Willoughby's Return by Jane Odiwe: A Review by Raquel Sallaberry

When I read Vic's review of Willoughby's Return on this blog it stirred my curiosity to read the book. I already knew about Jane Odiwe's site and blogs, and thought to myself "She who can create those delicate drawings inspired by Jane Austen will certainly not write nasty things about my beloved characters." For Jane Austen's characters have become ours over time. When I received the book, I wrote not so much a review for my blog, but my impressions.

Three years after Marianne's marriage to the colonel, we find both the Brandon and Ferrars families living in a quiet way with their children, just as Jane Austen foreshadowed. The heroine of the moment is Margaret Dashwood, an exact mixture of her older sisters, sensible and yet extroverted. The would-be hero, Henry Lawrence, reminded me at times of another Henry: Mr. Tilney from Northanger Abbey.

Life continues quietly for our characters until the arrival of John Willoughby. Despite being a shameless gentleman - for I can not call him a scoundrel - he arrives to do the responsible thing and take care of his property, Combe Magna. The house is very close to Delaford, where Marianne lives. And from this point on the adventure begins.

I always thought that the marriage of Marianne and Colonel Brandon would not turn out to be exciting, though certainly happy. And I confess I've never stopped to think about Eliza's and Willoughby's child. Jane Austen mentioned Colonel Brandon's sense of duty to Eliza, which Jane Odiwe uses to drive the plot.

I will not tell more details to prevent spoiling the reading for you. Let me just say that it was a pleasure to read this book and return to Sense and Sensibility and its characters.

EDITION: Sourcebooks, 2009
REVIEW: previous post at Lendo Jane Austen: http://janeaustenemportugues.com/leituras/2010/05/o-retorno-de-willoughby/

Posted by Raquel Sallaberry, Jane Austen Em Portugese

MANSFIELD PARK IS FULL OF A LOAD OF BULLIES. Discuss!!!!!!!!!!

I have been a teacher for 33 years and although I am now retired I still do some teaching when I want to. Bullying has always been an issue that is dealt with by all teachers, and sadly these days more and more regularly.

In Mansfield Park it can be argued that Fanny is bullied at various times especially by Mrs Norris but one particular instance that illustrates her being bullied by everyone is when she is requested to take part in the Mansfield theatricals.

“ Fanny,” cried Tom Bertram form the other table, where the conference was eagerly carrying on, and the conversation incessant, “we want your services.”

Fanny was up in a moment, expecting some errand, for the habit of employing her in that way was not yet overcome, in spite of all that Edmund could do.

“Oh!” we do not want to disturb you from your seat. We do not want your present services. We shall only want you in our play. You must be Cottager’s wife.”

“Me!” cried Fanny, sitting down again with a most frightened look.” Indeed you must excuse me. I could not act any thing if you were to give me the world. No, indeed I cannot act.”

“Indeed but you must, for cannot excuse you. It need not frighten you; it is a nothing part, a mere nothing, not above half a dozen speeches altogether, and it will not much signify if nobody hears a word you say, so you may be as creepmouse as you like, but we must have you to look at.”

So what is bullying? What is the profile of somebody who is bullied? What is the profile of a bully? Do the characters in Mansfield Park fit these criteria and how should bullying be dealt with?

As a teacher I have had to deal with cases of bullying. I would characterise bullying as making somebody feel uncomfortable, vulnerable, afraid, isolated and lonely.

What we have in English schools is a bullying policy. We have policies for each subject and for each area that touches on school life as well. A policy sets out a strategy. How are we going to deal with this area of school life? What steps to success are we going to put into practice?

With bullying somebody feels vulnerable. The first thing is talking. Very often it can be to another child who is sensitive to the bullied persons predicament. It could be the teacher noticing that a child is unhappy. Something has to trigger a response. The child needs to be encouraged to talk to their teacher, a school helper they feel confident with and to their mums and dads. All need to be aware of the problem. If another child is intimidating them we need to investigate that child. First of all an interview with that child to ask what they think is going on. They need to be aware of the feelings of the person they are bullying.

A teacher might use a PHSE lesson ( personal, health and social education) to discuss and explore in different ways a fictitious scenario similar to the bullied child’s problem. Roll play, hot seating, groups creating class steps to success that can be displayed for all to see. A buddy system can be set up whereby a child who feels they have no friends can go to a designated “buddy” and it will be the buddies job to talk to them, sit with them for a while and include them into their games.

But what are the pointers to someone who is a candidate for bullying. Somebody who is in an environment they are not used to. It could be somebody arriving at a new school who has no friends and they are a little shy. It could be somebody who is a slow learner and doesn’t succeed very well in the eyes of the other children. It could be somebody who lacks confidence and finds it difficult to join in.

The bully themselves are in need of help just as much as the person bullied. There must be a reason for wanting to make another child’s life miserable. They could be ignored at home, they could come from an abusive background and the hurt they bring to others helps them feel better and more in control.They could feel undervalued by the people who really should care for them.

You can probably tell where I am leading to with Fanny Price. She fits snugly into the scenario of the bullied person. I am not going to labour a point.

Mansfield Park, apart from being the story of a house and an estate is the story of somebody who is demeaned, treated badly and dare I say bullied by the likes of Mrs Norris, who is perhaps the most blatant bully, Tom Bertram, Maria and Julia Bertram and Henry and Maria Crawford. The story is about Fanny’s gradual and often painful growth into belief, confidence and power. I would like to add Edmund to the list of bullies in Fanny’s life though. Edmund is Fanny’s protector, he stands up for her, he tries to make her life tolerable. He is the one person Fanny can talk to and he listens and tries to act most times on her behalf for her good . He however does not always try to act in her favour. Those who stand and watch the bully and do nothing are as much to blame and by their inaction condone the bullying. There is at least one instance of Edmund doing this.

“You must excuse me, indeed you must excuse me,” cried Fanny, growing more and more red from excessive agitation, and looking distressfully at Edmund, who was kindly observing her, but unwilling to exasperate his brother by interference, gave her only an encouraging smile.”

Not only did Edmund do nothing to help, perhaps by his inaction the others were encouraged to join in the bullying too. If Edmund had acted it might have been at this point that their plans for the play may have come to an end. But Edmund did nothing. And so:

“ Her entreaty had no effect on Tom; he only said again what he had said before; and it was not merely Tom, for the requisition was now backed by Maria and Mr Crawford, and Mr Yates, with an urgency which differed from his , but in being more gentle and ceremonious and which altogether was quite overpowering to Fanny; and before she could breath after it, Mrs Norris completed the whole………. “

Fanny reads along with Mary Crawford and Edmund Bertram, Mansfield Park 1983

So why is Tom Bertram a bully? His father Sir Thomas, is a cold emotionless person. Tom is brought up to be the heir to the esteta so he has importance a future power to look foreward to but this is nothing to him with the lack of affection he has been brought up with. He is a damaged person. His sisters Maria and Julia have overt bullying schooled out of them. They are perfect in their manners. They are superficial they lack warmth and emotional depth.

Mrs Norris is somebody who craves for the importance she will never have. She has a great gaping hole that lacks warmth and love because she can never have what she wants. She is a totally selfish person.

Henry and Mary Crawford, Mansfield Park 1999

Henry and Mary Crawford have admiral Crawford to blame. They possess wealth and property but never have they had love. They are lost souls craving for affection on their own debauched terms.

Edmund is a conundrum. He has the same parentage as Tom and Maria and Julia but he is somehow different. He appears to have sensitivity towards others on the whole although he is not perfect and a capacity to love. Looking at his position within the family, second son, not destined for greatness, the pressures of being the heir not on his shoulders, perhaps he has been left alone and not bothered.He has been able to follow his heart. Maybe this is the answer to why Edmund is who he is.

Fanny is lucky enough to have an escape, a bolt hole. Apart from her own ,”white attic,” which was rather small, she uses the old school room where she collects her own private belongings and books that have sentimental attachments and memories.

But how could Jane Austen be so sensitive to the workings of the bullied and the bully? She must have had experience.

Claire Tomlin in her renowned, Jane Austen A Life, recounts how at the age of seven in 1784, Jane was sent to boarding school, first in Oxford and later removed Southampton. She went to a Mrs Cawley.

“To a seven year old who has never thought about time before, a term stretches, like a limitless desert ahead and the sense of loss and powerlessness on finding yourself cut off from home, parents, brothers and familiar faces and familiar places can turn the world into a very bleak place indeed.”

Claire Tomlin quotes Jane when she hears that two nieces of hers have been sent to boarding school.

“One’s heart aches for the dejected mind of an eight year old.”

Tomlin goes on to describe some of these establishments where children were starved and some died of diseases like measles. She is not suggesting Jane experienced this degree of harshness when she was sent away, but her experience would not have been pleasant at such an early age.

Posted by Tony Grant, London Calling

Jane Austen Throwdown

Some of Jane Austen's heroines had terrible experiences in London. Think of poor Marianne, who came to the realization that Willoughby had been willfully ignoring her letters and avoiding her visit. We will consider the London experiences of two ladies who are more restrained than Marianne: Jane Bennet and Elinor Dashwood. Both ladies kept their anguish to themselves. In your estimation whose London experience is worse? Jane's or Elinor's?

Jane Bennet understood that Mr. Bingley had removed himself from Netherfield Park with no immediate plans for a return visit. Her heart was broken already when she visited her aunt and uncle Gardiner on Gracechurch Street in Cheapside, but little did she know how thoroughly she would be rebuffed by Caroline Bingley, who she still regarded as a true friend. For someone as gentle as Jane, unable to think ill of others, the insult that Caroline finally gave her (visiting her beyond the prescribed time period that manners dictated, failure to give a reciprocal invitation, and staying for such a short length of time as to be almost insulting) opened Jane's eyes to the situation. Mr. Bingley was meant for Georgiana Darcy, and Jane had no role as either friend to the Bingley sisters or as Mr. Bingley's romantic interest. Only Elizabeth understood how well Jane was able to hide her broken heart from her family.

Imagine how you would feel if Lucy Steele told you about her secret engagement to the man you are interested in and extracts a promise from you to remain silent about the relationship. Imagine Elinor's having to witness Edward and Lucy in the drawing room in her presence and then watch them leave together (reluctantly on his side). Not only does Edward choose to remain with Lucy when his mother finds out about their clandestine relationship, but Colonel Brandon asks Elinor to tell Edward about the living he is willing to give him. The scene is poignant and sad, and we feel for Elinor, who bears these events with fortitude as she supports Marianne in her grief.

In Work of Art, Artists and Jane Austen are Like Oil and Water

Work of Art, Bravo's latest foray into reality competition, searches for the "Next Great Artist". Fourteen artists across the U.S. vie for the title each week, when one is eliminated until the last one remains standing. In the third episode, artists were asked to create book covers for Penguin Books. Their prize? Their work of art would be published as the book's cover.

One of the great books chosen was Pride and Prejudice. We are all aware of the last wonderful Penguin edition of P&P (r), which was modern, visually appealing, yet true to the book's content. In Work of Art, Bravo has succeeded in proving that artists and Jane Austen are not a good mix. Jaclyn Santos, who graduated from the same college I attended (the Maryland Institute College of Art), seems to have concentrated more on her art as a student than on acquiring a liberal arts education, for she had not read Pride and Prejudice, was only vaguely aware of its story, and did nothing to further her knowledge about the novel once it was assigned to her.

When it came to the task of designing the book's cover, Jaclyn photographed herself from the back half naked. Not satisfied with her erotic take on P&P - (if it's about romance it must be steamy, right?) - she proceeded to create a dreadfully wispy watercolor from her photograph. To add salt to the wound of her ignorance, she spelled Jane Austen's name wrong in a font size that you can hardly read. The guest judge from Penguin books failed to succeed in not wincing when she read 'Austin'.

Yeah, I know - Lizzie in the garden holding Darcy's hat. What WAS Jaclyn thinking? Grecian statue, perhaps?

Then there's this Pride and Prejudice entry, which would have had me running to the opposite end of the store for cover instead of choosing the cover.
At least Judith, the artist of this monstrosity, got Jane's name right, but her minor spelling talent didn't save her and the judges voted her off. Judith kept spouting off about remaining true to her artistic process and vision. Creating a book cover was not what she had signed up for. (Jane Austen would have loved the irony - an artist who appears on a reality show designed to sell commercials balks at creating an assignment for a client.)

Great artists manage to follow their bliss AND adhere to a patron's wishes. Without patrons, geniuses like Peter Paul Rubens, Michelangelo, and even a lesser known artist like Elisabeth Vigee-LeBrun, would not have enjoyed successful careers. They would have struggled mightily, like Vermeer, who painted what he liked, had only one real patron (Van Ruijven) and created so few works that he largely lived in poverty. The idea of painting art for art's sake is a relatively modern late 19th-century concept. Van Gogh famously did not sell his work and lived and died in obscurity, but the reality is that most successful (and brilliant) artists do not turn down prestigious commissions, and that some of the greatest works of art came about as a direct result of a patron's wishes. Sistine Chapel, anyone? Toulouse Lautrec's Parisian posters? Dorothea Lange's images of the dust bowl?

Judith's cover of Pride and Prejudice is not for a Hungarian readership; she spelled the words backwards. Jane Austen also wrote backwards and she beat Judith by two hundred years. I'd say her letter was visually more pleasing.

Was Judith creative? Innovative? Did the judges make a mistake in voting her off? What say you?

(I must mention Miles, who had not read Frankenstein, the cover he was assigned. He read the book before tackling the project. His work of art wasn't great for it was not descriptive of the book, but he did what any professional is expected to do - learn as much as he could about the topic beforehand.

And why am I being so hard on these two artists? By agreeing to participate on a reality show, they opened themselves up to criticism by seeking fame so publicly. This does not mean that one is allowed to attack the artists personally, but I certainly felt free to comment on their indifference to the project and the book they were assigned. Had these two ladies competed in a less staged competition, my words would have been kinder and gentler, though my opinion about their art would not have changed - Vic. )

Follow Friday: Regency Redingote

Recently Katherine, the author of The Regency Redingote, had to move her blog over to Wordpress. I visit the site often to find information and historical snippets about the Regency that are both enjoyable and informative to read.

Take March 2010, for example. Katherine wrote about Velocipedes, the Regency variation of the bicycle, the English print room phenomenon, and the anticipated Regency bicentennial, which will begin next year. Another favorite post discusses Puzzle Jugs! When you hop on over to the Regency Redingote, you will see that bookmarking this site will be well worth your while!

Image at right: Puzzle jug, V&A museum

Keira and Carey: Pride and Prejudice Alumni Reunite for Another Film

Keira Knightley and Carey Mulligan (r) are in Never Let Me Go, a film about three friends who grow up together and attend the same boarding school. In an interview with Mail Online, Carey, who was sixteen when she played the role of Kitty Bennet, "credits Knightley for being her 'acting coach' while they were on the set of Pride And Prejudice."

The film, which also features Sally Hawkins(Anne Elliot, Persuasion), is scheduled to be released in the U.S. in October. Interestingly, this drama has a sci-fic ending. (I have not read the book by Kazuo Ishiguro.) Watch a short video about filming the movie...

...and the film's trailer.

Who Will Marry Mary? Contest Giveaway

Gentle readers: This month, June, my blog Jane Austen in Portuguese, completes two years online, and to celebrate I'm doing a giveaway.

To compete for this little notebook, made by me in honour of Mary Bennet, you must answer this question:

In your opinion, who will marry Mary Bennet?

There is no wrong or right question, all responses will be considered valid, until June, 30th.

People from any country can compete, except from Brazil because I've done this blog post in Portuguese.

Posted by Raquel Sallaberry, Jane Austen em Português

Visit to Chiswick House in the London Borough of Hounslow

This Monday, just gone, the weather was beautiful, blue skies, the odd fluffy little white cloud and it was hot. We don’t get many days like that during the year. I thought I would cycle over to Chiswick House, the Palladian villa that was a weekend retreat for Georgiana, the Duchess of Devonshire. Chiswick is about four miles from where I live in the London Borough of Merton. Chiswick is in Hounslow. To get there I crossed Richmond Park, a beautiful nature reserve within the boundaries of Greater London. Massive oak trees dot it’s landscape. Some of the oaks must be three, four and five hundred years old. Charles I himself must have seen some of these very trees when out hunting deer. Richmond Park is a Royal park and has been used for hunting since before Henry VIII’s time. It is still home to two herds of deer, red deer and roe deer. It is also home to The Royal Ballet School, which uses a beautiful Georgian house in the centre of the park. The Royal Ballet School is where the fictional Billy Elliot learned his trade.

The third Earl of Burlington (1694-1753) designed the elegant Classical villa seen today, drawing inspiration from his 'grand tours' of Italy. It was originally located in a modest estate purchased by his grandfather, next to an existing Jacobean house.

The design of the house was influenced by the Italian architect Andrea Palladio and his English follower Inigo Jones (1573 – 1652). Inigo Jones was the chief architect in England before Christopher Wren, the architect of St Paul’s Cathedral and who redesigned and rebuilt London after the great fire in 1666. This neo Palladian style soon spread across Europe and America. There are buildings in the USA based on the design of Chiswick House. The Rotunda at the University of Virginia and the White House, which also has influences from The Queens House designed by Inigo Jones at Greenwich.

Chiswick House itself was more a place to present art and a weekend party venue for the Earl of Burlington and his friends.

William Kent, the 18th century garden designer designed the gardens and also many of the interiors. Kent was also a follower of Inigo Jones’s style.

By 1770 the villa at Chiswick had become the property of the notorious fifth Duke of Devonshire more renowned for his wife’s life style. She was Georgiana, The Duchess of Devonshire. A new film starring Keira Knightly portrays some of their life and life style.

The Duke of Devonshire made some extensive changes to the building and grounds adding a bridge over the lake and new wings to the villa so it could be made more habitable. These wings were later removed in the 1950’s to return it to its original Palladian style.

Georgiana’s son, the sixth Duke added an Italianate garden to the grounds.

In the 1950’s the villa was passed to the government ministry of works and then in the 1980’s English Heritage cared for it. The London Borough of Hounslow and English Heritage jointly own it and look after it today.

It has recently been refurbished. £12,500,000 was spent on the renovation of the house and grounds. The money was obtained from private benefactors, the national lottery fund, English Heritage and Hounslow Council.

The house has recently been reopened following the completion of this renovation.

When I went on Monday the grounds were open to the public but a member of English heritage stopped me from going into the house. The government minister for heritage was inside giving a press conference at the opening of the refurbished house.

I must have looked the part, with my camera slung around my neck because I was later approached and asked to show my press pass. I did get into the house for a short time before I was oyked out, as we say. That means I was politely asked to leave.

Here are the rest of my pictures.











Post and images by Tony Grant, London Calling

Jane Austen Throwdown: Happy Father's Day, Mr. Bennet

Gentle Readers: Today is Father's Day. What better way to honor the Bennet pater familias than to recall some of Mr. Bennet's caustic remarks? Vote for your favorite quote, Jane fans! If you have a better one to share from Pride and Prejudice, please leave it in your comment section.


Quote One: Mr. Bennet respects Mrs. Bennet's nerves

"Mr Bennet how can you abuse your own children in such a way? You take delight in vexing me. You have no compassion on my poor nerves!

You mistake me, my dear. I have a high respect for your nerves. They are my old friends. I have heard you mention them with consideration these twenty years at least.

Quote Two: Lizzie must make a choice after Mr. Collins' proposal

An unhappy alternative is before you, Elizabeth. From this day you must be a stranger to one of your parents. Your mother will never see you again if you do not marry Mr. Collins, and I will never see you again if you do." (Ch. 20)

Quote Three: Wickham and Lydia say goodbye to the Bennets after their post-marriage visit to Longbourn

"Mr Wickham's adieus were much more affectionate than his wife's. He smiled looked handsome and said many pretty things.

"He is as fine a fellow," said Mr Bennet as soon as they were out of the house, "as ever I saw. He simpers and smirks, and makes love to us all. I am prodigiously proud of him. I defy even Sir William Lucas himself to produce a more valuable son in law!

Interview with Ben Winters, Author of Android Karenina and Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters

Inquiring readers: Ben H. Winters bravely left a comment on my in-depth analysis of his new steam punk mashup, Android Karenina. I was verklempt. Imagine, a famous author visiting my humble blog! I am still waiting, but in the meantime, Ben was kind enough to answer a few questions.

Hi Ben: Thank you for agreeing to participate in this Q&A. I must say that you made a fan out of me when you left that gracious comment on my blog.

Even though I was unable to complete more than one paragraph in the first Chapter of Android Karenina, I thought that you managed to capture an amazing amount of angst and subtext in the opening lines. Did you want readers to learn anything from your book?

Well, yes and no. First and foremost, it’s a work of popular entertainment, so the goal is for readers to have a good time -- to laugh, to be drawn in by the characters and pulled along by the story.

At the same time, there is some food for thought to be had here, if a reader is up for it. For example, Tolstoy’s original is full of anxiety about how technologies like the steam engine and the telegraph are transforming society. By vastly accelerating the pace of that technological change, and deepening the violence that surrounds it, I’ve juiced that anxiety, and (potentially) asked the reader to consider how rapid technological innovation is changing our contemporary society.

You should try reading it again. The second paragraph is amazing.

Yes, er, *cough.* What did you do before you began to write mashups?

Punk rock bass player, record-store clerk, ice cream scooper, transcriptionist, essayist, movie concession stand guy, small businessman, journalist, playwright, lyricist/librettist, cat-sitter. Although I was such a bad cat-sitter that I ended up in small claims court. Long story.

Quirk Books covers are fantastic, as are the pen and ink drawings inside their books. Do you have any say over the artists?

Zero, but I’m totally smitten with their work. Both Doogie Horner, who designs the books, and Eugene Smith, who does the illustrations, are total geniuses. As a rule, authors are disappointed with the art of their books -- I am the enthusiastic exception to that rule.

Did you develop those incredibly inventive reader's discussion guide questions or did it take a village?

No, that’s me (and thanks!). With both Sea Monsters and Android, the “discussion guide” was the last thing I wrote, and it was so much fun. Also quite liberating to write in my own voice, after a few hundred pages of trying to channel someone else.

When Android Karenina makes the Oprah book club, how do you think you will handle all that fame and mulah?

My plan will be to tell Oprah some outrageous lie, like I was raised by a family of crack-addicted wombats or whatever, so that I can later go back on the show and beg her forgiveness, thereby doubling my national television exposure.

Now, let's turn to Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters. How DARE you transform Colonel Brandon's handsome visage into a Regency version of calamari sushi? *Stamps foot*

I have to say, the vast majority of Jane Austen fans have been enthusiastic about Sea Monsters -- but if there’s one thing that causes you folks to get your complicated 18th-century undergarments in a bunch, it’s Brandon’s face.

For the record, it was Austen who made the poor guy rheumatic and awkward and so terribly, terribly old (“on the wrong side of five-and-thirty”) All so Marianne can learn an important lesson about true love; all I did was put a fine point on that lesson. A fine, writhing, squishy, tentacled point.

Well, Ben, I must admit that was a pretty lame answer, but nevertheless I think you have charmed a host of Jane Austen fans. Thanks for being such a good sport. May you be able to purchase many Class I and Class II robots with the sales of your mashups.

Thank you! I think people like me write books like this for the same reason you take the time and energy to write a blog like yours: Because we take joy in literature.

Yes, we do have that joy in common! One last question. Do you have any interest in dating my niece? She makes Cameron Diaz look ordinary.

Sounds great. Let me just run it by my wife.

More on the topic:

• Order Android Karenina at this Quirk Books link
• Jane Austen's World review of Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters
• Ben's humble abode (and cute kid)

Aisha: Bollywood's Emma

Sonam Kapoor plays Aisha, the Bollywood version of Emma. (Aisha) The film is scheduled to be released on August 6. Click on image to enlarge.

The film is a family production - Sonam's father directs the film and plays Mr. Woodhouse, and her sister produces it.

Click on Strange Girl blog to watch a preview video. (It is spoken in Hindi).

Jane Austen: Seen on the Blogosphere

Sally Lunn's Buns: A Recipe

Jean from The Delightful Repast shared her recipe for Sally Lunn's Buns on Jane Austen's World, and a short history of tea during Jane Austen's era. Jean's version of the bun is smaller than the behemoths one can obtain in Bath, but they are tasty nevertheless!

Lemon Cake With Lime Curd and Pomegranate Topping

This recipe sounds delicious, and comes courtesy of JASNA New Jersey via Facebook.

Emma 2008 Walllpaper: Quite lovely. Click on this link to download it.

A Visit to Jane Austen's House

M.E. Foley visited Jane Austen's House and wrote an interesting blog post about it, publishing a large number of pictures. Not to be outdone, our very own Tony Grant posted his thoughts about his visit to Chawton Cottage on his own blog, London Calling. Mark Whitfield Photography visited Jane Austen's house as well and interestingly concentrates on two prints of the era instead of interior shots. I love these personal bogs posts and photos from different perspectives.

Fireplace in Jane Austen's bedroom at Chawton Cottage, taken by Tony Grant. Jane and her sister, Cassandra, shared the bedroom, and one can imagine them chatting at night near the warmth and light of the fire.

Jane Austen and Wine: The Sweet Wines of Constantia

The English have been major consumers of wine since medieval times, like the wines from Bordeaux at the time of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine. Falstaff, the Shakespeare buffoon, consumed Madeira from Portugal and Jerez from Spain. During 1660/70 the English dominated the wine trade in Portugal. In 1795 they conquered the Cape Dutch and discovered sweet Constantia! To gain an idea of the importance of wine to Britain in the 1760s, Robert Dodsley, Londoner bookseller and responsible for Samuel Johnson's Great Dictionary, believed it was worthwhile to publish a record book of wineries: The Cellar-Book.

In Sense and Sensibility, Mrs. Jennings, like every good soul, believes that is possible to cure all illness with a drop of any beverage - from water with sugar to wine. After Marianne's unfortunate encounter with Willoughby in London, she has a conversation with Elinor:

“My dear,” said she, entering, “I have just recollected that I have some of the finest old Constantia wine in the house that ever was tasted, so I have brought a glass of it for your sister. My poor husband! how fond he was of it! Whenever he had a touch of his old colicky gout, he said it did him more good than any thing else in the world. Do take it to your sister.”

As Marianne was already asleep, Elinor, even amused at the vaunted efficiency of that wine for so many problems, decided to drink herself the wine, since she's also had her heart broken too!

Old bottle of Vin de Constance Image © Stiaan

The label states 1883 and 1821.

Short history of Constantia Wine

In 1659, two Dutchmen named Jan van Riebeeck and Hendrik Boom planted the first grapes in the Cape, South Africa. These vineyards were later acquired by Governor Simon van der Stel, who gave that name to the wine, probably in honor of the officer's granddaughter Company Dutch West Indies, Constantia van Goans, who granted him the farm - which is to say, almost the entire valley. When he died in 1712 the heirs divided the farm into lots to be sold.

Image from Cape Spirit

In 1778, Hendrik Cloete, the new owner began its effort to revive the plantations that were much neglected. The years 1800 to 1818 were the pinnacle of fame of the wine of Constantia. His sons inherited the property: Jacob Pieter got the party appointed Groot Constantia and Johan Gerhard Cloete got Klein Constantia, where he built the manor of the same name. Johan produced the wine until 1840 when he sold the property.

After this division, which remains to this day the estates were sold to various owners. The Groot Constantia has several wines using the words "Constantia" and "Constance" and Klein Constantia has a wine called "Vin de Constance," sweet wine that is a re-creation of old Constantia. These wines are now a days knowed as "cult wines".

During this period, the late 18th and early 19th, therefore the Jane Asuten Era, the vineyards and particularly the Old Constantia, or Vin de Constance was at the height of its fame. Here we can see that the Austen used to consume that finest wine.

Vin de Constance
Image: Cape Classics Picture Blog

• Site Groot Constantia
• Site of Klein Constantia
• Bibliography: The Story of Wine, Hugh Johnson (in portuguese)

Posted by Raquel Sallaberry, Jane Austen em Português

Published as "O bom e velho Constância" at Lendo Jane Austen

More on the topic:

• Drinking Tea, Wine, and Spirits in Jane Austen's Day
• A Splash of Madeira and Some Cordial Water: Popular Drinks During the Regency Era

Sanditon by Jane Austen: A Review

In 1817 Jane Austen was dying. Various commentators looking at the evidence from letters written by members of her family describing her symptoms have come up with various theories as to what her illness was.

For many years people thought it was Addisons disease,. Then many thought she was suffering from Hodgkins Lymphoma, a virulent cancer. The latest diagnosis is bovine tuberculosis which is caught by drinking unpasteurised milk.

The symptoms of this illness do not make pleasant reading. Jane would have suffered chronic bouts of coughing, regular fevers, night sweats; she would be spitting blood stained sputum and she would have had sever weight loss.
Despite this, Jane was still writing. We have letters from her to various members of her family , the last dated Thursday 29th may 1817. She wrote to Francis Tilson from Mrs David’s, College Street, Winchester,

“My attendant is encouraging, and talks of making me quite well.”

She was positive and hopeful to the last. But not only letters, Jane began a new novel in January 1817 that she called, The Brothers. This was later renamed, for publication, by her own brother Henry, Sanditon. She abandoned writing it on March 18th.

Sanditon is a gem of a piece. It is an uncut diamond. It sparkles with her wit, intelligence, and genius. It is biting and insightful. It is her last shout at the world she knew. I say, shout, because as we know Jane was a private person. She courted no publicity, but the mere power of her ideas whispered in her quiet corner of the world are so powerful they gain velocity and volume by their meaning.

Jane’s last work is 55 pages long. It is written, as she wrote her letters, with abbreviations and ampersands. It is a work in progress.

The story of Sanditon is the story of the changing world Jane lived in. It is about the development of a new type of town, the holiday seaside resort. The development of the seaside towns we have nowadays all originate from that Regency Period. Places such as Weymouth, Bournemouth, Brighton Worthing and Eastbourne. They are all along the South Coast of England.

It tells the story of Mr Parker, who in conjunction with wealthy Lady Denham, has bought land and property in a small fishing village called Sanditon. They are in the process of building Regency terraces, villas and hotels. They have also built a library which was thought necessary and suggests they were trying to attract a certain class of person.

The themes Jane is writing about are the themes that were obviously concerning her in the last year of her life. There is the development of the new town and what that process might be, but there are some more human concerns. She attacks the reading of sentimental novels that have no depth. She attacks the use of titled names.

Sir Edward uses his name and fine, meaningless words, that he has gleaned from sentimental novels, to especially woo the ladies. Charlotte Parker, the heroine of this novel, is astute and could be one of Jane Austen’s most intelligent female characters. She sees through Sir Edward, his façade, his use of big words and his shallowness of character, very quickly. Charlotte is like Jane herself, not the marrying type at all, because she is far, far too intelligent.

There is a nice cameo idea where Charlotte decides not to spend her money on the brooches and pendants on sale in the library (the gift shop.) The seaside holiday resort we have today has seen the development of the tacky retail outlet. Shopkeepers in holiday resorts are experts at attracting us to spend money on what is virtually,”rubbish.”

The theme Jane hits on that is most poignant, is hypochondria. Mr and Mrs Parker’s relations, Arthur, Diana and Susan believed themselves on the brink of some dire and death threatening disease. When they appear in Sanditon it is a surprise to realise how healthy and fit they really are. But they complain and talk about their health all the time.

It is ironic to think that Jane herself, dying from her own terrible affliction, states powerfully in this story that she believed that people should rise above their afflictions and continue with life as usual.There are lots of hints and ideas within the story, metaphors that seem to go unused or suggest a deeper meaning that is not fulfilled. We can only guess that these would have been developed if the story was complete.

At the start of Sanditon Mr and Mrs Parker are in search of a physician and they don’t find one or do they? This could be for themselves because Mr Parker sprains an ankle when their coach overturns, it could be for their stated reason, to find a physician to tend to the sick of Sanditon, it could be for their own relations or it could be a metaphorical physician to heal Sanditon because the development of the town is not going well. They persuade the Haywoods, who they meet on their travels and stay with while Mr Parker’s ankle heals, to take their beautiful daughter Charlotte with them. Charlotte, wise, very intelligent and a strong character, could be “the physician,” for Sanditon. She has a clear sharp vision of the world and people around her. The novel doesn’t develop far enough for us to find out what influence Charlotte does have in the end.

Jane called the story, The Brothers. This might suggest that Mr Parker and his brother Arthur may have more of a role together as the novel, would have progressed.

In it’s present form, Sanditon, is a better title.

The story finishes abruptly when Charlotte, who has met Lady Denham in the home of the Parkers on many occasions, goes to visit Lady Denham in her own home, Sanditon House, for the first time. She is waiting for Lady Denham in the waiting room admiring the portraits of Lady Denham’s two dead husbands.

Jane herself must have been in similar rooms and for a similar purpose, visiting to take tea with an acquaintance in their big house.

Perhaps Jane felt at the time she wrote this, that she too was waiting, waiting for the afterlife.
There are some very powerful themes and ideas in this short last piece to get your teeth into.
It is a statement of Jane’s thoughts and views as she was dying. I hope nobody thinks of polishing it or trying to complete it. It is a perfect jewel in it’s own right. It is Jane’s true voice. It left me with a powerful feeling that I had touched a little of the human condition. It changed me.


Returning to my description of Sanditon as Jane Austen’s, “last shout.” It reminds me of Dylan Thomas’s poem;

“Do not go gentle into that good night,

Old age should burn and rave at close of day;

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.”

Posted by Tony Grant, London Calling

Jane Austen Sartorial Throwdown

Ah, the men in Jane Austen's novels. They are so divine, even the rascals. Film adaptations sometimes show them to the best advantage and sometimes not. Let's take a look at Colonel Brandon from Sense and Sensibility. Whose portrayal of the handsome colonel was more sartorially resplendent? Alan Rickman in the 1996 film or David Morrissey in 2008?

Alan Rickman

David Morrissey