Poll Results: Social interaction tops Jane Austen fascination

The result of the polls are here. Well, we all knew that Jane Austen's gentlemen are bound to win out, but in fact the poll reveals that the gentlemen have competition.

In answer to the question: What do you think is so appealing about Jane Austen's world? The top choice is split two ways, with an even 50% each
The gentlemanly behavior of the heroes
and
The rules of social interaction
In answer to the question: What do you like most about Jane Austen? The top choice with an overwhelming 75% was
Her characters
Followed by 50%
Her sense of humor
Thanks to those of you who participated. What do you think of the results?

Merry Christmas, and to all good cheer

Hope your Christmas is full of joy
Meanwhile, here's a poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Christmas Poem

Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky,
The flying cloud, the frosty light;

The year is dying in the night;
Ring out, wild bells, and let him die.

Ring out the old, ring in the new,
Ring, happy bells, across the snow:
The year is going, let him go;
Ring out the false, ring in the true.

Ring out the grief that saps the mind,
For those that here we see no more,
Ring out the feud of rich and poor,
Ring in redress to all mankind.

Ring out a slowly dying cause,
And ancient forms of party strife;
Ring in the nobler modes of life,
With sweeter manners, purer laws.

Ring out the want, the care the sin,
The faithless coldness of the times;
Ring out, ring out my mournful rhymes,
But ring the fuller minstrel in.

Ring out false pride in place and blood,
The civic slander and the spite;
Ring in the love of truth and right,
Ring in the common love of good.

Ring out old shapes of foul disease,
Ring out the narrowing lust of gold;
Ring out the thousand wars of old,
Ring in the thousand years of peace.

Ring in the valiant man and free,
The larger heart, the kindlier hand;
Ring out the darkness of the land,
Ring in the Christ that is to be.  

Jane Austen Lives! Happy Birthday!

Think about it. How many people – men or women – have birthday celebrations 236 years after they were born?? Yet today blogs all over the Blogosphere are celebrating Jane Austen’s Birthday.

For Jane Austen’s Birthday, and to remember the wonderful joy she has given us, here are a couple of polls for you to vote on.

Dinner with the Indomitable Dominique Raccah

Dominique

The exclusive world of Gentlemen’s Clubs was invaded by a most wonderful group last night – the Sourcebooks British Book Brigade, which was almost exclusively female. Of course the Reform Club is no longer exclusively male, but looking around, with Henry James and Thackeray’s portraits – to name just two former members -- staring down at us, we could be excused for thinking so. During the Victorian period it would have been sacrilege to pass through these doors, yet here we were, with the Indomitable Dominique Raccah as our fearless leader. It’s a fitting image for the publishing world itself – with pioneers like Dominique heading publishing companies that have traditionally been male-dominated.

Being at the Reform club inevitably brings up snippets from the past. Virginia Woolf wrote about “so audaciously trespassing” as a woman on university turf, and being stopped by a Beadle : “he was a Beadle; I was a woman. This was the turf; there was the path. Only the Fellows and Scholars are allowed here; the gravel is the place for me.”

If you’ve seen the film Out of Africa I’m sure you’ll remember the scene where Karen von Blixen (author Isak Dineson) is escorted out of the exclusive gentlemen’s club.

Thackeray looking bemused at this group of female authors

The dark polished wood, the gilt-edged panelling and the male portraits everywhere brings up in me these and other images from women's past. I can’t help thinking of the past because the Reform Club is a spectacular reminder of bygone times. But of course it’s also a tribute to reform, as its name testifies. It was here that great politicians and thinkers of the last two centuries discussed their plans to re-make history and re-imagine the world –  from figures such as Gladstone,  to J. M. Barrie, E.M. Forster and H.G. Wells.

Being able to step onto that “turf” from which we as women were once barred is a wonderful thing. It makes being in the Reform Club as a member of Sourcebooks, a publishing company committed to women writers, a very special thing. What a wonderful space to celebrate the achievements of women since the beginning of the twentieth century.

Phillipa Ashley and Francesca Simon

Gabrielle Kimm, Jane Odiwe, Amanda Grange

Though I’ll admit it. This wasn't the only thing on my mind yesterday, as the champagne flowed, the fireplace flickered, laughter rang out and conversation danced merrily around the table. 

The End of Spooks

Was so upset at the idea that we had reached the last-ever Spooks episode that I actually relinquished my Sunday evening date with Downton Abbey to watch Spooks instead. Imagine that! Those of you who know me are probably quite surprised at this  since I'm not at all into spy films, and generally don't go for the James Bond type action drama if I can choose something else.

Yet the end (and ending) of Spooks left me heartbroken. Even the much-awaited (re)appearance of Matthew Macfadyen as Quinn failed to compensate for the fact that it was all over.

The only consolation is that since I didn't see the first four seasons, which I am told were the best, I will now be watching the whole thing from the beginning on DVD. That way I will get the opportunity to relish the wonderful cast -- and period drama favorites -- that take turns to play MI5 agents. Apart from Matthew Macfadyen, I'm looking forward to seeing Rupert Penry-Jones and Richard Armitage (although I did see Armitage play Lucas).

Official Launch of Jane Austen Made Me Do It Tomorrow!

It’s finally happening! Tomorrow is the official launch of Jane Austen Made Me Do It!


“Nothing Less Than Fairy-land,” by Monica Fairview
In this gently humorous story inspired by Jane Austen’s novel Emma, the day has come for Mr. Knightley to move into Hartfield, but Mr. Woodhouse is still not reconciled to the marriage. Trouble looms on the horizon, unless Emma can quickly come up with a way to convince her papa to accept Mr. Knightley’s presence.

A Unexpected Encounter with a Victorian Gentleman

Sometimes a visit to a park can have unexpected consequences. So imagine my surprise when I went to an Apple Day at Morden Hall Park and – quite literally – bumped into an exceedingly fashionable young gentleman! My mind reeled as I tried to work out if he was real or the ghost of Mr.Gilliat Hatfeild, owner of the Park in the 1800s. Then my young daughter shouted out “Mr. Darcy! Take a picture, quick!” and I am happy to say I obeyed.

Morden Hall does have an intriguing history. It’s a National Trust property that used to be a former snuff mill, complete with waterwheel, picturesque canals and a mulberry tree that reportedly was planted by Huguenots. I won’t go into it now, but I promise a future episode on this lovely historical park.

Isn't he a handsome specimen? It just shows. You never know when (or where) you could run into your Mr. Darcy!

For Love or War: The Downton Abbey Experience Episode 1

The drums of war beat, and the drama rolls. The first episode of Downton Abbey begins with a bang as we are treated with an unsentimental view of the First World War. Times are a’changing, but not for the better certainly, as a generation of young men ge
ts decimated. Still, Downton Abbey drew the heavy guns as it not only managed to divert viewers’ attention away from Spooks, which was airing at the same time, but also captured four Emmy awards as well, the very same night. What fanfare!!
It was wonderful to be back in the world of Downton Abbey. The cruelty of war features heavily in this episode, not only to those who go to fight, but to those who are left behind who are made to feel inadequate because they are not fighting. One of my favourite scenes – nicely underplayed – involved a White Feather Girl who give Branson a white feather (symbolizing cowardice).
 Still, this episode of Downton Abbey isn’t just about the havoc wreaked by the WWI. It’s about the same problems and the same people we got to know in Season one. Needless to say, love is  trembling on the lips of more than one character, even if not on Matthew’s, who is engaged to be married to a certain Lavinia Swire.
Blackmail and the threat of scandal still hangs over the Abbey like a giant crow, and those who were nasty last season are still as deliciously nasty as ever. Without giving away any spoilers for my friends in the USA, I can promise them that the drama continues much as it did last time, with Mr. Bates playing the sacrificial victim, Lady Sibyl as restless and unconventional as ever, and the indomitable Dower Countess as — indomitable as ever.
A very satisfying beginning, with lots packed in. Bring on the next one. 

It boggles the writer's imagination

Loved this picture at  Just For Social Networkerz so had to re-post. It appeals to my writer's imagination. It seems like a map of my mind -- with all the gaps in it that I'm always wanting to fill.

borrowed from Just for Social Networkerzzz

I love those empty spaces -- the in-betweens, so to speak (nothing to do with the film by the same name) -- the ones you have to work to bridge. Because that's what writing is all about. It's about seeing something missing it, and wanting to fill that void with pictures or images. That's how Jane Austen sequels work. We spot something missing in Jane Austen's narrative, or we want to take a character further, or we are struck by something that a character didn't say or articulate fully, and we want to furnish it ourselves.

Jumping across empty spaces has its pluses. But the writer is like a chivalrous gentleman who offers his cloak to enable the lady to cross the puddle without getting wet. We weave something to fill the gap and enable others to cross enjoyably.

Okay, this is very fanciful for a Monday morning. So I'll just say I really loved the photo and leave the rest to your imagination.

Austen Authors Celebration

AUSTEN  AUTHORS

1  YEAR  ANNIVERSARY

On September 6, 2010 Austen Authors officially launched.

Our group blog has continued to grow ever since and now we are approaching our first birthday.

In the tradition of all great celebrations, we plan to party!

Not for one day, not for two or three, but for….

SIX WHOLE DAYS! 

From Monday September 5 all the way through Saturday September 10 we will be serving up the virtual treats and lighting the virtual fireworks.

The itinerary is jam packed with fun blogs and awesome prizes.

Don’t miss out on the fun!! Ask others to join in!

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The Other Mr Darcy Now available on Kindle UK

I'm pleased to announce that The Other Mr Darcy is finally available via Amazon.co.uk. I know many of you have been waiting for this moment!

This is the Hale edition that has been published through The Faber Factory. I'm thrilled to be part of this project.

More Lavender for your senses

As you enjoy the pictures (below), you can also listen to a song that will sound very familiar, performed by English folk singer Jackie Oates at Gloucester Cathedral.  

• Isn't her voice enchanting? It shows what you can do with a simple melody. I wonder if Jane Austen used to wander around as a child in the Surrey lavender fields and hum this melody to herself?
• Now that both vision and hearing have been stimulated, let's move on to the olfactory buds that are clamoring for attention.  
• Here's a recipe for Lavender Shortbread Biscuits (Cookies) that someone recommended to me. I've loved shortbread biscuits since I learned how to make them at school. My favorite part of making shortbread was the magical moment when the dough finally turned into breadcrumbs. It gave me a sense of remarkable achievement. I thought of myself as an artist, a creator, transforming clay into something else. Never mind that the "breadcrumbs" themselves weren't much to look at!
• I like the fact that the recipe calls for both mint and lavender. I love both, which makes the recipe especially appealing. 
• Let me know if you try them before I do.

LAVENDER SHORTBREAD BISCUITS (COOKIES)
from Maryeileen

• 350g butter, softened
• 125g caster sugar
• 4 tablespoons sifted icing sugar
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh lavender
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint leaves
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
• 325g plain flour
• 65g cornflour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

In a medium bowl, cream together the butter, caster sugar and icing sugar until light and fluffy. Mix in the lavender, mint and lemon zest. Combine the flour, cornflour and salt; mix into the butter and sugar mixture until well blended. Divide dough into two balls, wrap in clingfilm and flatten to about 2.5cm thick. Refrigerate until firm, about 1hour.

2.

Preheat the oven to 170 C / Gas mark 3. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to 6mm in thickness. Cut into shapes with scone or biscuit cutters. Biscuit stamps will work well on these too. Place on baking trays.

3.

Bake for 18 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven, just until biscuits begin to brown at the edges. Cool for a few minutes on the baking trays then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.


Click on the image below to go to the website of Mayfield farms and read the fascinating story of how the field was revived. 

Are you fond of lavender, as Jane Austen's friend Martha Lloyd was? What do you use it for?

Lavender Fields Forever

It's the height of the lavender season and what a relief it is to spot a sea of flowing blue-purple on an undulating hillside not too far from Croydon, which achieved notoriety in the news this week as fires raged and looting and rioting became the order of the day. 

The Surrey Downs (the foothills, not the real downs) are an ocean of calm after the nervous tension of the week. There is something hypnotic and heady about walking about with lavender surrounding me as far as my eye can see. A magnificent calm descends over me. Sight and aroma combine to cast a much needed soothing spell, smoothing away the jitters. I weave in and out of the neat rows, smiling at others who clearly feel the same.  

This is one of the charms of the English countryside (even if this field is more urban than country). A sign points to the field with the words Public Footpath (or it could have been Bridleway, same thing, since I don't ride). This means, ultimately, that you're allowed to ramble all over the place.

There's some comfort, too, in knowing that lavender grew in the same location through the 18th and 19th century right until the late Victorian era. In fact large segments of the area I live in were once swathed with lavender fields. What a sight it must have been!

My gran's knitted hanger w/lavender. Her own lacework

Unfortunately, with the growth of the perfume industry, the simple aroma of lavender was rejected as too homegrown and simple. It came to be associated with the Victorians (and the Edwardians) and times past, conjuring  images of old fashioned cupboards, knitted hangers with lavendar bags. Or posies and handkerchiefs sprinkled in lavender to cover the rank smell of sewage when heavy rain flooded the streets of the old industrial cities. My grandmother -- who died last year at the grand old age of almost 101 -- certainly used them to ward off moths. 

As civilization grew more complex and sophisticated, simple perfumes like lavender were regarded with contempt. With advertisements hawking expensive perfumes to stimulate your sexual appeal , poor lavender with its association as a moth repellent (even more old-fashioned than moth balls) didn't stand a chance. Lavender was consigned to a dusty and forgotten attic. The lavender fields all but disappeared into the history books.

Luckily, a very few persisted, indifferent to the coming and going of fashions, and a few were revived. Mayfield is one, as is the Carshalton Lavender Project, which is working to bring back Carshalton Lavender to its former glory. Carshalton Lavender is considered once of the finest lavenders in the world.


Which is why I was able to take a friend visiting from the US to see the glorious (and organic) Mayfields, lying in a blaze of purple on a small hillside.

Perspectives on Mr. Darcy

Click on image above to visit the Extravaganza

As part of the month-long Austenesque Extravagnaza over at Austenesque Reviews, I've written a post for Spotlight Saturday along with a small challenge for those of you who like to see Mr. Darcy from different points of view. I'd be very happy to see you there -- I'm sure you can contribute a great deal to the discussion.

Return of the Native -- I'm back!

There's something to be said about coming home.

Of course, I haven't left my wonderful friends at Austen Authors behind. On the contrary. After almost a year together I couldn't do without them. You can still find me there, but I'll be travelling hither and thither, dipping a big toe here, a big toe there (and some little ones, too).

Not much of a landscape

I haven't chosen my toes metaphor randomly. In fact, toes are rather important to me at the moment, since I broke my leg and had it suspended in a cast right in front of me for a long time. This gave me time to contemplate the universe and the nature of toes. It was the first time I wondered why we have toenails (other than for something to paint), and why they didn't disappear some time during our evolution, since we hardly hang by our toenails any more. Nor do we use them to fight (like claws), to dig the ground for grub, or make holes to bury our cache of nuts. You'd think nature would have done away with them by now. After all, if our tails -- which were considerably bigger -- could drop off, why not our toenails?

Not my toes, alas!

I suppose they may function as protection. Remember the last time you dropped that hammer on your toes? Lucky you had toenails or it would have been a lot worse.

Still, they weren't any use when I broke my leg, so we're back to the original question.

As you can see, during my absence I have been engaged in extremely profound reflections.

Austen Authors Invitation

Writers of Jane Austen fiction

cordially invite you to the

Launch

of

‘Austen Authors’

and to share in our passion for her world

... because there’s never enough Jane Austen.

We look forward to the pleasure of your company on

Monday, September 6, 2010,

and daily thereafter.

Migrating to new blog

Hello everyone. I haven't been updating for several reasons. One of the main reasons is that I've been inundated with spam messages that keep coming in, which has been extremely frustrating. Thank goodness I set up the blog to intercept the comments!

The good news is that I've now joined a new blog especially set up for Jane Austen sequel enthusiasts, which includes many of your favourite Austenesque Authors (at least, it includes quite a few of mine). This means I'm going to be migrating over to the new blog, though I'll keep this blog here for the time being. We'll be coming live on September 6th, so make sure to drop in on that day to see what's in store for you! I'm sure you'll find everything your Austenesque heart could wish for.

Jane Austen inspired Anthology to be published by Random House

I am very pleased to announce that I will be participating in an anthology of short stories inspired by Jane Austen to be published in 2011 by Random House.

Of course, I won't the only one. I'm listing the participants below. If you enjoy Austen parliterature, I'm sure you'll recognize quite a few names here.

Pamela Aidan (Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman Trilogy)
Elizabeth Aston (Mr. Darcy’s Daughters, & Writing Jane Austen)
Stephanie Barron (A Jane Austen Mystery Series, & The White Garden)
Carrie Bebris (Mr. & Mrs. Darcy Mysteries Series)
Diana Birchall (Mrs. Darcy’s Dilemma, & Mrs. Elton in America)
Frank Delaney (Shannon, Tipperary, & Venetia Kelly’s Traveling Show)
Monica Fairview (The Darcy Cousins, & The Other Mr. Darcy)
Karen Joy Fowler (Jane Austen Book Club, & Wits End)
Amanda Grange (Mr. Darcy, Vampyre, & Mr. Darcy’s Diary)
Syrie James (The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen, & The Secret Diaries of Charlotte Bronte)
Diane Meier (The Season of Second Chances)
Janet Mullany (Bespelling Jane Austen, & Rules of Gentility)
Jane Odiwe (Lydia Bennet’s Story, & Willoughby’s Return)
Beth Pattillo (Jane Austen Ruined My Life, & Mr. Darcy Broke My Heart)
Alexandra Potter (Me & Mr. Darcy, & The Two Lives of Miss Charlotte Merryweather: A Novel)
Jane Rubino and Caitlen Rubino Bradway (Lady Vernon & Her Daughter)
Myretta Robens (Pemberley.com , Just Say Yes, & Once Upon a Sofa)
Margaret C. Sullivan (AustenBlog.com, & The Jane Austen Handbook)
Adriana Trigiani (Brava Valentine, Very Valentine, & Lucia, Lucia)
Laurie Viera Rigler (Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict, & Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict)
Lauren Willig (The Pink Carnation Series)

There is still room for one more participant, to be chosen in a competition run by The Republic of Pemberley.

For more information about the anthology and the competition, please visit Austenprose, since Austenesque reviewer Laurel Ann is the one who put this fantastic anthology together.

Thoughts on Bright Star: Between romantic poetry and Jane Austen

Laurel Anne's post on Jane Austen's Regency World Magazine reminded me that Bright Star had been sitting on top of my tv for some time, and that it was time to watch it. Bright Star is the story of the doomed poet John Keats' (Ben Whishaw) relationship with his next door neighbor Frances/Fanny Brawne (Abby Cornish).

Having seen Jane Campion's The Piano some years since, I knew this was not going to be steamy fast-moving romance. The music of the opening credits sets the tone of the film, and that never wavers: quiet, dignified, beautiful and poignet.

For those of us used to watching Jane Austen adaptations, the film is a feast for the eyes -- particularly at the beginning when Fanny channels all her creative instincts into creating one lavish costume after the other. The outdoor shots are heavenly (literally, if we are following Keats' poetry) particularly the spring shots. They are especially delightful when we see things through Keats' eye: whether it's 'Ode to a Nightingale' as we hear birds sing, "My heart aches, and a drowsy numbness pains/My sense, as though of hemlock I had drunk," or the superb shot of Keats "floating" on a tree full of blossoms.

There are echoes of Jane Austen in the film. Fanny's supreme self-assurance at the beginning is reminiscent of Gwyneth Paltrow's Emma, and I couldn't help comparing Margaret/Toots (Edie Martin), Fanny's sister, to another Margaret in Sense and Sensibility. (Is it just me, seeing Jane Austen everywhere, but doesn't the still on the left remind you of Jane Austen's portrait?) The restraint of the lovers is also reminiscent of Jane Austen, though there is no smouldering Mr Darcy here. This is where the film departs from Austen. The romance itself is not played out Jane Austen style. After all, it's about a Romantic poet, and the poetry speaks for itself

In this sense the film captures beautifully the often confusing tension in Regency England between the new wave of Romanticism -- the cult of nature and stormy passion -- and the ideals of Reason and Wit which were still highly valued by society, and which Jane Austen embodies to a large extent.

Jane Campion makes this explicit by having Fanny argue at the beginning that she is more interested in wit than in poetry. The transformation that comes over Fanny as she moves from one to the other is reflected in her costumes; her elegant, crisp, and carefully crafted outfits gradually become looser, with large floppy shirt collars, looser hair and more down-to-earth clothing.

(I'm wondering if the hat that gave Georgiana so much grief in The Darcy Cousins wasn't something like this?)

Jane Campion also captures a specific aspect of Romanticism that is reflected in many of the romantics' works -- their obsession with death, a particularly poignent aspect of their writing since several of the major romantic poets died young: Keats at 25, Shelley at 32, Byron at 36.

Most moving, I thought, was how the film doesn't shy away from showing the raw and absolute nature of poverty. However much we might want the lovers to be together, we know that the grinding poverty John Keats faces is a destructive force, and very different from the genteel 'poverty' Fanny is used to.

A film well worth seeing for the wonderful way it converts the Romantic sensibility into images, and for a love story that will cost you a box of tissues.

Click to see a trailer of Bright Star.

The Other Mr Darcy now available on Kindle, and Volcanic Ash

Just discovered that The Other Mr Darcy is back on Kindle again. I know some of you were asking about that. The Darcy Cousins, by the way, is already on Kindle.

The big story in the UK now is the Volcanic Ash that is descending upon us. It's certainly ironic that this happened just after my last post! I promise you I can't predict volcanic eruptions, though I did once have an incident in which I "predicted" an earthquake.

I was living in Corvallis, Oregon, at the time. I was supposed to meet a friend of mine for our regular brisk walk, but when she called me to agree on the time, I told her I wasn't up to it.
"I don't know what it is," I said. "I feel kind of shakey, as if the ground is unsteady under my feet. I don't feel good at all."
My friend laughed. "That's the worst excuse to get out of exercise I've heard yet!"
I protested that it was true, but I couldn't quite explain it.

That night when I was sleeping, I woke to the sound of rattling objects. I turned on the light. My books on the shelves had moved, and several of them had fallen (of course, I'd look at my books first!). I was puzzled, but since nothing else happened, I shrugged and went back to sleep.

The next day my friend woke me up with a excited phone call and told me there had been a mild earthquake the night before. "I can't believe it! You know, you can make a fortune, being able to predict earthquakes before they happen."

I don't know if I can, since I've never been in an earthquake again, very fortunately.

Meanwhile, I'm daily awaiting one of two things: the ash itself, which has already fallen on numerous communities in Scotland, and the spectacular sunsets painted by Turner and featured in The Darcy Cousins.

It's oddly silent outside. There is the constant rumble of traffic, of course, but I didn't realize how much the thundering of airplanes intrudes on the corner of our consciousness. I live about 45 minutes from Heathrow and about 20 minutes from Gatwick, and although planes rarely take a direct route overhead they're still always there, somewhere in the distance. Now with all the airplanes grounded, the skies are soundless. When there are no cars passing by, the silence is eery, reminiscent of by-gone times.

I wonder how many other things intrude on our consciousness without us noticing, and we become aware of them only when they're absent? That's if we don't think of all the unseen and unheard things that pass through us and around us -- microwaves, satelite signals, ultraviolate rays, and all the sounds that are just beyond our hearing.

Meanwhile, I wait for the ash to descend, and for the airplanes to ascend again. Their absence seems like a loss. I want them again, hovering above me like great birds, taking people across the world to their various destinations -- holidays, new beginnings, escapes, tragic events, and mundane business trips -- the spectrum of human emotions flying above us like self-sufficient worlds.

The Day the Planes Stood Still.

Snowy Peaks and Volcanic Eruptions: The Year Without Summer

I heartily beg your forgiveness for this lamentable lapse in blogging. I would like to remind you that though I am not blogging here, I am blogging elsewhere, so you can still enjoy my insightful and witty remarks ;-) if you follow my blog tour (dates and locations on the right).

Meanwhile, I'd like to share some photos from a trip I made to Switzerland (you may remember that I have a 100 year old grandmother that lives there) since I can't resist it. Nothing to do with Austen, though there is a strong Regency connection, since Byron and the Shelleys spend the summer of 1816 in Switzerland.

Unfortunately, it was a very unpleasant summer because it was the notorious "year without summer". A cold spell hit the northern atmosphere after Mount Tambora erupted in 1815, sending debris into the atmosphere resulting in weather chaos. Crops failed, leading to food shortages, famine, and riots. The flooding and the cold led to the spread of disease as well.

It was in Switzerland, on a dark and stormy night, with the gloomy weather preying on her, that Mary Shelley penned her famous Frankenstein. Imagine Frankenstein's famous monster in the cold snowy peaks above. They look quite beautiful now, don't they? At the time though, the snow was a source of misery for thousands, not only in Europe, but in the Northeast of America and Quebec as well, where thousands of farmers faced financial failure and were forced to migrate.

It is certainly a very good thing The Darcy Cousins is set the year before, otherwise it would have been quite impossible for Georgiana and Clarissa to enjoy rowing on the river or visit the ruins of Waverley Abbey.

The Year of the Hat 1814

One could call 1814 the Year of the Hat. The fashionable young lady of the time was quite spoilt for choices, some of them quite extreme. There was always the turban, which was still in, though in lighter materials. But if you really wanted to be all the rage, then you had to be aware of two things. The first is that height was important – some of the hats could easily compete with a man’s top hat for height. The second was that elaborate trimmings were essential. If you were able to combine flowers with lace with different coloured silk, then you could count yourself successful. (Image from Clarmont College Collection)

Which leaves young ladies such as Georgiana Darcy with a difficult choice. Should she be fashionable, or should she not? Her cousin Clarissa advocates that she needs to take more risks with her outfits, and convinces her to buy a rather conspicuous hat. But is it the right choice? The following excerpt from The Darcy Cousins illustrates the difficulty of making such onerous decisions.

“We have bought ourselves new hats,” said Clarissa, glancing sideways at her reflection in the window. “You must tell us what you think. You must be perfectly candid, mind.”
“I congratulate you on your choices, for you look very dashing indeed,” said Mr Channing. “You, too, Miss Darcy. Your hat is charming, but of course, so is its wearer.”
His eyes lingered on her face. She had intended to give him a dazzling smile, but her smile wavered under his intense scrutiny. He continued to gaze at her until Clarissa thanked him very prettily, and he turned to respond to her.
Still, Clarissa could not be satisfied when the other gentleman in the carriage had not yet expressed an opinion.
“Mr Gatley, you have said nothing.”
“I think your turban very pretty. It suits your character well, and it is exactly what I would have expected you to wear. I cannot make a judgement on Miss Darcy’s hat, however, for it is too modern for an old-fashioned gentleman such as I.”
Considering the exquisite and expensive tailoring of his navy waistcoat, matched with a cravat that was a masterpiece of white perfection, one could be forgiven for thinking him more concerned with fashion than he admitted.
Georgiana understood his comment as a rebuff, and turned her face to hide the conflicting feelings which were surely branded on her face. On the one hand, she was chastised, for she knew she should not have allowed Clarissa to convince her to buy the hat. She should have trusted her own judgement. On the other hand, she – very naturally – resented the slight.
“Look at what you have done now, Mr Gatley,” said Clarissa, “you have made my cousin sad.”
“Come, Gatley, must you be so thoughtless?” said Channing. “Surely you can do better than that.”
“I am not as skilled at flattering ladies as others of my acquaintance are,” he said, his colour heightened. “I never study my compliments. When I pay tribute to someone, it is because I mean it.”
Georgiana, further annoyed now by Clarissa’s interference, deemed it time to speak, if only to show how very little Mr Gatley’s opinion mattered to her.
“Some gentlemen seek to stand out from the crowd by professing to be harsher than others, and so lay claim to the higher moral ground. That is how they assert their own superiority,” she said, in a light, dismissive tone. “In such cases, I believe, it is far better not to give their remarks too much importance by taking them seriously.”
“How so, Miss Darcy?” cried Gatley, “When I am endeavouring to be as sincere as possible?”
“By George!” said Channing, bursting into laughter. “I think she has your measure, Gatley!”

© Monica Fairview. This text may not be reproduced except with the express permission of the author.

12 Days to Launch: Darcy Cousins in the US

I can't believe there are only twelve days left for The Darcy Cousins to come out. And of course it's always thrilling to start reading the reviews and see all the different perspectives people bring to your writing. I've already had two reviews that I enjoyed very much -- Laurel Ann's over in Austenprose, and Jean Wan's on All About Romance.  

Meanwhile, I've been having a great time reading Jane Austen's Sanditon with the group read, and following the guest posts on Austenprose. I've certainly learned a lot about the fashionable resorts of the time, what ladies wear to promenade, and Jane Austen's attitude towards the world of taking the waters.

I particularly enjoyed learning that Colin Firth's modesty in Pride and Prejudice's wet shirt scene was actually historically inaccurate, since males at the time generally bathed nude in lakes and rivers. Well, the filmakers missed their chance...

Swan Protest

My attention was captured today by the picture on the left, especially because I loved the caption The Guardian attached to it:

‘This brave creature made a one-swan sitdown protest in the middle of Kew bridge, south-west London, causing traffic chaos for over an hour before it remembered that is was mute and therefore incapable of communicating its demands or having them met. Whereupon it flew gracefully away. And the Daily Mail Scoffs: As excuses go, it sounds unlikely - 'Sorry I'm late, I got held up by a swan'.

The picture resonated with me in several ways. The first was that it reminded me the flock of geese that impeded Caroline Bingley on her way to Pemberley in The Other Mr Darcy. She certainly had the excuse: ‘Sorry I’m late, I got held up by a flock of geese’.

It also resonated with my new novel, The Darcy Cousins, in which swans are featured as a centerpiece -- so to speak. Both editions of my novels have swans on the cover, a reference to a boating trip Georgiana Darcy takes on the river Thames. And of course Kew Bridge is down the road – or river – from Richmond, where an important scene in the novel occurs.

Fortunately for Georgiana and her companions, she did not take her boating trip in the third week of July, otherwise she would have found the river rather crowded, since that’s when Swan Upping takes place.

Swans have been part of the Thames landscape since at least the 12th century. In the 15th century, a Royal Charter established Swan Upping, in which a swan census is taken and young cygnets are marked. By this Charter, the swans on certain areas of the river were divided up between two Livery companies and the Crown, the “Seigneur of the Swans.” Accordingly, three different groups of skiffs round up the swans on the river and mark them: those collected by the Dyers (cloth dyers) are marked once on the bill, those collected by the Vintners’ (wine merchants) are marked twice, and those caught by the Queen’s skiffs are left unmarked, since by law all unmarked swans in a certain area of the Thames belong to the monarch (the marks have been replaced by identity markers). While originally this was done because swans graced the royal table, this has not been the case for a long time, and the ceremony now serves an environmental purpose, which is the protection of mute swans.

This ceremony takes place only in specific areas of the Thames. Traditionally, the swans in other areas had other owners, and were marked in various ways to indicate ownership. To see the markings that were still registered in Georgian and Regency times, follow this link.

Mute swans have for the longest time symbolized harmonious love, since they mate for life, and their lives in the wild can be as long as twenty years. Male and female swans also share equally in taking care of their nest and their young cygnets.

And then there is of course the story of ‘The Ugly Duckling’, in which an ugly duck that ostracized by its fellow ducklings because it doesn't fit in grows up to become a beautiful swan. In the novel, Georgiana’s tries so hard to fulfill Society’s expectations, yet feels somehow that she doesn’t belong. The swan plays an important role in her understanding of who she is and what she wants.

All this to explain why I loved the picture of a swan sitting in the middle of the road, asserting its existence, and daring anyone to deprive it of its right to be there!

The Darcy Cousins: Official Launch Day Today!

Today's the day! The official launch day of the UK hardcover edition of The Darcy Cousins!

Between you and me, The Darcy Cousins feels rather special to me because I had a good time writing it. The Other Mr Darcy was a book that required toil and a lot of energy. Getting into Miss Bingley's mind wasn't easy, and it was also a challenge to show Robert Darcy entirely from her viewpoint. I was determined throughout not to show things from the hero's perspective, because that's what Jane Austen did with Mr Darcy, apart from the famous letter, of course. Don't get me wrong. It wasn't an uphill struggle by any stretch of the imagination, but it required sustained effort.

By the time I got to write The Darcy Cousins, I began to work out how Jane Austen really did that. Her sly style is very deceptive. She doesn't show his point of view, but because of the omniscient narrator there's a great deal that gets slipped in so that we don't miss his point of view at all. I had fun with that idea. I also had fun with having Georgiana and Clarissa interacting -- two very different young ladies with very different ideas about how to approach attractive young gentlemen. And I really enjoyed writing about Lady Catherine, who takes her villainy a step farther. Plus I was able to write about Mr Darcy as a brother, and to give some insight into the Darcys' happy marriage from a different perspective.

In other words, there was a great deal of fun to be had.

Of course all writing is labour intensive, so I should add that the notion of 'fun' is relative...

So here it is -- the one and only: The Darcy Cousins, now available for purchase at Waterstones, Amazon.co.uk and for my international audience, from The Book Depository.

I hereby cut the ribbon and launch the new publication.

I will however have to excuse myself immediately because I hear champagne flutes clinking in another room. Could they possibly have opened the bottle without me?