BOOK: Elizabeth Gaskell’s North & South
WHEN: Sunday, May 19 at 12:15 p.m.
WHERE: Borderland State Park in Easton
RSVP:  Leave a comment here or on Facebook if you’re coming.

Feel free to bring anything you want to bring! Please list what you are bringing.
+1′s/small ones welcome!
Part II of Discuss North and South will be in the North, interest permitting, perhaps at the end of June (given holidays/Irish Month/long weekends etc).

BOOK: Maeve Brennan’s The Springs of Affection
WHEN: 2-6 p.m. on Sunday, June 9
WHERE: Casa Rebecca
Directions will be sent to those attending
RSVP:  Leave a comment here or on Facebook if you’re coming.

Please volunteer to bring something written in Green; those are unspoken for.
You can also click the image to enlarge.

BOOK: Jane Austen’s Sanditon and The Watsons
WHEN: Sunday, May 5 at 11:15 a.m.
WHERE: Caffe Vittoria
290-296 Hanover Street ~ Boston
RSVP:  Leave a comment here or on Facebook if you’re coming.

http://sarahemsley.com/2013/05/15/that-moment-when-youre-revising-obsessively-and-it-feels-like-an-attack-of-scrupulosis/

Short film on the dig at Steventon. Thank you Jane Odiwe!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-16227579

http://janeaustensequels.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/jane-austens-china-and-porcelain.html

The beautiful Pulteney Bridge across the River Avon in Bath, England http://LDN.in/SceV76

Something nice to watch today in case you miss your mom (for whatever reason) and needs the distraction. Come watch the Many Lovers of Jane Austen with Amanda Vickery – Historian.

Part 1 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quPnwYadwBI
Part 2 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RL5xiYQO6R4
Part 3 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TMeK4wRh-E
Part 4 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0flmzjrgzU
Part 5 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htxN96M0Fa0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=KwdqMdmbh84

“….but that I can not(it is not will not) write at all if I ever think of my readers, & what impression I am making on them. ‘If they don’t like me, they must lump me’ to use a Lancashire proverb. It is from no despising my readers. I am sure I don’t do that, but if I ever let the thought or consciousness of them come between me & my subject I could not write at all.” -Elizabeth Gaskell to Charles Eliot Norton 5/10/1858

Happy Birthday to Anna Maxwell Martin!! (May 10, 1978)
Bleak House, North & South, Becoming Jane, other movies

 

 Grand Reopening Sunday 6/30 1-4! 

http://www.abigailadamsbirthplace.com/visit/

 

It looks like David M. Shapard’s next annotation of a Jane Austen book is scheduled for Northanger Abbey in Sept.(Anchor Press). I’m looking forward to it, although I hope the cover is better than the Emma cover!

http://www.randomhouse.com/acmart/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780307390806

From The Mount:
Can you guess what Berkshire mansion is going to be be featured in Chronicle’s Downton New England, airing this Friday?

 

Friday, May 10: Main Streets and Back Roads: Downton New England

http://www.wcvb.com

Sure, the veddy popular Downton Abbey TV show gets all the buzz. But when it comes to grand mansions, 

http://sarahemsley.com/2013/05/07/favourite-edition-of-pride-and-prejudice/

Pride & Prejudice: Having a Ball Friday BBC2 9pm #PrideandPrejudice200

More info:www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/proginfo/2013/19/pride-prejudice-having-a-ball.html

From the Boston Public Library:

We’re looking forward to this year’s concerts in the courtyard series, which begins next month. Join us on any Friday in June, July, and August for a free outdoor concert at 12:30 p.m. See the full season here:www.bpl.org/concerts.

http://janeausteninvermont.wordpress.com/2013/05/05/please-join-us-jasna-vermont-meeting-june-2-2013-trickle-down-economics-in-pride-and-prejudice-with-sheryl-craig/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXM24Br7Uvk&feature=youtu.be

http://englishhistoryauthors.blogspot.com/2013/05/regency-militia-different-breed-of.html

http://austenprose.com/novels/sanditon/sanditon-quotes-quips-by-chapter/sanditon-quotes-quips-chapters-1-4/

Finally!

Beginning August 16th, the movie “Austenland” will be coming to a theater near you.

http://old-fashionedcharm.blogspot.com/2011/12/book-review-watsons.html

 

The Mrs. @MrsHotPotato 
“Know your own happiness.” ‘Sense & Sensibility’ – Jane Austen

The Mrs. @MrsHotPotato 
“Let us have the luxury of silence.” ‘Mansfield Park’ – Jane Austen

The Mrs. @MrsHotPotato 
“Vanity working on a weak head, produces every sort of mischief.” ‘Emma’ – Jane Austen

The Mrs. @MrsHotPotato 
“It is better to know as little as possible of the defects of the person with whom you are to pass your life.” ‘P&P’ – Jane Austen

The Mrs. @MrsHotPotato 
“On every formal visit a child ought to be of the party, by way of provision for discourse.” ‘Sense & Sensibility’ – Jane Austen

The Mrs. @MrsHotPotato 
“There are people, who the more you do for them, the less they will do for themselves.” ‘Emma’ – Jane Austen

The Mrs. @MrsHotPotato 
“It sometimes happens that a woman is handsomer at twenty-nine than she was ten years before.” ‘Persuasion’ – Jane Austen

The Mrs. @MrsHotPotato 
“I suppose there may be a hundred different ways of being in love.” ‘Emma’ – Jane Austen

The Mrs. @MrsHotPotato 
“I wish with all my soul his wife may plague his heart out.” ‘Sense & Sensibility’ – Jane Austen

The Mrs. @MrsHotPotato 
“I have been meditating on the very great pleasure which a pair of fine eyes in the face of a pretty woman can bestow.” ‘P&P’ – Jane Austen

The Mrs. @MrsHotPotato 
“Every generation has its improvements.” ‘Mansfield Park’ – Jane Austen

The Mrs. @MrsHotPotato 
“I must endeavor to subdue my mind to my fortune. I must learn to brook being happier than I deserve.” ‘Persuasion’ – Jane Austen

QuotingJaneAusten @QuoteJaneAusten(all quotes below are from Sense and Sensibility)

“Her imagination was busy, her reflections were pleasant.” 

“I wish him out of all his trouble with all my heart.” 

“Something very melancholy must be the matter.”

“The longer they were together the more doubtful seemed the nature of his regard.” 

“And sometimes, for a few painful minutes, she believed it to be no more than friendship.” 

“There are moments when the extent of it seems doubtful.” 

” I meant no offence to you, by speaking, in so quiet a way, of my own feelings.” #SenseandSensibility #JaneAusten #Quote

QuotingJaneAusten @QuoteJaneAusten 
“Use those words again, and I will leave the room this moment.”

“In it (Sanditon) she exploits her greatest gifts, her management of dialogue and her skill with monologue. The book feels open and modern…as vigorous and inventive as her earlier works” -Carol Shields

http://shannonwinslow.com/2013/04/27/much-left-to-the-imagination/

“I have not much more to add. My Uncle & Aunt drank tea with us last night, & inspite of my resolution to the contrary, I could not help putting forward to invite them again this Evening”. -JA to Cassandra Austen 4/23/1805

Happy Birthday to Sally Hawkins!! (April 27, 1976) 
Persuasion -2007, other movies

http://flavorwire.com/386679/11-famous-actors-reading-shakespeare-out-loud

Consider writing to an acquaintance today to share your important nothings. “Where shall I begin? Which of all my important nothings shall I tell you first?” Jane Austen to her sister on June 15, 1808

http://janeaustensworld.wordpress.com/2013/04/22/sidmouth-where-jane-austen-found-love/

http://networkedblogs.com/KxslE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zApKD4CFUjQ

Happy Earth Day! “I shall soon be rested,” said Fanny; “to sit in the shade on a fine day, and look upon verdure, is the most perfect refreshment.”

Having Tea at Betty’s Cafe Tea Rooms in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, is one of the 101 ‘must-do’ activities for tourists in England according to a list recently compiled by VisitEngland. What would make your list?http://LDN.in/QSRQ4t

“This was a letter to be run through eagerly, to be read deliberately, to supply matter for much reflection, and to leave everything in greater suspense than ever”. -Mansfield Park

“Shyness is only the effect of a sense of inferiority in some way or other” -Sense and Sensibility

Madison Street Publishing will be releasing “A Jane Austen Daydream”, by Scott D. Southard on April 30. It is an imaginative retelling of Jane Austen’s life–historical fiction with a twist–that may appeal to all lovers of Jane Austen. 
Madison Street Publishing is currently looking for reviewers who would like to write about the book on their website, blog, Amazon, Goodreads, or other book sharing sites. If you are interested in receiving an advance reading e-copy of the book, please contact Rosanne Spears, MStPublishing@gmail.com. They have it available in PDF, EPUB, and MOBI format.

The author, Scott D. Southard, would also be happy to interact with any of the JASNA chapters for an author interview or book discussion.
Thank you for your consideration, and long live Jane Austen!

“Had I not been bound to silence I could have provided proof enough of a broken heart, even for you”. -Sense and Sensibility

Pride & Prejudice quote of the week: ‘The officers of the –shire were in general a very creditable, gentlemanlike set.’ Chapter 16.

“And have you never known the pleasure and triumph of a lucky guess? I pity you. I thought you cleverer; for depend upon it, a lucky guess is never merely luck. There is always some talent in it”. -Emma

Jane Austen Social Club asked the following:
Other than Jane Austen, who do you like to read?

Me: Wait, there are authors besides Jane Austen????

Jane Austen Social Club Hahaha! For a year straight I didn’t know there were either.

From Stephani Miller:

Hello Boston Janeites! The JASNA Connecticut chapter is holding Jane Austen Summer Getaway July 26-28 in Middletown, CT. But if you just want to join us for the Saturday evening dancing, instead of the whole weekend, we will start selling ball-only tickets ($30 per person) beginning June 1. The ball-only ticket order form will be available at the event blog jasnactsummercamp.wordpress.com soon!

Nothing to do with Jane Austen, but I heard of his passing an hour ago.

He guest conducted the BSO in Jan 2003, RVW’s 5th and Elgar’s Cello Concerto. Mere words….

Back to our regularly(right!) scheduled posts:

“The significance of Jane Austen is so personal and so universal, so intimately connected with our sense of ourselves and of our whole society, that it is impossible to imagine a time when she or her works could have delighted us long enough.” -Claire Harman “Jane’s Fame: How Jane Austen Conquered the World” pg229(the end!)

http://harmamaesmit.com/2013/04/12/ranking-jane-austen-is-it-possible/

http://archive.org/details/Sanditon

From 1975:

http://www.acornmediauk.com/catalog/product/view/id/2339/s/north-and-south/category/28/

“Of course anyone who truly loves books buys more of them than he or she can hope to read in one fleeting lifetime. A good book, resting unopened in its slot on a shelf, full of majestic potentiality, is the most comforting sort of intellectual wallpaper.” ~David Quammen

http://old-fashionedcharm.blogspot.com/2013/04/another-period-drama-weddings-game.html

http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2013-04-11/pride-and-prejudice-walk-in-the-footsteps-of-miss-bennet-and-mr-darcy

“I cannot decide on the fruit till I hear from you again. Besides, I cannot help thinking that it is more natural to have flowers grow out of the head than fruit. What do you think on that subject?” June 11, 1799

“I am convinced that the body is the better for the refreshment the mind receives in doing its duty.” -Sanditon

http://sarahemsley.com/2013/04/11/first-impressions-and-second-perusals/ 

http://www.jasna.org/essaycontest/index.html

4.75 teacups out of 5 for Claire Harman’s “Jane’s Fame: How Jane Austen Conquered the World”

What a delight! What a pleasure! This lovely non-fiction book traces Jane Austen’s strange journey from a well-kept (mostly) local secret to world literary powerhouse! This is a reread for me(I believe Austen in Boston read this in Feb 2011, our last time at Borders in Braintree perhaps?). The book wears well! I believe most Jane Austen fans, from Team Marianne(me!) to Team Elinor, will find something to like. Perhaps some of the early 20th century parts might be abit less thrilling for some. I didn’t really care for the author making a negative comment about “Jane’s Marriage” by Kipling(as over the top as it might be!). I hope the book can be updated for the 200th anniv. for P&P and the smashing success that is the Lizzy Bennet Diaries(they were hoping to raise $50,000 for a “kickstarter” campaign, they were well over $300,000 last figure I saw). -Kirk

“She has always been a family cult with us…We talk of her as if she were our living friend, and I do not believe her elect and genial spirit resents our freedom; she must know it is from our grateful love of her” -W. D. Howells pg.150 “Jane’s Fame: How Jane Austen Conquered The World” by Claire Harman

Q: What did they do at the Boston Tea Party?

A: I don’t know, I wasn’t invited!

T’S HERE! JOHN & MARGARET – COMING HOME WITH ME: North & South Continues. It is available on Amazon and Smashword now (various types of downloads, ebook, Kindle, etc) and if you use the coupon code VV33P (2 Vs), you will get 25% off! Expires 4/22.https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/303172

From the wonderful Facebook page Emma Woodhouse:

“Donwell Abbey”

Many prominent country houses had “Abbey” in their names–one such provides the title of “Northanger Abbey”. This was the result of the English Reformation, in which monasteries, including abbeys, and nunneries were closed and the property and buildings sold by the crown. Families who acquired the buildings would often convert them to their own residences, while retaining the original name. Since this occurred in the mid-sixteenth century, the house is an old one, suggesting in turn the antiquity of the Knightley family, an added source of prestige.

—David Shapard in “The Annotated Emma”

I don’t agree with the rankings below!(-Kirk)

http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/the_completist/2013/04/jane_austen_novels_from_best_to_worst_plus_her_best_lines.html

Nor these comments from the same person(-Kirk):

http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/the_completist/2013/04/jane_austen_books_ranked_and_reconsidered_from_emma_to_persuasion.html

From yesterday(Friday):

Regina Jeffers (@reginajeffers) tweeted: 

Happy Birthday to Hayley Atwell, who portrayed Mary Crawford in 2007′s Mansfield Park

Regina Jeffers (@reginajeffers) tweeted:

Happy Birthday to Tom Riley, who portrayed George Wickham in Lost in Austen

Who is the strongest Austen heroine – Emma Woodhouse, Elizabeth Bennett or Elinor Dashwood?

http://smithandgosling.wordpress.com/2013/04/04/find-a-voice/

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-22031238

http://sarahemsley.com/2013/04/04/the-unfinished-child-a-review/

http://www.janeaustenriceportrait.com/#/family-provenance/4574880416

“Be not alarmed, madam, on receiving this letter, by the apprehension of its containing any repetition of those sentiments or renewal of those offers which were last night so disgusting to you. I write without any intention of paining you, or humbling myself, by dwelling on wishes which, for the happiness of both, cannot be too soon forgotten: and the effort which the formation and the perusal of this letter must occasion, should have been spared had not my character required it to be written and read. You must, therefore, pardon the freedom with which I demand your attention; your feelings, I know, will bestow it unwillingly, but I demand it of your justice.”
– Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice

Jane Austen’s House Museum‘s status.

Thursday

 

Pride & Prejudice quote of the week: ‘[Bingley] was full of joy and attention. The first half an hour was spent in piling up the fire, lest she should suffer from the change of room.’ (Mr. Bingley and Jane) Chapter 11.

 

Meow!

http://thebennetsisters.wordpress.com/2013/03/30/pride-and-prejudice-and-kitties-review-and-author-qa/#more-1474

 

Question of the day from Elle Cuddy:

Hi! Quick question–
Who are the one dimensional characters and their purposes in Sense and Sensibility? I mean I know, Lady Middleton, but there’s not much meat there as far as social criticism goes.

What is Austen “saying” by putting them in the story?

 

http://www.library.wisc.edu/bookmadness/

 

http://austenprose.com/2013/03/31/what-matters-in-jane-austen-twenty-crucial-puzzles-solved-by-john-mullan-a-review/

 

Jane Austen’s Emma (@DailyEmmaQuotes) tweeted at 1:42 PM on Sun, Mar 31, 2013:

The truth is, that in London it is always a sickly season. Nobody is healthy in London, nobody can be. #MrWoodhouse #Isabella

Rohan Maitzen (@RohanMaitzen) tweeted at 1:08 PM on Thu, Mar 21, 2013:

“Jane Austen is important to me because she demonstrates how large narratives can occupy small spaces.” – Carol Shields.

http://sarahemsley.com/2013/03/22/how-to-become-an-expert-by-lady-catherine-de-bourgh/

My Jane Austen Book Club shared Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre’s status.

If I think of Shakespeare’s sonnets I, like Marianne Dashwood, like sonnet 116 very muchhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8lgbyITv2A
Happy World Poetry Day. Do you have a favourite poem?

http://austenprose.com/2009/12/29/sense-and-sensibility-1971-–-movie-review/

Jane Austen’s House Museum‘s status.

 

Pride & Prejudice quote of the week: “What a charming amusement for young people this is, Mr. Darcy! – There is nothing like dancing after all. – I consider it as one of the first refinements of polished societies.” (Sir William Lucas to Mr. Darcy) Chapter 6.

 

A couple of old quotes:

Jane tweets(?): “I am going to write nothing but short Sentences. There shall be two full stops in every Line. Layton and Shear’s is Bedford House….And how little time…..Let me be rational & return to my two full stops”. JA to CEA Weds Sept. 15,1813

Jane in Eastern Mass?
“But for there being no Ice, what could prepare me!-Weymouth is altogether a shocking place I perceive, without recommendation….by the inhabitants of Gloucester….You found my letter at Andover”. JA to CEA Friday 9/14/1804

 

Mr. Thornton‘s status.

I’ve always wondered about Mr. and Mrs. Hale, Margaret’s parents. I’m interested in their story. Maybe there should not only be a sequel to North and South, but a prequel, about Mr. Hale and Mrs. Hale when they were young. No? Just me? Okay…but a girl can dream, can’t she?

 

Pride & Prejudice quote of the week: ‘Her performance was pleasing, though by no means capital.’ (Elizabeth) Chapter 6.

 

“She grew absolutely ashamed of herself. Of neither Darcy nor Wickham could she think, without feeling that she had been blind, partial, prejudiced, absurd.”