Archive for June, 2009

A Feast of Austen and Zombies

Wednesday, June 24th, 2009

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single reader in possession of a good Austen zombie romance, must be in want of more. It is only a matter of time before we are imposed upon by Northanger Abbey and Vampires. Mansfield Park and Werewolves. Emma and the Exorcist.

Yes, I have succumbed to that plague sweeping the land: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, which has infested so many that the book, by Jane Austen with a bit of help from screenwriter Seth Grahame-Smith, is on the New York Times bestseller list.

Zombies and ninjas infest the lastest spin on Jane Austen's <em>Pride and Prejudice.</em>

Zombies and ninjas infest the latest spin on Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice.

The genius of this novel (and I use the term loosely) is that 85 percent of it is Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, word for word. The remaining 15 percent is zombies (or unmentionables, as the residents of Regency England prefer to call them) and ninjas. (Ninjas? Yes, really. But then again, who could do a better job of warding off the undead?) Elizabeth catches Darcy’s fancy for the liveliness of her wit and her superior fighting skills. Darcy’s pretty good at beheading zombies himself, though not quite as much a fighting legend as his fearsome aunt, Lady Catherine.

Published this spring and billed as a book that “transforms a masterpiece of world literature into something you’d actually want to read,” Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is also illustrated with disgusting drawings of zombies and ninjas doing, well, what zombies and ninjas do.

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JASNA Meeting Will Focus on Sibling Relationships in Austen

Monday, June 22nd, 2009
Elinor and Marianne Dashwood (as portrayed by Emma Thompson and Kate Winslet)

Elinor and Marianne Dashwood (as portrayed by Emma Thompson and Kate Winslet)

The Jane Austen Society of North America will hold its annual general meeting October 9-11 in Philadelphia. The theme: “Jane Austen’s Brothers and Sisters.”

Sibling relationships were critical in Austen’s novels, and speakers at the meeting will address such themes as sibling rivalry in Austen’s novels, how sisterly dialogue helped Jane reveal her characters,  why the brother-sister relationship was so critical in 18th century English life, and Jane’s relationship with her own brothers James and Henry.

There will also be tours, special events such as Regency dance lessons (almost sold out), and all that other good stuff.

Registrations are nearly sold out, so make haste if you want to attend.

Dancing with Darcy at Jane Austen’s Chawton House

Wednesday, June 17th, 2009

Ever wanted to dance a quadrille? You could do just that at the “Dancing with Darcy” Regency ball at Chawton House, near the village where Jane Austen lived eight of the last years of her life and wrote or revised all her great novels.

Chawton House, where Jane Austen wrote or revised all her great novels

Chawton House, where Jane Austen wrote or revised all her great novels

On July 3, to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Austen’s arrival in the village, Chawton House will host a Regency Ball, complete with women in gorgeous gowns, men in breeches and cravats (or those red-coated uniforms), carriages and candles, 19th century music, a sumptuous supper created from 18th century recipes, and even some celebrities who starred in the BBC series of “Pride and Prejudice,” “Sense and Sensibility,” and “Persuasion.” (Sorry, no mention of Colin Firth. David Rintoul and Elizabeth Garvie, who starred in the BBC’s 1980 version of P&P, will portray the Darcys.)

Regency finery doesn’t come cheap. Tickets cost $5,000 (£3,000). All the proceeds will go to further the educational role of Chawton House, which has become a library and scholarly center focusing on women’s writing in English from 1600 to 1830.

Wednesday, June 17th, 2009

“I think I may boast myself to be, with all possible vanity, the most unlearned and uninformed female who ever dared to be an authoress.”

Reading, and Not Reading, the Classics

Friday, June 12th, 2009
Mansfield Park, Austen's least popular novel

Mansfield Park, Austen's least popular novel

In a delightfully amusing article on Examiner.com, Chicago Book Examiner Michelle Kerns skewers “10 books I should love…but for some reason, I hate.” Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park, the least popular of her novels, makes the list. Kerns admits that she actually likes the bad girl, Mary Crawford, better than the spineless heroine, Fanny Price. (I agree—while I sympathize with Fanny, I find her priggish and boring. For that matter, I find Edmund boring as well. He’s like Mr. Knightley without the charm and sense of humor.)

New York Book Examiner Katie Henderson picks up on the theme with “The Books I Should Have Loved,” old and modern classics that in her opinion aren’t half as wonderful as we’re supposed to think they are. She leads off with Mansfield Park, and her dislike of the “preachy, uptight” Fanny Price.

What do you think, Austen fans? Does Mansfield Park deserve the thrashing?