Category: Jane Austen
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As I have mentioned previously I am wary of Austen prequels and sequels but I enjoyed Longbourn. The sub-title is Pride and Prejudice, the Servant’s Story and we are given to view the Bennett family and the ups and downs of the family through the eyes of those below stairs. First thing to say is…
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"Sir John's satisfaction in society was much more real; he delighted in collecting about him more young people than his house would hold and the noisier they were the better he was pleased. He was a blessing to all the juvenile part of the neighbourhood for in summer he was for ever forming parties to…
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Lots of celebrations of the Divine Jane this year which, on the whole, I have avoided as any documentary or programme about her, particularly on the BBC, is 'dramatised' which entails a lot of blurry people wafting about interspersed by talking heads (all of whom are interesting) saying one sentence before we cut back to…
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I have done a lot of re-reading this year and know that many of you, like me, have found it hard to concentrate under the current circumstances. When we first went into lockdown I thought Oh goody time to read all those books on my shelves, time to write more, time to paint the ceiling,…
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Rant alert. Where do I start? Just where do I begin to write about this morass of utter awfulness which is the adaptation of Sanditon? So much to say. First up, somebody tweeted last night "I am enjoying Sanditon but I expect the Janeites are clutching their pearls". I took exception at this and tweeted…
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All Jane Austen fans will be eagerly looking forward to next Sunday when, in the UK anyway, a dramatisation of Sanditor is scheduled. Any fragment by Jane that can be used in this way is seized upon with joy and I am very much looking forward to seeing what is going to be done with…
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Jane Austen only wrote eleven chapters of this novel before she died and, along with the Watsons, all Austen fans are left wondering What If. I have three versions of The Watsons on my shelves finished by three authors which I have posted about here, but just the one of Sanditon. This particular edition, a…
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Inspired once more by a trip to Bath I am re-reading Persuasion. I love all of Austen's writing; Sense and Sensibility, the story of the two contrasting sisters, Eleanor and Marianne; Northanger Abbey with a very silly heroine and a sharp amusing poke at Gothic tales; Mansfield Park, at first a difficult read with an…
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One cannot come to Bath without thinking of Jane Austen. Two of her novels have Bath as a setting, Northanger Abbey and my favourite of all, Persuasion. Every time I return from a visit here I have to read the latter again and my copy is now on my bedside table. Here is…
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I am getting bogged down again in my reviews as I have been so busy (as you can see from the previous post….) so I am cheating again today and drawing your attention to books recently received ahead of future reviews. Dropping through my letterbox this morning was The Assassination of the Archduke by Greg…
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I was vaguely aware of this 'project' but had put it to one side as something I was not really interested in. More cashing in on the Austen name I thought and decided to have nothing to do with it when a copy of Joanna Trollope's update on Sense and Sensibility arrived unexpectedly. Now I…
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Oh how I enjoyed Longbourn and I speak as one who is sometimes a bit wary of Austen prequels and sequels, but this was totally intriguing. The sub-title is Pride and Prejudice, the Servant's Story and we are given to view the Bennet family and the ups and downs of the family through the eyes…
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My apologies for the incursion into Wimbledon rants over the last few days, but do find that Wimbers tends to take over my life when it is on. However, this is meant to be a book blog so here we go. The interest in Jane Austen never seems to wane and books proliferate each year…
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In 2009 I read and reviewed Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict by Laurie Viera Rigler which I enjoyed very much. Read my review here. Now we have Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict, a parallel story line to the first book. I do have reservations about the Jane Austen Prequel and Sequel Industry,…
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Before I say anything about this book, I just want to say that I like Fanny Price. I know most people find her an irritating prig but I do not. Thrust into a family who don't want her in a house which is totally alien to her way of living, disliked and put upon by…
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The title of this post is a dead giveaway, and yes, I have just finished a re-read of Emma by Jane Austen. I realised the other day that I had not read it for a while and, as it is near Christmas and I have reached that pre-holiday holiday feeling, I am abandoning my To…