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!