WISH TO DECOR YOUR ROOM LIKE JANE AUSTEN? HERE ARE SOME TIPS ON HOW TO DO IT!

Jane Austen's House Museum, Chawton

(Our guest blogger today is Paula. More about her below her post.) 

Reading the classic novels by one of the greats such as Jane Austen can inspire you to decorate your own room, or home in a style Jane herself would adore. Falling in love with the old English style is one thing, but achieving the look for your own is another. We’ve found some tips and tricks that can help you achieve the perfect Jane Austen inspired room.

When you begin designing the Jane Austen themed room you will need to take a look at every aspect of the room. Each detail, great and small, can affect the overall look and feel of the room. No matter where you decide to begin,  everything from floor to ceiling should be taken into consideration.

SPOTLIGHT ON ... SUFFICIENT ENCOURAGEMENT, A NEW P&P VARIATION BY ROSE FAIRBANKS

Hello everyone! Thanks for having me, Maria Grazia! In addition to Darcy and Elizabeth battling their own hearts before finding their happily ever after, Wickham presents a larger problem than usual in Sufficient Encouragement. In this excerpt, we see how he ends up in Hertfordshire.

Rose Fairbanks 

A militia officer who looked familiar walked into the shop and made a purchase. Settling at a table near him, he asked, “Pardon me, are you done with the paper?”

In closer light, Wickham easily recognised the man. “Denny?”

“Wickham!” he returned while putting forth his hand for a friendly shake.

“How have you been, Denny?”

“Well enough. I joined the militia recently.”

“I can see. I suppose you have found the heiresses as difficult to woo as I have.”

“I do not have your luck at the tables after the lonely wives and widows leave Town to sustain me.”

Wickham grinned. “Nor do you have my charm.”

“The uniform does well enough without me having to say too much.”

“Is that so?”

Denny nodded eagerly. “Indeed. We are regimented now in Hertfordshire. There are several young ladies who are simply wild to meet officers. You should sign up; we need new recruits.”

“I would make a terrible soldier. Besides, I am working on a project.”

“A new heiress has come of age? When last I saw you, the plan was to seduce…what was the name? Miss Danby?”

LOVE & FRIENDSHIP PREVIEW IN AMSTERDAM – MEETING WHIT STILLMAN

My friend Monica Cardinale, great Austen fan living in Amsterdam, was lucky enough to take part in the special screening of Love & Friendship + Q/A with director Whit Stillman. Here are her account of the evening as well as some pictures. I can't wait to see the movie myself but, meanwhile,  I'm so grateful to Monica for sharing her musings  with us here at My Jane Austen Book Club!  Enjoy!

Tuesday night 12 April 2016 a special screening of Love & Friendship took place in Amsterdam at cinema The Movies. Director Whit Stillman was present and there was a Q&A with the audience afterwards.

BLOG TOUR & GIVEAWAY - THE TROUBLE TO CHECK HER BY MARIA GRACE

Lydia Bennet is a problem character for both the reader and the writer. Because of her troublesome and immature ways, readers just don’t like her.  For the most parts, writers ignore her or allow her to remain an antagonist in most tales. After all, who really wants to spend too much time in Lydia’s head? 

I certainly didn’t. Nope, no thank you. Would much rather hang out with characters I actually liked, especially considering writing a novel about would require at least a year’s commitment to spend much quality time with these story-people.

Definitely not going to write about Lydia Bennet.

The only way I could write about her would be to find a way to see her genuinely reformed. Hmmm, I wonder what that would take? What kind of people, what kind of environment would it take to make a character like that really change from the inside out? Probably a residential setting of some sort…a school probably. And some strong female role models to demonstrate what true ladylike behavior looked like…

Oh, shoot, that sounds an awful lot like a plot bunny.

A big, bad plot bunny with teeth that insisted on settling into my office and sitting on my desk with the cats. Stupid thing even made friends with the cats! The cats taught it to purr. Enough! I’ll write the story already!

And thus, I have taken  The Trouble to Check Her.

Maria Grace