The biggest virtual party this side of the Janeiverse may have ended, but there is still plenty of fun to be had. Read our guest post on EMMA (it’s the 200th anniversary of its publication), and see if there’s a little bit of Emma in you. There are lots more guest posts and hilarious roundtable discussions, and much more.
Hosted by The Book Rat.
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My first clue should have been the fact that "The Winslow Boy" was one of those films I never seem to tire of watching. Then again, so were many other Mamet films, e.g. "The Spanish Prisoner" and "Glengarry Glen Ross." (I remember shopping for a sofa once and bonding with the salesman over the latter, which we were almost compulsively quoting to one another).
I always just assumed what made "The Winslow Boy"stand out somehow was the period setting. But that wasn't true. I'd seen "Boston Marriage," after all. No, it was the way I felt at the end of it. Uplifted. I couldn't say that about "Glengarry Glen Ross," that's for sure.
There were many things about "the Winslow Boy" that I found uplifting. But the most intriguing aspect was the romance. Subtle, subtextual, but romance nonetheless. Between a reserved man of great power and a woman who has some very strong opinions against him.
Sound familiar? That's right, "Pride and Prejudice." It hit me tonight, after watching the film for perhaps the fifth time. There are other similarities between "The Winslow Boy" and "Pride and Prejudice," but I won't spoil it for you.
Do see it for yourself. It stars the incomparable Jeremy Northam (can we ever forget his Mr Knightley in the Douglas McGrath"Emma"?), Rebecca Pidgeon, Nigel Hawthorne, and Gemma Jones (she played Mrs Dashwood in the Ang Lee "Sense and Sensibility.")
"The Winslow Boy" is based on real events, adapted by David Mamet from the play by Terence Ratigan, and directed by Mamet as well.
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It's that time of year again, when women feel like total losers for being single or wait for their men to pass or fail the big Valentine's Day test. Will he screw up and totally forget, buy a cheap trinket instead of the one thing he knows you want, or, even more stressful and high stakes, will he finally pop the question?
Could there be anything more insane than this holiday that's supposed to be all about love?
I was watching the GREY'S ANATOMY Valentine's Day episode today, and one of the characters was a florist who was so exhausted and stressed from the V-Day rush that he accidentally crashed his delivery van into the ER.
Almost dying in service to Valentine's Day madness was a big wake-up call to this florist, who said he would never stress himself out over this holiday again:
"People call you up you know, they ask you, make something beautiful. Yeah, so some sorry schlep can forget they've been treated like crap every day of the year…Like my flowers are magic or something. But I bought it. Nearly killed myself trying to make sure everyone got their little miracle. What a joke. People oughta just stop being so awful to each other, you know? Leave me out of it."
My biggest takeaway from that speech? "People oughta just stop being so awful to each other."
Not bad advice. If we were good to the people we supposedly love every day, we wouldn't have to prove our love on that one day of the year. We could be more like Jane Bennet of PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, or Catherine Morland of NORTHANGER ABBEY, or Anne Elliot of PERSUASION. In Austen, kindness is always rewarded, and often with love. Could there be a better recipe for happiness than that?
[Gazing at photos of gorgeous actors playing Austen heroes can also be quite helpful.]
One thing's for sure. Feeling entitled to love, or a certain type of bouquet, or a necklace, or a diamond ring, is a sure recipe for misery.
Just ask that lady in GREY'S ANATOMY who was furious at her admittedly clueless boyfriend for once again giving her a velvet jewelry box on V-Day without a ring inside. I won't spoil it for you if you haven't seen it. It's worth watching.
And so is almost every Jane Austen adaptation ever made for the big or small screen. So if you don't expect to get that perfect bouquet, piece of jewelry, or declaration of love today, be kind. To others. To yourself. Fire up the Blu-ray or the Netflix queue and watch BRIDE AND PREJUDICE or the Colin Firth P&P or the Gwyneth Paltrow EMMA (just a few of my faves) or PERSUASION with Amanda Root and Ciaran Hinds. Even better, read PERSUASION (my favorite Austen novel) or PRIDE AND PREJUDICE or NORTHANGER ABBEY or, let's face it, any of the six. You'll feel much better, I promise.
Be happy. And wish yourself a very happy Valentine's Day.
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Today's Wall Street Journal has a fun piece on the ever-expanding Janeiverse on the web and on Austen's growing appeal with the young.
Makes sense, don't you think? After all, Austen wrote what could arguably be called the first classic YA coming-of-age novel, NORTHANGER ABBEY. The oldest heroine of Austen's six major works was 27-28 (Anne Elliot of PERUSASION), and the youngest was 17-18 (Catherine Morland of NORTHANGER ABBEY).
The latest Austen adaptations--both of which this blogger loved--clearly targeted a young demographic.[Romola Garai, L, as Emma Woodhouse; Felicity Jones, R, as Catherine Morland]
I'm just happy that a 27-year-old is no longer considered past her sell-by date, and a 17-year-old is usually more concerned with starting her freshman year of college than starting a family.
And on that note, I shall close with one of my favorite episodes of SEX AND THE AUSTEN GIRL, which focuses on this very topic:
[SEX AND THE AUSTEN GIRL, babelgum.com/sexandtheaustengirl, is inspired by the novels "Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict" and "Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict" and stars Arabella Field and Fay Masterson.]
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I am reading a lovely book by my friend Debbie Tenzer, called DO ONE NICE THING. If you've ever felt overwhelmed by all the suffering in the world and felt powerless to do anything about it, this book will help change all that.
Because there is something you can do. Even if you're as
busy as most people are in this crazy multi-tasking overly scheduled world.
Even if you don't have deep pockets.
From grocery shopping for a sick friend to organizing donations
of canned goods to a local food bank to making a $25 micro-loan that changes a
life in a remote part of the planet, there are dozens of accessible Nice Things
that you can do in this book.
So what does all this have to do with Jane Austen? Aside from the fact that in my world, everything has something to do with Jane Austen?
A lot, actually.
Jane Austen had plenty to say about everyday acts of
kindness towards our fellow humans. Ladies of Austen's class were expected to
care for the poor and relieve their sufferings through gifts of food, money,
and clothes, and through personal visits to needy families in the parish.
"Five hundred a year! I am sure I cannot imagine how
they will spend half of it; and as to your giving them more, it is quite absurd
to think of it. They will be much more able to give you
something."
"If we feel for the wretched, enough to do all we can
for them, the rest is empty sympathy, only distressing to ourselves."
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Don't get me wrong. I'm a romantic who is happily in love with my wonderful husband. But let's face it, Valentine's Day is
a holiday designed to make single people feel bad about themselves (and I spent
many years in the state of singledom) and people in relationships disappointed
in one another.
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Are you as excited as I am about the new EMMA miniseries on PBS Masterpiece Classic?
If so, please read my post on PBS's Remotely Connected blog, and let me know your thoughts!
Victoire Sanborn of Jane Austen's World and Jane Austen Today has also posted about EMMA.
How about watching EMMA as a communal experience with fellow Austen fans? If you've got a Twitter account, join the live Twitter party during Sunday's broadcast, 9-11 Eastern AND 9-11 Pacific time.
Along with PBS and Masterpiece, Jane Austen's World and Austenprose are co-hosting the East Coast Twitter party. I'll be co-hosting the West Coast Twitter party with Kali Pappas, a fellow Austen blogger.
To join, sign up with TweetGrid or your own Twitter aggregator, and use the hashtag #emma_pbs. And you don't have to wait for Sunday to start tweeting about EMMA.
See you in Highbury! (And don't forget to take the quiz!)
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by Laurie Viera Rigler, author of Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict
[This is my guest post for Jane Austen Today.]
What? No more weekly doses of Austen on PBS? Fear not, my fellow addicts. Help is here. All you need to do is follow this ten-part program.
Re-reading Austen's six novels (or reading them for the first time) will of course play a big role in this program. Ah, but what accompanies each read will make your experience even sweeter.
1. Try Northanger Abbey for your first post-Masterpiece read. Why Northanger Abbey? One reason could be that it was the first of Austen's novels to be accepted by a publisher—who then couldn't be bothered to publish it. Idiot. Thumbing your nose at such stupidity is one reason to read it first. Another, even better reason, is that NA's a fun way to shake off the post-Masterpiece blues.
• After you read the book, see what it's like to be Catherine Morland, the heroine of Northanger Abbey. How? Drive or walk around your city or town and pretend you are seeing it from the point of view of someone who has never been there and finds it fascinating and exciting. See? You're experiencing your world like Catherine experienced the city of Bath. If you're hard pressed to find something exciting or fascinating about your world, go into the nearest flower garden and learn to love a hyacinth. Or just think about how a young woman from the late eighteenth/early nineteenth century might respond to some of the modern technological wonders you take for granted. Like hot showers, for example. Flush toilets in every house. Mascara. Tampons.
• Then, top off your newfound sense of wonder and appreciation for your world by firing up your DVD player with the 2007 adaptation of Northanger Abbey* starring J.J. Feild and Felicity Jones. There. Aren't you feeling better already?
• *Ready for more? Try the 1986 adaptation of Northanger Abbey. Though it's unpopular with a lot of Janeites, you might, like me, find it entertaining.
2. Read Sense and Sensibility.
• After you close the book on Elinor and Marianne, imagine what happens next. (We all know these characters are real and keep living their lives after the books end, don't we?) Here's a fun situation to ponder: What happens the first time Edward and Elinor go to London and have dinner at Edward's mother's house—and are sitting across the table from Lucy and Robert? What do they talk about? Imagine Elinor sitting in the drawing room after dinner with Mrs. Ferrars and Lucy. And here's another one to consider: Should Marianne, or Mrs. Dashwood, ever confront John Dashwood about his broken promise to help them financially? If you were to write that speech, what would you have Marianne say? Or should the Dashwood ladies let John's own guilty conscience do all the work?
• Now that you've survived all those Dashwood/Ferrars family reunions, reward yourself with a screening of the Ang Lee/Emma Thompson Oscar-winning Sense and Sensibility (1995)* And while you're at it, order yourself a large pizza, chocolate cake, and/or a trough of margaritas. Yes. This program is definitely working.
3. Read Pride and Prejudice.
• After you read the book, imagine that you are Elizabeth experiencing your first visit to Rosings as Mrs. Darcy. (Lady Catherine has cooled down by now and consoles herself by hoping that her nephew will be so fortunate as to become widowed at a young age and redeem himself by taking a second wife, i.e., Anne de Bourgh.) Amuse yourself by observing the gyrations of Mr. Collins when he and Charlotte join the Rosings party for dinner. As Elizabeth once said to Mr. Darcy, "Follies and nonsense, whims and inconsistencies do divert me, I own, and I laugh at them whenever I can."
• But wait, there's more. It's time to watch the Colin Firth/Jennifer Ehle P&P mini again (one can never watch it too many times), and/or the 2005 movie with Keira Knightley, depending on whether your idea of Mr. Darcy is Colin Firth or Matthew MacFadyen or both. The 1995 mini is a great excuse to have a pajama party (where I grew up, we called them slumber parties). And one is never too old to have a slumber party. Send the kids away for sleepovers and banish any curmudgeonly significant others. Then, bring in lots of goodies, because five hours of viewing requires a great deal of fuel. There's all that fencing and swimming and dancing and taking refreshing turns around the room. I'm getting exhausted just thinking about it. No matter which film you watch (or even if you watch both), be sure to buy the soundtrack of the 2005 film and play often. It's stunning.
4. Read Mansfield Park.
• Even if you're a reader who can't quite warm up to Austen's heroine Fanny Price (I feel your pain, but do give her some time; she grew on me after awhile), you can have a lot of fun thinking about how this book could have ended but didn't. For me, that's the most fascinating, thought-provoking aspect of Mansfield Park. As Patricia Rozema, director of the controversial 1999 adaptation of Mansfield Park, put it in her screenplay, "It could have all turned out differently, I suppose. But it didn't." With that in mind, imagine what would have happened if Edmund had married Mary Crawford, and if Fanny had given in and married Henry Crawford. Happy marriages? Reformed rakes? Or a disaster?
• As compensation for the lack of a truly satisfying Mansfield Park film (see below)*, you get to watch the lovely 2007 BBC mini of Sense and Sensibility instead. I know, it's Sense and Sensibility, not Mansfield Park, and you just saw it on TV, but who cares? It's worth seeing again. It'll make you feel good. And isn't that what this program is all about?
*I'm one of the minority of Janeites who liked the 1999 Patricia Rozema adaptation of Mansfield Park, but I liked it more as a story inspired by Mansfield Park than as an adaptation per se. Rozema's rendering of Fanny Price is more like the director's idea of a young Jane Austen than the protagonist Jane Austen wrote for Mansfield Park. And Rozema's vision of the story's subtext is pretty dark. But then again, the book itself is perhaps the least "light, and bright, and sparkling" of Austen's works. By the way, there is a fascinating article on this film by Kathi Groenendyk in JASNA's journal Persuasions: As for the latest adaptation that aired on PBS, it has such a truncated version of the story that one wonders how anyone who didn't read the book could figure out what's going on. Mrs. Norris, Fanny's main nemesis, has mysteriously turned into a bland creature. And Fanny Price looks entirely too 21st-century and wears cleavage-baring day dresses (none of this is the fault of the actors, but still). As for the 1983 BBC mini, the heroine is more faithful to the book than its companions. However, while the principal actors are unquestionably talented I couldn't quite see some of them in their roles. And it's got that static, video-on-a-stage feel of early BBC productions that I find challenging to watch.
5. Read Emma.
• After you finish the book, play a little game called "Emma, Reformed Matchmaker." You'll need to play with a single friend (preferably a single friend who would like to be in a couple). Each of you sits down and writes a list of qualities that your friend's perfect, future mate should possess. Do not reveal what is on your lists until both of you are finished writing. Now share. You may be surprised to find that your lists differ greatly. When you read your friend's list, refrain from exclamations of horror unless one of the items on that list includes "must be incarcerated in a maximum security prison." Now, give your list to your friend to take home with her. Tell her she is free to cross out whatever she doesn't like on your list and keep whatever she does like. Or burn the whole thing. If she cares to share her final list with you, you may keep your eyes open for appropriate candidates and discreetly point them out to her. That's "point them out," not shove them in her face. Remember, you are "Emma, Reformed Matchmaker." If your friend doesn't care to share her final list, then graciously wish her all the best in finding her dream partner and promptly change the subject. Then, take her to Ford's (or local emporium of your choice) to buy a new dress. Or draw her picture. Without a potential mate watching the proceedings. See? You're a better, happier human being already.
• Now that you've had a successful run at self-improvement, Jane Austen-style, you deserve to have an Emma film festival. That's three very clever films indeed: The Kate Beckinsale/Mark Strong-starrer, the Gwyneth Paltrow/Jeremy Northam movie , and the brilliant Clueless, starring Alicia Silverstone and directed by Amy Heckerling. Three fabulous films means you get to invite at least three friends over to have a viewing party or slumber party. And stock up on provisions, for a private screening of three films, without sitting down to supper, [would be] pronounced an infamous fraud upon the rights of men and women.
6. Read Persuasion.
• After you finish the book, amuse yourself by imagining whether or not Mrs. Clay will indeed become the next Lady Eliot. If she does, will Anne and Frederick, or any of her family, ever visit Sir William and Lady Eliot? How will Mary's health survive it? Or Elizabeth's pride? Or on a pleasanter note, will Capt. Wentworth allow his wife on board his ship? If so, what exciting places will Anne visit?
• Watch the lovely, 1995 adaptation of Persuasion starring Amanda Root and Ciarán Hinds. Optional: the 2007 version of Persuasion. Although Austen's story is compressed into a scant 93 minutes in the latest version, this one is also worth watching, particularly if you love Rupert Penry-Jones as much as I do. Besides, the DVD restores the small but significant bits that were cut from the PBS broadcast.
7. Join the Jane Austen Society of North America (JASNA) and mingle with fellow Janeites at local and national meetings. I know what you're thinking, and yes, the rumors are all true. It's a cult. We have a secret handshake. We aim for total world domination. Okay, you can stop sweating now. I'm kidding. Really. JASNA is a community of warm, welcoming, fun-loving people who love Jane Austen and love getting together and talking about their favorite author with like-minded people. Like you. There are local reading groups (think Jane Austen Book Club, but usually with more than just the six Austen novels), regional get-togethers with fascinating speakers, entertainment, and delicious food, special screenings for members, and annual general meetings (AGMs) in a different city each year with talks and panels and workshops and English country dance lessons and a banquet and a Regency ball. At my first AGM I thought I'd died and gone to Austen heaven.
8. Watch a film that's so life-affirming and joyful that it merits a place of its own on this list: Bride and Prejudice, Gurinder Chadha's Bollywood-meets-Hollywood tribute to Pride and Prejudice. It's way better than a year's supply of antidepressants or a gallon of Absolut martinis. Hint: This one merits a party or at least inviting one friend over to watch with you. First, order in Indian food. Then, before popping in the DVD, unearth floaty scarves from your wardrobe or nearest accessory emporium, and keep them on hand to wave around while you dance along with the various musical numbers. Be sure to buy the soundtrack and play it in your car or on your iPod while commuting to work the next day. I feel better just thinking about it.
9. Now that you've got that Indian groove thang going, try English country dancing. Then you can watch all the movies set in Jane Austen's time again, and at the ballroom scenes you can dance along. There are many places to learn English country dancing, and from my experience, the people are friendly and welcome beginners, and there's no need to bring a partner with you. Some dance societies hold regular dances and even annual balls. In Southern California, check out Vintage Dance & History. Nationwide, go to the English Country Dance Webring and the Country Dance and Song Society.
10. Finally, take a trip back in time to Regency England. No, I haven't lost my mind. I have, however, written a novel that will transport you to 1813 England. Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict is the story of a modern L.A. girl and Austen fan who wakes up one morning as an Englishwoman's in Austen's time. As of April 29, Confessions comes out in paperback, which means the fare to Jane Austen's world becomes even more affordable.
If you have another item or two to add to this list, I would love to hear your suggestions, and I'm sure the readers of this blog will thank you. Just enter your suggestions as a comment .
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by Laurie Viera Rigler, author of Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict (http://janeaustenaddict.com)
[This post continues my series of guest posts on About.com's Classic Literature Blog.]
Yes; I'll admit it. There have been times when I've acted a bit like Emma, the eponymous heroine of Jane Austen's novel. There have been times when I have, shall I say, ventured into the unsolicited advice department. Times when I've been so convinced of what I knew about others that no one could convince me my assumptions were absolutely wrong.
I haven't always seen myself in Emma. In fact, there was a time when I would have been offended at the very suggestion. After all, Emma is the heroine that Jane Austen said "no one but myself will much like." But the older I get and the more I re-read Austen's works, the more I begin to see myself not only as Elizabeth Bennet (and who doesn't want to see herself as "dearest, loveliest Elizabeth"?), but also as some of Austen's more flawed characters.
These "a-ha" experiences are high on the list of reasons why I love Austen. I have this theory that if you read her works enough times and really contemplate the life lessons therein, you can pretty much give up your psychotherapist. You can even reduce your library of self-help books to Austen's six novels. They are so much fun to read, so satisfying, so full of dramatic tension and hilarious commentary, that you hardly know you're getting a life lesson at all. Which is exactly how I like my life lessons delivered.
When we first meet Austen's heroine Emma Woodhouse, she is enjoying the "triumph" of what her truth-telling friend (and only critic) Mr. Knightley dismisses as Emma's "lucky guess." Said "lucky guess" is the marriage of Emma's dearest friend (and former governess) Miss Taylor. Emma, however, gives herself more credit for the match than Mr. Knightley chooses to do. Emboldened by the success of her first foray into matchmaking, and lonely for the newly married Miss Taylor, Emma takes on a new project, Miss Harriet Smith. Determined to make over the trusting and subservient Harriet into Emma's own idea of perfection, Emma decides that Harriet's current romantic interest is too low on the social scale for her new friend. Emma, in all her social consequence and omniscience, will elevate Harriet on the social scale. Emma, in all her generous solicitude for the well-being of others, will bestow upon the vicar, Mr. Elton, the perfect wife. For he would be just the right man for Harriet.
Never mind that Mr. Elton has plans of his own and that the worshipping Harriet would follow wherever Emma leads. For Emma, those around her are pawns, and she their queen. Emma, of course, fancies herself a benevolent ruler. And thus she embarks on a series of misguided adventures into high-stakes meddling in the lives of others while having not the slightest doubt of her own sagacity. Challenged by no one but Mr. Knightley, she willfully misreads and misinterprets everyone's actions. She is, in short, a character we might heartily dislike, were it not for the genius of her creator.
Austen's brilliance is about making us see the universal humanity of all of her characters. Even if we cannot see ourselves in a particular character, we most certainly have known someone like that character. From the very beginning, we cannot truly dislike the high-handed, I-know-better-than-you Emma, for she has sacrificed her own domestic comfort to her best friend Miss Taylor's interests. Mr. Knightley may call the marriage of Miss Taylor to Mr. Weston a "lucky guess," but it was Emma who encouraged Mr. Weston to visit her friend, in hopes that he would eventually propose—and take that best friend away. Thus we see that under her meddling is a warm, affectionate heart. And we cannot truly dislike Emma because she patiently and without complaint—even to herself—ministers to the comfort of her hypochondriacal, self-centered, childlike father.
Most of all, we cannot truly dislike Emma because she becomes ensnared in her own machinations. And thus Mr. Knightley's wish that he "should like to see Emma in love, and in some doubt of a return " comes to pass.
(Be careful about what you wish on others, Mr. Knightley. It may just come back to kick you in the hindquarters.)
And that is all I shall say. If you have not read the book, I urge you to do so. You might just recognize that you, like Emma, find the idea of arranging someone else's life to be so much more appealing than looking at your own.
By the way, all of you who are jonesing for Austen since Masterpiece Theatre cruelly took a hiatus from its Complete Jane Austen extravaganza are in for a treat: the 1995 adaptation of Emma starring Kate Beckinsale. It airs on PBS in two parts, beginning Sunday, March 23. The Kate Beckinsale Emma is also available on DVD, as is its worthy companions, the splendid adaptation starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Amy Heckerling's contemporary take on Emma, the delightful Clueless.
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[You can read my guest post here or on Book Club Girl. In any case, check out Book Club Girl, a priceless resource for anyone who has a book group, wants to start a book group, or just loves to read. ]
I was en route to Jefferson, Texas to give a reading of Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict to the Pulpwood Queens Book Club when
the flight attendant announced that he wasn't quite sure our landing
gear was working. There probably wasn't anything to worry about, he
said, though I later learned that the Shreveport Fire Department was
out in full force to greet us just in case. Hands gripping the armrest,
I turned to the woman sitting next to me and said, "Why did they have
to tell us that?" She shrugged. And so I said some prayers and then
went back to my book; I was reading Emma.
If those last twenty minutes of flight time were to be my last twenty
minutes alive, I would go down reading Jane Austen. Sure enough, Austen
took me out of myself, out of my fears, and into Highbury, where Emma
danced with Mr. Knightley at the Crown. And before I knew it, the plane
was safely on the ground.
Like the protagonist of Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict ,
I use Austen as comfort, guidance, and a cure for a host of ills that
come with modern living. Unlike her, I found myself transported not to
Regency England, but to Beauty and the Book,
the headquarters of the Pulpwood Queens, and the only beauty
salon/bookstore in America. Their motto? "Where tiaras are mandatory
and reading good books is the rule!" At Beauty and the Book,
bookshelves lined with must-reads face racks of RedKen products, and
stacks of the club's monthly picks are flanked by hairdryers. Tiaras
and other rhinestone goodies are also on offer. One thing that struck
me was the absence of gossip magazines, the typical reading fare of
hair salons. Then again, there is nothing typical about Beauty and the
Book. If you want to read while you're getting your hair done, there
are plenty of choices, but they don't include accounts of celebrity
divorce and who made a fashion faux pas on the red carpet.
At
the meeting, book club members, most decked out in tiaras, some
sporting the club's signature hot pink T-shirt, seat themselves in
hairstyling chairs to tuck into fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, and
other Southern delights they've cooked specially for the occasion. Kathy Patrick, the original Pulpwood Queen and author of the upcoming Pulpwood Queens' Tiara-Wearing, Book-Sharing Guide to Life,
is the charismatic and benevolent ruler, making announcements,
encouraging everyone to fill a plate and get comfy. This group is here
to have fun, but first and foremost it is there to fulfill Kathy's
mission, which is "to get the world reading."
And so the readings and discussions began. This month there were two selections, and so I not only got to read and discuss Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict, I got to meet Masha Hamilton and listen to her read from her wonderful novel, The Camel Bookmobile, as well as hear about the real Camel Book Drive she's launched as a result of writing her book.
When the last bite of chocolate pie had been consumed and the last of
the tiara-wearing Queens filed out the door, Masha and I were in for
yet another treat: hair tips from Kathy, who showed us some cool tricks
for last-minute special looks. As I left this enchanted place, I
wondered, What would Jane Austen think of Beauty and the Book and The Pulpwood Queens? I'm convinced she'd love them. For one, the Pulpwood Queens live up to what Anne Eliot said in Persuasion: "My
idea of good company... is the company of clever, well-informed people,
who have a great deal of conversation." The Queens are definitely my
idea of good company--truly a delightful group of women who were full of questions and stimulating ideas. As for their Jefferson, Texas venue, I
am reminded of the circulating libraries of Austen's day, often
fashionable places where patrons could borrow books for a fee, and which also sold jewelry and other trinkets. If they had offered
hairstyling, too, they might have been nearly as perfect as Beauty and
the Book.
Book Club Girl Here: Laurie, this sounds like it was great fun and I'm glad you got to meet Masha Hamilton too! I grabbed some photos from your site and here's a link to all the rest of them.
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