Shop till you drop? How about you read till you need...to read some more! Really, is there anything better to take the edge off all that holiday stress than a good book?
Name your favorite holiday comfort read and tell us why it works for you. Enter your answer as a comment here on the blog OR as a tweet @austen_addict. Winner of this draw will receive personally inscribed copies of both CONFESSIONS OF A JANE AUSTEN ADDICT and RUDE AWAKENINGS OF A JANE AUSTEN ADDICT. ENTER BY MIDNIGHT PST DEC. 5.
Go to WhoRuBlog and check out its beautiful mini-challenge that is truly in the spirit of holiday giving. See the wonderful list of bloggers who are holding their own mini-challenges, including lots more giveaways. And there's a Twitter party, too, on December 5th. Why not sign up for them all!
Imagine you come from 1813 England, where a carriage going 10 miles per hour is a fast mode of travel (remember John Thorpe bragging in NORTHANGER ABBEY?). And then you land in 21st-century L.A., where half your life is lived in a speeding car. When you're not stuck in rush-hour gridlock, that is.
Watch our time-swapping heroines Courtney and Jane, the one from today's world and the other from Jane Austen's England, talk about the pros and cons of cars and carriages and the wonders of life in the fast lane--no matter what century you're in. TO ENTER OUR GIVEAWAY, Watch "Transportation," Episode 22 of SEX AND THE AUSTEN GIRL , the Babelgum original comedy web series, and let us know what you think by leaving a comment here on the blog.
Is your other car a BMW, or a barouche? Is it cheaper, relatively speaking, to own a car today than it was to own a carriage in Jane Austen's day? (Sure, gas is expensive, but what about having to have a stable, feed for the horse, and a servant to care for it--remember Elinor's words to Marianne when Willoughby wanted to give her a horse in SENSE AND SENSIBILITY?)
Or just tell us what you like about the episode! FOR MORE CHANCES TO WIN, SEE BELOW.
DO ANY OR ALL OF THE FOLLOWING FOR MULTIPLE CHANCES TO WIN:
CONGRATULATIONS TO LAST WEEK'S GIVEAWAY WINNERS, Carl and Susan!
[Sex and the Austen Girl stars Arabella Field as Courtney and Fay Masterson as Jane. For more about Sex and the Austen Girl, and to catch up on all the episodes you missed, visit the Sex and the Austen Girl showpage at Babelgum.]
What to do when the urge arrives to go to the bathroom during Regency times? Our time-swapping heroines, Jane and Courtney, debate the pros and cons of modern plumbing in Episode 21 of SEX AND THE AUSTEN GIRL , the Babelgum original comedy web series.
[Sex and the Austen Girl stars Arabella Field as Courtney and Fay Masterson as Jane. For more about Sex and the Austen Girl, and to catch up on all the episodes you missed, visit the Sex and the Austen Girl showpage at Babelgum.]
Do you ever wish the men in our twenty-first-century world dressed like Mr. Darcy instead of "like farmers and workmen," as Jane, one of our time-swapping heroines of SEX AND THE AUSTEN GIRL, would put it?
Watch "Clothes Make the Man," Episode 19 of SEX AND THE AUSTEN GIRL , and let us know what you think. And enter our giveaway by midnight Saturday, October 23, PST!
This week's giveaway ends Saturday October 23 at midnight PST . Good luck!
AND CONGRATULATIONS TO LAST WEEK'S GIVEAWAY WINNERS!
[Sex and the Austen Girl stars Arabella Field as Courtney (left) and Fay Masterson as Jane (right). For more about Sex and the Austen Girl, and to catch up on all the episodes you missed, visit the Sex and the Austen Girl showpage at Babelgum.]
Helicopters, air conditioning, cars, and a little picture-box called TV.
Everything you always wanted to know when traveling to 2010 Los Angeles
from the Regency Era. In this Freaky Friday-meets-Masterpiece Theatre
comedy, two women have inexplicably switched bodies, time periods, and
lives: One from Regency England, the other from 21st-century Los
Angeles— they debate the pros and cons of life and love in today's world
vs. Jane Austen's world.
Could Catherine possibly be more fortunate? Her best friend Isabella is engaged to her brother, she is completely oblivious to John Thorpe's clumsy moves, and she is to have dinner at the Tilneys. Except that...
Catherine has dinner at the
Tilney's & finds the anticipation of the event was pleasanter than the
event itself.
"In spite of [General
Tilney's] great civilities to her…it had been a release to get away from him…
"
[Liam Cunningham as General Tilney in the ITV NORTHANGER ABBEY]
Catherine cannot account for
her feelings. "It could not be General Tilney's fault….She could only
attribute [it] to her own stupidity."
As for Henry, "he had
never said so little, nor been so little agreeable." But Catherine is
eager to give him another chance.
Later, at the ball:
"The evening rewarded her confidence…Miss Tilney took pains to be near
her, and Henry asked her to dance."
Catherine dances w/Henry,
"listening with sparkling eyes to everything he said; and, in finding him irresistible,
becoming so herself."
Henry's brother, Capt.
Tilney, wants to dance w/ Isabella. Catherine tells Henry that Isabella said
she won't dance w/anyone tonight.
But, says Catherine,
"it was very good-natured in him…I suppose he saw Isabella sitting down,
and fancied she might wish for a partner."
"Henry smiled, and
said, 'How very little trouble it can give you to understand the motive of
other people's actions.'"
Henry:
"With you, it is not…What is the inducement most likely to act upon such a
person…but…what would be my
inducement in acting…?"
Catherine:
"I do not understand you." Henry: "Then we are on very unequal
terms, for I understand you perfectly well."
Catherine:
"Me? -- yes; I cannot speak well enough to be unintelligible." Henry:
"Bravo! -- an excellent satire on modern language."
Catherine
sees Isabella dancing with Capt. Tilney. "I cannot think how it could
happen! Isabella was so determined not to dance."
Later,
Isabella explains: "I refused him as long as I possibly could, but he
would take nodenial… Amazingly conceited, I am sure."
[Carey Mulligan as Isabella Thorpe and Mark Dymond as Captain Frederick Tilney in the ITV NORTHANGER ABBEY.]
Alas,
Isabella learns what James's father can give them. Not enough to marry on. At
least not for 2 ½ years.
Isabella:
"Nobody can think better of Mr. Morland than I do...But every body has their
failing."
"Catherine
was hurt by these insinuations. 'I am very sure,' said she, 'that my father has
promised to do as much as he can afford.'"
"Isabella
recollected herself…'It is not the want of more money that makes me just at
present a little out of spirits; I hate money.'"
Isabella:
"If our union could take place now upon only fifty pounds a year, I should
not have a wish unsatisfied."
"Catherine's
uncomfortable feelings began to lessen… James soon followed his letter,"
& Isabella was back to her usual cheerful self.
[This Twitter presentation of NORTHANGER ABBEY is
brought to you by Jane Austen: "Disguise of every sort is my abhorrence."]
Time for another recap of NORTHANGER ABBEY tweets. When last we left our fair heroine, she had finally taken the long-anticipated country walk with Eleanor and Henry Tilney (sigh).
And now, fresh from her triumph on Beechen Cliff, here is Catherine in Chapter 15 of Jane Austen's NORTHANGER ABBEY:
Soon
Catherine receives the delightful news that she & Isabella are to be
sisters--Isabella & James are engaged!
Isabella says
Catherine "will be so infinitely dearer to" her than her own
sisters."This was a pitch of
friendship beyond Catherine."
"You are so like
your dear brother," continued Isabella, "that I quite doated on you
the first moment I saw you."
"The very
first moment I beheld [James] -- my heart was irrecoverably gone…I thought I
never saw any body so handsome before."
"Catherine
secretly acknowledged the power of love; for, though exceedingly fond of her
brother…she had never…thought him handsome."
Isabella fears
Catherine's parents will oppose the marriage, for Isabella is poor. "I am
sure they will consent," says Catherine.
Isabella:
"For my own part…the smallest income in nature would be enough... Where
people are really attached, poverty itself is wealth…"
James's
parents consent to his marrying Isabella—she's ecstatic. All that is TBD is how
much Mr. Morland will give them.
Says John Thorpe to Catherine,
"A famous good thing this marrying scheme, upon my soul!...What do you
think of it, Miss Morland?"
"I am sure I think it a very good one." Thorpe: "Do
you? --that's honest, by heavens!"
Thorpe: "Did
you ever hear the old song 'Going to One Wedding Brings on Another?' say, you
will come to Belle's wedding, I hope."
[William Beck as John Thorpe in the 2007 adaptation of Northanger Abbey.]
Catherine: "Yes; I have promised your sister to be with her, if
possible."
'Forcing a foolish laugh' Thorpe says,: "Then you know, we may try the
truth of this same old song."
Thorpe's
"song" is one that Catherine would be horrified to think of singing,
were she not happily oblivious to his hints.
This
Twitter presentation of NORTHANGER ABBEY is brought to you by Beechen Cliff,
"a little of the south of France right here in Bath."
When last we left Catherine, she was "one of the happiest creatures in the world," having assured Henry Tilney that nothing less than being abducted by the evil John Thorpe could have prevented her from keeping her engagement of going for a country walk with Henry and his sister Eleanor.
[JJ Feild and Felicity Jones in the 2007 film adaptation of Jane Austen'sNORTHANGER ABBEY]
CHAPTER 13:
James & the Thorpes try to guilt Catherine into another excursion, but she
refuses: She's made plans with Eleanor.
James calls
Catherine unkind and obstinate. " If I am wrong," she says, "I
am doing what I believe to be right."
"I
suspect," says Isabella, "there is no great struggle." Ouch.
Poor Catherine.
It gets worse: Thorpe
announces he has cancelled Catherine's plans with Eleanor. WTF? Off Catherine
goes to set things straight.
Her parting words:
"If I could not be persuaded into doing what I thought wrong, I never will
be tricked into it."
Bypassing the Tilneys' servant, Catherine
rushes into their drawing room and breathlessly explains what happened.
All is forgiven;
she even meets Henry's father, General Tilney, who walks her to the door &
admires "the elasticity of her walk."
"Catherine…proceeded gaily" home, "walking, as she concluded,
with great elasticity, though she had never thought of it before."
CHAPTER 14:
Walking next day w/Tilneys, Catherine talks of her love for gothic novels.
"But you never read novels…?" she asks Henry.
Henry: "Why not?" Catherine: "Because they are not clever enough
for you -- gentlemen read better books."
Henry: "The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a
good novel, must be intolerably stupid."
Catherine:
"But I really thought before, young men despised novels amazingly."
Henry: "…it
may well suggest amazement if
they do -- for they read nearly as many as women."
Catherine:
"Do not you think Udolpho the nicest book in the world?"
Henry: "The
nicest; --by which I suppose you mean the neatest. That must depend upon the
binding."
"Henry,"
said Miss Tilney, "you are very impertinent. Miss Morland, …The word
`nicest,' as you used it, did not suit him…"
"I am
sure," cried Catherine, "I did not mean to say any thing wrong; but
it is a nice book, and why should not I call it so?"
"Very
true," said Henry, "and this is a very nice day, and we are taking a
very nice walk, and you are two very nice young ladies."
Henry: "Oh! it is a
very nice word indeed! -- It does for every thing…every commendation on every
subject is comprised in that one word."
"While, in
fact," cried his sister, "it ought only to be applied to you, without
any commendation at all."
"Come, Miss
Morland, let us leave him to meditate over our faults…, while we praise Udolpho
in whatever terms we like best."
Talk
turns 2 history. Cath: "I read it a little as a duty, but it tells me
nothing that does not either vex or weary me."
"The quarrels of popes and kings, with wars or
pestilences, in every page…"
"...the men all so good for nothing, and hardly any
women at all -- it is very tiresome…"
"…yet I often think it odd that it should be so
dull, for a great deal of it must be invention."
And as for historians: "to be at so much trouble in filling great
volumes, which...nobody would willingly ever look into…"
"...to be labouring only for the torment of little boys
and girls, always struck me as a hard fate…"
Henry disagrees,
for historians "are perfectly well qualified to torment readers of the
most advanced reason and mature time of life."
The
Tilneys began talking about drawing, and "Here Catherine was quite lost.
She knew nothing of drawing."
"She was
heartily ashamed of her ignorance. A misplaced shame. Where people wish to
attach, they should always be ignorant."
"To come with
a well-informed mind is to come with an inability of administering to the
vanity of others."
And "an
inability of administering to the vanity of others" is something "which
a sensible person would always wish to avoid."
"A woman especially, if she have the misfortune of knowing any thing,
should conceal it as well as she can."
"To the
larger and more trifling part of the [male] sex, imbecility in females is a
great enhancement of their personal charms…"
However, "there
is a portion of [men] too reasonable and too well informed themselves to desire
anything more in woman than ignorance."
"But
Catherine did not know her own advantages."
For "a
good-looking girl, with an affectionate heart and a very ignorant mind, cannot
fail of attracting a clever young man."
A
lecture on drawing follows. From there, Henry segues to politics. And
"From politics, it was an easy step to silence."
Then Catherine
offers this comment on current affairs. "I have heard that something very
shocking indeed will soon come out in London."
Eleanor is
alarmed; Henry amused. Says Catherine: "I shall expect murder and
everything of the kind."
Eleanor says that
the government will of course take matters in hand. Henry, "endeavoring
not to smile," disagrees.
"Government…neither desires nor dares to interfere in such matters. There
must be murder; and government cares not how much."
"The ladies
stared. He laughed… 'Come, shall I make you understand each other, or leave you
to puzzle out an explanation as you can?'"
Henry: "Miss
Morland has been talking of nothing more dreadful than a new publication,"
i.e., a gothic horror novel.
Henry: "Miss Morland -- my stupid sister has mistaken all your clearest
expressions…but she is by no means a simpleton in general."
Eleanor warns that Catherine will think Henry
"intolerably rude" 2 his sister "and a great brute in [his]
opinion of women in general."
Eleanor: "Miss Morland is not used to your
odd ways." Henry: "I shall be most happy to make her better
acquainted with them."
Henry: "Miss Morland, no one
can think more highly of the understanding of women than I do."
Henry: "In my opinion, nature has given
[women] so much that they never find it necessary to use more than half."
Eleanor: "We shall get nothing more serious
from him now, Miss Morland. He is not in a sober mood."
Eleanor: "But I do assure you that he must be
entirely misunderstood, if he can ever appear to say an unjust thing of any
woman at all."
Eleanor needn't
have worried, for "it was no effort to Catherine to believe that
Henry Tilney could never be wrong."
[This Twitter presentation of NORTHANGER ABBEY is brought to
you by The Upper Rooms, where there is always a bit of a crush.]
Which is why I'm spending my Valentine's night watching JJ Field,
Felicity Jones, Carrie Mulligan (she of the Oscar nomination for AN EDUCATION),
and the rest of the brilliant cast of NORTHANGER ABBEY , which airs on PBS
Masterpiece Classic tonight.
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.
Sure, I loved Valentine's Day as a child, because it meant
cute little cards and candies for everyone in class. But once childhood is
over, we enter the stage of adult expectations. And expectations always mean
disappointment.
You know, the kind of disappointment where you told yourself
your loved one was going to buy you expensive flowers at the florist's instead
of supermarket flowers. Or dinner at that restaurant you told him about instead of
bringing home burgers from the diner down the street. Or a piece of jewelry
instead of something with an electrical cord.
See what I mean? Suddenly love is measured in dollars and
cents and units of thoughtfulness and degrees of mind-reading and catering to
neediness. Is that anywhere a thinking/feeling/loving person wants to be? Not to mention the
fact that if you don't have a special someone to put to the test of true love
every February 14, you feel even worse. Which is why I swore off Valentine's
Day long ago. And I haven't had a glimmer of one of those disappointing V-Days
ever since.
Which is why I'm celebrating love with the perfect antidote
to the Valentine's Day blues: It's called NORTHANGER ABBEY, and it's a lovely
adaptation of Jane Austen's delightful, witty, and very romantic coming-of-age
story. NORTHANGER ABBEY airs tonight on PBS Masterpiece Classic. Check your
local listings, settle in with something and/or someone yummy, and treat
yourself to a date with Henry Tilney. If you don't know who he is, you soon
will.
And if you really want to have fun, join the NORTHANGER
ABBEY Twitter party and tweet away with other Austen fans during the broadcast.
We had so much fun tweeting during the EMMA broadcasts the past three weeks that
we can't resist doing the same for NORTHANGER ABBEY. We'll be using the same hashtag:
#emma_pbs .
See you at the Abbey. And on Twitter. And don't forget to be really good to yourself and read the book!
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.
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.
When last we left Catherine, she returned home after John Thorpe lied and tricked her into a carriage ride, only to hear that Henry and Eleanor Tilney had shown up just minutes after she left with Thorpe.
Here is the next chapter:
Eager to make amends, Catherine goes to the Tilneys'—and is turned away by
their servant. She is "dejected and humbled."
That night she
forgets her woes for a bit @ the theatre—till she spots Henry in an opposite
box; he bows coldly—no smiles for Catherine.
"Catherine
was restlessly miserable; she could almost have run round to the box in which
he sat and forced him to hear her explanation."
@ the play's end says
C 2 Henry: "Oh!...I have been quite wild to speak to you, and make my
apologies. You must have thought me so rude"
"But indeed it was not my own fault …I had ten
thousand times rather have been with you; now had not I, Mrs. Allen?"
"'My dear,
you tumble my gown,' was Mrs. Allen's reply." But Catherine's words do
their magic on Henry.
Even more so when
she adds: "If Mr. Thorpe would only have stopped, I would have jumped out
and run after you."
"Is there a
Henry in the world who could be insensible to such a declaration? Henry Tilney
at least was not."
And so he was back
to his charming, attentive self. And Catherine "was, upon the
whole, one of the happiest creatures in the world."
[Felicity Jones as Catherine Morland in the 2007 adaptation of Northanger Abbey.]
NORTHANGER ABBEY is, sadly,
perhaps the most underrated book in the Austen canon. It is also becoming one
of my favorites. (In truth, they are all my favorites.) The more I read and
re-read this novel, the more I appreciate its humor, its heart, its wise
commentary on human nature, and the lessons it provides, not only for those
coming of age as teenagers, but those of us who are coming of age at any stage
of life. And its famous defense of the novel form is worth the price of the
book.
The heroine of NORTHANGER
ABBEY, Catherine Morland, reminds me to see the world anew through the eyes of
someone who is anything but jaded. Her innocent and naïve belief that people
say exactly what they mean is both poignant and refreshing.
Experience is a great
teacher to Catherine, and so is the irresistable hero of the book, Henry
Tilney, who embodies all that is best about an Austen hero, or indeed, any
hero: humor, compassion, and intelligence.
How could a young girl (or
any woman) not fall in love with Henry Tilney?
I love NORTHANGER ABBEY so
much that I decided to make it the next subject of my Twitter experiment, i.e.,
I've decided to tweet the entire novel, 140 characters at a time, just as I did
(and had so much fun doing) with PERSUASION.
[The delightful 2007 ITV adaptation, starring JJ Feild as Henry Tilney and Felicity Jones as Catherine Morland, penned by the inimitable Andrew Davies and directed by Jon Jones.]
[I'm in the minority for sure, but I love this version as well. It stars Catherine Schlesinger and Peter Firth, who later became the fabulous Harry of my favorite thriller series, MI-5 (Spooks in the UK).]
Here are the first eight
chapters tweeted thus far. To read them as they come out, follow me on Twitter.
To read them in periodic digest form, check this blog periodically or subscribe
to its feed. When I finish tweeting the entire novel, I will post it on my
site.
In the meantime, if you'd
like to read the Twitter version of Jane Austen's PERSUASION, go here.
Tweets of Chapters 1 through
8 of Jane Austen's NORTHANGER ABBEY:
Chapter 1:
"From fifteen to
seventeen [Catherine] was in training for a heroine; she read all such works as
heroines must read"
Yet Catherine "had
reached the age of seventeen, without having seen" anyone worth falling in
love with."
Indeed, Catherine had never
"inspired one real passion" herself, only "very moderate and
very transient" admiration.
"But when a young lady
is to be a heroine,…something must and will happen to throw a hero in her
way."
And so Catherine accepts the
invitation of her neighbors, Mr. & Mrs. Allen, to travel with them to Bath.
For "if adventures will
not befall a young lady in her own village, she must seek them abroad."
Chapter 2:
Catherine's "heart was
affectionate; her disposition cheerful and open, without conceit or affectation
of any kind."
"When in good looks,
pretty -- and her mind about as ignorant and uninformed as the female mind at
seventeen usually is."
But instead of warning
Catherine about noblemen who seduce young girls, Catherine's mom only advises
her to dress warmly.
And on the journey,
"neither robbers nor tempests befriended them, nor one lucky overturn to
introduce them to the hero."
When they arrive at Bath,
Catherine is "all eager delight… She was come to be happy, and she felt
happy already."
1st they shop.
Mrs. Allen, Catherine's host, tho' good-natured, has "a trifling turn of
mind" and a passion for clothes.
Finally, Catherine's first
ball in Bath: Crowded, not a friend in the room, and not a chance of being
asked to dance.
Yet, at the end, she hears "two
gentlemen pronounce[] her to be a pretty girl"—and so the evening is not a
total loss.
CHAPTER 3:
At the next ball, Catherine
even gets to dance. Her partner is Mr. Tilney, who, "if not quite
handsome, was very near it."
"There was an archness
and pleasantry in his manner which interested, though it was hardly understood
by her."
Tilney mocks the empty words
that men & women must say when first they meet--& Catherine is unsure
if she should laugh.
"I
see what you think of me," said he gravely -- "I shall make but a
poor figure in your journal tomorrow."
& "I know exactly
what you will say: Friday, went to the Lower Rooms…was strangely harassed by a
queer, half-witted man…"
C:
"Indeed I shall say no such thing." T: "Shall I tell you what
you ought to say?" C: "If you please."
T: "I
danced with a very agreeable young man… seems a most extraordinary genius --
hope I may know more of him."
T: "That, madam, is what I wish you to say."
C:
"But, perhaps, I keep no journal." T: "Perhaps you are not
sitting in this room, and I am not sitting by you."
Mrs. Allen
interrupts, worried she might have torn a hole in her gown, a favorite tho' it
cost only nine shillings a yard.
Tilney: "That is
exactly what I should have guessed it, madam." Mrs. Allen: "Do you
understand muslins, sir?"
"Particularly well…my
sister has often trusted me in the choice of a gown. I bought one for her the
other day."
Mrs. Allen
is impressed. "Men commonly take so little notice of those things…what do
you think of Miss Morland's gown?"
"It
is very pretty…" said he, gravely examining it; "but I do not think
it will wash well; I am afraid it will fray."
"How
can you," said Catherine, laughing, "be so ----- " She had
almost said "strange."
Mrs. Allen
prattles on, Tilney politely answering, & Catherine wonders if he's having
just a little too much fun w/Mrs. Allen's silliness.
Still,
Catherine ends the night with a definite wish to see him again. Whether she
dreams about him that night is unknown.
For
"it must be very improper that a young lady should dream of a gentleman
before the gentleman is first known to have dreamt of her."
Chapter 4:
Next day, Mrs. Allen runs
into a friend, Mrs. Thorpe, whose daughter Isabella befriends Catherine.
Tilney’s a no-show.
It seems Isabella knows
Catherine’s brother, James Morland. He and Isabella’s brother John are college
friends.
Catherine's so happy
w/Isabella that she almost forgets Tilney: “Friendship is...the finest balm for
the pangs of disappointed love."
Chapter 5:
Still no sign of Henry
Tilney the next day. But at least Catherine can distract herself with gothic
horror novels. “Yes, novels.”
For “if the heroine of one
novel be not patronized by the heroine of another, from whom can she expect
protection and regard?”
“Let us leave it to the
Reviewers to…talk…of the trash with which the press now groans… Let us not
desert one another.”
“We [novelists] are an injured body…Our foes are almost as
many as our readers…”
“There seems almost a
general wish of decrying the capacity and undervaluing the labour of the
novelist.”
"Oh! it is only a
novel!”…”only some work in which the greatest powers of the mind are
displayed…”
It is only a work that
displays “the most thorough knowledge of human nature, the happiest delineation
of its varieties…”
It is only a work in which “the
liveliest effusions of wit and humour, are conveyed to the world in the
best-chosen language.”
Chapter 6:
Novels ease the pain of MIA
Tilney. Says Catherine, "while I have Udolpho to read, I feel as if nobody
could make me miserable."
Meanwhile, Isabella schools
Catherine in the mysteries of men: One must " treat them with spirit, and
make them keep their distance."
And so when Isabella spots 2
"odious young men" staring at her in the Pump Room, she grabs
Catherine & takes off in pursuit of them.
Chapter 7:
The odious young men are
forgotten, for Catherine's brother James Morland arrives with Isabella's
brother, John Thorpe.
And when Isabella passes the
"offending young men" while walking w/Catherine, James, & John,
"she looked back at them only three times."
Catherine endures John
Thorpe's bragging about his horse & ignorant remarks about novels. But he
does ask her to dance w/him that night.
Chapter 8:
Thorpe's late for the ball.
Isabella swears she will not dance without Catherine "for all the
world"but does so anyway.
Poor Catherine! Asked to
dance, yet "sharing with the...other young ladies still sitting down all
the discredit of wanting a partner."
Ah--there's dishy Henry
Tilney, talking to a young lady whom Catherine guesses to be his sister, rather
than "lost to her forever."
Henry asks Catherine to
dance, & she very reluctantly says no, as she's promised to Thorpe, who
shows up a moment later.
Thorpe proves to be not only
inconsiderate in his lateness, but an excruciatingly boring dance partner.
Luckily Henry's sister,
Eleanor, stands next to Catherine at the dance & has something intelligent
and interesting to say.
Catherine no sooner escapes
Thorpe than finds that Henry Tilney has tired of waiting and asked another girl
to dance. Dang.
"Catherine was
disappointed and vexed. She seemed to have missed by so little the very object
she had had in view…"
This Twitter version of
NORTHANGER ABBEY is brought to you by Jane Austen, displaying the liveliest
effusions of wit and humour since 1811.
It is time to bid a fond farewell to my favorite novel. Until I read it again, that is. Here is the last batch of tweets for PERSUASION, Twitter version.
[Dueling Wentworths: Ciaran Hinds (L) as Captain Frederick Wentworth in the1995 Persuasion, Rupert Penry-Jones (R) in the same role in the 2007 film. ]
PERSUASION, CHAPTER 24:
"Sir Walter made no objection" to Anne's engagement, "and
Elizabeth did nothing worse than look cold and unconcerned."
Capt W "was no longer nobody. He was
now esteemed quite worthy to address the daughter of a foolish, spendthrift
baronet."
Besides, Capt W is a handsome man.
And we know that looks are almost as important to Sir Walter as rank.
As for Lady Russell, she had no choice but
"to admit that she had been pretty completely wrong" about Capt W
& Mr. Elliot.
Lady R "found
little hardship in attaching herself as a mother to the man who was securing
the happiness of her other child."
As for Mary, "if they could but keep
Captain Wentworth from being made a baronet, she would not change situations
with Anne."
Elizabeth Elliot "had soon the
mortification of seeing Mr. Elliot withdraw," thus sinking her
"unfounded hopes."
When Mr. Elliot left Bath for London &
Mrs. Clay became his mistress, "it was evident how double a game he had
been playing, "
Though prevented from being the wife of
Sir Walter, who knows whether Mrs. Clay may yet end as the wife of Sir William
Elliot.
Sir Walter & Elizabeth are
"shocked and mortified" by Mrs. Clay's deception. And sorry to be
deprived of her sycophantic charms.
With such a family, Anne has only Lady R
and Mrs. Smith to offer as friends to her new husband, who attaches himself to
both.
Capt W helps Mrs. Smith recover her
husband's West Indies property. And her health even improves.
Mrs. Smith's "spring of felicity was
in the glow of her spirits, as her friend Anne's was in the warmth of her
heart."
"Anne was tenderness itself, and she
had the full worth of it in Captain Wentworth's affection."
This Twitter presentation of PERSUASION has been
brought to you by Jane Austen,hastening us to perfect felicity since 1811.
By the way, if you want your pet to look like a rock star, too, check out the website of Deborah Zeitman, who took this photo of the lovely Speck, Chihuahua extraordinaire.
When last we left Anne sitting with her amorous cousin (what can I say, it's a nineteenth-century thing), Mr. Elliot, at the concert, he had momentarily distracted Anne from her joyful realization that finally, Captain Wentworth's heart seems to be returning to her. But Mr. Elliot is playing the flattery game...
[Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the fairest Captain Wentworth of them all? Please don't make me choose...]
Persuasion, Ch20, continues:
"The name of Anne Elliot...has long had an interesting sound to me." Says the spider to the fly.
"And, if I dared," says he, "I would breathe my wishes that the name might never change." Put a cork in it, Mr. Elliot.
Anne has no wish to drink the KoolAid. She only wants THE ONE. But how to escape the suffocating circle of her party?
Finally Anne speaks with Capt W, who is once again reserved. No sooner does he warm up when Mr. Elliot barges in. Grrrr!
Result: Capt W says he's outta there. "Is not this song worth staying for?" says Anne, suddenly realizing he's jealous.
"No!" says he, "there is nothing worth my staying for." And with that he's gone. Ouch. The man is definitely green-eyed.
Jealous! "For a moment the gratification was exquisite." And yet...without text or tweet, "How was the truth to reach him?"
Mrs. Smith tells Anne that everyone thinks Anne will marry Mr. Elliot, & she hopes Anne will influence him on her behalf.
Mrs. Smith encourages Anne to marry Mr. Elliot, but when Anne says no way, Mrs. Smith sings a different tune.
It seems that Mrs. Smith and her late husband were close with Mr. Elliot, but he abandoned her after Mr. Smith's death.
Mr. Elliot is executor of Mr. Smith's estate, yet refuses to disentangle Mrs. Smith's desperate financial affairs. Dog.
Mr. Elliot is "a cold-blooded being," says she. (Hello, weren't you trying to get Anne to marry him a minute ago??)
Mrs. Smith says that although Mr. Elliot fell in love w/Anne, his 1st motivation to reconcile w/her family was mercenary.
Mr. Elliot fears that Eliz's friend Mrs. Clay will marry Sir Walter. And if she has a son, HE will be the next Sir Walter.
Anne shudders to think that if not for her own pre-engaged heart, she might have been persuaded to marry that duplicitous dog.
Anxious to find out how this triangle of Anne, Captain Wentworth, and Mr. Elliot resolves itself in a Twitter-less, social-networking-devoid world?
I'll be tweeting the final chapters after I return from my travels on July 9th.
Till then, be happy, be healthy, and be persuaded to read Jane!
[Corin Redgrave as Sir Walter Elliot. The perfect fop.
"A widow Mrs. Smith lodging in Westgate Buildings! A poor widow barely
able to live, between thirty and forty; a mere Mrs. Smith, an every-day
Mrs. Smith, of all people and all names in the world, to be the chosen
friend of Miss Anne Elliot, and to be preferred by her to her own
family connections among the nobility of England and Ireland! Mrs.
Smith! Such a name!"]
And on that note, here is a recap of Persuasion, Chapters 13, 14, and 15, Twitter version:
["Mrs. Clay had freckles, and a projecting tooth, and a clumsy wrist,
which he was continually making severe remarks upon, in her absence;
but she was young, and certainly altogether well-looking, and
possessed, in an acute mind and assiduous pleasing manners, infinitely
more dangerous attractions than any merely personal might have been."]
And so, friends, we've reached the end of another chapter in the Twitter version of Austen's masterpiece, Persuasion. If you haven't read the book yet, do it now! Here are the tweets:
Persuasion, Ch12: At the seaside, Anne notices a gentleman admiring her. & Capt W noticing, too. Nothing like a little jealousy to get their attention.
Turns out the man checking out Anne is her cousin, the heir to the Elliot estate and very much on the outs with Sir Walter
Yes, cousins could flirt and even marry. Not that Anne gives any of that a thought. Especially after what happens next...
Anne and friends descend the steep steps of the Cobb, but Louisa insists on being jumped down them by Capt. W.
"In.. their walks, he had had to jump her from the stiles; the sensation was delightful to her." Sexual innuendo, anyone?
Capt W thinks the jump too steep, but Louisa is determined. She jumps; he misses—she falls lifeless to the ground. OMG.
Everyone freaks. Benwick running to get surgeon, Henrietta fainting, Mary hysterical. Anne is the only clear-headed one.
Louisa is carried to the Harvilles, where she must stay until—if—she awakens. Capt W wants Anne to stay and nurse her.
Mary jealous (surprise) at idea of Anne staying instead of her, so Anne returns to Uppercross with Capt W & Henrietta.
Soon as Capt W (gulp) breaks the news to Mr. & Mrs. Musgrove, he leaves Anne and Henrietta and rides back to Lyme. Buh-bye.
Next up: Chapter 13, in which Anne takes her bittersweet leave of Uppercross.
Here's a recap of Persuasion, Chapter 10, in all its 140-character-per-tweet glory (minus the repetition of "Persuasion, Chapter 10" at the beginning of each installment):
Anne believes Capt W in love with neither Louisa nor Henrietta and oblivious to the jealousies & rivalries of all.
Then, on a long walk, she has occasion to hear, unseen, Capt W & Louisa together. And what she hears is a game-changer.
Anne hears Louisa telling Capt W that Anne refused Charles (Mary's hubby's) hand years ago, persuaded to do so by Lady R.
Anne also hears Capt W praising Louisa for being unpersuadable. And when Henrietta returns with smiling BF, all is clear.
"Everything now marked out Louisa for Captain Wentworth; nothing could be plainer." The era of Anne is over.
Admiral & Mrs. Croft happen by in their gig, and Capt W makes sure Anne rides w/them; his hands place her in the carriage.
"she owed it to his perception of her fatigue...He could not forgive her, but he could not be unfeeling."
"it was a proof of his own warm and amiable heart," and she knows not whether it gives her more pleasure or pain.
Admiral & Mrs. Croft entertain Anne with speculations as to whom Capt W will marry. Mrs. C seems unimpressed w/ the girls.
....END OF CHAPTER 10. Next up: Anne, Mary, Charles, Captain Wentworth, Louisa, and Henrietta go on a fateful journey to Lyme.
Some days ago I had the silly idea to chart the story of Persuasion, which is my favorite Jane Austen novel, on Twitter. I must say that I'm finding the challenge of tweeting plot points, 140 characters at a time, and attempting to make them interesting, and even amusing at times, exhilarating.
And the comments they're receiving on Facebook and Twitter are really gratifying. As well as hilarious.
Here's a recap of my tweets so far, Chapters 1-7:
Persuasion, Ch.1: Sir Walter Elliot, baronet, engages in 19th cent. Wikipedi-ing: Rereads and edits entry on the Elliots in The Baronetage.
Persuasion, Ch1: Sir Walter drowning in debt and vanity. 911s agent Mr. Shepard and friend Lady Russell for advice. On the down low.
Persuasion, Ch2: Lady R and Anne, Sir W's daughter, make repay plan. Sir W and eldest daughter Elizabeth prefer to dine and dash. To Bath.
Persuasion, Ch.2: Anne hates Bath. But must cohab with her peeps. Family crib, Kellynch Hall, will be rented out. Also on the DL.
Persuasion, Ch.3: Shepherd wants Sir W to rent Kellynch to Admiral Croft. Sir W offended at very idea of a mere sailor occupying his home.
Persuasion, Ch4: Anne discomposed for another reason entirely. Admiral Croft is the bro in law of one Capt. Wentworth. Fans self. Sighs.
Persuasion, Ch4: 7 years ago Anne and Capt. Wentworth were engaged. He had no $, so Sir W & Lady R (almost a mother to Anne) said no way.
Persuasion-Ch4: Anne yielded to her fam. And never got over it. Nor did Capt. Wentworth. Who took off, made a bundle, and never called.
Persuasion, Ch.5: Anne delays joining the fam in Bath because she's summoned to Uppercross by hypochondriac married sister Mary. What fun!
Persuasion, Ch6: Escaping to Uppercross does not = escaping a meet w/Anne's ex, as the Musgroves (Mary's in-laws) are determined to meet him
Persuasion, Ch7: Anne steels herself for the inevitable reunion w/Capt. Wentworth: a dinner party at the Musgroves. Fate intervenes.
Persuasion, Ch7: Mary's eldest boy dislocates collarbone day of the fateful dinner. Anne, not Mary, is happy to stay home--& dodge bullet.
Persuasion, Ch7: Anne figures if Capt W wanted to see her he would have reconnected long ago when he made his fortune. But he never had.
Persuasion, Ch7: Next morning Capt W stops by to pay respects. No one knows he and Anne were once engaged. Awkward beyond words.
Persuasion, Ch7: Capt W is as gorgeous as ever. But, says he, Anne is "so altered he should not have known [her] again.'" Ouch, dude.
Persuasion, Ch7: He has not forgiven Anne. And is ready to fall in love with either of the Miss Musgroves; it matters not which one.
More to come later. Follow me on Twitter and see for yourself! More important, if you haven't read Persuasion--and I mean the actual book--do treat yourself to a most wonderful story about second chances.
Just for fun, I'm going to try and chart the story of Persuasion via Twitter, 140 characters at a time. Shouldn't all platforms be in the service of Austen?
Here's my first entry:
Persuasion, Ch.1:
Sir Walter Elliot, baronet, engages in 19th cent. Wikipedi-ing: Rereads
and edits entry on the Elliots in The Baronetage.
Granted, it's not brilliant. It's not even literature. But you try and describe the first part of Chapter 1 in 140 characters. It's a fun challenge. Go ahead. In the comments.
