I’m glad I’m starting to see less of a certain reality TV couple on the newsstands and the grocery store. I haven’t watched Jon & Kate Plus 8, before or after the scandal. I was put off by the commercials which always seemed to feature screaming kids. I’ve been there, done that with two and have no desire to see it multiplied fourfold, you know? And I’m not much into reality TV, unless you count makeover shows. So I haven’t watched other shows featuring large families like Table for 12 or 18 Kids and Counting.

But they’re clearly popular. Maybe because most families are smaller now, people are just curious. Maybe people like the idea because they feel that in a large family one would never be lonely. (I’m not so sure.) But definitely there’s lots of room for chaos and conflict, never a dull moment. Personally, there are many times I *long* for dull moments when I could sit down with a cup of tea and a book! Although I love my family, I also really like being alone sometimes, so being part of a large family isn’t a personal fantasy of mine.

When talking about historical romance series, large families are historically accurate. While some couples went their separate ways after the production of the “heir and spare” or had small families for other reasons, many couples wanted large families. A wealthy lord might hope not only for an heir but also other sons who might (with his help) become generals, admirals, bishops, diplomats or MPs and thus extend the family’s influence. Daughters might make strategic alliances or at least be a comfort to their parents.

Amongst the fifty women studied in one of my favorite references books, In the Family Way by Judith Schneid Lewis, the mean number of children was 7.5. The most prolific lady studied, the Duchess of Leinster (1731-1814), had eighteen children by the Duke, went on after his death to marry her sons’ tutor and had three more children, for a total of 21 children in 31 years. Whew! It sounds exhausting, even with nursery staff, governesses and tutors to help.

Many readers love historical romance series featuring large families. Personally, I’m OK with them but prefer when they aren’t too closely linked. I never have as much time as I’d like to read, so it’s nice that I can enjoy individual books, like those in Jo Beverley’s Malloren series, without committing to reading all of them on time and in order. I know, that violates the whole marketing concept, but I am not a typical reader.

I’m OK with romantic couples being depicted, in an epilogue, surrounded by a large and growing family. I can imagine that with the right household help, and with the hero being more involved as a father than most men of his time, it could work. But I don’t need to see a huge brood–or any children at all, for that matter–to believe the couple are happy.

Do you enjoy stories of large families, whether modern or historical? Why or why not? Do you have any favorite romance series featuring large families? What sorts of endings do you like to see for romantic couples?

Elena

The DVD for the 1981 version of Sense & Sensibility has been sitting on my dresser since January, when my husband had his stroke. Once in a while, I’d notice it and think about sending it back to Netflix and lowering our service to 1 DVD a month, but I kept hoping to get a chance to watch it.

Anyway, last week I finally got my chance. My younger daughter decided to reuse the Felicity (American girl) costume I’d made for her older sister a few years ago, which was nice. But the older one wanted to stay in theme and go as Abigail Adams. See, Megan has the cool kid, while mine are nerdy, though in a cool way, I think. 🙂

Hoping to save time, I bought an old prom dress at Salvation Army, telling myself that changing the sleeves and shortening the hem would be easier than sewing a new gown. Ha! Not only did I have to make new sleeves, I had to redo the bodice and since I wanted to preserve the ruffle at the hem, I had to detach the bodice from the skirt, etc… Well, you get the picture. I was up late sewing for a few nights before Halloween and decided the S&S DVD would help me stay awake.

I’m pretty much an Austen adaptation ho—there are few versions I don’t like. Unfortunately this is one of the few.

The script was clunky, IMHO, showing little of Jane’s wit or liveliness. There were scenes with minor characters that seemed thrown in for no obvious reason (I don’t remember if they were in the book). The pacing was slow, except for the rushed ending in which we were gypped of seeing the resolution of Marianne and Colonel Brandon’s romance.

To my mind, the worst problem was with the characterization of the two sisters. The differences between the two sisters were exaggerated to the point that they became one-dimensional: Elinor coldly robotic, Marianne spoiled rotten. When Marianne gets overly dramatic about her feelings on leaving Norland, Elinor is almost cruel in dismissing the real emotions underlying her sister’s dramatics. I really couldn’t care much about either of them.

It seems to me that some of the Austen adaptations of this period, though they seem to be attempting to be painstakingly accurate, are so busy hallowing Jane that they miss out on wit and vitality of her work and characters. They seem to carefully eschew anything that might look like sexual attraction. Some subtle sexual tension would be very much in the spirit of the books, IMHO. I think some of the more recent adaptations work better, even if they don’t follow the books as slavishly.

One thing I did like about this version is the simple look of the interiors and the clothing, which seemed like what the Dashwood girls could afford rather getting a glamorized Hollywood treatment.

But overall, I prefer either the Emma Thompson or last year’s BBC version to this one. I’d recommend it only if you are like me and feel compelled to see every Austen adaptation out there.

So has anyone else seen this version? What did you think? What approach to Austen film adaptations do you like best?

Elena
www.elenagreene.com

Though I haven’t had much time for blogging lately, I couldn’t miss celebrating the 4th anniversary of the Riskies!

Four years ago, Megan, Cara, Amanda, Janet and I all had Signet Regencies coming out soon and decided that we’d try blogging as a way to promote those books and also to maintain a web presence until we found new publishing “homes”. Although there hadn’t been an official announcement, we all knew the line was ending soon. What I didn’t know at the time was that the Riskies community would also become like the pub everyone goes to after work, a great place to hang out and have fun between wrestling bouts with our muses.

I’ve done my share of wrestling. Last summer I realized how badly stuck I was and also that I needed to part from my agent. Once I did that, I felt freed. My writing started to flow and I was searching for a new agent when life intervened. As many of you probably know, my husband suffered a severe stroke in January, resulting in right side paralysis and speech aphasia. He’s making a slow but steady recovery, but it’s a long, arduous process. For many months, I was both too busy and too overwhelmed to even think about writing. But at some point this summer the urge to write again came over me. This fall, I’ve been trying to carve out some time to write, though husband and children still take most of my time. (The house is officially a Dust Bunny Preserve.) But it’s still hard and sometimes it feels as if we’ll never see the light at the end of the tunnel.

But I’ve realized I can’t wait until my husband is through the recovery process or until I can write regularly to be happy. Many of us get caught in this thinking. Writers think they’ll be happy once they get that next (or first) contract. But whether your goal is selling a book or something else, you have to enjoy the process and find happiness along the way. Otherwise you might break down before you get there.

So go do something you love. If that’s not possible, at least make time to enjoy being with friends, like the Riskies. It’s what I’ve been doing. Though I’m often too tired to comment, I visit as often as I can, because so many posts make me smile. Here are just a few of my favorites from this year:

• Cara’s“Jane Austen’s Oscar Nominees”
• “Wellington, or Diane’s Poor Excuse for a Blog”(Wellington could never be a poor excuse for a post, Diane!)
• “Brunel, Bananas and an Apology” in which Janet admits that Jane Austen wrote romance!
• Amanda’s “Conference What (Not) to Wear”
• Megan’s “Letter to a Regency Son During Summer”
• Carolyn’s“The Regency Ottoman Empire” (because I love learning about less explored aspects of the Regency)

So thanks to my fellow Riskies and to everyone in our community. You are the lights in the tunnel.

No Risky celebration is complete without prizes. To enter the drawing for a copy of the anthology HIS BLUSHING BRIDE which includes my novella, “The Wedding Wager” along with stories by Alice Holden and our dear friend Regina Scott, just tell us some of your favorite posts this year. Or if you’d like, share something that helped you make it through a personal “tunnel” of your own.

Elena
www.elenagreene.com