COUPLES WHOSE LOVE REMINDS US OF ELIZABETH AND DARCY

(from Bookish)

In vain they struggled, but it wouldn’t do. Their feelings would not be repressed, and as readers, we eagerly read on as their love overcame them and finally culminated in a moment of passion and truth. It's hard to believe it's been over 200 years since the publication of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. In honor of this anniversary, allow us to share how ardently we admire and love these literary lovers who remind us of Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy.

1.Tiger Lily

Though Neverland is “the second star to the right and straight on til morning” from the world of the English aristocracy, the same difficulties of love exist. Like Lizzie, Peter is energetic, social, and doesn’t often take in evidence that shakes his view of the world. Tiger Lily shares Mr. Darcy's stoicism and aloofness. Competition between these couples is fierce, with Darcy and Lizzie trying to best each other through wit, while neither Peter nor Tiger Lily would stand to be second bravest. All four should have “stubborn” as their middle names.

2. Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows

“It’s Wing-gar-dium Levi-o-sa, make the ‘gar’ nice and long.” Since the day they met, Ron and Hermione have been getting under each other’s skin. It took them six years to get it together, so that when they first kissed at the end of the final Harry Potter book, there was not a single person who didn’t shout, “Finally!” Not even Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth were that stubborn. It’s easy to imagine that if Lizzie was a witch, she’d have sent conjured canaries at Mr. Darcy’s head, too.

TALKING JANE AUSTEN WITH ... AUTHOR JOANA STARNES + DOUBLE GIVEAWAY OF THE SUBSEQUENT PROPOSAL

Hello  Joana. I’m glad you accepted to join us here at our online book club to talk Jane Austen with us. Welcome!

Many thanks for inviting me, Maria Grazia – it’s a great pleasure to be here!

My first question is: when and how did your lucky encounter with Jane Austen take place?

If we’re talking ‘first encounters’, like many of us here, I began reading Jane Austen in my teens. Real appreciation, though, came much later. At first, I read her novels for the storyline, but as I grew older, I began to look for context, and reading them in context made me love them so much more!

And then came the 1995 adaptation, which I absolutely adored, not only for the usual reasons – i.e. Colin Firth J - but also for the fantastic attention to detail! Having watched the miniseries, I was left craving for more. Luckily, I came across ‘The Making of Pride and Prejudice’, a book explaining how the 1995 adaptation was put together and I was mesmerised by all the details it mentioned, from the endless hours spent looking for the perfect location, to the countless photographs and sketches done in order to get Lydia’s hairstyle right, or Mr. Bennet’s powdering gown, or the colour and the cut of Darcy’s coat! I was thrilled with the little inside stories too, like Benjamin Whitrow (Mr. Bennet) recounting how the period cook was kind enough to ask for his favourite pudding, so that it could be used in one of the scenes – and how he gorged himself on gooseberry fool during the first, second and third take, only to end up hating the very sight of it by the time that particular scene was finally ‘in the can’!

Then, having devoured the book, unlike Mr. Whitrow and his favourite pudding I was still left wanting more, so I began trawling the internet until one happy day I discovered JAFF – and the rest is history!

ANGELA PARISI - MENOUTIS' S GUEST POST: SOLUTION TO THE QUIZ AND WINNER ANNOUNCEMENT

Mr Darcy and the Bingleys - Pride and Prejudice (2005)

Angela Parisi - Menoutis was my guest on January 13rd  (HERE). On that occasion she introduced herself to you,  as well as presented her Austenesque novel , Two Different Worlds: A Dance from Pride and Prejudice.

There was a quiz attached to a book giveaway contest. The question Angela asked was: "In the canon of "Pride and Prejudice", where is there inferred evidence that Darcy, like Caroline Bingley, may have also wished his sister to marry Charles Bingley? To be entered you had to answer that and to  email your guesses to her.  The contest is now over and ... she has finally picked the name of the winner 

among the ones who sent her the correct answer. 

Congratulations to J. June Williams for winning Angela's brilliant version of Pride and Prejudice!

"THERE WERE TWENTY DANCES AND I DANCED THEM ALL.." - MEET AUTHOR JULIE KLASSEN + BOOK GIVEAWAY: THE DANCING MASTER

“There were twenty dances & I danced them all…” –   Jane Austen

In Jane Austen’s time, dancing was one of the few ways young men and women could spend time together and court one another. “Every savage can dance,” Mr. Darcy says, but unless one wished to dance very ill (Mr. Collins comes to mind) lessons were crucial. Dancing was considered such an important social skill, that parents hired dancing masters to come into the homes and teach their sons and daughters not only dance steps, but also deportment and etiquette. So, as an author of half a dozen other books set in the Regency era—and someone who loves to dance-- it was probably only a matter of time until I wrote about a dancing master.

To research the book, I read old instructional guides and journals written by dancing masters of ages past. But the best and most enjoyable kind of research was actually learning dances from that time period. My dear, longsuffering husband and I went English country dancing several times. It was research, after all! We learned a lot and enjoyed ourselves.

I also attended the annual general meeting of the Jane Austen Society of North America, held in Minneapolis in September 2013. It was my first time attending the conference, though I have been a JASNA member for several years. A sold-out crowd of nearly 800 gathered to celebrate the 200^th anniversary of the publication of Pride and Prejudice—a favorite with Austen fans everywhere.

A MODERN DAY SENSE AND SENSIBILITY - INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR KAITLIN SAUNDERS & BOOK GIVEAWAY

A Modern Day Sense and Sensibility

Take a fresh look at the romantic Jane Austen classic in Kaitlin Saunders’s heartwarming new novel, A Modern Day Sense and Sensibility. After A Modern Day Persuasion proved a hit, this latest installment in Saunders’s successful series of Austen retellings will have readers swooning at the comical misunderstandings and classic romances that are newly envisioned for modern times.

After their father’s untimely death, Ellie and Marianne Dashwood must suffer the loss of both their beloved parent and their fortune when, together with their mother and younger sister, they find themselves at the mercy of their half brother and his greedy wife, Francil. Ellie temporarily finds solace in a new friendship with Francil’s brother, Edward. But as their connection deepens and Edward fails to make the next move, Ellie becomes increasingly confused. Eventually Francil’s manipulations become unbearable and the Dashwood ladies are forced to relocate to a dingy apartment building in Portland, Oregon, owned by their quirky cousin and his busybody mother-in-law, Mrs. Jennings. Slowly, the women begin adapting to their newfound meager lifestyle. While cutting coupons and watching their budget, the Dashwoods welcome the chance to make new acquaintances in their new town. One such acquaintance is Mrs. Jennings’s friend Brandon, a wealthy thirty-something hotel entrepreneur who is immediately infatuated with Marianne. Turned off by their relatively large age gap, Marianne turns her attention to the suspiciously perfect Jim Willoughby. But just as things start heating up between them, she learns that the situation may not be exactly as it seems.

As the sisters struggle through secrets, illness, and broken promises, Ellie and Marianne must find the answer: Does love really conquer all? Find out in Saunders’s romantic rendition of a beloved classic.

INTERVIEW

Q: After retelling JA's Persuasion in a modern context, Kaitlin,  you decided to do the same with Sense & Sensibility. Are they your best favourites among Austen's major six? If not, what are the reasons of choosing them?

A: Yes, they are some of my favorites! After I read both novels, I couldn't help but wonder what they would look like if they were set in present day, or how it would be if I were Anne or Marianne or Elinor -- hence my modern day adaptations! My imagination penned for other woman to read!

SPOTLIGHT ON ... ANGELA PARISI - MENOUTIS AND HER "TWO DIFFERENT WORLDS: A DANCE FROM PRIDE AND PREJUDICE" + GIVEAWAY

Angela Parisi - Menoutis has long been an avid admirer of Jane Austen's works. The manner in which Miss Austen wrote, clearly delineated the good, bad, and the absurd in humankind, thus keeping her readers amused and totally absorbed in the characters she created. Nowhere is this better demonstrated than in "Pride and Prejudice." Although the author appreciated all of Austen's books, her favorites remain "Sense and Sensibility", "Emma", "Persuasion", and, of course, "Pride & Prejudice."

In the writing of the book, "Two Different Worlds: A Dance From Pride And Prejudice", it was the author's desire to preserve the purity of Miss Austen's personalities at the same time as introduce someone new, Arianne Prescott. Initially, Miss Prescott, a 21st century chemist stepping into a fictional past, wished to preserve the integrity of the story while personally experiencing it. Therefore, some sections of the book were abridged versions of the original text. But as Arianne realized that altering the story was inevitable, there was more of a blending of Austen's writing with this author's.

PERSUASION, LYME AND THE COBB - GUEST POST BY HELENA FAIRFAX

The Cobb at Lyme Regis

My name’s Helena Fairfax. I’m a romance author and Jane Austen fan, and I’m thrilled to be here at My Jane Austen Book Club. I’m a British author, and I live in the north of England, in one of my favourite parts of the world – on the edge of the Yorkshire moors, the wild landscape which provided the setting for Emily Brontë’sWuthering Heights. 

My first two romance novels, The Silk Romance and The Antique Love, were published last year. (I’m proud to add here that The Silk Romance was described by one reviewer as ‘a mixture of Pride and Prejudice and Cinderella’. 

 As an Austen fan, her commentabsolutely thrilled me to bits.) This winter I spent some time on England’s south coast, in the county of Dorset. This part of the country was much loved by Jane Austen, especially the seaside town of Lyme Regis, which is the setting for Persuasion. If you follow me on Facebook you may already have seen some of my photos of Dorset on England's south coast, where I spent Christmas.

 On Christmas Day we visited Lyme Regis, a small town in Dorset, by the seaside. I was most excited about this, as I've never been to Lyme before, and anyone who's read Jane Austen's Persuasion will know it as the setting for her novel. It's also the setting for John Fowles The French Lieutenant's Woman, which features this famous scene between Meryl Streep and Jeremy Irons on Lyme's Cobb. 

The Cobb is a man made wall that protects the harbour.  As quite often happens with these things, both the Cobb and the harbour were a lot smaller than I imagined.

BLOG TOUR - ALIAS THOMAS BENNET BY SUZAN LAUDER

In Alias Thomas Bennet, Thomas and Fanny Bennet travel to Bermuda in June of 1792. Very little is said in the book about what that trip might be like, since most of the book takes place in 1811, but the two chapters aboard the ship are pivotal to the back story. Today, I’ve used Fanny’s point of view to give you a flavour for their experiences during that trip.

Mr. Bennet’s late father purchased a home in Hamilton two years before the younger Bennets hasty relocation there, when the town was spurting with growth, in fact, before Sir Henry Hamilton had given the town his name. Thomas and Fanny sailed from Portsmouth aboard a ship called the Valhalla, which some might think an odd name for a boat, but Thomas was amused by the irony, so it suited him quite well.

SPOTLIGHT ON ... A LASTING LOVE AFFAIR: DARCY AND ELIZABETH BY P. O. DIXON + GIVEAWAY

From the Author: I never tire of imagining various ways for Darcy and Elizabeth to overcome their pride and prejudices and fall in love. I enjoy introducing challenges easily relatable to those faced by young lovers today especially. It speaks to the timelessness of Darcy and Elizabeth’s relationship—a lasting love affair.

 P. O. Dixon 

The Book

                                                  

A Lasting Love Affair: Darcy and Elizabeth

It’s the centuries old love affair that keeps us coming back for more.

Darcy was not looking to fall in love. He thought he had it all: wealth, privilege, and ardent passion for his sport. Then he meets Miss Elizabeth Bennet, and soon thereafter he knows that she is the woman with whom he is destined to spend his life.

GUEST POST & GIVEAWAY - MARIA GRACE, TWELFTH NIGHT AT LONGBOURN

Book Introduction for ‘Twelfth Night at Longbourn’

Given Good Principles started as a three part series that explores what Jane Austen’s’ Pride and Prejudice’ might have looked like if Darcy’s pride and Elizabeth’s prejudice no longer played a central role in their relationship. For both, mentors and situations provide opportunities for reflection and growth, making them very different people when they meet. Our beloved characters remain true to their essentials while they make different and arguably better decisions throughout.

I thought I was finished after Vol 3, All the Appearance of Goodness, but the characters did not agree. In the editing process, Kitty Bennet’s story ended up cut out of the finished version, and apparently she did not like that. She would not leave me alone until I gave her a share in the conversation.

Bu even then, she was a difficult muse, stubborn and disobedient. I had to start to book over not once but five different times before she was satisfied enough to let me finish.  And even then, she would not let me see the end of the story until we got there. She took me on twists and turns that I did not expect, right up until the ending.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JANE AUSTEN! MARY JANE HATHAWAY, WRITER

What would my life have been like without Jane Austen?

I read my first Austen novel at age 12, so 3/4 of my life has been impacted by her humor and sense of proper romance. I've aspired to her sly but gentle wit, looked to her for fashion sense, held strong to the romantic ideal of marriage for love alone, and above all, let Jane Austen guide my writing and reading.

What is a story without richly drawn characters and abiding passion? Nothing.

What kind of book would have action without thought, marriage without love, and society without a healthy dose of humor? Dry and boring.

In the end, even my career has been impacted by Jane. I aspire to writing the sort of witty romance than has one laughing, then sighing with satisfaction at the ending.

Mary Jane / Virginia

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JANE AUSTEN! LAURIE VIERA RIGLER, WRITER

What would my life have been like without Jane Austen?

 Without Jane Austen, I would not have learned to laugh at myself as I do now. I would not remember Emma’s eponymous heroine when I am being a know-it-all. I would not realize I am Sense and Sensibility’s Marianne when I am being a drama queen. And I would not know that while I might walk into a party wishing to be Elizabeth Bennet, a wishwon’t always prevent me from being Fanny Price.

Without Jane Austen, I would not have gone to Bath to see where Anne Elliot sent subtexts to Captain Wentworth. I would not have learned English country dance to see why being “fond of dancing was a certain step towards falling in love.”And I would never, in a million years, have done so in costume.

Without Jane Austen, I would not understand how children could want the same stories read to them countless times. I would not have believed I would read Persuasiontwenty-five times. And spent nearly as many hours with Austen’s other five novels. For without Jane Austen, I would never have experienced the deeply satisfying and always novel glimpses into her ever-unfolding brilliance.

Laurie Viera Rigler

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JANE AUSTEN! SCOTT D. SOUTHARD, WRITER

The Power of Jane Austen

Sometimes I wish I had a time machine.

If I had one, I would right the wrongs of history and one of those trips would be to a small cottage in Chawton.

After I park my DeLorean (yes, I would build a time machine out of one, gotta travel in style), I would race up to the door on my hover skateboard.

I wouldn’t show Jane books or movies or TV shows or anything like that. I wouldn’t even hand her a copy of my book. No, I would just tell her about how at her little desk she had inspired millions upon millions of readers and writers like myself. And for generations she has defined the idea of love and a perfect marriage.

For me, discovering her books was a delightful surprise and without her, I would not be the writer (and reader) I am today. Because I can see that alternative universe of what my life and writing would be like without her and I know it wouldn’t be pretty. There would be a lot less heart, a lot less love. Finding her stories was my density… I mean my destiny. Yes, I am a better author and better man because of her.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JANE AUSTEN! ANTONIA CHRISTOPHERS, ACTRESS

What would my life have been like without Jane Austen?

Ever since I was very young, one of my favourite things has been to curl up on the sofa on a Sunday afternoon with my Mum to watch a Jane Austen adaptation on the television. As soon as she thought I was old enough, my Mum bought me a beautiful collection of hand-bound novels and these still remain some of the most loved books sitting on our shelf - they were of course the complete works of Jane Austen.

It seemed only fitting, therefore, when my husband Noel and I decided to adapt a novel for the stage, that this should be an Austen. As this was to be our very first production for our brand new theatre company, we needed an author whose stories we could trust, not just for their dramatic content, but also for their brilliantly drawn characters. The wonderful Jane provided us with both of these and adapting Northanger Abbey was a complete joy.

So what would my life have been like without Jane Austen? Well, we certainly wouldn't have such a successful first production, it is an adaptation we will always be immensely proud of, mostly because we hardly had to change a word. The incomparable Jane had done it all for us!

 Antonia 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JANE AUSTEN! JULIA MATSON, OWNER & CREATOR OF BINGLEY'S TEAS LTD

This is a strange and almost dark place to go, thinking of life without Austen. For me, she was the first woman author anthropologist who was sodeft at showcasing her findings amusingly that at first you may miss the lessons! I have also found some comfort by reading that people are stillvery much the same as they always were. And if that is true, it is easier to mentally sort out things in today’s world.

Life without Austen would have likely meant my staying in the Victorian section for novels and Elizabethan section for biographies. Oh dear, but it’s true! You can find yourself in a rut.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JANE AUSTEN! A GIFT FOR ALL JANEITES FROM ENDEVOUR PRESS

To celebrate Jane Austen's birthday Endeavour Press are putting Maggie Lane's fascinating ebook, Jane Austen and Food, on a free promotion for five days (16 - 20 Dec). 

Learn about dining customs and the type of food popular in the Regency era

What does food represent in Jane Austen's fiction? And how does she use it to comment on her characters? Why is it so appropriate that the scene of Emma's disgrace should be a picnic, and how do the different styles of housekeeping in Mansfield Park relate to the social issues of the time?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JANE AUSTEN! REGINA JEFFERS, WRITER

What would my life have been without Jane Austen? Regina Jeffers answers: 

If Jane Austen had not quietly crept into my world when I was but twelve, I would have developed a liking for Edith Wharton, and a recent New Yorker article summed it that possibility: “Nobody Likes Edith Wharton.” In 1929, Janet Flanner described Wharton as: “On the whole she finds herself living in a generation in which conversation is lost. She is a dignified little woman set down in the middle of her past. She says that to the greener growths of her day, she must seem like a taffeta sofa under a gas-lit chandelier. Certainly she is old-fashioned in that she reserves her magnanimity for special occasions. In belief she is still nothing of an iconoclast but has become liberal through reflection.”
 Now, I ask you what kind of role model would that have been for an impressionable young girl, who was inflicted at birth with the “Cinderella” gene? A girl who craves her “Happily Ever After”? I prefer my characters to learn to love intelligently, as well as to have the weak and the powerless protected by a formal code of behavior. I also prefer the “sound” of Austen’s slightly biting voice in my head rather than the sound of wealth and disdain found in Wharton’s novels. I was raised on the ideals of duty to society, the want for education and extensive reading, religious seriousness, and the need for manners. I required an author who would speak to those issues and provide them importance. So, without Austen, I would go to sleep with images of Selden discovering Lily’s overdosed body or of Zeena tending to Mattie after Ethan Frome’s death. I am much more inclined toward the delicious Mr. Darcy, the honorable Captain Wentworth, and excessively understanding Mr. Knightley to the “reality” of Wharton’s works. In truth, there is already too much reality in my life; I require my HEA to know hope for a brighter tomorrow. That is Jane Austen’s place in my life.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JANE AUSTEN! VICTORIA CONNELLY, WRITER

 “What would my life have been like without Jane Austen?” 

I can't imagine a life without Jane Austen. She is the reason that I am now a full-time author. It was when I was visiting her cottage in Hampshire a few years ago that I came up with the idea of writing a trilogy about Jane Austen addicts - with each book set in a beautiful Austen location. Before I'd even finished writing the first story, I'd been offered my first book deal in the US and, since then, my books have been published in the UK, Russia and Finland. It's so exciting.

As well as the writing, there are the friends I have made through researching my books and attending events like the Jane Austen Festival in Bath and holidaying with 'Pride and Prejudice Tours'. Austen addicts have to be the nicest people in the world!

And, on a personal level, her novels have enriched my life in so many ways - they are beautiful love stories told with warmth and humour and I never tire of rereading them and watching the gorgeous film adaptations. I am truly an Austen addict!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JANE AUSTEN! ALYSSA GOODNIGHT, WRITER

“What would my life have been like without Jane Austen?” 

Life without Jane Austen wouldn't be nearly as cozy, charming, witty, or wry. Technology is wonderful, but it comes at a price. Jane lets us remember a time when precious minutes were set aside to pen a heartfelt letter. A time when afternoon tea was a quiet, daily ritual. A time when a visit from the right gentleman was a thrill and his fleeting smile the stuff of young ladies' daydreams. Jane wrote of romance and love and trust, and all the nuances of getting it right versus getting it wrong. She wrote happily ever afters, full of wit and laughter and hope. In short, Jane wrote of all the best things, and I delight in visiting the world she created as much as possible. The influence of Jane's continued popularity in our modern world can only be a good thing.

Alyssa

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JANE AUSTEN! KATHERINE REAY, WRITER

What would our lives have been like without Jane Austen?

  

This is an interesting question because I can’t imagine the answer. Separating Jane Austen from my life would require a “what if” reaching so far back into my childhood that I don’t think I’d recognize my own story.

I first read Pride and Prejudice in the eighth grade and fell in love with Austen’s stories, her style… everything. I raced through her novels and then found myself basing reading choices on their similarity to her works, time period, style etc. I even remember, during my high school English AP exam, eschewing the question our teacher had anticipated and prepped simply because another question asked about Pride and Prejudice and I couldn’t help myself. So off I went… I don’t remember my score on that test.

And then the movies started rolling in and Austen more fully gripped our imaginations. I have definitely seen them all and when I was injured in 2009, I found her again. While most people bring friends flowers in the hospital, mine brought me books. I left my three-day stay with over 30 new titles, but all I wanted was to spend time with Elizabeth Bennet, Emma Woodhouse and Anne Elliot. I started reading… And as I did, a character formed in my head, but not one who would fit comfortably in Austen’s world.