Monica Fairview, Author

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 a...

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! 31 31 31 31 31 31 31 31 31

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.

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 ...

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...

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.

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...