Monthly Archives: February 2013

Jane Austen’s Letters

Updated on February 9, 2013 by Myretta

Megan has fallen and hurt her wrist, so you get me for another week. I had nothing prepared for you, I’m going to tell you about what I’m working on.

At The Republic of Pemberley, we are slowly working through Jane Austen’s letter. At least once a year, we read a tranche. Tomorrow, we embark on letters 76 through 91 (using the Chapman numbering system and Deirdre Le Faye’s excellent edition of her letters).

This is a great bunch of letters and particularly appropriate for the 200th anniversary of the publication of Pride & Prejudice .

Letter 79, written on January 29, 1813 to Jane Austen’s sister, Cassandra, is the one in which she talks about receiving the first copy of Pride & Prejudice from her editor (through her brother, Henry, who lived in London and dealt with the editor for Jane).

I want to tell you that I have got my own darling Child from London; — on Wednesday I received one Copy, sent down by Falknor, with three lines from Henry to say that he had given another to Charles & sent a 3d by the Coach to Godmersham; just the two Sets which I was least eager for the disposal of.

So, her brother Henry sent her the first copy and then sent the two others he had to her brothers Charles and Edward (at Godmersham). Jane apparently would rather have been consulted about where they were sent.

In this letter, in discussing the errors she had already found in the text, she says, “I do not write for such dull Elves. As have not a great deal of Ingenuity themselves.”

This group of letters contains some of my favorite Jane Austen quotes. In Letter 80, she tells Cassandra that Pride & Prejudice, “is rather too light & bright and sparkling” she goes on to say

…it wants shade; — it wants to be stretched out here & there with a long Chapter — of sense if it could be had, if not of solemn specious nonsense — about something unconnected with the story; an Essay on Writing, a critique on Walter Scott, or the history of Buonaparte — or anything that would form a contrast & bring the reader with increased delight to the playfulness & Epigrammaticsm of general stile.

she makes me giggle.

I could go on for quite some time excerpting from Jane Austen’s letters. They contain some of her most pointed quotations and are well worth the read. The Brabourne edition of the letters is not quite as complete and lacks the Le Faye’s wonderful notes, but it is out of copyright and, therefore, available to you on line. I’ve linked the Republic of Pemberley Brabourne pages above.

Or if you just want a taste here is our Famous quotes from the letters (or quotes that should be famous). Enjoy!

Far-fetched Plots and Giveaway

Updated on February 7, 2013 by Elena Greene

In my mess-in-progress, the hero is a gentleman by birth and by virtue of having been an army officer, but he takes up ballooning as a business, not just a hobby. I haven’t found any historical examples of anyone like him, but I have come up with what I hope is a decent explanation for why he takes up flying.

A lot of stories might not see the light of day if the authors worried too much about plausibility. Chicks-in-pants is one of those plot themes. Although there are some historical examples of women who pulled off pretending to be men… And it worked for Shakespeare, so why not?

One of my other more unlikely plots was in The Redwyck Charm, which I recently re-released in paperback. The heroine tries to escape an arranged marriage by masquerading as an opera-dancer. Silly, yes, but it was fun to write and is a favorite with my readers who say they like lighter stories. The idea came to me when I read this passage in The Mirror of Graces (an etiquette book of sorts published in 1811):

Extraordinary as it may seem, at a period when dancing is so entirely neglected by men in general, women appear to be taking the most pains to acquire the art. Our female youth are now not satisfied with what used to be considered a good dancing-master; that is, one who made teaching his sole profession; but now our girls must be taught by the leading dancers at the Opera-house.

I found it interesting that young ladies might have learned some elements of ballet. The author goes on to say that no gentlewoman could take the time and effort to develop true proficiency. Though I tend to agree, I don’t pretend that my heroine is more than a half-way decent amateur, getting by more because she’s a big hit with the young bucks who go to the opera to ogle the dancers.

How do you feel about far-fetched plots? Any favorite examples that worked (or didn’t)?

I’ll give away one copy of The Redwyck Charm to a random commenter. Comment by next Thursday (2/14) and I will announce the winner on Friday.

Elena
www.elenagreene.com
www.facebook.com/ElenaGreene

Posted in Reading, Writing | Tagged Plots | 11 Replies

Pretty Pictures

Updated on February 6, 2013 by Amanda McCabe/Laurel McKee

How is everyone doing this week?? I am closing in on the February 15th deadline, slowly but (hopefully) surely, and looking at summer clothes on shopping websites as I fantasize about sundress and sandal weather coming back again. (Surely it has to be somewhere in the not too distant future??). I’ve also been following the fascinating news about the discovery and identification of Richard III’s skeleton under a Leicester carpark (that was once the Greyfriars church). So amazing.

And I finally got some of the professional photos from my Dec. 15th wedding!

It made me wonder what sort of historical wedding portraits I could find. I discovered things like Arthur Davis’s Mr and Mrs Atherton, ca. 1743 (it was originally thought to have been painted for their wedding a decade earlier, but was then given the later date):

There was Gainsborough’s portrait of Mr. and Mrs. Andrews (and more importantly, their grand estate!):

There was Reynolds’s depiction of the marriage of George III:

Queen Victoria’s wedding:

Van Eyck’s Arnolfini Marriage:

And the famous image of Anne of Cleves by Holbein that enticed Henry VIII into marrying her–until he met her in person, then he “liked her not!” (I don’t know–I think she looks pretty enough):

And then there is this lady, Antoine Vestier’s Portrait of a Lady With a Book. I imagine she is thinking about throwing that book at her husband if he says One More annoying thing…

What is your favorite wedding portrait????

Posted in Research | Tagged clothing, Portraits, Weddings | 7 Replies

Regency Football

Updated on February 6, 2013 by Diane Gaston

This past Sunday, like millions of other people, I watched the Superbowl. Ordinarily I am not inclined to watch sports, but we were visiting my in-laws and they wanted to watch the game and I certainly didn’t mind. It could not have been a more exciting game. I had a stake in it, considering that the Baltimore Ravens are practically on our doorstep.

I got to wondering….Did they play “football” (meaning soccer and rugby or any ball games played on a field) in the Regency? The only Regency competitive sports I’ve ever read about were boxing, horse racing or carriage racing, but not team sports. Still, it stood to reason that team sports were played, at least in schools and at village fairs. After all, there is a famous quote that Wellington never said: The battle of Waterloo was won on the playing fields of Eton.

Games using a ball and involving kicking have been around since ancient times and have existed in diverse cultures. In Medieval times games were played on Shrovetide, Easter or Christmas and often consisted on one mob of fellows from one village playing against a mob from another. The ball might have been an inflated animal bladder and the point of a game to bring it to one end of the field.

Between 1300 and 1600 games of football were banned in several parts of the British Isles. In 1349 Edward III banned games of football because it distracted men from practicing archery (and being prepared for war). In 1608 football was banned in Manchester because it created “greate disorder in our towne of Manchester…and glasse windowes broken yearlye and spoyled by a companie of lewd and disordered persons….” Sounds like some things don’t change much!

Except for holidays, the average man had no leisure time to play sports so the places where football flourished were the English public (meaning private) schools, like Eton, Winchester and Rugby. The English public schools were the first to codify football games, although the rules were often different with each school.

The first known sets of rules were those of Eton in 1815 (the year of the battle of Waterloo). And THAT did happen during the Regency!

Did you watch the game? What did you think of it?
Do you root for a favorite team?
Do you know anything more about team sports during the Regency?

Posted in Regency, Research | Tagged football, soccer, sports | 6 Replies

Pride & Prejudice: Adapting the First Proposal

Updated on February 1, 2013 by Myretta

I’m still celebrating Pride & Prejudice’s 200^th anniversary. Today, I’m enjoying a retrospective of Darcy’s first proposal to Elizabeth. It’s a classic within a classic. So, I thought we should take a look at the various ways it has been adapted

“In vain have I struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you.”

Elizabeth’s astonishment was beyond expression. She stared, coloured, doubted, and was silent. This he considered sufficient encouragement; and the avowal of all that he felt, and had long felt for her, immediately followed. He spoke well; but there were feelings besides those of the heart to be detailed, and he was not more eloquent on the subject of tenderness than of pride. His sense of her inferiority — of its being a degradation — of the family obstacles which judgment had always opposed to inclination, were dwelt on with a warmth which seemed due to the consequence he was wounding, but was very unlikely to recommend his suit.

Read the rest of the proposal here.

This is possibly the most heartfelt and insulting proposal in English literature. In adaptations, there is so much to be done with it. Shall we see what has been done?

My apologies for not embedding the videos. I can’t seem to size them correctly at this moment.

1940: Greer Garson & Laurence Olivier

Like much of this adaptation, Darcy’s first proposal takes some liberties with the text, but it does manage to get the basics. It’s one of the most faithful scenes in an unfaithful adaptation. But who doesn’t like Sir Laurence?

1980:Elizabeth Garvie & David Rintoul

Yes, I know many love this adaptation. I’m afraid I cannot share that affection. The dialog is fairly faithful, but really. There is no emotion in this scene. I’ve come to expect that from David Rintoul, who plays Darcy as though he had been assimilated by the Borg. And, I’m afraid Elizabeth Garvie gives as good as she gets here.

1995: Jennifer Ehle & Colin Firth

Now, this one… This one is, in my opinion, very nearly perfect. It occurs in the right setting and captures the feeling of the dialog, the emotion of both parties without going overboard (see below). You can actually see Mr. Darcy struggle against his inclination and Elizabeth’s realization of exactly what’s going on. And you can’t go very far wrong with Colin Firth. Now, that’s Mr. Darcy.

2005: Keira Knightley & Matthew MacFadyen

Here we have Pride & Prejudice by Charlotte Bronte (or possibly Emily). I cannot indict this scene for lack of emotion. Indeed, there is a surfeit of emotion as evinced by the thunder in the background. I’m sorry, but this proposal is sufficiently dramatic without the atmospherics. And what is happening at the end. Is she thinking about kissing him after telling him off? That’s one way of writing this scene. I could see it happening and have in several romances but not, alas, in Pride & Prejudice.

I’m sure you all have a favorite adaptation. And I won’t object too strongly if it doesn’t agree with mine. What do you think of these proposal scenes or do you have another that you prefer?

Posted in Jane Austen | Tagged Pride & Prejudice, Pride and Prejudice | 21 Replies