As anyone who reads the fabulous Austenprose already knows, the cover of the upcoming anthology, JANE AUSTEN MADE ME DO IT, is official. And gorgeous.
What a privilege to be in the company of all these wonderful authors. I am very grateful to Austenprose's Laurel Ann Nattress, editor of JANE AUSTEN MADE ME DO IT, for inviting me to contribute. And most of all, I cannot wait to read all of these stories!
JANE AUSTEN MADE ME DO IT will be available at your favorite bookstore on October 11, 2011 (Ballantine) and may be pre-ordered now from many online booksellers, including Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
I did the 'Eleanor test' - reduced the size - and agree that the cover art could be better - went to Amazon and the first impression is the pink stripes and white letters are hard to see on the pink unless you blow it up. I had to be told the rectangles were supposed to be calling cards. Book size its all right but imho it could have been better than all right - maybe there is such a scramble to get an anthology together that the cover art wasnt a priority.
The good news is that i still plan to buy the book but only because it includes some favorite authors.
Posted by: Barbara | April 09, 2011 at 06:05 AM
I hate saying it but have to sort of agree w ith Luci on the cover issue. On this page it is about 6x9 and looks okay but take it down to a 2x3 thumbnail that will be on a lot of web sites and it looks odd and not very attractive the pink lines crossing over one another are distracting and at that size you do not see the image of the woman right away. A lot of Austen books are using classic art for the covers - that one of Mme Recamier is on just about everything - and on a web site or Amazon or promotional flyers they really catch the eye.
The fathers issue is so interesting - always felt sorry for Edward Ferrars too but at least as a man he could get a job. The women who had bad fathers like the Bennets were in bad shape if they didnt catch a husband.
Posted by: Eleanor | April 08, 2011 at 01:10 PM
I agree; this whole topic of disappointing father figures in Austen is a fascinating one. I will definitely stop by and read those posts, Heather.
Posted by: Laurie Viera Rigler | April 07, 2011 at 01:16 PM
Luci - they are! I had the idea late last year, and just started reading and also blogging about it so I was forced, in essence, to put my thoughts down. I'm a little late on posting about Mansfield Park, but I'm hoping to get the initial post up today.
I love P&P, so I'm saving Mr. Bennet's analysis for last. Sir Thomas Bertram is definitely an interesting character; so far in my re-read, since I've been maybe over-analyzing things he says, I'm quite conflicted. I'm also trying to make sure I don't "modernize" my perception of him, but remember that he was, after all, a father in the Regency era, when parental norms were quite different.
Thanks for replying, though, I always love additional insights!
Posted by: Wbhumanities | April 07, 2011 at 07:57 AM
To Heather - the father figures are such an interesting study. Main characters have such awful or neglectful fathers - Mr Bennet, General Tilney, Sir Thomas Bertram. In the paperback of one of the new Austen books - "Lady Vernon and Her Daughter" (loved it!) there is an author reading group guide and one of the questions is about the irresponsible fathers and how the father in that book stacks up against the others. Sometimes wonder who is worse - the living fathers like General Tilney or the dead ones like the late Mr Ferrars or Colonel Brandons father. But still there are some good fathers - Mr Gardiner seems okay and so does Catherine Morelands father.
Posted by: Luci | April 07, 2011 at 04:38 AM
Love the idea of the book but not in love w/the cover. Looks very good close up but in a postage stamp size on amazon or online sites it looks like a weird criss cross and the face doesnt come through - plus I thought there were more than 20 writers only see 9 or 10 on the front.
Still...will buy the book for what is between the covers!
Posted by: Luci | April 07, 2011 at 04:31 AM
Thank you, Anna. I loooove being linked! :))
Posted by: Laurie Viera Rigler | April 07, 2011 at 12:08 AM
Looking forward to reading it! And I linked to your blog a while back without asking permission. ;)
Posted by: Anna | April 06, 2011 at 11:58 PM
Please do, and thanks for stopping by, Heather!
Posted by: Laurie Viera Rigler | April 06, 2011 at 10:42 PM
Fantastic! Can't wait to read - I'm currently re-reading and analyzing Austen novels for disappointing father figures - would you mind if I linked to your blog? My blog is:
http://wanderingbarkhumanities.wordpress.com/
Posted by: Heather Nolen / Wandering Bark Humanities | April 06, 2011 at 10:26 AM