I have seen quite a few French movies over the last 12 months, and enjoyed most of them. If you forced me to pick my favourite it would probably be Jane Austen Wrecked My Life. I first saw it at the French Film Festival earlier this year and the went to see it again this week just because I could!
The main character, Agate, lives with her sister and nephew in Paris and works in Shakespeare and Company bookshop along with her best friend Felix. She is a massive Jane Austen fan and can find a JA recommendation for any occasion. Agate is also a writer, albeit one with writers block. She has ideas for stories but she can't ever get past the beginning to get to the middle or the end.
One day Felix reads the first couple of chapters of her latest story and thinks it is so good he sends it off as an application for Agate to attend the Jane Austen Residency Writers Retreat in England. The first Agate knows of it is when she receives the acceptance, which of course she initially refuses. Agate has quite a few anxieties, often for good reason, like not liking travelling in cars, and she hasn't had a sexual relationship for years.
Agate and Felix's relationship has always been platonic. She knows all his bad habits with women, but just before she gets on the ferry to go to England, they kiss. When she arrives on the other side of the channel, she is met by Oliver who just happens to be Jane Austen's handsome great-great-great-great nephew (I might have the wrong number of great's there but you get the idea!). However, Agate and Oliver get off on the wrong foot when Oliver makes it very clear that he thinks Jane Austen is overrated!
At the retreat Agate and all the attending writers are encouraged to take inspiration however they can, whether it be wandering the gardens, or writing in the library. One of the main events of the retreat is that they all get to go to a ball dressed in era appropriate clothes. Initially the group are very much set in their individual ways, but gradually some of them begin to build connections. Can Agate find a way to break through her writers block and finally complete a story? And can she let down some of the walls she has built around herself?
Along the way, there are a few unfortunate and funny incidents along with some great scenes talking about books and reading, a bit of a love triangle which ultimately is a nice romance, and it does show that the influence of Jane Austen is felt across the centuries and the world.
The story is told in a mixture of both French and English. I thought it was a really lovely romantic comedy. Here's the trailer:
Every month I share some of the statistics related to the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge. I try very hard to visit every post which has been linked (time permitting) and I find it interesting to see what are the books that people are reading and reviewing! I often end up adding a couple of books to my never ending TBR list.
In terms of the books read in May, there were 59 reviews linked up for the challenge, shared by 21 participants. There were 57 individual titles reviewed, written by 56 different authors. There were 4 reviewers who reviewed 5 or more books each. Thank you to everyone who shared their links whether it be 9 or just 1.
So which books were reviewed more than once in May? There were two books that were reviewed twice!
Laura from Laura's Reviews is working her way through Jane Austen's books in honour of her 250th birthday. This month she shared reviews for Sense and Sensibility and Persuasion.
The Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction was announced this week. The 2025 winner is The Land in Winter by Andrew Miller. This has been reviewed for the challenge by Cathy at What Cathy Read Next where she said
Although things do happen, some of them quite dramatic, The Land in Winter is essentially a beautifully crafted, character-led novel.
I wonder what books will be featured next month! In next month's post I will share some statistica for the year so far given that we will be half way through the challenge at that point! Hard to believe but it is true!
If you love historical fiction and reading challenges, it isn't too late to join us! All the details can be found in the sign up post.
I am sharing this with Sunday Salon hosted at Readerbuzz
For our March meeting, our read on a theme bookclub theme was Classics. Given that it is Jane Austen's 250th birthday this year, it seemed like the time had come for me to read another book by her. I had previously read Emma and Sense and Sensibility, so this time I chose to read Pride and Prejudice, which I listened to on audiobook. It was narrated by Rosamund Pike, who played the eldest Bennett sister, Jane, in the 2005 movie version. It has, somewhat surprisingly, started me on a bit of a Jane Austen path over the last few weeks.
I am not going to write a review as such, because let's face it, this book has been being reviewed for 210 years. My thoughts are somewhat irrelevant. I thought that, instead, I would provide a few comments and then ponder some instances of the impact of Jane Austen in modern pop culture.
Like a lot of classics, it is fair to say that I knew the story before reading the book. Sometimes I think that is the case and then find myself being surprised by some of the directions the book take. Not in this case though.
There were other things that surprised me though, one of which was the wit in the dialogue. There were times when I did laugh as I was listening, particularly at Mr Bennet. For example, there is a scene where Lizzie is telling her father about 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.
His wry observations of his wife and daughters, of his heir and of life in general were somewhat amusing. He wasn't a great judge of character about everyone though.
I also found myself pondering about Jane Austen's observations of the human condition. Whilst her setting was somewhat limited to the upper middle class of the early 1800s, many of the things that people worry about now can be reflected through the pages of the book. For example, Mrs Bennet was mostly concerned with the marriage of her daughters which would give them a home and financial security. Whilst these days we would not necessarily be concerned about the wedding itself, those same concerns for how our children will make their way in the world is real. When talking about historical fiction, I often think we can clearly see that while life in the 13th century, or 19th, or 21st century, the reality is that our main concerns are how do we keep a roof over our heads, food in our mouths, keep our loved once safe and make ends meet. It looks very different in terms of technology, housing, transport etc but the fundamental needs are similar.
Before I start to talk about some of the things that I have done recently, I have been thinking a lot about something that was all the rage around 12 years ago. If you were in the book world back in 2013, you may recall the phenomenon that was The Lizzie Bennet Diaries. It was a multimedia, episodic modern retelling of Pride and Prejudice using Youtube, Twitter and more as the storytelling vehicle.
Like many others, I was completely obsessed with this show. I am always a bit of late to the party when it comes to fashion and social media trends so I came late to The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, but that meant that I was able to binge the whole thing, which I did. I found a post in my blog archives where I talked about just binge watching the show from beginning to end over the Easter weekend, watching the first 40 episodes more than once, and then repeating other episodes over and over. The same team then went on to give this same treatment to other books but it wasn't quite the same phenomen that The Lizzie Bennet Diaries were. Should I start watching the Youtube videos again? I really shouldn't.
More recently, I went to the movies to watch Bridget Jones Diary 4: Mad About You. I realised that I didn't think that I had seen the second and third movies, and so I sat down and watched the first three in quick succession. There are many ways that BJD borrows elements from Pride and Prejudice, and not just because one of the two love interests is called Mark Darcy. It was fun to spot the Austen references from lines like "It's the truth universally acknowledged that the moment one area of your life starts going OK, another part of it falls spectacularly to pieces." to the rollercoaster emotions that Brigid has for Mark Darcy, and the Wickham-esque bad behaviour of Daniel Cleaver. Helen Fielding openly admits that she got a lot of inspiration from the book!
And my thoughts on Mad About You? I laughed a lot. I cried even more. I was so glad that Daniel Cleaver was back. I missed Hugh Grant in the previous movie. Patrick Dempsey was good, but he didn't bring that naughty boy energy that is so Daniel Cleaver. And now, I think that Bridget Jones can stroll off into the sunset. I will probably watch the first and last movies again a few times. I might watch the third one again too, but I can take or leave the second one!
The French Film Festival is currently on here and last week I took myself off to the movies to watch Jane Austen Wrecked My Life. In the book, the main character is a massive Jane Austen fan and can find a JA recommendation for any occasion. She finds herself at a Jane Austen Residency writers retreat. The movie itself was a lot of fun, with some great scenes talking about books and reading, a nice romance, and it does show that the influence of Jane Austen is felt across the world. If you get a chance to see it, please do. Here's the trailer
The final thing that I have done recently is to go to a library event. They had put on a one woman show where the actor depicts acts as the author whilst dressed in accurate period clothing, sharing letters that she sent and received, as well as excerpts from Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility and Emma. Given that I have only recently read P&P, the section she read was very familiar to me!
You know one thing I haven't ever done? Watched the Colin Firth version of Pride and Prejudice from beginning to end. Maybe it is time to rectify that when we get back from holidays!
We are going away at the end of this month, so I wanted to get a bit of a head start to my reading so that I can write all my posts before I go away. I therefore read I Knew You Were Trouble by Aussie author Sandy Barker, which is the fifth and final book in the Ever After Agency series.
I then started reading Out on a Limb by Hannah Bonam-Young. I am not really sure why as I already had multiple books on the go, but sometimes you just have to do what you have to do! I have heard lots of good things about it!
I also started reading If You Could See My Now by Samantha Tonge. My review for this book will be up later this week!
Last week I had mentioned that I had started listening to Mis-directed by Lucy Parker but I was falling asleep on the couch. In the end, I started it again, and found myself sitting at the desk just listening to it! I got through it in two days as I couldn't stop listening. I did have to remind myself that Lucy Parker had written the book - it wasn't Nicola Coughlin sharing some of things that go on backstage on a period TV series.
I have now gone back to listening to The Truth by Terry Pratchett. I started this in January but put it aside to listen to Pride and Prejudice for book club. I expect I will finish The Truth this week.
Speaking of Jane Austen, I went to a library event on Friday night. It was a one woman show where she acts as the author whilst dressed in accurate period clothing, sharing letters that she sent and received, as well as excerpts from Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility and Emma. Given that I have only recently read P&P, the section she read was very familiar to me!
I'm watching
I've seen a few movies this week. I watched The Dolce Villa which is about a young woman who buys a 1 Euro house in a small village in Italy. Her dad comes to try to persuade her that this is a mistake. He clashes with the female mayor straight away but he does start to come around. They did get all the renovations done very quickly, and there were some nice foodie scenes!
I then watched a movie which has been given an English title of Honeymoon Crasher, but in French it is called Lune de Miel Avec Ma Mere or Honeymoon with My Mother! And that pretty much describes the movie. A man is dumped at the wedding ceremony and so he is convinced to go on the honeymoon with his mother. Queue all the jokes about him being married to a much older woman. It was fun as he began to see her as someone in her own right, not just as his mother. The movie was set in Mauritius which looked gorgeous!
On Sunday I went to see Bridget Jones 4: Mad About the Boy at the cinema. I am not sure that I remember seeing movies 2 or 3, but I did quite enjoy this one. I cried several times, and I laughed! I might go and see if I can rewatch the first three movies.
We also started watching season 2 of Rogue Heroes. We really enjoyed the first series which is about the development of the SAS - Special Auxiliary Service. It is very much a smash em, bash em, blow em up kind of series, but it is a lot of fun!
Life
Not much to report here! Max
Max is definitely better than he was last week, but we are struggling to get his sugar reading down. Hopefully we can work it out this week. He's very happy in himself though which is a relief.
It was a busy reading week this week! I read several books, a short story and finished an audiobook.
Firstly, I finished The House of Light and Shadows by Lauren Westwood which I reviewed here. If you like a book where a house is an integral character in the story, then this might be for you.
Happily Ever After by Jane Lovering also has a house like that and for added measure each chapter is named for a famous house in literature. Here is my review.
I was then excited to see that The Bookstore Keepers by Alice Hoffman was available. This is the third short story in the Once Upon a Time Bookshop stories. These are the first Alice Hoffman stories I have read. I will be reading more as I am amazed how much story and feeling she fits into these short stories.
I was then hoping to get a bit of my reviews for March and also read an Aussie author, but the book I wanted wasn't quite ready. I therefore started A Santorini Secret by Rose Alexander which I really loved. Will be searching out some of her other titles. The review for this one will be up later this week.
I am now sneaking in a non-review read. A couple of weeks ago I went to see Mary-Lou Stephen talk about her book The Jam Maker and so I have started that one!
I also finished listening to Pride and Prejudice, narrated by British actor Rosamund Pike. I then started
Mis-Directed by Lucy Parker which also has a couple of celebrity narrators, Nicola Coughlin and Gwilym Lee. I sat on the couch to listen to this and may have fallen asleep so I need to rewind a bit. Generally I listen to audiobooks on walks or in the car.
I'm watching
We watched Unbreakable: The Jelena Dokic Story which was heartbreaking and inspiring in equal measures. Jelena Dokic was a young tennis player back in the late 1990s and early 2000s. She came to Australia as a refugee and then represented Australia, until she announced that she was going back to Yugoslavia. She was infamous because of the way her father, Damir, acted, even getting thrown out of major tournaments due to his aggressive behaviour. However, what the public saw was only the tip of the iceberg. The abuse that Jelena was receiving at home was horrific. She is now estranged from her father, and she is a respected tennis commentator and body image advocate. Here's the trailer
Tuesday night I went to see a preview screening of The Last Journey, a Swedish documentary in which a man and a friend decides to take his elderly father on a road trip to the south of France, to try and spark him back into life. It was a lovely movie, and we went to see it in a fab art deco theatre I had never been to before. The son and his friend, who are famous in Sweden, who produced the movie were at the screening and there was a Q and A session after. It was so touching, because when it started it was about the son not understanding how aging had affected his father, and by the end it was about him accepting that his dad was getting old. Along the way they reminisced about their summers in France. If you get the chance to see it, do so, but maybe take some tissues. It's now the highest grossing Swedish documentary of all time.
Life
We went for a lovely lunch for Valentine's Day which I posted a bit about here. Other than that it was all about the dog this week.
Max
Our lovely boy had a relapse and is not well at all. Late last year he was really unwell and was diagnosed with Addison's disease, liver enlargement, muscle shrinkage in his head and brain, and hyperthyroidism. Despite that for the most part he is a happy dog. He is a Labrador though, so you know there is something wrong when he goes off his food and water, so we ended up at the emergency vet on Thursday. He now has a couple of more things medically and so the vets talk about him having a complex medical history. He takes more medication than Robert and I do combined!
He is recovering, but we have had to have some serious conversations about what happens next time. His a very handsome boy, and has a great nature but he is not genetically blessed and wouldn't have done well in the wild!
I'm readingI seem to be getting into a pretty steady reading pattern over the last few weeks of finishing three books and starting another couple!
This week I finished reading The Many Futures of Maddy Hart by Laura Pearson. Her last book was one of my favourites of last year. I liked this one too, but maybe not quite as much. You can read my review here!
I then allowed myself to choose to read a non review read. The Wedding People by Alison Espach had really been calling to me over the last couple of months, so I decided to read it, and I loved it! Last year I only had three 5/5 reviews for the whole year. This was my third one for this year! So good!
I then read The Secrets of the Rose by Nicola Cornick which is a dual timeline telling the story of English Jacobite supporters, and a Victorian heroine, and then the modern storyline. My review will be up later this week. I did enjoy the book.
I picked up The Fall Risk by Abby Jimenez from Amazon First Reads this month. I hadn't read this author before, so this feels like it was a good intro to her style. I liked it! I smiled, but I was also a bit confronted by the mentions of guns but I guess that is my Australian sensibilities shining through. Overall I gave it a 4/5 rating.
Now I am reading The Paris Dancer by Nicola Rayner. After all, I haven't read a book set in Paris for at least two weeks! This one is due for review next week.
I mentioned last week that I have chosen to listen to Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, narrated by British actress Rosamund Pike, as my selection for the theme of classics for my face to face bookclub. So far it is really good!
In other bookish news, I went to an author event for Aussie author Karina May where she was talking about her new book That Island Feeling. It was a lot of fun. I've posted a review of the book and talked a little about the event here. There were even these gorgeous oyster Gingerbread biscuits! Delicious!
I am going to another author event tomorrow night which I will tell you about next week!
I'm watching
We binge watched the new series of Muster Dogs last week. In the first series, they had a litter of kelpie puppies and trained them to see which was the best working dog. In the second series, they did the same with a litter of collie puppies. This time, they took three of each, and they then trained them up to see which breed was the best working dog for working with stock like cattle and sheep. It is the most wholesome TV Show in so many ways, including showing what it can be like to be a farmer these days in Australia. Here's the trailer, which I hope you can see, otherwise try googling the show to see some puppy goodness
We watched a couple of movies this weekend. One was called Summerland which is a story about a woman who is forced to take in a young boy who has been evacuated from London during WWII. I liked this one.
We also watched The Fall Guy starring Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt. This was entertaining, although I am glad we didn't go and pay to see it at the movies!
Life
Last Monday night we went to see British comedian Jack Whitehall, along with his parents Michael and Hilary! We love their show Travels with my Father, and so we were excited to go and see their live show. We weren't disappointed! The first half of the show was Jack Whitehall doing his comedy routine, and then the second half was the three of them doing what was portrayed as a Q and A Session. Of course, it was carefully scripted but it was a lot of fun!
I'm reading It's been a busy reading week with some great reads! It's been a pretty good start to the year with already having read two 5 star books. I only had three 5 star reads all of last year!
I finished The Paris Bookshop for the Brokenhearted by Rebecca Raisin which was my the second of my 5 star reads. My review for this will be up this week. For those playing along at home, the first 5 star read was Midnight in Paris by Gillian Harvey.
I snuck in a non review read, That Island Feeling by Aussie author Karina May. I am going to an author event tomorrow night and I wanted to ensure that I had read her book before I went. It was my first read by her, and I will be reading more as I really enjoyed this one!
Then it was back to review reads where I read The House of Echoes by Alexandra Walsh. I don't read that many Tudor books any more, and I did like this one. You can read my review here!
Finally, I started The Many Futures of Maddy Hart by Laura Pearson. I became an instant fangirl of this author when I read The Beforelife of Eliza Valentine last year so I was always going to read this one. My review for this one will be up next week.
We had our first meeting of our read on a theme bookclub for this year. The theme was "25" which turned out to be quite tricky, but people did a great job of coming up with ideas. Of the three books pictured, two were published in 1925 and the third was recommended as a book that everyone should read before they turn 25. My choice was to listen to the audiobook of The Truth by Terry Pratchett, which was published 25 years ago and is the 25th book in the Discworld series.
The next theme is Classics, and I have already chosen what I am going to read/listen to which will be the audiobook of Pride and Prejudice. I will be starting that later today.
Here is the January update I shared on Insta a couple of days ago. I read 13 books in January, all of them digital. Pictured are the books that I rated as 4.5 or 5 stars. I am still figuring out what else to include in the post for the update. Watch this space.
I'm watching
I ended up finishing The Road Trip, which is the TV adaptation of Beth O'Leary's book of the same name. I liked it.
I am thinking about starting the recent adaptation of Like Water for Chocolate. I haven't started yet but I do like the sound of it. Has anyone watched it?
I also watched the movie Plus One which I thought was a lot of fun. Two friends agree to be each other's plus ones for a series of weddings. Here's the trailer.
Life
We are currently in the middle of three days of extreme heat of over 39C which is over 100F so we are doing as little as possible. We usually only get a day this hot and then it will drop down a bit so three days with this kind of heat is a bit unusual. This is what my weather app said today
Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week the theme is Favorite Heroines (or heroes, if you prefer!) but I am going to go off topic this week...again. I am currently listening to Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne, so I thought that I would share classics I have read. I know that I should have read many more, but oh well. No guilt allowed right!
Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne - Listening to this now!
Les Miserable by Victor Hugo - What a massive undertaking this was!
Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll - I read this last year for Cook the Books and thoroughly enjoyed it!
East of Eden by John Steinbeck - There's several books on this list that I read thanks to Oprah's book club!
The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald - I read this back in high school and then read it again 10 years ago.
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez - This was another Oprah read. I did end up going on to read and enjoy a number of his books.
Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen - Still the only Austen I have ever read - Shocking I know!
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens - I read this after reading Mr Pip!
North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell - I did think about putting up the cover of the DVD of the BBC series as the picture here (hello Richard Armitage) but I restrained myself!
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy - I really enjoyed this! Another Oprah read!
Some time ago I started reading Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen for the Classics Circuit. I never quite got around to finishing the book, but as a result of Jane Austen Week over at Historical Tapestry I decided that it was time that I finished off those last pages of this book, and I did!
I posted about my initial reactions to the book, but now I thought I would just post something more because I feel quite accomplished that I have finally finished an Austen novel!
My favourite scenes in the later part of the book included where Marianne confesses that she should have been modelling her behaviour on that of Elinor and also this passage:
Elinor made no answer. Her thoughts were silently fixed on the irreparable injury which too early an independence and its consequent habits of idleness, dissipation, and luxury, had made in the mind, the character, the happiness, of a man who, to every advantage of person and talents, united a disposition naturally open and honest, and a feeling, affectionate temper. The world had made him extravagant and vain - Extravagance and vanity had made him cold-hearted and selfish. Vanity, while seeking its own guilty triumph at the expense of another, had involved him in a real attachment, which extravagance, or at least its offspring, necessity, had required to be sacrificed. Each faulty propensity in leading him to evil, had led him likewise to punishment. The attachment, from which against honour, against feeling, against every better interest he had outwardly torn himself, now, when no longer allowable, governed every thought; and the connection for the sake of which he had, with little scruple, left her sister to misery, was likely to prove a source of unhappiness to himself of a far more incurable nature.
One of the things that you hear about Jane Austen's writing is that she is excellent at writing the human condition, but that she has not lost relevance in these modern times. I have to say that when I read the first part of this passage it was very reminiscent of the constant comments that you hear about "kids today"!
I am so glad that I finished the book eventually. Now I need to decide which of her books to read next. I am leading towards Persuasion, but if you strongly recommend another read let me know in the comments.
Rating 4/5
We still have some Jane Austen Week giveaways happening over at Historical Tapestry so head on over for your chance to win!
“My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you.” If you just heaved a contented sigh at Mr. Darcy’s heartfelt words, then you, dear reader, are in good company. Here is a delightful collection of never-before-published stories inspired by Jane Austen—her novels, her life, her wit, her world.
In Lauren Willig’s “A Night at Northanger,” a young woman who doesn’t believe in ghosts meets a familiar specter at the infamous abbey; Jane Odiwe’s “Waiting” captures the exquisite uncertainty of Persuasion’s Wentworth and Anne as they await her family’s approval of their betrothal; Adriana Trigiani’s “Love and Best Wishes, Aunt Jane” imagines a modern-day Austen giving her niece advice upon her engagement; in Diana Birchall’s “Jane Austen’s Cat,” our beloved Jane tells her nieces “cat tales” based on her novels; Laurie Viera Rigler’s “Intolerable Stupidity” finds Mr. Darcy bringing charges against all the writers of Pride and Prejudice sequels, spin-offs, and retellings; in Janet Mullany’s “Jane Austen, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah!” a teacher at an all-girls school invokes the Beatles to help her students understand Sense and Sensibility; and in Jo Beverley’s “Jane and the Mistletoe Kiss,” a widow doesn’t believe she’ll have a second chance at love . . . until a Miss Austen suggests otherwise.
Regency or contemporary, romantic or fantastical, each of these marvelous stories reaffirms the incomparable influence of one of history’s most cherished authors.
This week over at Historical Tapestry we have been celebrating all things Jane Austen! There are reviews of Austen's books, plus some of the many, many spinoffs that there are around now, a couple of movie reviews, and a group discussion of this book between Kelly, Ana and myself!
I wonder if there is a word that describes people that make the same confession over and over again? If there is, I am about to be guilty of it.
This is my confession:
I have never read Jane Austen.
I know that I have shocked people before when I have confessed this, but somehow I made it through school without reading her, and then managed until now without picking up her books despite being an avid reader for most of my adult life.
This year it is the 200th anniversary of the publication of Sense and Sensibility so I signed up for the associated challenge with the vague intention of reading Austen at some point this year. It was really only when the call went out for this Classics Circuit event that I got the incentive to start. I had read a Dickens book a couple of years ago so now was the perfect time for me to finally, finally read Jane Austen.
I think there are a couple of reasons for not having read Jane Austen. The first is that I was a bit concerned that maybe I might be one of those people who doesn’t actually like her writing (and they do exist!). It’s not the quickest read as you do have to concentrate on the language but I am enjoying the characterizations, the dialogue and the sharp observations on the society of the time.
The major reason for not reading the books is that I already knew the story that was contained within the pages, particularly in relation to Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility and to a lesser extent Northanger Abbey. What I am finding though is that I only thought I knew the story. I have only partial memories of the story of Sense and Sensibility which I gained through watching bits and pieces of the mini-series. I found myself reading something early in the book and thinking how can there be more than 200 pages to go if this is happening now! I am finding that I can’t help but see Alan Rickman whenever Colonel Brandon enters the narrative, and similarly Hugh Grant every time that Edward Ferrars is mentioned, but that isn’t a totally terrible imposition really.
So far, I like the book. I am not quite finished, but I can definitely see myself reading more. It’s not all plain sailing though. Let’s start with the not so good aspect. Reading this book, particularly the section where we first meet Colonel Brandon makes me feel very old! I am rapidly approaching the end of the decade where my age begins with a 3, so when this is the first description that we read of Colonel Brandon, I wasn’t particularly thrilled:
He was silent and grave. His appearance was not unpleasing, in spite of his being in the opinion of Marianne and Margaret an absolute old bachelor, for he was on the wrong side of five and thirty; but though his face was not handsome, his countenance was sensible, and his address was particularly gentlemanlike.
Perhaps he is so gentlemanlike because he had so much practice! A bit further on there is reference to the rheumatism he occasionally suffers from. In context, I know that the expected life span was much shorter when the book was written, and that when you are 19 years old, then 35 does look like a long way away, but when you are past that point, you don’t necessarily feel old.
There were plenty of times that I really could appreciate Austen’s ability to comment on the human condition. This passage, for example, very much sums up how I think I am thought of by all but my very closest friends:
"Brandon is just the kind of man,” said Willoughby one day, when they were talking of him together, “whom every body speaks well of, and nobody cares about; whom all are delight to see, and nobody remembers to talk to.”
As I think about the characters, it is clear to me that Austen either likes her characters, or she doesn’t. There isn’t always a lot of nuance. I do expect that this is partially because this is her first published book and so will be interested to see if this changes in future books. To be fair, for several of the characters like Mrs John Middleton for example, there isn’t much to like, and for those sensible characters like Elinor, Edward Ferrars and Colonel Brandon there is obvious affection from the author, which this reader shares.
I have about 80 pages left to go, and I have every intention of finishing the book in the next couple of days. Not only do I want to get to the end so that I can say that I have finished it, but also because I will have yet another reason to watch the mini series again, and then this short clip from Vicar of Dibley, just because I can (not a blatantly gratuitous Richard Armitage posting - honest).
And then, it will not be another 20 to 30 years before I read another book from Jane Austen.
To see all the stops on the Dueling Authors: Austen vs Dickens tour, check out all the tour stops here
I am attempting to address something of a shortfall in my reading history. I am not sure how it happened, but somehow or another I have never managed to actually read Jane Austen. Shocking, right? How I made it through high school without doing so is something of a puzzle, but now is the time!
My teaser comes from page 4:
Elinor, this eldest daughter, whose advice was so effectual, possessed a strength of understanding, and coolness of judgement, which qualified her, though only nineteen, to be the counsellor of her mother, and enabled her frequently to counteract, to the advantage of them all, that eagerness of mind in Mrs. Dashwood which must generally have led to imprudence. She had an excellent heart: her disposition was affectionate, and her feelings were strong; but she knew how to govern them: it was a knowledge which her mother had yet to learn; and which one of her sisters had resolved never to be taught.
Sounds like perfect heroine material!
Teaser Tuesday is hosted by Miz B at Should Be Reading. Head on over to find out all about it, and how to join in!
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