Review of Pemberley Manor

Mags at AustenBlog has been kind enough to let me review Kathryn L. Nelson's Pride and Prejudice sequel, Pemberley Manor. My review is here.

Hanging up my Bonnet

Readers,

I have been blogging here, off and on, for roughly five years now. Lately it's been more off than on, and I've come to the decision that this is not fair to either my readers (who wait in suspense to see if I'm ever going to post again) or to myself (who feels a cloud of guilt hanging over her whenever she "should be" blogging.) So I've decided to hang up my hat and bring this blog to a close.

I will keep the site and archives up, and will strive to keep all links active. I will also still be available on email and reading all the various newsletters to which I subscribe. Furthermore, if I receive any requests to post info, review books, answer Austen/18th cent. questions, etc., I will endeavor to point them in the direction of whichever bloggers I think would be most suited to the task.

While I will no longer be blogging here, I will be reading the many other wonderful Austen-related and general literature blogs that are out there (see my sidebar links for just a few). I hope to become much more active reader, learner, and commenter on those blogs from here on out. I am not leaving the Austenblogosphere completely, just changing my role in it! I have always preferred being a reader to being a writer, and being an audience member to being on stage. I am keeping my other blog "active" for now as an outlet for random literary trivia, and hopefully some general book reviews.

I have come to the realization that my life is too scattered, my energies going in too many directions at once, the result of which is that I never complete anything to my satisfaction. I am trying now to simplify my life and redirect my time, energy, and passion into a few key areas instead of spreading myself too thin in every direction.

I appreciate each and every person who has taken the time to read a post, leave a comment, or write me an email. Virtually "meeting" so many wonderfully friendly and amazingly intelligent people has been the highlight of my blogging experience, and I certainly hope to meet a few of you in real life one day. I'll still be attending the occasional JASNA NC event, and hope to make it to an AGM one of these days!

Janeites Rule!!!

au revoir,
JaneFan

PS - I'll also still be on Twitter, GoodReads, and LibraryThing. Trying to decide which of the latter two to use to catalog my complete book collection...

Some 18th Century Links

... just because I'm cleaning out months worth of emails and RSS feeds.

• The National Portrait Gallery in London recently held an exhibit on 18th cent. "Bluestockings" (early feminists). A detailed overview and many images are available here.



• This blog explores 18th century French cuisine. The recipes are translated into English and explained/updated where necessary. (found via Romancing the Tome)



• Finally, here are some links dealing with late 18th Century social dances and English country dance.

Enjoy!

Three Random Things

Most random reference to Austen I've seen lately: Herbal Essences "Scents and Sensibility" sweepstakes. Prizes, theme, etc. have nothing to do with Austen. Just the title...

Want to feel smart? Go take the Pride & Prejudice quiz on About.com. I bet you'll do great!

Here's a great set of Jane Austen notecards at Bas Bleu. They also sell Old Friends and New Fancies by Sybil G. Brinton -- this was the first sequel to Austen's works, written in 1913, and features Austen's characters from all six novels interacting.

New Penguin Classics ebook of Pride & Prejudice

The following is straight from the Penguin Books weekly newsletter:

Elda Rotor and Dan Sanicola Lead the Successful Launch of Penguin Enhanced eBook Classics

"Penguin has set the bar for ebook quality... *this* is the ebook experience we've been wanting." —Amazon customer"

This spring, Elda Rotor, Executive Editor of Penguin Classics, and Dan Sanicola, Digital Manager, led the successful launch of the Penguin Enhanced eBook Classics Series. Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen was the first title to be released. The eBook, which debuted at #6 on Amazon's Kindle chart the first week after publication in May, showcases an array of special features which were selected by Elda Rotor, including a filmography, book reviews from the time of the original publication of the novel, a chronology of Jane Austen's life and times, recipes, instructions on period dancing, social etiquette, and how to prepare a tea, a literary tour of famous Austen sites, black-and-white illustrations of fashion, home décor, and architecture.

Pride and Prejudice earned swift, high praise from consumers, who were delighted with the new format, as well as its special features. Here's just a sampling of what customers had to say:

"One of the Best versions of this book in any format." —Laura from the Midwest

"Penguin's P&P is the closest ebook equivalent to the joy of reading a quality physical book - the text is perfectly formatted for the Kindle, it's been proofed, and the supplemental material is almost overwhelming. Detailed intros, useful hyperlinking and a wealth of information on Austen's times, including fashion, furniture, and food and drink, are included. It's truly an immersive experience... Penguin has set the bar for ebook quality with this release. I urge anyone with a Kindle to get a copy - *this* is the ebook experience we've been wanting."—David Hensley from Dallas, TX

"I learned a great deal more about Austen's novel in the convenient Kindle format than I did 42 years ago in college. Hopefully, I'll be able to add many enhanced Penguin classics to my Kindle Library." —Gary from Ohio

Those extras sound pretty neat. It actually strikes me as something that would be great to bring to a book club meeting. Are any of my readers into ebooks? If so, you may want to check this out. If you have read this new ebook and viewed the extra features, please share your thoughts in the comments!

A woman of EIGHT and twenty! How vexatious!

So I finally start blogging again, on today of all days, only to realize that my tongue-in-cheek e-mail signature is now outdated:

"A woman of seven and twenty," said Marianne, after pausing a moment, "can never hope to feel or inspire affection again."
--Sense & Sensibility, volume 1, chapter 8

*Sigh*

Does Jane Austen, or anyone else, have any witty quotes about being "eight and twenty?" (It doesn't sounds nearly as romantic, does it?)

Someone has written an essay (summary here) on the lack of birthdays in Austen's novels (i.e. they are seldom mentioned and never celebrated). Were birthdays just not a big deal during the Regency? Maybe birthday celebrations are a later Victorian tradition, as is Christmas? Or maybe Austen just didn't care for them personally? Does anyone know?

What I Didn't Just Win

I was hoping to get lucky on eBay and snatch these up for around $120. But of course, in the last 30 seconds the sniping started and the final price ($261) more than doubled my high bid. Meh, that's life. I'm not into eBay, nor do I have large amounts of money to invest in antique books (oh, but I wish!). From what I can tell, these were probably a steal even at the price they went for - it's a complete set, all in good to fine condition. Alas...

"Lot of then (sic) Jane Austen Novels. The books were published by J.M. Dent. The books have attatched (sic) name plates. The books are as follows:

1. Sense Sensiblity (sic) Vol 1 good 1906
2. Sense Sensibility Vol 2 fine/fair there is a tear on the spine and the front boards are starting to crack near the top 1906
3. Pride Prejudice Vol 1 good 1905
4. Pride Prejudice Vol 2 fine/fair there is wear along the spine 1905
5. Emma Vol 1 fine/fair there is some wear along the spine and to the boards 1907
6. Emma Vol 2 good 1907
7. Persuasion good 1906 there is some light wear to the spine
8. Northanger Abbey 1904 good
9. Mansfield Park Vol 1 1906 fine there is some wear along the spine and some light page soiling
10. Mansfield Park Vol 2 1906 good"

Very well, I shall stick to searching for treasures in my local antiquarian bookstore. The thrill of the hunt and the joy of a serendipitous find are far preferable to fighting a losing battle against superior technology and finances! Besides, it's probably not a good policy to buy expensive antique works of literature from someone with so many typos in their listing...

Have any of you ever found a great old book of Austen's, on eBay or elsewhere? Any collectors out there? Please share your finds/passion in the comments. The only oldish Austen I own is a 1945 Literary Guild edition of Pride and Prejudice, with drawings by Robert Ball. You can see his Darcy's noble mein here.

I'm not dead!

I'm not dead, I'm just alternating between terribly busy and terribly lazy.

I hope to start blogging again soon. I never *meant* to stop, it just kind of... happened!

For your drooling pleasure: Rare Austen editions for sale

Bauman Rare Books lists following tantalizing items on their website:

• First editions of Mansfield Park ($27,000) and Emma ($26,000)



• The complete novels with illustrations by Hugh Thomson and Charles E. Brock (only $3,500)



• First editions of Pride and Prejudice Volumes I and II, with second edition of Volume III ($42,000)

More info on all four rare Austen editions here.

Austen adaptations article on Women's eNews

Sarah Seltzer, aka The Egalitarian Bookworm (Chick?) quoted me in her article "Austen Boom Keeps 'Janeite' Scholars Jumping" along with much more famous Janeites such as Margaret C. Sullivan (AustenBlog; The Jane Austen Handbook), Carol Pippen (Professor of English at Goucher College/JASNA newsletter editor) and others. Go give it a read!

Voting Open for The Jane Austen Regency World Awards

Sponsored by The Jane Austen Centre in Bath:

"Vote for your favourite actor, actress and film of 2007 and for the people who have promoted Jane Austen worldwide in the first Jane Austen Regency World awards! There are seven categories which recognise the contribution of the nominees in furthering the understanding, appreciation and enjoyment of the work of Jane Austen.

"You can only make your vote online. Please vote here. Only one vote per person so forward the link to your friends.

"The winners will be announced and awards presented at a black tie dinner event at the Hilton Hotel in Bath on 15th May 2008."

The categories mainly deal with recent film adaptations, books inspired by Austen and her works, etc. A limited number of tickets to the awards event are available if you happen to be in the area.

Emma reviews on PBS' Remotely Connected blog

My review/article about Emma (1996 TV film starring Kate Beckinsale) is posted HERE. I had a lot of fun writing it, and it felt good to exercise the analytical part of my brain that's been pretty lazy since grad school.

Be sure to Read Erica Perl's take on it HERE. She started out feeling this way about the task: "I love almost everything on PBS. Except period pieces. Crumpets, corsets, carriages… none are my cup of Nestea. Put it this way: I prefer South Park to Gosford Park."

Go find out whether this film changed her mind, or confirmed her opinion!

Emma airs this Sunday night March 23rd on PBS' Masterpiece. Check your local listings for affiliate channels & times.