Showing posts with label books. Show all posts
Showing posts with label books. Show all posts

Thursday, April 28, 2016

Jane Austen Would You Rather


A while back Cordy from Write On, Cordy! tagged me in a Jane Austen Would You Rather tag. There's some really fun questions here! Sorry Cordy for taking so long to repost this. I hope y'all enjoy these questions and take some time to answer them yourself.


Who would you rather have act as your matchmaker, Lady Russell (from Persuasion) or Mrs. Jennings?  Mrs. Jennings. I actually have quite an appreciation for her motherly kindness even though she is a bit embarrassing at times. She made very good matched for her two daughters and Marianne Dashwood that combined personality matching (and kind regard, if not love) with being comfortably well settled in their married life. Even her matching Elinor up with Colonel Brandon (towards the end of the book) was not a bad match at all had their hearts not already been tied to others. Lady Russell means well I'm sure but she worries too much about rank and wealth.



Who would you like as a pen pal from Jane Austen's works? Probably Fanny Price. She was a faithful correspondent to her brother William and she keeps her letters newsy. I'd love to have her a a pen pal!


Who would you rather go on a walk with, Colonel Fitzwilliam or Captain Benwick? That's a tricky one because they both sound delightful! But while a country walk around Rosings with the good humored Colonel Fitzwilliam sounds lovely, I think I'd rather have a brisk seaside jaunt with the poetry spouting Captain Benwick!



Who would you rather have to befriend, Mrs. Elton or Lucy Steele? Mrs. Elton. I am very like Jane Fairfax so I think I could befriend Mrs. Elton fairly well, at least she speaks her mind most of the time. Lucy Steele is much more of a double crossing type person who says one thing to your face and does another behind your back, I couldn't handle that type of person.


Who would you rather have as a sibling, John Knightley or Mary [Musgrove] (from Persuasion, not Mary Bennet)? John Knightley. He's kind and has a great snarky sense of humor (reminds me of my dad actually). Mary Musgrove is just plain annoying!


Who would you rather dance with? (Very open book!) Hard one! Probably Henry Tilney but perhaps Mr. Knightley - both elegant dancers and gentlemanly partners.


Who would you rather refuse, Mr. Collins or Mr. Elton? Mr. Elton. At least he would get the point right off and not persist on ignoring my refusal.


Who would you rather match-make for, Miss Bates or Mary Bennet? Mary Bennet. I think a studious young minister should be easy enough to find as she could help him to write his sermons, or what about a foreign missionary!


Who would you rather have as a best friend? Eleanor Tilney, always and forever. She's one of my favorite characters in Northanger Abbey and I just love her practical good sense, sweetness and good humor.


Who would you rather argue with? (Mrs. Bennet, Lady Catherine, Emma Woodhouse, Mr. Woodhouse, Mr. Palmer, Mrs. Jennings, Fanny Dashwood, Captain Wentworth, Mr. Darcy, ect.)
From the list I think that Captain Wentworth would be the most interesting person to argue with, challenging because he always makes sense, fun because his sense of humor always comes through.


Would you rather wander the grounds of Pemberley and risk being 'discovered' or wander over the downs surrounding Barton Cottage in the rain and twist an ankle? Usually I'd choose physical pain over emotional strain but Pemberley would be awesome to explore and meeting Mr. Darcy wouldn't be horrible. He can keep his wet shirts through!


Where would you live in Austen's works? That's hard to decide! There's a lot of interesting places to visit such as Bath, Lyme Regis or Pemberley but I feel like a small village such as Highbury in Emma would be more my speed. So I think I might like to live at Donwell Abbey (Mr. Knightley's residence in Emma). But I also like the idea of a country parsonage so maybe Mr. Tilney's smaller house at Woodston from Northanger Abbey.


Now It's Your Turn To Answer:
Who would you rather have act as your matchmaker, Lady Russell (from Persuasion) or Mrs. Jennings?
Who would you like as a pen pal from Jane Austen's works?
Who would you rather go on a walk with, Colonel Fitzwilliam or Captain Benwick?
Who would you rather have to befriend, Mrs. Elton or Lucy Steele?
Who would you rather have as a sibling, John Knightley or Mary (from Persuasion, not Mary Bennet)?
Who would you rather dance with? (Very open book!)
Who would you rather refuse, Mr. Collins or Mr. Elton?
Who would you rather match-make for, Miss Bates or Mary Bennet?
Who would you rather have as a best friend?
Who would you rather argue with? (Mrs. Bennet, Lady Catherine, Emma Woodhouse, Mr. Woodhouse, Mr. Palmer, Mrs. Jennings, Fanny Dashwood, Captain Wentworth, Mr. Darcy, ect.) 
Would you rather wander the grounds of Pemberley and risk being 'discovered' or wander over the downs surrounding Barton Cottage in the rain and twist an ankle?
Where would you live in Austen's works?



Friday, April 1, 2016

Love & Friendship Trailer!


A most delightful trailer for Love & Friendship (2016), the new adaptation of Jane Austen's minor work Lady Susan, has been released!

First go over to IMDb or YouTube and watch the trailer: once, twice, or ten times (like I have!), then come back and we'll discuss!

DeCourcy Family (plus Frederica Vernon)

Did you laugh? I laughed a LOT and my sister watched it right before going into work and she was quoting the silly lines over to herself and giggling. :)


Lady Susan and Reginald DeCourcy

From the trailer Love & Friendship (2016) looks:

  • Witty - terribly funny!
  • Very close to the original story, minus the letter writing.
  • Very well cast, actors are talented in their craft.
  • Costumes and scenes are very rich and beautiful - for instance Lady Susan and her daughter are dressed in mourning as is proper. 
  • There's the addition of a companion/lady's maid for Lady Susan named Mrs. Cross who has red hair!  Perhaps she will be a means of foiling Lady Susan's plans? 
  • Very distinctly set in the 1790's and the costumes and hairstyles very clearly reflect that - perhaps odd for what one thinks of a Jane Austen adaptation, but it is a different sort of story from all of her other novels. So exciting!

Miss Cross and Lady Susan meeting Catherine and Reginald


Now here's some technical stuff.

The text from the trailer: "Lady Susan has no husband, no money, but she has a plan: marry off her daughter, find herself a rich husband and rendezvous with her lover. A lady's work is never done. Based on Jane Austen's comic genius. From writer and director Whit Stillman."


Premier Dates: May 13th, 2016 (USA) and 27 May 2016 (UK) in limited cinemas. It debuted at the Sundance Film Festival on January 23rd and was well received by Janeites such a Margaret Sullivan of AustenBlog (read her review here).


Cast Of Characters: 
I've done some screencaps from the trailer to give some idea of what the characters look like. Their costumes are lovely and most sound exceedingly delightful!

Kate Beckinsale as Lady Susan Vernon

Chloë Sevigny as Alicia Johnson

Morfydd Clark as Frederica Vernon

Xavier Samuel as Reginald DeCourcy

Tom Bennett as Sir James Martin
His lines in the trailer were hillarious! I think he's going to be the most comical character in the whole film! 

Jemma Redgrave as Lady DeCourcy

James Fleet as Sir Reginald DeCourcy
 This is his third Jane Austen film! (The others are Sense & Sensibility 1996 and Death Comes To Pemberley.)

Kelly Campbell as Mrs. Cross
 A new addition to the story.

Justin Edwards as Charles Vernon

Emma Greenwell as Catherine Vernon

Lochlainn O Mearáinn as Lord Manwaring

Jenn Murray as Lady Lucy Manwaring

Stephen Fry as Mr. Johnson
(with Jenn Murray as Lady Lucy Manwaring)


My Thoughts: The more I worked with the screencaps the more the costumes in Love & Friendship (2016) remind me of costumes from Sense and Sensibility (1995), Pride and Prejudice (2005) and Northanger Abbey (1987), although much more elegant than the latter. They are certainly different from the early 1800's clothing that one sees in most other Jane Austen adaptations but that only helps me to identify it as one of her much earlier works and give an idea of how the time period was when she was a girl. I'm muchly encourage and excited to see that the trailer doesn't show anything that could be considered inappropriate, so I am in high hopes of a fairly clean film. Overall I'm quite excited to see this movie! And I'm going to listen to my audiobook version of Lady Susan in preparation.  


After watching the trailer are you excited about this film?

What are your thoughts of the cast and costumes?




Saturday, March 12, 2016

Period Drama Starts With E Quiz - Answers!


These are the answers to the Period Drama Starts With E Quiz from last week. Y'all did an excellent job with the questions! Thanks for playing! Scores are below.


Period Drama Quiz Questions:

1. What E is the first name of a matchmaking heroine?
Answer: Emma (Emma Woodhouse)

2. What E is the last name of a governess named Jane?
Answer: Eyre (Jane Eyre)

3. What E is the first name of a blindsided minister loved by his young cousin?
Answer: Edmund (Edmund Bertram, Mansfield Park)

4. What E is the last name of an independent heroine who inherits her uncle's farm and is courted by three men?
Answer: Everdene (Bathsheba Everdene, Far From The Madding Crowd)

5. What E is the first name of a spunky heroine with fine eyes?
Answer: Elizabeth (Elizabeth Bennet, Pride and Prejudice)

6. What E is the name of Henry Crawford's estate in Mansfield Park?
Answer: Everingham 

7. What E is the name used by Jack Worthing when he's being frivolous in London?
Answer: Earnest (The Importance Of Being Earnest)

8. What E is the name of the young lady, on her own, whose love for the hero is not returned?
Answer: Eponine (Les Miserables)

9. What E is the first name of a miserly old man visited by three yuletide spirits?
Answer: Ebenezer (Ebenezer Scrooge, A Christmas Carol)

10. What E is the first name of a historical girl who won a beauty contest and received the grand prize of becoming queen? 
Answer: Esther (Queen Esther from the Bible)

~*~

Players Scores:
Kerry - 6 points
Naomi Bennet - 8 points
The Girl with the Gold Pen - 5 points
Emily Ruth - 5 points
Sarah - 7 points
Lydia Dystin - 2 points
Carissa Horton - 7 points
Livia Rachelle - 8 points
Melody - 8 points
Ashley - 6 points
Lois Johnson - 7 points
Miss Sneyd - 8 points
Rae - 7 points
Kristalyn Huber - 5 points
Faith - 7 points
Rose - 9 points




Saturday, March 5, 2016

Period Drama Starts With E Quiz


In this fun little quiz all the answers start with E and the questions come from various period dramas. Have fun!

To Play: Read the questions below and guess the answers. All answers start with the letter E. Leave your guesses in a comment and I'll respond with your score. You may only guess once for each question so think hard about your answers before you respond! Answers to this game will be posted next Saturday.

Scoring: 10 points for each correct E answers. Highest possible score is 10 points!


Period Drama Quiz Questions:

1. What E is the first name of a matchmaking heroine?

2. What E is the last name of a governess named Jane?

3. What E is the first name of a blindsided minister loved by his young cousin?

4. What E is the last name of an independent heroine who inherits her uncle's farm and is courted by three men?

5. What E is the first name of a spunky heroine with fine eyes?

6. What E is the name of Henry Crawford's estate in Mansfield Park?

7. What E is the name used by Jack Worthing when he's being frivolous in London?

8. What E is the name of the young lady, on her own, whose love for the hero is not returned?

9. What E is the first name of a miserly old man visited by three yuletide spirits?

10. What E is the first name of a historical girl who won a beauty contest and received the grand prize of becoming queen? 




Friday, March 4, 2016

The Happy Tag

The colors in this photo make me happy!

I've seen The Happy Tag on a few different blogs including Wonderland Creek, Hamlette's Soliloquy and Times And Seasons Of A Beautiful Life. The idea alone made me happy so I had to give it a try. For my answers I'm focusing more on things that I've enjoyed and have made me happy recently.

The rules are simple, list things under the categories of Books, Words, Movies & TV, Fictional Characters, Scents, Songs and Miscellaneous that make you happy. You can tag other people specifically but most people just tag anyone who wants to have some fun posting it.



So many books, so little time!

Books: Far From The Madding Crowd // The Secret Adversary // Katherine Wentworth // Celia's House // The Bridge // Miss Buncle's Book // Northanger Abbey - always and forever!


Found this Persuasion (1995) photo on Tumblr, made my day since I'd never seen it before!

Words: Elegance // Elegant // Hope // Joyful // Loveliness // Sunshine // Spring // Delightful // Gorgeous // Exquisite // Melody // Kindness // Pendant // Daffodil // Forsythia // Ostentatious (neat to say) // Sassafras (my kitty's name!)


My sister and I are official Hearties now!

Movies & TV: Foyle's War (TV series) // Far From The Madding Crowd (2015) // Poirot (TV series) // The Importance Of Being Earnest // Rosemary & Thyme (TV series) // Midsomer Murders (TV series) // When Calls The Heart (TV series) // Death In Paradise (TV series) // The Great British Baking Show

Bathsheba's red outfit is so striking!

Fictional Characters: Gabriel Oak // Bathsheba Everdene // Tommy & Tuppence Beresford // Hercule Poirot // Henry Tilney // Elizabeth Thatcher // Jack Thornton // Margaret Lesley


This lamp! I must own one some day! 
Scents: Lilacs // Citrus & Sage candle // Teatime candle // Chocolate cupcakes // Italian food // Coffee // Homemade pizza // Fresh squeezed lime juice // Cinnamon rolls // Dragonfruit Devotion Tea from Teavana


Woman At A Window (1822), painted by Caspar David Friedrich

Songs (with links to listen!): Stepping In The Light // We Have Heard The Joyful Sound (Jesus Saves) // Once Upon A Dream // Lemonade // Wallander Opening Credits (Nostalgia) // The Ballad of Midsomer County (so tragic!) // Let No Man Steal Your Thyme // Poldark Main Theme // Medhel an Gwyns // Annie Laurie // On The Banks Of Alan Water // The Crystal Spring // Up In The Morning Early (Tune: Cold and Raw)


My sweetheart Sassy girl

Miscellaneous: Watching old Disney movies with my sister (who has never seen them!) // A local bookstores I just discovered // Thrift shops // My work // Sleep // Scarves // Crocheting // Pinterest // Audiobook sales on Audible // Playing Sequence with my family // Cinnamon rolls // Writing  // Reading writing inspiration quotes/posts on Pinterest // Snuggling with my kitty!


What things make you happy?

Repost with your happy answers! :)



Saturday, April 25, 2015

Period Drama Characters Game - Answers!


These are the answers to the Period Drama Characters Game from last week. Thanks for playing!


Period Drama Characters:

#1. Sophia Grey, Mrs. Jennings, Sir John Middleton - Sense and Sensibility

#2. Lady Harriet Cumnor, Mr. Preston, Hyacinth Gibson - Wives and Daughters

#3. Rosa Dartle, Thomas Traddles, Mr. Dick - David Copperfield

#4. Thomas Clarkson, Marianne Thornton, William Pitt - Amazing Grace

#5. Myrtle Logue, Stanley Baldwin, Queen Elizabeth - The King's Speech

#6. Pearl Pratt, Twister Turrill, Margaret Brown - Lark Rise To Candleford

#7. Flora Flinching, Mrs. Plornish, Edmund Sparkler - Little Dorrit

#8. Moody Spurgeon, Prissy Andrews, Mrs. Blewett - Anne Of Green Gables, Anne Of Avonlea

#9. Henrietta Musgrove, Lady Russell, Captain Harville - Persuasion

#10. Augusta Elton, Mrs. Goddard, Robert Martin - Emma


Players Scores:
Athena - 100 points
Melody - 100 points
Birdie - 90 points
Kerry - 90 points
Miss Sneyd - 90 points
Naomi Bennet - 90 points
Olivia - 80 points
Emily Ruth - 70 points
Emma, Plain and Tall - 70 points
Lois Johnson - 70 points
Kimberley Grace Bowman - 60 points
Hamlette - 40 points
Manette - 50 points
Quinlyn - 50 points




Saturday, April 18, 2015

Period Drama Characters Game


In this game I will give you three names of characters from a period drama (or classic story) and you will guess what period drama (or classic story) they come from.

To Play: Leave a comment guessing what period drama each group of characters comes from. I'll respond with your score. Answers will be posted next weekend. 

Scoring: 10 points for each correctly guessed period drama. High score is 100 points.


Period Drama Characters:

#1. Sophia Grey, Mrs. Jennings, Sir John Middleton

#2. Lady Harriet Crumnor, Mr. Preston, Hyacinth Gibson

#3. Rosa Dartle, Thomas Traddles, Mr. Dick

#4. Thomas Clarkson, Marianne Thornton, William Pitt

#5. Myrtle Logue, Stanley Baldwin, Queen Elizabeth

#6. Pearl Pratt, Twister Turrill, Margaret Brown

#7. Flora Flinching, Mrs. Plornish, Edmund Sparkler

#8. Moody Spurgeon, Prissy Andrews, Mrs. Blewett

#9. Henrietta Musgrove, Lady Russell, Captain Harville

#10. Augusta Elton, Mrs. Goddard, Robert Martin


Happy guessing!



Wednesday, April 8, 2015

Book Review: The Making Of A Marchioness


The Making Of A Marchioness by Frances Hodgson Burnett


Story: Emily Fox-Seton is a poor woman of good birth who works as a companion and assistant for various members of the upper class. Her chief employer is Lady Maria Bayne, who is both very selfish and very funny, although she does come to care for Emily. In a "Cinderella-like" ending, Emily eventually comes to marry a Marquis, Walderhurst, who is considerably older than her. The second portion, originally The Methods of Lady Walderhurst, continues on to show Emily having Walderhurst's child and his former heir, Alec Osborn, attempting to regain what he sees as his birthright.


Don't Judge A Book By It's Movie! This review will mostly focus on what an interesting book this is and how different it is from the ITV adaptation The Making Of A Lady (2012).

Firstly is the heroine, Emily Fox-Seton. She is the sweetest character and reminds me very much of Anne Elliot from Persuasion or Jane Bennet from Pride and Prejudice. She is always helping others and never complains, even when it requires her to walk several miles to town in pursuit of fish for her friend's dinner party. She puts others needs before her own so much that she doesn't even suspect that her future husband is really watching her and not the pretty socialite that she is trying to help catch his eye. In the film they made Emily out to be very shrewd and it didn't make sense to me that she would allow people like the Osbornes into her house when she could obviously tell that they wanted to kill her. In the book she is not a shrewd person at all, she is very kind and it is her kindness in trying to help the Osbornes that puts her life in danger. Like Jane Bennet, Emily always tries to see the best in people and only until she sees physical proof of the attempts on her life does she start to doubt that the Osbornes are good people.

Lady Maria Bayne isn't against the marriage of Emily to Lord Walderhurst. In the film Emily was sort of rude to Lady Maria and it sort of made perfect sense to me that Lady Maria would become estranged from them. In the book, Lady Maria not only approves of the match but she encourages it by helping Emily prepare for her new role as the marchioness! Lady Maria has a dry sense of humor and can be quite witty on occasion, and she is always Emily's friend.

Jane Cupp, Emily's maid is not seduced by Alec Osborne. It bothered me very much that in the film Emily's faithful companion is turned against her by Alec. It was lovely to know that the real Jane Cupp was loyal and protective of her mistress until the very end. She puts her own life in jeopardy in order to keep Emily and her unborn child safe. And she does not shoot Alec Osborne in self defense, he dies at the hands of someone else in another country.

Emily is not left helpless! In the movie, probably for dramatic effect, the servants leave Emily in the big mansion alone with the murderous Osbornes and she has no one to turn to and no way to get word to her husband. This always bothered me from the start because in a house that size there should be more than two servants and the house wasn't so far from town that the magistrate wouldn't get suspicious. In the book Emily has many servants around, Jane's mother even comes to stay and help with the pregnancy and Emily eventually makes some excuse to go to London and hides away there until the threat on her life is removed. She is not poisoned at all, her deathbed experience happens after the birth of her child when she almost gives up and the love of her husband is what calls her back to the land of the living.

Hester Osborne is generally a good character. Although Alec may persuade her to do some disreputable things, she never never plots with him to take Emily's life. Her servant does take some evil matters into her own hands but Hester never asks her to do those things. Hester does however dislike Emily for a longs time but eventually she comes back around and loves Emily as she deserves to be loved.

Overall: This is delightful book, full of light, kindness and true love. Emily Fox-Seton is a lovely character and worthy of being crowned a true literary heroine on the same footing as Elizabeth Bennet, Jane Eyre, Anne Shirley and Margaret Hale! The first part of the story is my favorite, but the second part isn't nearly so dark as portrayed in the film. I enjoyed listening to this book quite immensely and would recommend it to anyone who loves classic literature!


Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...