characters:   Darcy, Edward Ferrars and Willoughby (though Mr Ashworth shares his first name with Captain Wentworth’s, Frederick). He lives at Pembroke,  an incredibly huge and beautiful residence in Derbyshire which  closely reminds of Pemberley. He is a baronet and , apparently, the heir of a huge patrimony . They meet in Lyme and he saves Jane from falling and hurting herself.  But their relationship is not simple and straightforward. Ashworth , like Edward Ferrars,  becomes awkward in his attempt at wooing Jane and the reason is the same: he also hides  a secret engagement. When Jane discovers Ashworth’s secret, she is terribly disappointed and suffers desperately,  like Marianne when Willoughby turns her  down .

It was such a verosimile scenario that I had to make an effort to convince myself I was reading fiction and not a biographical novel, more than once, while reading. It is historical fiction based on some documented facts, but so well written that, as I said above,  it sounds even truer than the truth!

LOST IN AUSTEN - A RE-WATCHING FOR MY EVERYTHING AUSTEN CHALLENGE II

I had seen it just once, in 2008, and I had liked it so much I imagined I'd see it many times more. But I didn't. So,  when I was choosing my tasks for the Everything Austen II,  I added  " re-watching Lost in Austen!" , also because I had never written about it.

This 4-part series was a deligthful experiment carried out  by ITV which proposed I humorous outlook on Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice, a nonsensical but so respectful parody ! I don't know if you can agree with me,  but I've never been so amused at watching or reading something Austen-based. I found comedy in Lost in Austen brilliant, especially in its new portrayals of our beloved characters: for instance,  I found  LIA Mr and Mrs Bennets, Bingley and  Mr Collins   amusing, funny,  hilarious. For the first time I could sympathize with George Wickham and even Lady De Bourgh wasn't so terrible.

It is not something for Austen purists, but I appreciated the intelligent parodic tone and the brilliant nonsensical farce.

Darcy and the Bingleys in Lost in Austen

Amanda dances with Darcys

Elizabeth Bennet,  from whose point of view we learn most of the story in Pride and  Prejudice, is almost absent in this series: she swaps life with Amanda Price, a tenacious fan of P&P, an unsatisfied bank clerk coping with an unromantic boyfriend, whose clumsy attempts to fit Austen's good manners are at the basis of this story. Amanda wants to go back at first, while Elizabeth is totally lost in ... modernity and doesn't wish to be back at Longbourn at all!
Amanda ends up exactly in the book she so much loves, that beautiful story whose pages she has read infinite times. Only, once she's there the story starts being marred by her presence ... Bingley seems to be more interested in her than in Jane. Then things start to crash and roll down in a disastrous way! With her presence there, Amanda risks ruining the beautiful story so many readers have appreciated through the centuries and she herself considered her favourite escape from the disappointements of life. Apart from Charles Bingley being attracted to her, Mr Collins wants to marry her too and Mr Darcy seems not so much interested in meeting the woman of his life, Elizabeth Bennet. Wickham reveals himself a noble soul and even a victim, Lydia has her unfortunate elopment in this story too...  everything turned  out  so delightfully absurd that I actually didn't realize  I had been watching my DVDs  just in one nearly-4-hour-long session!

Will Amanda get her Darcy in the end?

Wickham, Darcy, Bingley

The Bennet Sisters: Jane Mary, Kitty, Lydia (from left to right)

Elliot Cowan's Mr Darcy is awkwardly stiff and proud but he is attractive at the same time. He has something sweet in his towering loneliness. What does he lack?  Nothing.  Mr Cowan did a good job: he was believably annoying, rude, conceited, and tall dark and handsome. Look at him in his wet white shirt. Can he stand the comparison with Firth's Mr Darcy, though this performance was meant to be a  parody of the pond scene in P&P 1995 ?

Wet-shirted Cowan/ Darcy in cold November icy water

Detailed plot in wikipedia
ITV official site
Lost in Austen at IMDB

Watch the 4 episodes on line

Buy the DVD

This is my 5th task for My Everything Austen Challenge II . Minus 1 to completion!

WILLOUGHBY'S RETURN by JANE ODIWE - Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility continues...

I've always wished a second chance for Marianne Dahwood and John Willoughby. I've never totally accepted the common judgement of Willoughby as a dashing scoundrel, a libertine. Then, let's say that Jane Odiwe made my dream come true: Willoughby returns into Marianne's life now that she is Mrs Brandon as well as little James's mother.

Three years later, when she has put her heartbreak over him in the past, Willoughby comes back with all his charming ways. He is as roguish and as much in love with her as ever. The timing couldn't be worse: Colonel Brandon is often away, in Lyme, to take care of his ward Eliza Williams and the little girl she had from Willoughby, Lizzy. Marianne is terribly jealous and feels neglected . The temptation of her previous passionate love is incredibly powerful.

A parallel plot follows Margaret's romance with Henry Lawrence . Margaret is Marianne and Elinor's younger sister , Henry is Brandon's nephew and  John Willoughby's friend. Their story actually recalls Marianne's and Willoughby's unfortunate love.. They hit it off immediately but, suddenly, Henry changes his attitude to Margaret and everybody around her starts speaking about Henry's engagement with a beautifulFrench girl from his past, Mademoiselle Antoinette de Fontenay. Will she be luckier than her beloved sister? Will she be turned down like Marianne? 

This lovely sequel to "Sense and Sensibility"revisits the beautiful places where we first  met the Dashwoods, The Ferrars, Mrs Jennings, The Palmers, Willoughby and his rich wife Sophia, Eliza Williams and  The Steele sisters. We are back to Barton Cottage, Delaford, London and Lyme.

 The journey of some of the charachters may result quite repetitive (i.e. Marianne's jealousy for her husband's caring interest in Eliza and her Lizzy) but the language is skillfully crafted, pleasant and refined. In the end we are left with the impression that our heroes and heroines got what they deserved at last. And , especially, we feel that the young fascinating rogue in the title is not as bad as we - and many characters in the novel - had believed him to be. 

Marianne is sure: " ..she had loved him once, and he had proved that his love for her was genuine"

What about the other characters?  Colonel Brandon? Too good to be true. Mrs Jennings? Less sparkling than in S&S. Edward and Elinor? Could a match be ever more boring? The Steele sisters? Poisonous gossips!

On the whole, a very pleasant summer read.

This review is my fourth task in the  Everything Austen Challenge II and my second read for the Jane Austen is My Homegirl reading challenge.

CONFESSIONS OF A JANE AUSTEN ADDICT - MY REVIEW

"...That's when I decided to order myself a large clam-and-garlic pizza and to reread Pride and Prejudice. I would self-medicate with fat carbohydrates, and Jane Austen, my number one drug of choice, my constant companion through every breakup, every disappointment, every crisis. Men might come and go, but Jane Austen was always there. In sickness and in health, for riches, for poorer, till death do us part" .

The last couple of months haven't exactly been a picnic: on the brink of ... her marriage with Frank, Courtney discovers his betrayals, falsity and shallowness. Her dreams shattered, her life stuck in a nigtmare, she surprisingly wakes up in the body, house and world of Jane Mansfield, a country young lady living at Jane Austen's time: 1813. "Who could blame my subconscious for concocting such an escapist fantasy to a Jane Austen- like world?" , she thinks. It's just a question of time, she is sure, she has to be patient and sooner or later she'll be back to her life in 21st century Los Angeles. But being a fan of Jane Austen, living Miss Mansfield's life is not so disagreeable to Courtney, despite her wicked new mother, Mrs Mansfield. Courtney's  initial shock and refusal to accept  Jane's body and life turns into a dilightful discovery of new chances, emotions and affections. She foresees the possibility to live a different,  totally different life...

She likes her new best friend, Anne Edgeworth; extravagant Mr Mansfield, the father she has never had; Barnes, her loyal maid servant; even Mrs Mansfield , her new,  rather dyspotic mother not worse than her own mother; and, especially,  she's stirred by Mr Edgeworth, attractive, kind and understanding. But can she trust him? Jane's memories, which come to Courtney's mind from time to time, warn her to be cautious...

I read CONFESSIONS OF A JANE AUSTEN ADDICT in a couple of days, both in the original version and in the Italian translation (not the whole of it) by Enrica Budetta for Sperling and Kupfer. The Italian version, SHOPPING CON JANE AUSTEN ( I think this  title is totally out of focus but nice)  has a cute, lovely cover and has come to me directly from the author. "May you always awaken in a perfect story" , the dedication signed by Laurie Viera Rigler says. And I must say I did, I awoke in a perfect story this time! I really loved sharing Courtney's experiences  in  the Regency era. CONFESSIONS is a laugh-out-loud romp with a Regency heart but  truly modern comedy devices.

Last summer I read RUDE AWAKENINGS OF A JANE AUSTEN ADDICT, Laurie Viera Rigler's second novel,  in which we know what happens to Jane Mansfield in the 21st century,  in chaotic and super technological Los Angeles ,  in Courtney's body,  after they magically swap their lives! The cultural shock to her is even greater: Courtney was an expert Janeite, while Miss Mansfield has no clue of what is happening around her! To read CONFESSIONS after RUDE AWAKENINGS was not a problem , not confusing at all. They are not a prequel and a sequel,  but 2 parallel narrations of 2 swapped lives. So the order you read them is not important.

There were several reasons why I liked these novels. I really appreciate Laurie Viera Rigler's thoroughful, detailed knowledge of Regency England. I found difficult not to laugh out loud very often while reading. I consider CONFESSIONS and RUDE AWAKENINGS both very informative and highly entertaining. Perfect , amusing page turners to light up your summer holidays.

Laurie Viera Rigler's novels have inspired an online serial comedy, SEX AND THE AUSTEN GIRL. You can follow all the episodes HERE.

My previous posts about Laurie Viera Rigler and her books:

1. Sex and The Austen Girl

2. My review of Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict

3. Talking Jane Austen with Laurie Viera Rigler -part I

4. Talking Jane Austen with Laurie Viera Rigler -part II

This is my second task for The Everything Austen Challenge II and my first one for Jane Austen is My Homegirl Reading Challenge.

MOVIE REVIEW - CLUELESS (1995)

If I loved the novel less,  maybe I'd be able to talk about this film more...  favourably. Does this remind you of anything/anyone?

It is not that I didn't like it at all , only I felt the wrong person in the right  place? A total stranger in a group of good friends? A mother peeping on her teenage children's life? I don't know... just out of place. Not my cup of tea?

However, the only thing I liked was the active action of my mind,  trying all the time to connect scenes and characters to the original story. It was  a full immersion in a world  of colourful joyful  adolescents. But this movie is already 15 years old! And since teenagers are part of my job and family life,  I started thinking

1. They are not all that shallow, fortunately!

2. They have rather changed their tastes as for fashion, dancing and music but they have not changed substantially

3. I wouldn't go back to their age for nothing at all!

This does not mean that I love the idea of becoming old but I'd rather go back and live directly my 20s.

Sorry! Back to the point.

It's a movie I'm glad I've seen in order to be able to say I've  watched  all the Emmas, that is all the exixting adaptations, but I wouldn't give to this film more than 3 out of 5 stars.

EVERYTHING AUSTEN II - THE FUN GOES ON !!!

Janeites are a wondeful community! So active and creative and loyal!

A great event wrapped - up just yesterday (Jane in June) and a new one opening today and going on for six months, from July 1st  2010 to January 1st 2011. After the success of EVERYTHING AUSTEN I last year Stephanie at Stephanie's Written Word propose to double the fun with and EVERYTHING AUSTEN II. Last year I read Austen's minor works or unfinished novels, compared the different adaptations of Emma, Mansfield Park  and Sense and Sensibility, read two Austen -based books.

Here's my list for this year

Readings
1. Laurie Viera Rigler, Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict
2. Syrie James,  The  Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen
3. Jane Odiwe, Willoughby's Return

Films
Clueless
Lost in Austen
Jane Austen in Manhattan