Wordy Wednesday #10

Source: Unknown via CNJ JASNA on Pinterest

Man Crush Monday

Source: IMDB via CNJ JASNA on Pinterest

RIP Robert Hardy

Actor Robert Hardy passed away this week.

Robert Hardy as General Tinley

With his instantly recognisable voice and British bulldog manner, Robert Hardy enjoyed a distinguished acting career which spanned eight decades.  

By the time he endeared himself to television audiences in the BBC's All Creatures Great and Small, he had already carved out a reputation as one of Britain's most versatile actors.  

While his earlier career gave him a firm grounding in the theatre his best known roles were in front of the camera - particularly in television, a medium he obviously enjoyed.  

He became something of a specialist in the role of Sir Winston Churchill, playing the great man on half a dozen occasions as well as being in demand to reproduce the wartime leader's voice.

-From BBC's Obituary for Robert Hardy. You can read the full obit here.

Besides all his wonderful rolls he portrayed General Tinley in the 1987's Northanger Abbey and Sir John Middleton in 1995's Sense and Sensibility.

Robert Hardy as Sir John Middleton

Wordless Wednesday #96

Source: IMDB via CNJ JASNA on Pinterest

A Gothic Halloween

All Hallow's Eve - Jane Austen Centre

Happy Halloween!

I went around with trying to find something fun to post today in honor of Halloween and instead found a bunch of really interesting articles and Gothic/spooky stories to share.

Regency Era Ghost Stories from Ackermann's Repository - E K Duncan
All Hallow's Eve - Jane Austen Centre
Ann Radcliff: Mother of the Gothic Novel - Jane Austen Centre
The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe - Project Gutenberg

Any list isn't complete without Jane's own 'Gothic' tale. Northanger Abbey

If you have any other tales to add to the list please comment!

Jane Sighting - Mansfield Park mention

“…a relatively new novel called Mansfield Park was intriguing…”
-link to book listing but I can’t recommend reading it!

 There are a few things that bother me about this statement. Maybe they bother you too, maybe they don’t and you are now muttering “Amelia get over yourself.” So I’ll apologize.

The first thing that bothered me upon reading this is the relatively new part. As we know Mansfield Park was published in May of 1814 by Thomas Egerton and later republished in 1816 by John Murray. So this statement would work if the story was set within a year or two of the publications years. However, the majority of the book takes place in 1820.   I think it would have worked better if the author had chosen either Northanger Abbey or Persuasion both of which were published in 1818.

The second thing that bothered me was the use of intriguing to describe Mansfield Park.  I enjoy the novel and can think of many words to describe it but I can’t think of it as intriguing. Intriguing’s definition is “arousing one’s curiosity or interest; fascinating.” To me this sounds more like Northanger Abbey!

What do you think?

Does anyone else think that it’s great that so many authors want to mention Jane and her works in their works, but wish they would do a bit more research? 

Wordless Wednesday #19

Visit Jane Austen Brazil for more illustrations

Reading about Northanger Abbey

The theme of JASNA’s 2010 AGM is “Jane Austen and The Abbey: Mystery, Mayhem, and Muslin in Portland.” JASNA member Janine Barchas’s groundbreaking essay is recommended reading in preparation for the AGM: “Mapping Northanger Abbey: or, Why Austen’s Bath of 1803 Resembles Joyce’s Dublin of 1904. The essay appeared last year in The Review of English Studies, a leading scholarly journal published by Oxford University Press, and has recently been selected by the editors of the journal for public release.

Dr. Barchas, who is on the English faculty of the University of Texas-Austin, will be a speaker at the Portland AGM. Her intriguing presentation is titled “The Real Bluebeard of Bath: A Historical Model for Northanger Abbey.” Essays by Dr. Barchas also appear in JASNA’s journal Persuasions Nos. 30 and 31.

Additional reading about Northanger Abbey is available in Persuasions On-Line, JASNA’s electronic journal:
“Of Course You can Trust Me!”: Jane Austen’s Narrator in Northanger Abbey, Henry N. Rogers III

Reading by the Book in Northanger Abbey, Barbara Benedict

“Willy-Nilly” and Other Tales of Male-Tails: Rightful and Wrongful Laws of Landed Property in Northanger Abbey and Beyond, Deirdre E. Gilbert

The Invention of Civility in Northanger Abbey, Joseph Wiesenfarth

The JASNA Student Essay Contest

Attention high school, college and graduate students: The JASNA Essay Contest is now accepting entries for the 2010 contest. The topic is related to this year's AGM in Portland, the theme of which is "Jane Austen and the Abbey: Mystery, Mayhem and Muslin". Entries are to discuss how Jane Austen uses mayhem as a plot element in Northanger Abbey to increase our understanding of one or more of the characters. Details may be found at the JASNA website.

Where’s Where in Jane Austen’s Novels

Northanger Abbey provides many locations for literary genius: http://www.jasna.org/info/images/map-na-1200.jpg