Synopses & Reviews
Whether you've read Jane Austen once or read her yearly, or if you simply yearn to be Elizabeth or Mr. Darcy, this new Bedside companion will be a perfect match. Janeite and newcomer alike will revel in the entertaining capsules of each of Austen's beloved novels, along with information on such important subjects as white soup, carriages, what happened at the ha-ha, and, of course, all those characters we love to hate. In the spirit of Austen, maps, puzzles and quizzes are provided—including the one and only Jane Austen aptitude Test. The reader is taken on location to Steventon, Jane Austen's childhood home, to Bath, the city she was happy to leave, and elsewhere. Also included is an interview with Karen J. Fowler, author of The Jane Austen Book Club. An Austentatious work, indeed!
Synopsis
A fantastically vast and witty companion to everything you need to know about Jane Austen, presented in a wonderfully fun and entertaining style which will appeal to all readers.
Synopsis
Whether you've read Jane Austen once or read her yearly, or if you simply yearn to be Elizabeth or Mr. Darcy, this new Bedside companion will be a perfect match. Janeite and newcomer alike will revel in the entertaining capsules of each of Austen's beloved novels, along with information on such important subjects as white soup, carriages, what happened at the ha-ha, and, of course, all those characters we love to hate. In the spirit of Austen, maps, puzzles and quizzes are provided—including the one and only Jane Austen aptitude Test. The reader is taken on location to Steventon, Jane Austen's childhood home, to Bath, the city she was happy to leave, and elsewhere. Also included is an interview with Karen J. Fowler, author of The Jane Austen Book Club. An Austentatious work, indeed!
Table of Contents
"You could not shock her more than she shockes me; / Beside her Joyce seems innocent as grass. / It makes me most uncomfortable to see / An English spinster of the middle class / Describe the amorous effects of 'brass,' / Reveal so frankly and with such sobriety / The economic basis of society."First Impressions: On Reading Jane AustenCapsule: Pride and PrejudiceSidebar: Of White Soup and Darcy's 10,000 Pounds. Clearing up questions about these and other very important matters to Netherfield Park, Longbourn, adn PemberleyThe Sentence - no other sentence in English literature has suffered the flattery of imitation as has the opening of Pride and Prejudice.The Importance of a Good Carriage: traveling ca. 1812Sidebar: More than a Constitutional: Heroines who Favor WalkingLandscape and AustenA Mini-quiz of Austen"Why I married her" by Mr BennettWhat's Aldous Huxley got to do with it? Pride and Prejudice on Film. (From the 1940 [mis]treatment of the story to one of the most-watched programs in British broadcasting history [the BBC 1995 version] to the controversial 2005 post-nuptial kiss to Mrs Darcy--with a stop in India (Bride and Prejudice) and Bridget Jones.Sidebar: Leading Men from Laurence Olivier to Colin Firth and Matthew McFaydenAdmirers: An intereview with Helen FieldingMrs Bennett Was Right: The Marriage Plot in Austen NovelsPride and Prejudice: The Rejected ScreenplaysThe Pride and Prejudice QuizJane Austen, the Early YearsMap: Where Jane Austen LivedHow to Celebrate Jane Austen's Birthday (Dec 16) in StyleCapsule: Jane Austen's Juvenilia"If She Could See Them Now"--Austen's relationship with her publishersA Reading Quiz--Link the books being read with the readers from Austen's novelsCapsule: Sense and SensibilityClass and AustenSidebar: The Clergy in Austen's FictionSense and Sensiblity on FilmAn Austen Dictionary: Georgian, Linens, RegencyWhen and How to Read Jane Austen--A PoemWhat Makes a Janeite?Capsule: Mansfield Park"Why I Loved Mansfield Park"; "Why I Dislike Mansfield Park"Mansfield Park on FilmReviewers: Who Said What about Jane AustenThe Characters We Love to Hate--Lady Catherine de Bourgh et alJane Austen's LettersSidebar: Weather ReportCapsule: EmmaWry Is Not Just a Location in Yorkshire--Jane Austen's Style