Happy 2012!

Since I’ve been working hard on finishing my balloonist story and can’t read romance while trying to write it, I’ve been catching up on books in other genres, especially those recommended by friends. Of these, my favorites were The Red Tent by Anita Diamant and Year of Wonders: A Novel of the Plague by Geraldine Brooks. To me, there’s something moving and deeply satisfying about each of these.




I’ve also read some outstanding YA novels with my daughter. These had me totally engrossed: the first two books in Mary Jo Putney’s Dark Mirror series and Jane George’s The Mumbo Jumbo Circus. Although settings and styles of these books are very different, both weave in great writing, intriguing characters and magic.






Although it's not a book or movie, another exciting discovery was hearing up-and-coming pianist Shai Wosner play Beethoven’s 4th piano concerto with the Binghamton Philharmonic. Although he has immense technical talent, he plays with loving attention to every note and phrase, allowing the music to speak, never just showing off. I’ve added a clip of him playing Schumann’s “Carnaval”.



Continuing in the spirit of trying new things, my family and I will once again cook together on New Year’s Eve, trying recipes we’ve never made before. One year we tried making individual Baked Alaskas—a science experiment that sort of blew up but the debris was rather tasty! This year should be easier. The menu is herb stuffed mushrooms to start, bacon wrapped scallops as the main course and for dessert, lemon poppy-seed cake with glaze.

What were your discoveries of 2011? Are you planning anything special for New Year’s Eve? Whatever it is, I hope you have fun and that 2012 brings you much joy!

Elena
www.elenagreene.com
www.facebook.com/ElenaGreene

Resolving

So the start of each year (and often the start of each month, actually!) I make resolutions. They are usually along the lines of more sleep, more fun, more exercise.

And each year, I don't achieve those resolutions with quite as much resolve as I'd like.

But still, hope springs eternal, so my resolutions remain the same for this year, adding in 'more writing,' including 'more and better blogging.'

What are your resolutions as we head into 2012? Do you make them? Do you track your progress?

And Happy New Year!

Megan

Best of 2011

Like Carolyn I too am on deadline with a Jan 1 deadline, but it's a rewrite. Piece of cake. I hope. So, fab things I have read and seen this year.

I saw three movies this year but they were all winners. One was the Jane Eyre and I blogged about that here. The other was Bridesmaids, which had so wisdom and insight on female friendships. The other, which I caught last week, was Cave of Forgotten Dreams, a documentary about some amazing cave art in Chauvet, France. It was made in 3D which I imagine is spectacular although I saw it on normal format. The paintings are the oldest ever found--35,000 years old--in a beautiful "crystal cathedral" (to quote director Werner Herzog) of limestone. There is no public access and scientists visit only for four hour stretches. There is one part of the cave that has so much CO2 from tree roots that it's dangerous to stay in too long and access throughout is limited to boardwalks created to protect the environment. The movie is available on Netflix where I found it.

And on to books. I acquired a kindle this year and, gawd, I have never read, or started to read, so many bad books in my life, but I won't talk about those. I do find the lure of the free, $1.99, and kindle daily deal irresistible. For the first time in my life I have a TBR (digital) pile.

One book I didn't buy for the kindle--some books just won't work, particularly books with pix--was Adam Hochschild's brilliant To End All Wars, about World War I. For me, it gave some entirely different perspectives on the war, particularly what was happening at home in England, where the authorities were terrified of revolution.

I said I wouldn't talk about books I didn't like (I have some discretion) but the much-vaunted and revered Death Comes To Pemberley by P.D. James sucks a major one, as we literary critics say. This article in the Guardian says it all--warning, contains spoilers, but the book is so poorly written you know who's done it almost immediately. I would however recommend The Mysterious Death of Miss Austen by Lindsay Ashford who I met very briefly at the JASNA conference last October. It's moving, sexy, and beautifully written. At the moment it's really only available on kindle or from the ever-faithful bookdepository.com. Another writer I met at the conference was the lovely Syrie James (you should have seen her outfits!) whose non-Austen book Nocturne I also recommend--nothing to do with Austen, but one of the best vampire love stories I've read, and one which is smart enough to tackle the outcome of a mortal/immortal's future together.

I also loved this collection of short stories by Laura Lippmann, Hardly Knew Her, a kindle bargain. Most of them are set in Baltimore or Washington, and several are about a high class hooker who maintains the identity of an upperclass suburban mom. Fascinating stuff.

At the moment I'm reading Laura Miller's The Magician's Book: A Skeptic's Adventures in Narnia, which has some wonderful things to say about reading (and by extension about writing). It's a book that absolutely resonates with me as I too loved the Narnia books (apart from The Last Battle) as a kid, and have returned to them at different stages of my life.

But what about romance? Okay, okay. Miranda Neville's funny, sexy, smart The Amorous Adventures of Celia Seaton. (Refers to kindle.) Cafe du Hour by Lilian Darcy, Liberation of Alice Love by Abby McDonald, Tongues of Serpents by Naomi Novik (not technically a romance but I've always loved the Lawrence/Temeraire dynamic), and I finally got around to reading Lord of Scoundrels by Loretta Chase which to my surprise I liked.

Have you read any of these? What were your favorite 2011 reads?

Dear Readers I am Resolved!

My book, Not Proper Enough, is due Jan 1, 2012. I am, therefore, not fit company for much of anyone. Two and a half hours of sleep one night (night before last for those of you panicking that I drove to work in such a sleep deprived condition) actually makes you mostly brain-dead the next day.

I will see you in 2012 with a list of my New Year's Resolutions which will be something like this:

1.

2.

3.

Actually, could you-all fill in the blanks for me?

Thank you.

Carolyn

My Favorite Things

Happy (almost 2012) everyone! I'm afraid to admit this, but my house is in complete chaos at the moment. I have book due (eek) Monday, so the shreds of wrapping paper are still piled on the floor and the new books I got for presents (yay books for presents!!) are stacked on the table. But as I look back on 2011, I remember some really fabulous reads. I can only hope the new year is as good!

Here are a few I liked:




Amanda Foreman, A World on Fire: Britain's Crucial Role in the American Civil War

I admit I don't know nearly as much about American history as I do European, but I found this epic tale, featuring more than 200 characters with distinctive and linked stories, fascinating and absorbing. I couldn't put it down...


Kady Cross, The Girl in the Steel Corset

Two of my favorite new things in a good fiction read--YA and steampunk! Plus a fabulous heroine and some great dialogue


Jehanne Wake, Sisters of Fortune: America's Caton Sisters at Home and Abroad

I am not sure how I missed the story of the 4 Caton sisters of Maryland (granddaughters of the only Catholic signer of the Declaration of Independence), but the story of these Regency precursor's of the Victorian "Dollar Duchesses" who went to England and married titles is amazing. Marianne married Wellington's brother (and was said to have been the great love if Wellington himself); Louisa became the Duchess of Leeds and a lady-in-waiting to Queen Victoria; and Bess made her own fortune in the stock market.


Alan Bradley, A Red Hering Without Mustard

The first Flavia de Luce mystery, The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, was one of my favorite novels of last year, and this one was just as enjoyable a read. Flavia (a wickedly precocious 11-year-old) and the English village setting of Bishop's Lacey are tons of fun!


Deborah Lutz, Pleasure Bound: Victorian Sex Rebels and the New Eroticism

Who can resist a research book with "sex rebels" in the title?? The Pre-Raphaelites, Richard and Isabel Burton, the poet Swinburne and his favorite flagellation brothels....a great look at a scandalous counter-culture...



Erin Morgenstern, The Night Circus

I was reluctant to pick this up at first, it was so hyped, but I am so glad I did. Truly a magical and absorbing read.

Chris Adrian, The Great Night

Another magical read! It's Midsummer Eve in 2008. and 3 humans with romantic troubles get trapped in San Francisco's Buena Vista Park with Titania, Oberon, Puck, etc for some truly crazy doings (and a group of homeless people putting on a musical version of Soylent Green...)


Priya Parmar, Exit the Actress

Another one I was reluctant to pick up at first--I love Nell Gwyn and have read sooo many novels about her. How could I need another one?? But this was unlike any other I've read lately, I started it early one evening and didn't stop I finished it!


Chris Skidmore, Death and the Virgin Queen

A new account of the mysterious death of Amy Robsart Dudley in 1560, utilizing some fascinating new forensic evidence found from the original inquiry. A story I never tire of speculating about!


Cherie Burns, Searching for Beauty: The Life of Millicent Rogers

I grew up visiting Taos, New Mexico every summer, and my parents would take me to the Millicent Rogers Museum many times. But I never knew much about the woman who once owned that house and the fabulous art and jewelry collections it houses (except for the fact that she wore fabulous clothes in the photos on the wall!). It turns out the Standard Oil heiress (who died in the 1950s at age 51) had an incredibly adventurous and glamorous life that reads like an novel...

I haven't been to the movies much this year, but I did see some I enjoyed very much: Like Crazy, The Descendants, Melancholia, The Mill and the Cross, and the gorgeous Midnight in Paris were a few.

How was your reading year in 2011??? Did you get any fabulous new books for Christmas presents?

Better Late Than Never!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. Mine was filled with family, food, and presents, and I had a great day. Even my pre-Christmas cold gave me a reprieve!

This week we are looking back at the year and posting our favorites--Favorite books, movies, TV shows, whatever!!!

But I've been on the road today, and now am in Williamsburg VA to  visit the in-laws. When we got here, their cable was down. It is fixed now, but we are almost ready to eat.

So let me say Happy New Year. I hope your look back at 2011 is filled with many favorites!!!

See you back here next year!

What's on your Christmas tree?

I recently read this article by Alison Barnes in History Today. It describes how Queen Charlotte (Prinny’s mother) introduced the Christmas tree to England by setting one up at Windsor in 1800. It was decorated with “bunches of sweetmeats, almonds and raisins in papers, fruits and toys”. I wish I could locate a picture!

The article lists several examples of Christmas trees during the Regency and states that the tradition was “firmly established” by 1818, although information I’d read before indicated that Christmas trees were not that common during the Regency. The article goes on to say that by 1860 nearly every family of means had one. This makes me think that Queen Charlotte started the custom but perhaps it was Victoria and Albert’s famous tree of 1846 that made it universal.





Our own tree is a hodge-podge. At one time I had this vision of a designer tree and so I started a collection of blown and cut glass ornaments and made a bunch of crocheted snowflakes. But life evolved and so did the tree. I still enjoy my glass ornaments and my snowflakes, but I’m happy to let them share space with others: stuff my children have made (Q-tip snowflakes decorated with craft store “jewels”, Vaguely Identifiable Things made out of pipe cleaners and beads), my husband’s sports ornaments (featuring the Mets, Giants and Rangers), and a Star Trek shuttlecraft that plays a holiday greeting from Mr. Spock. It’s all good and I don’t miss the designer tree at all. :)

Do you have a Christmas tree? What are your favorite decorations?

Happy Holidays!

Elena
www.elenagreene.com
www.facebook.com/ElenaGreene

Holiday Actually

As we bustle about, some of us baking mad treats (Carolyn!), others of us pirouetting in gorgeous dance gowns (Amanda!), spending time with faraway family (Diane! and likely the rest of us, too), being especially seasonal (Janet, with her delicious accent), and probably having a white Christmas (Elena!), I'd like to wish all of you a wonderful holiday season.

Here's to rest, relaxation, and a good book.

Merry Christmas!

Megan

Listen to Christmas

Mostly videos today, something to put you in the Christmas spirit, and I want to share with you some of my favorite Christmas music.

First, here's a new favorite, a Winter Solstice piece--thanks to Jane George for directing me to this.



Moving on to something entirely different and not necessarily anything to do with winter or Christmas, and from one of the all time flops of the big screen, a dance scene from Becoming Jane. (It's the season for parties, after all!) I think this is so brilliantly done because the expressions and gestures tell us so much about the relationships:



But moving a little toward Christmas now, here's Steeleye Span performing Gaudete (rejoice), a medieval plainchant. I've been a fan of this group for, uh, a very long time:



What would Christmas be without the Messiah? I always try to get to a live performance although I think this year I'm not going to make one. I'm torn between the Messiah performing style I grew up with, featuring a huge local choir, and the original instrument/performance practice approach I now prefer. So here's Stephen Cleobury and the Choir of King's College, Cambridge (all boys club!) a reconstruction of the 1752 version.



And now it's time to make you cry. First, John McCutcheon, Christmas in the Trenches. (It's all true!) Listen to what he says at the beginning about this "story that needs to be told 365 days a year"--and may all our loved ones come home safely.




Finally, what for me is the ultimate tearjerker, the December 24 Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols, the Choir of King's College Cambridge again--this is the beginning of the 2010 service. It always starts with the treble solo singing Once in Royal David's City, and is broadcast live worldwide. Check out American Public Radio for the time in your area. There's a wonderful shot of the vaulted ceiling and windows of the Chapel at about 1:20 in.



Hope you like these. What are your Christmas sounds?

Happy holidays, everyone.

Holiday Wishes from Risky Carolyn

To all our wonderful Risky Readers out there, Happy Holidays from Risky Carolyn!


 



Half Dome, Apple Orchard, Yosemite, California, April 1933 


I wish all of you a wonderful holiday season. However, I caution you to stay Risky. Life is better that way.

What are your plans for the holidays? Me? I have a book due. I will be writing.

About the Picture

Original Caption: Trees with snow on branches, "Half Dome, Apple Orchard, Yosemite," California. April 1933.
U.S. National Archives' Local Identifier: NWDNS-79-AA-U01
From: Series: Ansel Adams Photographs of National Parks and Monuments, compiled 1941 - 1942, documenting the period ca. 1933 – 1942 (Record Group 79)
Created by: Department of the Interior. National Park Service. Branch of Still and Motion Pictures.
Production Date: 1933

Photographer: Adams, Ansel, 1902-1984

The Nutcracker

Last weekend I got to do something I haven't done in a few years--I went to see The Nutcracker! It was so much fun--when I was a kid we used to go every year, and I got a new Christmas party dress to wear to the performance. It was wonderful to see all the little girls in their pretty clothes, so excited to see the dancing and the sparkling lights.

It's funny that something that's become such an intrinsic part of the holiday season was a bit of a flop when it first opened! It started out promising. After the great success of The Sleeping Beauty in 1890, the director of the Imperial Theater in St. Petersburg asked Tchaikovsky and choreographer Marius Petipa to collaborate on another production, one based on ETA Hoffmann's story The Nutcracker and the Mouse King. It turned out to be not a very harmonious partnership--Petipa sent Tchaikovsky very detailed instructions for each number in the ballet, right down to tempo and number of bars, and Tchaikovsky didn't like working under such restraints. The production was further delayed by Tchaikovsky's visit to the US and Petipa's illness, but it did open at the Mariinsky Theater on December 18, 1892 in a version much condensed from the original story (there are only two acts, the first act the Christmas party and battle of the Mouse King where Clara helps save the Nutcracker Prince, and act two at the Kingdom of Sweets where we meet chocolate, coffee, marzipan, snowflakes and Sugar Plum Fairies...)

The first production got decidedly mixed reviews in a town that was very, very picky when it came to their ballet. One reviewer called the Sugar Plum Fairy "pudgy" and one complained about how confusing the Mouse King battle was ("One cannot understand anything. Disorderly pushing about from corner to corner and running backwards and forwards--quite amateurish"). It didn't take off, though Tchaikovsky did have some success with a suite of the music.

Its first complete performance outside Russia was in England in 1934, and the first US performance at the San Francisco Ballet on December 24, 1944. The New York City Ballet debuted their version in 1954, which is when it really started to become the big money-maker it is now and a cherished tradition for many families like mine (most ballet companies function all year from the proceeds from their Nutcracker performances!)

For more information on the history of the ballet, I really like J. Fisher's book Nutcracker Nation: How An Old World Ballet Became a Christmas Tradition in the New World (2003)
Do you go to see The Nutcracker? What are your favorite memories of the ballet??

Christmas Shopping - Regency Style

This weekend I finally got serious about Christmas shopping. I had good intentions of going out to the mall, but, every time I thought of what I might buy, I'd look on the internet and find the exact item with a promise for delivery by Christmas. As a result, I have done 99 per cent of my shopping all online! We'll see how smart this was when Christmas eve rolls around. Will these vendors make good on their promises or will I have to write notes in empty boxes for my family to open on Christmas day?

This got me to thinking....What gifts would I purchase for my family if the year were 1819 and I'm shopping in London?

Guess what? I could go to the mall--The Burlington Arcade, I mean.

The Burlington Arcade is a covered shopping area behind Bond Street on what was formerly the garden of Burlington House. Lord George Cavendish, younger brother of the Duke of Devonshire owned Burlington House and wanted to do something to prevent ruffians from throwing trash and oyster shells into his garden. He hired architect Same Ware to design the arcade which had spaces for 72 enclosed shops. The arcade opened in 1819 and was an instant success. It is still the place to go for fashionable shopping in London.

By the way, in my next book, A Not So Respectable Gentleman, Leo, the hero and brother of the Diamonds of Wellbourne Manor, runs into the Burlington Arcade to escape the bad guys....

But I digress! I'm supposed to be shopping.

If I can't find all the gifts in the Burlington Arcade, I can shop at a department store--Harding Howell and Co, which sells everything from lace and every kind of haberdashery, but also jewelry, watches, clocks, perfumery and more. Harding Howell and Co. was opened in 1807 in Pall Mall.

Between these two places, I ought to find gifts for everyone on my list.

Dear Husband: He likes gizmos. And he loves clocks. I think I'll buy him a French clock. But he'd like a gizmo toy, too, like some kind of automaton.

Dear Daughter: She's a music lover. I might buy her the latest piano sheet music from the music seller in the arcade although guitar is her instrument of choice these days. Maybe she'd play the harp in the Regency.

Dear Son: He'd probably want the latest in dueling pistols. Or the best hunting whip, although in this time period, his shooting would be confined to video games and his vehicle accessory would probably be a car radio or GPS.

Dear Sisters: for one I'll have to go to Jermyn Street and buy her some fragrance from Floris. The other might like a pretty new bonnet.

Dear Friends: Oh, I know what I'd buy them. BOOKS!!! Perhaps in 1819, I'd buy them two books in one. Northanger Abbey and Persuasion, published in 1818. Sadly the author died in 1817, but she is our favorite author.

What gifts would you buy for friends and family if you were shopping in Regency England?

Christmas is only 6 days away. Yipes!!!! Pray for prompt UPS men!

You still have more days to enter the Harlequin Historical Authors Holiday Giveaway, though. Enter daily for the best chance to win the grand prize--a Kindle Fire!

Jane Austen Birthday Week Winner

The winner of our Jane Austen Birthday Week is .....

Susannah C!!!

Susannah, you have won your choice of an annotated edition of Pride and Prejudice or one of Persuasion. Email us at riskies@yahoo.com with your choice and your mailing address.

Thanks, everyone, for commenting!

The Riskies

The Winner of Jane Austen's Guide to Good Manners

The Winner of Jane Austen's Guide to Good Manners: Compliments, Charades 'N Horrible Blunders is:


bettielee

Bettielee: email me at carolyn AT carolynjewel.com and let you know you're the Riskies winner! If you'd prefer paper, make sure you include your complete mailing address. If you're good with an eBook, I'll need the email address to use! Thanks for stopping by! Carolyn

Jane, Bad Boys and Winners!

As far as I can recall, Jane Austen never used the term “rake” in her stories, but it’s my understanding that during her time, it had a different spin than we put on it in modern historical romances. Jane’s villains tend to be what might have been called rakes; their common trait is they take advantage (or try to) of women in the stories. Her heroines always end up with the good guys.

Jane’s bad boys aren’t all equally villainous and I have a little more sympathy for some than others. Actors’ interpretations can bring out nuances, too.

Frank Churchill from Emma is the lightweight, more selfish puppy than dark schemer. I can’t remember enough of other portrayals of Frank Churchill to judge, but here’s Ewan McGregor in the 1996 (Gwyneth Paltrow) version.

At the other extreme, Pride & Prejudice’s Wickham is pretty loathsome. Here are Adrian Lukis and Rupert Friend, from the 1995 and 2005 versions, respectively. I think Lukis’s Wickham is a little too obvious to fool Elizabeth. Friend, on the other hand, has a gaunt look about him that makes him seem more vulnerable and thus more deceptive.

William Elliot from Persuasion is another villain without redeeming qualities, but at least Anne sees through him pretty quickly. Here’s Samuel West, from the 1995 film that is my favorite adaptations. Honestly, I can’t remember other portrayals. I need to watch more Austen movies over the holiday break!

Willoughby (Sense & Sensbility) is more interesting. Dominic Cooper in the new version seemed kind of a toad; I prefer Greg Wise’s portrayal in the 1995 (Emma Thompson) version. He gives the sense that he will regret giving up Marianne for the rest of his life. Though perhaps he deserves his fate, I can’t help feeling a little sorry for him.



















I also find Henry Crawford from Mansfield Park intriguing. Although I haven’t yet seem a film version of MP that I liked, here’s Alessandro Nivola in the 1999 version.

Although I find these last two the most well rounded as villains, they’re still not quite the reformable rakes of historical romance, who may get around but don’t treat women as badly.

So what do you think of Jane’s bad boys? Which do you find most interesting? Which actors did the best job with them? What do you think of good guys versus rakes in historical romance?

Comment for the chance to win either the annotated copy of Pride & Prejudice or Persuasion. Our Jane Austen Week winner will be announced on Monday.

And congratulations to the following winners of the Kindle ebook of THE REDWYCK CHARM. Please send your email address, and if you wish, the email address of a friend who might enjoy a copy, to elena @ elenagreene.com (no spaces).

Virginia
Beebs
Bibliophile
Na
Barbara E

Happy holidays!

Elena

www.elenagreene.com
www.facebook.com/ElenaGreene

Happy Birthday, Jane!

Yay! Happy Birthday, Jane! You don't look a day older than 235.

We've been celebrating Jane's birth all week here at the Riskies, and of course she was on my mind as I rode the subway to work this morning. I haven't read more than snippets of Jane's books in years, mostly because I reread them obsessively when I was in my teens, so much so I know I have parts memorized, even thirty years later.

Jane showed me a person could have a different personality and still be likeable. Could still have misguided ideas and still be a good person. Could be tolerable, and also desirable.

Those are some pretty important life lessons.

Earlier this week, Amanda discoursed on Austen film interpretations, and I have to admit to secretly loving the Greer Garson/Laurence Olivier version of Pride and Prejudice. That's mostly because it was my first version (and you never forget your first...), and I'm pretty sure I saw the film before reading the book, so I didn't comprehend the incongruity with the text. I knew nothing about historically accurate costumes, or the correct age for the characters, or any of that. I only knew he was handsome, and she was feisty, and I admired her for rejecting such a catch.

Thank you, Jane, for showing me that you should reject people--foxy though they are--if they don't accept you entirely as you are.

Megan

Christmas letters from Austen

Are you bracing yourself for them? Do you write them? Do you enjoy those cheerful missives from obscure relatives?

What do you think Austen's characters would say?

My dear Wickham has acquitted himself most gallantly in protecting us from crazed weavers; just imagine, they complain of working 18 hours a day yet still find time to roam the streets in a most vulgar way, bemoaning their lot, hurling filth at the regiment's handsome regimentals, and demanding an extra 2d a day! Talking of which, I regret my dear Wickham has suffered misfortune at the gaming tables once again, and if every member of the family could contribute a little, say 2 guineas, or possibly 5, we could overcome our temporary embarrassment and not bring shame upon the family... Captain and Mrs. George Wickham

Oh I am so happy in the great house and magnificent grounds of Pemberley; I roam for hours exclaiming aloud over my extreme felicity and great good fortune in marrying my dear Mr. Darcy, who naturally is busy with his trout streams and other male pursuits. We are both so well occupied that we meet but little, although I have taken the fortuitous step of drawing the route to the bedchamber in chalk upon the floors so that we may at least meet at night; Mr. Darcy suggested it after I lost my way and had to spend the night in such places as the third minor stillroom and once sharing the housekeeper's bed. She sang her master's praises all night long and I scarce got a wink of sleep... Mr. and Mrs. Fitzwilliam Darcy

Ann proves herself a formidable ally against the enemy. Upon boarding our latest prize I was most diverted to find her at my side, her face black with powder and a knife clenched between her teeth, uttering terrible oaths and despatching several terrified Frenchies with violent blows. She demands a share of the prize money and her ration of rum but you will be pleased to learn she occupies herself also with more womanly pursuits such as comforting the wounded. Our ship's surgeon says she beats any he has seen in the execution of a fast amputation... Captain and Mrs. Frederick Wentworth

In our first year of married bliss dear Mr. Knightley is so agreeable and charming it is quite as it is before which pleases Mr. Woodhouse mightily. Mr. Knightley spends most of the day with us, although he makes haste to return from visits to Donwell Abbey before nightfall, as for Mr. Woodhouse's peace of mind we now have a dozen armed guards and as many mastiffs patrolling the garden and chicken coop after dark. I believe that Mr. Woodhouse will eventually not need to knock on our bedchamber door enquiring after our health at night; he is easily alarmed by various groans and other sounds that emanate from that room--he is all tender consideration!... Mr. and Mrs. George Knightley

Edmund and I enjoy the most perfect felicity and harmony and delight in counting the twelve toes of our beloved daughter Julia... Reverend and Mrs. Edmund Bertram

Happy birthday, Jane Austen, and sorry for the many liberties I've taken for so long... Give us your ideas for snippets of news from Austen characters' holiday letters.

Why, may you ask, is there a pic of a naked man on this post? God knows why but I see them all over the place. I think it has something to do with writing romance.

The New Jane?

Have you seen this?

It's believed to be a new portrait of Jane Austen. You can read all about it here. Interesting story though it doesn't sound like it's been fully authenticated.

Two out of three experts believe it's Jane! 

Drawn about 1815.

She's slouching, but probably thinking really deep and wonderful thoughts.

Which brings me to a request.

What do you think Jane is thinking?

Opine in the comments. I will send a random commenter a copy of Jane Austen's Guide to Good Manners: Compliments, Charades 'N Horrible Blunders
You may elect to receive paper or the Kindle version. The rules are below:

The Rules

Void where prohibited. Must be 18 or older to win. Winner chosen from among the commenters at random. Leave a comment by Midnight Pacific on Friday December 16. If the book is not available by the time the prize is awarded, Risky Carolyn will provide an Amazon card equal to the value of the paperback book. Go.

Austenesque Winners

Sophia Rose--you're the winner of
Henry Tilney's Diary.
TxDee--you're the winner of
The Unexpected Miss Bennett.
TxDee, please email riskies AT yahoo DOT com

Happy Birthday, Jane!

It's always very easy for me to remember Jane Austen's birthday, because it is also my mother's! (Though luckily only one of them expects a present...). It's also the birthday of Beethoven and Katherine of Aragon (among others), and it also tells me It's Almost Christmas. But it's not always easy to think of what to write about. There are so many things I love about Austen's books, and so many gifts they've given me as I read them over the years. But since Janet and I got to meet Andrew Davies at the JASNA AGM back in October (and hear about his work on various adaptations), I decided to take a look at my DVD shelf and review my thoughts about some of the various films from Austen's books.

What follows is a Highly Scientific Analysis:

Pride and Prejudice
1995--really, really love (probably my second favorite of all the adaptations!)
2005--love (a controversial opinion, I know, but I thought it very romantic...)
1980--I have the DVD but it's been a long time since I've felt the urge to watch it. It's a little...slow. But I like it, mostly for Elizabeth Garvie's Elizabeth
1940--good for a laugh




Sense and Sensibility
1995--really liked
2008--also really liked (especially since the actors were more age-appropriate)

Persuasion
1995--really, really, really love (my number one favorite of all)
2007--the least said the better, I think

Northanger Abbey
2007--loved (so adorable!)
1986--I only saw it once; I think I might have liked it better if I hadn't been overwhelmed by that music...

Mansfield Park
1999--sorta liked? (it was...interesting)
2007--another one where the least said the better
I really think MP is ripe for a Davies miniseries treatment...





Emma
1996 (the Paltrow version)--liked
1996 (the Beckinsale version)--also liked. I wish I could combine aspects of these two to make something better
2009--sorta liked, especially the beginning (until Romola Garai's weird facial expressions started to get to me)







And there you have it! This is what I think about every Austen adaptation I have seen. What are your favorites?? Least favorites?? Which one would you like to see made again, with your own dream cast???

Jane Austen's Christmas...and Birthday...and a Prize!!!

Jane Austen was born December 16, 1775. To commemorate her birthday, each year we devote the week to celebrating her life and the wonderful books that have endured and given us countless pleasure, much inspiration, and a love of the Regency.

This week, as we have done before, we are offering a prize to one lucky commenter, to be randomly selected from comments all week long. Comment every day! We'll announce the winner by next Monday.

The winner will have the choice of either the annotated Pride and Prejudice or the new annotated Persuasion. These are beautiful editions!

Birthdays were not the grand occasions for celebration in Jane Austen's time as in our own, but Christmas could very well be. Jane's Christmases often meant having visitors, and, because travel was such a difficulty, guests stayed a long time.

Gifts at Christmas were often made by loving hands, things like monogramed handkerchiefs or needle cases. There were plenty of games, however. Cards and charades and games of chess.

There might also be theatricals. As a child, Jane Austen wrote a one-act play at Christmas, about a daughter traveling to get married.

Jane also attended balls at Christmastime and, in a letter to her sister Cassandra, wrote of one:

There were twenty dances, and I danced them all without any fatigue. I was glad to find myself capable of dancing so much, and with so much satisfaction as I did; from my slender enjoyment of the Ashford Balls (as assemblies for dancing) I had not thought myself equal to it, but in cold weather and with few couples I fancy I could just as well dance for a week together as for half an hour. My black cap was openly admired by Mrs Lefroy, and secretly, I imagine by everybody else in the room

I wonder if acknowledgement of her birthday became lost in all these festivities and visitors? If so, it is fitting that we stop and remember it here at Risky Regencies.

Do you, or anyone you know have a birthday close to Christmas? Is it celebrated as a birthday might be the rest of the year? Or are you or they short-changed?

Remember, one lucky commenter will be selected by next Monday for her choice of the annotated edition of Pride and Prejudice or Persuasion.

And don't forget that the Harlequin Historical Authors Holiday contest is still going strong. See details here.