George Barbier's Prints of 18th Century Costumes

George Barbier's stylish art deco fashion illustrations from the early 20th century are instantly recognizable.These two prints featuring scenes from the 18th century are on sale. Aren't they lovely?

Lacemaker

Applying powder

Purchase the prints here

The print below is no longer available, but also features an 18th c. scene

La Reine de Boheme, 1918

All I Want for the New Year ... Is More Jane Austen

For me, the past few years have offered a cornucopia of Jane Austen film and television adaptations. I began blogging when the Jane Austen Book Club was being filmed.  In 2007, PBS offered Jane Austen season, and I was in seventh heaven watching the remakes of Mansfield Park, Persuasion, and Northanger Abbey. In 2008 we viewed Sense and Sensibility and Miss Austen Regrets, and 2009 gave us Lost in Austen. Earlier in 2010 we watched Emma. What joy!

In January of 2011 we can expect the theatrical release of Prada to Nada, a modern Latino take on Sense and Sensibility, and there are rumblings that Pride and Prejudice and Zombies will actually be made. But then, I fear, the future of Jane Austen film making will hit a dry spell.

Oh, book publishers are printing plenty of Jane Austen sequels and prequels and mysteries, and the like. Excellent anthologies, such as A Truth Universally Acknowledged: 33 Great Authors on Why We Read Jane Austen, have been released. Collateral series, such as Amanda Vickery's At Home With the Georgians, provide us with insights about life during the time of Jane Austen, but ... what does the cinematic future hold for Janeites who simply can't get enough of Jane Austen's writing and her characters? Here is my wish list, if producers are paying attention:

Rachel Hurd Wood as Catherine?

A remake of Northanger Abbey: Let's finally do justice to Jane's fine Gothic tale, and give this novel enough time to develop cinematically in a two-part, four-hour series. Let's take advantage of Henry Tilney's wit and young Catherine's wide-eyed innocence, and leave the overblown Gothic scenes to the first two inadequate NA adaptations.

The casting of Henry Tilney would be crucial, although I did fall a little in love with J.J. Feild in the woefully short 2007 ITV remake.

Minnie Driver as Lady Susan?

Lady Susan: I think a film with Jane's anti-heroine at its center would be quite popular in this cynical age. More Dangerous Liaisons than Persuasion, Lady Susan and her machinations will strike a chord with modern audiences, who will see Jane Austen's talent for creating vivid characters in a new light.

Cassandra's drawings

The History of England: Young Jane's irreverent chronicle of the History of England would be a delightful basis for a tongue in cheek cartoon in the tradition of South Park or ( for those of you who are old enough to remember) Rocky and Bullwinkle, which you can see on YouTube.

Using Cassandra's drawings, I can see this short book translated into a rollicking 1/2 hour of fun that is sure to go viral with history fans.

What say you?

Cool Women Hairstyle Picture

Cool Women Hairstyle Picture

Cool Women Hairstyle Picture

Cool Women Hairstyle Picture

Matthew MacFadyen in The Three Musketeers

This official picture of the new 3-D version of The Three Musketeers shows(from left to right) Matthew Macfadyen (Mr. Darcy 2005) as Athos, Logan Lerman as D’Artagnan, Ray Stevenson as Porthos, and Luke Evans as Aramis. The film will be released in April, 2011. Will it be worth the extra ticket price? We'll see. However, fans of MacFadyen should be glad to see him in another costume drama. The man wears previous centuries so well.

Those who have not read this rousing tale of adventure and romance, can read this classic for free in this link.

The New Upstairs Downstairs on BBC One draws 7 million viewers

The BBC has just aired the most recent version of Upstairs Downstairs, the wildly popular 1970's series about the Bellamy family and their servants who lived and worked in an Edwardian London townhouse. The new series is a complete makeover, with only one original cast member returning (Jean Marsh) and the action occurring before World War II. The reviews I have read have so far have been tepid, although the first episode drew 7 million viewers, the same number that Dowton Abbey attracted in its first week (the audience grew to an astonishing 9 million, prompting ITV to order up a second season.)

2010 Upstairs Downstairs. The only original cast member is Jean March, whose Rose (on stairs)  has graduated to housekeeper

These numbers bode well for costume dramas in general. The series will be shown in Great Britain over six weeks, and in the United States on PBS starting in April. PBS Masterpiece Classic will air the first episode of Dowton Abbey on January 9th, and each Sunday in January afterward.

The original cast in the 1970s series included Angela Baddley as Mrs Bridges, the cook, Christopher Beeny as Edward, and Gordon Jackson as Hudson the Butler.

The reviews are in:

• The New Upstairs Downstairs is More Period Than Drama
• Upstairs Downstairs, BBC One
• Upstairs Downstairs Episode One Review
• Upstairs Downstairs is Back
• Upstairs Downstairs: A Triumphant Return to UK Television
• What Would Mrs. Bridges Think? Upstairs Downstairs is Back with Keeley Hawes.

Jane Austen Thank You Throwdown

Happy Boxing Day!

I have wrote a post for Jane Austen's Portuguese readers asking what Christmas gift they would give, if possible, to Jane. There were many responses: from paper to laptops, from books to flowers, from washing machines to time machines, from a real Mr. Darcy to Mr. Lefroy, from paying all her books' royalties to simply saying that she is a successful writer today.

If  you could give her a gift, what would it be? Please leave your comment. In the end, all we want to say is: thank you, dear Jane!

Posted by Raquel Sallaberry, Jane Austen em Portugues

Merry Christmas! A Regency Christmas Dance

Love the costumes, the decorations, and the setting. Merry Christmas, everyone!

cool men's new hair style era 2011

cool men's new hair style era 2011

cool men's new hair style era 2011

cool men's new hair style era 2011

Christmas Takeaway in the 19th Century

This marvelous illustration @LIFE magazine shows ordinary people in the Victorian era purchasing takeaway food in London for their Christmas dinners. Not all people during that era had the space (or kitchens) to cook. And, thus, this scene.

Addendum: Reader Jenny Alworthy has added information to this post in her comment which makes absolute sense:

I think what this illustration shows is that because many people didn't have room in their oven to cook their dinner, they prepared it in advance and then took it to the baker's (who had a huge oven) just to get it cooked. I imagine they would pay the baker a small sum for the use of their ovens. I don't think that the baker actually prepared the food for them.

Have a safe and happy holiday this season, as this blog reduces the number of posts for the time being.Thank you all for visiting! Vic, Tony, and Raquel.

Eggnog Recipe, Just in Time for the Holidays

Inquiring Readers, Jean from The Delightful Repast has graciously agreed to share her eggnog recipe with us. To read the rest of her post, click on the link to her blog!

A bit of interesting information about eggnog includes the origin of its name. The drink was originally called "egg and grog in a noggin", which was shortened to eggnog.

"In the 1820's Pierce Egan, a period author, wrote a book called "Life of London: or Days and Nights of Jerry Hawthorne and His Elegant Friend Corinthina Tom". To publicize his work Mr. Egan made up a variation of eggnog he called "Tom and Jerry". It added 1/2 oz of brandy to the basic recipe (fortifying it considerably and adding further to its popularity).

Eggnog, in the 1800s was nearly always made in large quantities and nearly always used as a social drink. It was commonly served at holiday parties and it was noted by an English visitor in 1866, "Christmas is not properly observed unless you brew egg nogg for all comers; everybody calls on everybody else; and each call is celebrated by a solemn egg-nogging...It is made cold and is drunk cold and is to be commended." - Egg Nog History

Eggnog

(Makes about 2 quarts)

6 large egg yolks (Make a batch of meringues with the whites!)
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups hot milk
2 cups cold milk
1/2 cup or more brandy or rum, optional (I just use 3 tablespoons of cognac as a flavoring)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon grated nutmeg plus more for garnish
1 cup whipping cream

1. At least nine, or up to 24, hours before serving time: In bottom pan of double boiler, heat an inch of water to a gentle simmer. In top pan of double boiler, whisk together egg yolks, sugar and salt until well blended.

2. Gradually whisk in hot milk and cook over hot but not boiling water, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and registers between 160 and 170 degrees (but do not boil). Just pull a tall stool up to the stove like I do 'cause it's gonna take a while, about 15 to 20 minutes.

3. Stir in cold milk. Strain custard into a two-quart bowl; stir in brandy* or rum, vanilla and nutmeg. Cover and refrigerate until well chilled, at least 8 hours.

*Actually, you could leave out the alcohol and let each person add his own favorite tipple or have it alcohol-free.

To serve: Whip cream until soft peaks form. With wire whisk, gently fold whipped cream into custard. Pour eggnog into chilled 2- or 2 1/2-quart punch bowl or pitcher; sprinkle with nutmeg.

From: Eggnog, A Cup of Classic Comfort

Downton Abbey Creates a Stir & Hissy Fit

Read about Dowton Abbey, a marvelous new series, on Jane Austen's World. This Edwardian special is coming to PBS Masterpiece Classic on January 9th. The four part series (for the U.S.) was a surprise blockbuster in Great Britain, and a second season has been ordered.



Jean March, co-creator of Upstairs Downstairs has discharged a salvo, denigrating the originality of Downton Abbey:

Hackles were raised when Marsh suggested that Downton Abbey, one of the unexpected hits of the year, was a thinly-disguised facsimile of the original Upstairs, Downstairs, which ran from 1971 to 1975 and has been watched by an estimated 1 billion people worldwide.

Jean Marsh as Rose in Upstairs Downstairs

 "I think we were all surprised," Marsh told BBC1's The One Show. "The new Upstairs, Downstairs had been in the works for about three years. We were trying to sort out … 40 years of rights and then it also started – Downton Abbey – in the Edwardian era, which Upstairs, Downstairs did. So it might be a coincidence and I might be the queen of Belgium."

Bonneville, who plays the Earl of Grantham in the ITV drama, replied on Twitter: "I thought Jean Marsh was bigger than that – running down Downton while bigging up Upstairs? Downton never downed Up when upping Down. -  - War declared as Upstairs, Downstairs creator fires volley at Downton Abbey, Guardian UK

Upstairs, Elizabeth McGovern as Countess Grantham and Hugh Bonneville as the earl.

Ooh! Cat fight! As if there is not enough entertainment room for two costume dramas about the upper crust and their servants in turn of the 20th century England.  Julian Fellowes, who wrote the script for Dowton Abbey, has impeccable credentials as the screen writer of Gosford Park. (His wife, BTW, is lady-in-waiting to Princess Michael of Kent.) One suspects that Julian knows whereof he writes. Here is his response to Ms Marsh's comments:

"There are a limited number of ways you can bring people of different backgrounds and ages under one roof. We have all had masses of lawyers' offices, police stations and hospitals, which are obvious, and the staffed house is rather less obvious. I think there is certainly room for more than one. Good luck to them, say I." - The real Upstairs Downstairs, The Independent

Downstairs: Lesley Nicol (front) as Mrs Patmore and Sophie McShera as Daisy

Featuring a sterling cast (Hugh Bonneville, Elizabeth McGovern, Dame Maggie Smith, Dan Stevens, Penelope Wilton, Jim Carter, and Brendan Coyle), Dowton Abbey offers 6 hours of entertaining drama. The schedule in January is as follows: Episode One, January 9; Episode Two, January 16; Episode Three, January 23; and Episode Four, January 30 (my birthday -oh, what a treat!)

Read The Daily Mail's take on this brouhaha as the new Upstairs Downstairs makes its debut this holiday season.

Jane Austen Throwdown: Meeting Jane Austen

Because so little is known about Jane Austen's life compared to other great authors, much information about her life and character remains a mystery. A wish has been granted to you, and you have been given one opportunity to meet Jane. During which stage of her life would you choose to meet her?

Juvenilia stage
Jane was a precocious young girl, always telling stories, writing them down, and reading them to her family. She loved her brothers and sister, who amused themselves by putting on plays and charades. Bright and sparkling, she loved her life in Steventon Rectory and had looked forward to a promising future, which included meeting the right man and starting her own family. She wrote her juvenilia, which included Love and Freindship and a History of England, a cheeky account of English monarchs. Would you like to meet this precocious and talented young lady?

Young womanhood
Jane loved to walk and dance and spend time with her friends. She was tall, graceful, and outgoing, and was reckoned to be a pretty, flirtatious girl by those who knew her. She even had a two-week summer romance with a dashing young Irishman named Tom Lefroy. During this period, Jane never stopped writing, producing Susan (Northanger Abbey), First Impressions (Pride and Prejudice) and Sense and Sensibility. Would you like to meet this promising and engaging young woman?

Mysterious middle years
After moving to Bath, Jane's life becomes largely a mystery. She began The Watsons , which remains a fragment, and perhaps rewrote her first three novels. Susan was also sold during this period of her life, but this book languished on the shelves and would not be published after her death. During this time her father died and her financial circumstances were severely reduced. Would you like to learn more about these lost years and why Jane's creative juices seemingly stopped?

Productive last years
When Jane and her family moved into Chawton Cottage, her creativity reemerged. During this time she published Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice, and wrote Mansfield Park, Emma, and Persuasion. She had taken to wearing caps and had become a confirmed spinster, but her wit was as lively as ever, and she spun glorious tales for her nieces and nephews, none of which have survived. Jane's books began to be noticed by the public, and she was in full command of her writing talent when illness felled her. As she struggled with her health, she wrote about the more ridiculous side of hypochondria in the fragment of her last novel, Sanditon. Would you like to meet Jane while she lived in Chawton Cottage?

During which stage of Jane Austen's life would you like to meet her?
	Early precocious years
	As a young woman
	Mysterious middle years
	Productive later years
pollcode.com free polls

Tasha Alexander's 'Dangerous to Know': A Book Giveaway for After the Holidays!

Gentle Readers: Yes, you read correctly. I will be giving away Tasha Alexander's latest novel of suspense, Dangerous to Know. Lady Emily Hargreaves and her husband Colin are back to solve another murder in the fifth of the Lady Emily mystery series.In the following quote, Tasha describes the evolution of her character to Gregory Weinkauf:

"Going back to the beginning, I wanted to write about a young woman coming into her own, going beyond her class, seeing a broader world, having an intellectual awakening -- and then having a relationship with a man who, although enlightened, is still a Victorian guy. In Tears of Pearl Colin and Emily were having tension because of her role in the investigation. If you're going to do investigative work, it's dangerous, even if you're not being reckless. [Corker of a climax, incidentally: resourceful deployment of petticoat.]

But if you're in love with someone who's doing something dangerous, you're going to worry, and want to keep that person safe. So Colin let her do her thing in Tears of Pearl, even though it was hard for him, but then in the next book [Dangerous to Know] I wanted him to stand back and say, "Hang on! I might be enlightened, but I'm also in charge!" This is the nineteenth century. And we, in the 21st century, think: "Outrageous! She can't put up with her husband saying this and stopping her!" But that's what would have happened in that time period. For the two of them, in the end of this novel, and subsequently in the rest of the series, to have a peace between them about this work thing, it's got to be that he's pushed, she's pushed, and they both see that there's no easy answer."

For a chance to win this book (the winning name will be drawn on January 4th), tell us which mystery about Jane Austen's life you'd like to solve. 

Sadly, once again, I can only ship the book to those who live in the U.S. or Canada.

• Click here to enter Tasha Alexander's website.

Jane Austen Short Story Contest, Submission Deadline February 13, 2011

The Jane Austen Made Me Do It

Short Story Contest Begins January 01, 2011

In conjunction with the publication of the new anthology Jane Austen Made Me Do It, Ballantine Books, Austenprose.com, and The Republic of Pemberley are pleased to announce an online short story contest.  Enter for a chance to win the Grand Prize: publication of your entry in the anthology – a collection of original short stories inspired by the life and works of popular English novelist Jane Austen (1775-1817).  Hosted by the Jane Austen web site The Republic of Pemberley, the contest begins on January 1, 2011. Publication of Jane Austen Made Me Do It is tentatively scheduled for publication by Ballantine in Fall 2011.

Contest Highlights

• Eligibility: Previously unpublished U.S. residents over the age of 18
• Entries must be approximately 5,000 words in length
• Manuscript submission January 1 – February 13, 2011
• Voting for the Top Ten finalists February 14 - 28, 2011
• Top Ten finalists announced on March 1, 2011
• One Grand Prize winner receives $500.00 and a contract for publication in the anthology Jane Austen Made Me Do It
• Grand Prize winner announced Fall 2011 in conjunction with the official release by Ballantine Books (Random House, Inc.) of Jane Austen Made Me Do It

Jane Austen Made Me Do It contains more than twenty best-selling and popular authors who have contributed short stories inspired by Jane Austen, her novels and her philosophies of life and love. From historical continuations of her plots and characters to contemporary spinoffs and comedies, the stories encapsulate what we love about our favorite author: romance, social satire and witty humor. Contributing to the line-up are best-selling authors Karen Joy Fowler (The Jane Austen Book Club), Adriana Trigiani (Brava, Valentine), Lauren Willig (The Pink Carnation series), Laurie Viera Rigler (The Jane Austen Addict series), Syrie James (The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen), Stephanie Barron (Being A Jane Austen Mystery series), and the husband and wife writing team of Frank Delaney (Venetia Kelly’s Traveling Show) and Diane Meier (The Season of Second Chances). Many Austenesque authors and others from related genres have also contributed stories to the project. One spot in the anthology remains open for the lucky Grand Prize winner.

The anthology’s editor, Laurel Ann Nattress of Austenprose.com, is very excited at the prospect of discovering the next star in the burgeoning sub-genre of Jane Austen sequels and inspired books. “Jane Austen has been inspiring writers for close to two hundred years. It seems quite fitting that she should be the witty muse of our anthology and short story contest. Encouraging writing and discovering new talent is in spirit with her true legacy. I am ‘all anticipation’ of what will develop, and am honored to be part of the selection team.”

Visit the official Jane Austen Made Me Do It Short Story Contest web page for official contest rules and eligibility requirements.  Best of luck to all entrants.

“[S]uppose as much as you chuse; give a loose to your fancy, indulge your imagination in every possible flight which the subject will afford.” Elizabeth Bennet, Pride and Prejudice, Chapter 60

Roisin Murphy Popular Medium Hairstyle

Roisin Murphy (37) at the Elton John Winter Ball. The Irish singer-songwriter has a popular medium hairstyle with bangs. It's very straight but very glossy and attractive. The look is perfect at night and of course blonde hair always complements a black dress. It works for women of any age.

Keyshia Colered Haircolor Trend

Keyshia Cole (29) had black hair in 2009 but then she followed the red haircolor trend which fellow African American singer Kandi Burruss helped set. This picture was taken Nov. 6 at a music video shoot. It's a funky red updo with lots of curls on top to make it high in addition to the long and dramatic curly bangs. It's like a reorganized wedding hairstyle with some 1940s inspiration.

Do you know how many women are natural redheads? According to a poll on this site, it's less than 14%. Related gallery: Ladies in Red.

Cheryl Cole Red Hair Color

Cheryl Cole (27) still has her cherry red hair color. The UK singer got the dye job back in the summer. Cheryl says she's always loved red hair. Reaction on the British Glamour magazine website forum has been both positive and negative. Some women love it and say it makes her look completely different; while others say it makes her seem cheap and more like a teen rebel.

There is a suggestion by the Daily Mail she was inspired by Sharon Osborne. There is speculation, according to a blogger, the makeover was related to her breakup with husband Ashley Cole as an outward expression of inward change. Many girls admitted in a poll they change their hair after a relationship ends.

It is a fairly uncommon celebrity hair color, although Rihanna (see below) has also gone red. Maybe the popular light red hair trend we've seen for a few years will soon give way to the darker hues? Peaches Geldof got a similar shade but denied she copied Cheryl. "I dyed it," she Tweeted, "before I knew she had dyed it."

Happy Birthday, Jane Austen!

Happy 235th Birthday, Jane Austen!

In celebration of December 16th, please visit the following sites:

• London Calling, in which Tony Grant offers his very own Jane Austen Birthday Post.
• Jane Austen em Portugues, in which Raquel Sallaberry discusses a letter Jane Austen wrote from Chawton on December 16, 1816. Translation device available.
• Jane Austen's World in which Vic celebrates Baby Jane Austen's First Two Years.
• Watch a five minute video: Jane Austen’s birthplace
• Adriana Zardini at Jane Austen Sociedad do Brasil
• Laurel Ann at Austenprose
• Katherine Cox at November’s Autumn
• Karen Wasylowski at her blog
• Laurie Viera Rigler at Jane Austen Addict Blog
• Lynn Shepherd at her blog
• Jane GS at Reading, Writing, Working, Playing
• Jane Odiwe at Jane Austen Sequels
• Alexa Adams at First Impressions
• Regina Jeffers at her blog
• Cindy Jones at First Draft
• Janet Mullany at Risky Regencies
• Meredith at Austenesque Reviews
• Maria Grazia at My Jane Austen Book Club

Leave comments on the blogs to win an assortment of fabulous prizes! Click here to see what they are!

Free Jane Austen eBooks in Honor of her Birthday on Thursday, Dec 16th

Update for those who had trouble getting free ebooks this morning! Sourcebooks apologizes for the mixup and inconvenience, and is extending the offer of free illustrated Jane Austen ebooks through Friday, December 17th! Click on this link to order the sequel ebooks. Unfortunately, the Jane Austen illustrated come with a charge of .99 each.


Thursday, December 16th is Jane Austen’s 235th birthday!

Sourcebooks, the world’s leading publisher of Jane Austen fiction, is offering a unique deal to readers who want to celebrate Jane by reading special editions of all six of Austen’s beloved novels in a 21st century format.

The free books come with Brock illustrations

Special e-book editions of Pride and Prejudice, Emma, Sense and Sensibility, Northanger Abbey, Persuasion and Mansfield Park will be available for free for one day only. These celebratory editions include the full novels, plus the legendary color illustrations of the Brock brothers, originally created to accompany the books in 1898.

In addition to the Jane Austen classics, readers can also enjoy ten bestselling Austen-inspired novels for free on December 16th in honor of her birthday, including, Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife by Linda Berdoll, Mr. Darcy’s Diary by Amanda Grange and Mr. & Mrs. Fitzwilliam Darcy: Two Shall Become One by Sharon Lathan.

This is what blogger Tara Fly had to say about ordering the book:

I downloaded my copies for free this morning from http://BarnesandNoble.com and wasn’t charged any fees. :)

I followed the link provided by Laurel Ann on AustenProse in this blog post:

http://austenprose.com/2010/12/14/download-free-jane-austen-inspired-ebooks-on-her-birthday-december-16-2010/

B&N takes you through their standard check-out process, asking you to sign-in or register for an account (which includes providing a CC# and shipping address) … I already had an account with them, so I was asked to verify my information.

But when you reach the end of the “transaction”, the items on your bill are free.

I didn’t have an eReader for my PC, but B&N has free eReader downloads as well.

I’m so excited about this offer; it was really sweet of them. Cheers!

- Tara

Edward Morland's Unmistakable Smile

Whenever I see older movies with children I wonder if they continued their career as an actor, and if they are very different from that time, etc.

I know that not everyone appreciates the 1987 Northanger Abbey film version of Jane Austen's novel, but I find it amusing and I loved the boy who played Catherine's brother. They called him Edward, which is wrong, but never mind. I remember him smiling, looking a bit like a rodent, and yelling: "Cathy, Cathy!"

Well, I found the boy, I mean, the actor - Oliver Hembrough.

Now ... and then

His smile remains the same, does it not? Read more about him in this link: Oliver Hembrough, IMDb.
Links on Oliver Hembrough on Facebook.

Posted by Raquel Sallaberry, Jane Austen em Português

Silent Monday: Stylish Jane Austen Items

Just in time for the holidays, Longbourn's Laundry offers these Regency related items on Etsy.

Regency Writer Tee

Lady with Parasol bag

Jane Austen Duel

This week's post asks you to examine the weapon Willoughby would have preferred when Colonel Brandon challenged him to a duel. The practice was already out of favor when Jane Austen wrote Sense and Sensibility, and outlawed in England in 1840. Colonel Brandon was quite cryptic in his description of the event to Elinor:

Pistols being readied

... when he returned to town, which was within a fortnight after myself, we met by appointment, he to defend, I to punish his conduct. We returned unwounded, and the meeting, therefore, never got abroad."

Duels were fought in isolated areas at the break of dawn

And so we ask you, which weapons do you think Willoughby chose? Sword or pistol? Did he want closeness during the fight, or distance?

Which weapon did Willoughby choose to fight Colonel Brandon in a Duel?
	Sword
	Pistol
pollcode.com free polls

Rachel McAdams Hair Been Turning Heads Lately

Has your hair been turning heads lately? Guess who that is behind the heavy angled bangs? It's Rachel McAdams (31) last night at the premiere of her new movie Morning Glory.

A Happy Jane Austen Birthday Event With Free Gifts! Coming December 16th

It wouldn't be fair to neglect someone as important and dear to us as Jane Austen on her birthday. She was born on 16th December 1775, it’ll be 235 years next week . We owe so many immensely pleasant moments to her that we decided she deserved a great B-day celebration. My Jane Austen Book Club and other bloggers and Austen dedicated writers are going to have a blog party in her honour. You are all invited to join us on our “HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JANE!” event next Thursday December 16th. Who will be there? Where is the party going on?

My other blog, Jane Austen's World, will be joining in on the celebration! As well as these other fine authors and bloggers:

• Adriana Zardini at Jane Austen Sociedad do Brasil 
• Laurel Ann at Austenprose
• Katherine Cox at November’s Autumn 
• Karen Wasylowski at her blog 
• Laurie Viera Rigler at Jane Austen Addict Blog 
• Lynn Shepherd at her blog 
• Jane GS at Reading, Writing, Working, Playing 
• Jane Odiwe at Jane Austen Sequels 
• Alexa Adams at First Impressions 
• Regina Jeffers at her blog 
• Cindy Jones at First Draft 
• Janet Mullany at Risky Regencies
• Meredith at Austenesque Reviews
• Maria Grazia at My Jane Austen Book Club 

You’ll find Happy Birthday posts and tributes to Jane Austen on all these blogs on December 16th with the HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JANE logo created by Adriana Zardini (JASBRA) just for the occasion. Lovely, isn’t it? Visit all the blogs on December 16th and leave your comments + e-mail address to have lots of chances to win one of the wonderful gifts we are giving away:


The books include - 1 signed copy of…

• Willoughby’s Return by Jane Odiwe
• Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict by Laurie Viera Rigler
• Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict by Laurie Viera Rigler
• Murder at Mansfield Park by Lynn Shepherd
• Intimations of Austen by Jane Greensmith
• Darcy's Passions: Fitzwilliam Darcy's Story by Regina Jeffers
• First Impressions. A Tale of Less Pride and Prejudice by Alexa Adams
• Jane and the Damned by Janet Mullany
• Bespelling Jane Austen by Janet Mullany

Other gifts:

• Austen bag offered by Karen Wasylowski
• DVD Pride & Prejudice 2005 offered by Regina Jeffers
• Package of Bingley's Tea. (flavor "Marianne's Wild Abandon" ) offered by Cindy Jones
• DVD Jane Austen in Manhattan offered by Maria Grazia
• 3 issues of Jane Austen Regency World offered by Maria Grazia

Giveaways will end on December 23rd . Winners will be announced by Maria Grazia, organizer of this celebration, on My Jane Austen Book Club.

Friday Follow: Amanda Vickery's Georgians

Gentle Readers, Mary Ellen Foley from the excellent blog, ME Foley's Anglo-American Experience, forwarded this PDF document of a Radio Times article on Amanda Vickery's BBC2 specials on Georgian houses. Tonight BBC2 aired the second of three installments, A Woman's Touch, which unfortunately was available only in the British Isles.

Click on image to read the article

Read my review of Episode One: At Home With the Georgians, A Man's Place on Jane Austen's World.

Snow at Chawton and Chawton Cottage

Gentle readers, Tony Grant from London Calling and contributor to this blog and Jane Austen's World shot these beautiful images during last week's snow in England. We see so many pictures of Chawton and Chawton Cottage in spring and summer with tourists all around. One can hear the silence in this waning light. Just lovely.

Village street (with Chawton Cottage at left). Image @Tony Grant

Chawton Cottage side door. Image @Tony Grant

Chawton Cottage sign. Image @Tony Grant

Across the fields. Image @Tony Grant

Chawton grounds in snow. Image @Tony Grant

Chawton fields with Chawton House in the distance. Image @Tony Grant

Chawton House grounds. Image @Tony Grant

To Chawton House. Image @Tony Grant

Chawton House in golden light. Image @Tony Grant

Read more:

• Jane Austen's House Museum
• Chawton House Library
• Chawton House on Twitter
• Reading, writing and Emma, by Dr. Gillian Dow of the Chawton House Library