Category: Dining, Etiquette, or Entertainment

Jane Austen’s Table: Recipes Inspired by the Works of Jane Austen, by Robert Tuesley Anderson — A Review

From the desk of Tracy Hickman:  

One of my favorite Austen quotes from her letters concerns food: “I shall eat ice and drink French wine and be above vulgar economy.” This was penned in anticipation of a visit to Godmersham, where her brother Edward provided luxuries beyond Jane’s regular fare. From the white soup that Mr. Bingley’s kitchen staff prepare for the ball at Netherfield, to the picnic at Boxhill in Emma, food sustains the Continue reading “Jane Austen’s Table: Recipes Inspired by the Works of Jane Austen, by Robert Tuesley Anderson — A Review” →

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A Preview of The Official Downton Abbey Cocktail Book: Appropriate Libations for All Occasions, by Annie Gray, and Foreword by Julian Fellowes

The Official Downton Abbey Cocktail Book (2019)“Drinking is very important at Downton Abbey. At least three types of wine are served at every upstairs dinner, plus port for the gentlemen after it. There’s alcoholic punch at parties, plenty of Champagne, and, as the years go by, the gradual adoption of the cocktail.”

And so, begins the introduction to The Official Downton Abbey Cocktail Book by food historian Annie Gray. Continuing, she goes on to describe the mention of American-style cocktails in season two, which takes four more seasons before we see the very proper British butler Mr. Carson reluctantly serving them to the Crawley family and their guests at a pre-dinner gathering. A cocktail party? Are the shades of Downton to be thus polluted? The Dowager Countess of Grantham is shocked. We are amused.

It is her granddaughter Lady Edith who embraces the consumption of alcohol in the series. Living a modern life after being jilted at the altar by Sir Anthony Strallan, and then alone after her lover Michael Gregson moved to Germany in order to renounce his British citizenship so he could divorce his mentally ill wife and marry her. That was the plan until he was murdered. Out of all the main characters in the series, Edith deserved a drink. Continue reading “A Preview of The Official Downton Abbey Cocktail Book: Appropriate Libations for All Occasions, by Annie Gray, and Foreword by Julian Fellowes” →

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The Jane Austen Rules: A Classic Guide to Modern Love, by Sinead Murphy – A Review

The Jane Austen Rules by Sinead Murphy 2014 x 200From the desk of Tracy Hickman:

When author Sinead Murphy chose to title her guide to modern dating The Jane Austen Rules it was guaranteed to generate a certain amount of controversy. In the mid-1990s, a dating guide titled The Rules became famous (or infamous, depending on your point of view) for imparting to women “a myriad of tricks and schemes” (14) for finding Mr. Right.

Does Murphy seek to replace one set of arbitrary opinions with another, using Jane Austen’s name as a marketing ploy? Happily Ms. Murphy has not taken this approach. Rather than a narrowly focused “how-to” for dating, she takes readers through the novels of Jane Austen, examining the women and men Austen created and the way their character informs their actions, whether in the pursuit of love or in making other important life decisions. Continue reading “The Jane Austen Rules: A Classic Guide to Modern Love, by Sinead Murphy – A Review” →

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Jane Austen and Food, by Maggie Lane – A Review

Jane Austen and Food by Maggie Lane 2013 x 200From the desk of Sarah Emsley:

Is it easier or harder to write if you’re also responsible for feeding and looking after your family? “Composition seems to be impossible, with a head full of joints of mutton and doses of rhubarb,” Jane Austen wrote to her sister Cassandra in September 1816, after a period in which she managed the household at Chawton Cottage in Cassandra’s absence. Fortunately for Jane – and for us, as readers of her fiction – most of the time it was Cassandra who filled this role, freeing Jane to write. In her writing, she doesn’t mention food very often, yet Maggie Lane’s book Jane Austen and Food shows her references to it are significant because “she uses it to define the character and illustrate moral worth.” Jane Austen and Food was first published in 1995 by The Hambledon Press, and it’s newly available as an inexpensive e-book from Endeavour Press. It isn’t a cookbook, but a discussion of food in Austen’s letters and fiction.

I’ve always loved that line from her letters about composition and reading Jane Austen and Food helped me understand it better. I learned that “mutton” isn’t always just mutton, and that “rhubarb” isn’t what I think of Continue reading “Jane Austen and Food, by Maggie Lane – A Review” →

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A Social History of Tea: Expanded 2nd Edition, by Jane Pettigrew & Bruce Richardson – A Review

A Social History of Tea 2013Tea passed pleasantly, and nobody seemed in a hurry to move. – Jane Austen, Emma, Chapter 41

Taking tea is so quintessentially British. You cannot think of that noble nation without envisioning its residents with a teacup in one hand and a cucumber sandwich in the other. English novelist Jane Austen mentions tea no less than 58 times in her major works. The popularity of tea has grown even more since her Regency times, evolving during the Victorian era into a light meal served at four in the afternoon: resplendent with white linen, silver trays, scones, and clotted cream. Today, in our fast-paced-world of takeout food and frozen dinners, attending a tea party at a friend’s home or tea room is an event to be cherished and savored. The calming ritual and lively conversation is the ultimate indulgence that has not changed for polished society for four hundred years. Continue reading “A Social History of Tea: Expanded 2nd Edition, by Jane Pettigrew & Bruce Richardson – A Review” →

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Dinner with Mr. Darcy: Recipes Inspired by the Novels and Letters of Jane Austen, by Pen Vogler – A Review

Dinner with Mr. Darcy, by Pen Vogler (2013)Imagine eating white soup with Mr. Darcy, roast pork with Miss Bates, or scones with Mr. Collins! Just thinking of those dishes transports me back into the scenes in Jane Austen’s novels and makes me smile. In Dinner with Mr. Darcy, food historian Pen Vogler examines Austen’s use of food in her writing, researches ancient Georgian recipes, converting them for the modern cook.

Even though Austen is not known for her descriptive writing, food is an important theme in her stories, speaking for her if you know how to listen. Every time we dine with characters, or food is mentioned, it relays an important fact that Austen wants us to note: wealth and station, poverty and charity, and of course comedy. While poor Mr. Woodhouse frets over wedding cake in Emma, Mr. Bingley offers white soup to his guests at Netherfield Park in Pride and Prejudice, and Aunt Norris lifts the supernumerary jellies after the ball in Mansfield Park, we are offered insights into their characters and their social station. Continue reading “Dinner with Mr. Darcy: Recipes Inspired by the Novels and Letters of Jane Austen, by Pen Vogler – A Review” →

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Tea with Jane Austen, by Kim Wilson – A Review

Tea with Jane Austen, by Kim Wilson (2011)We are always happy to see an author’s work go into a second edition, especially when they are as deserving of reprint as Kim Wilson’s beautiful Jane Austen-inspired books: Tea with Jane Austen and In the Garden with Jane Austen. Previously published in 2004 and 2008 respectively by Jones Books in the US, this new edition has been reprinted by Frances Lincoln, Limited of London. Both of these nonfiction books are gems of historical detail filled with awe inspiring visual splendor and informative insights into Jane Austen, her novels and her life.

Ms. Wilson is as an accomplished a writer as she is a designer, selecting beautiful vintage images to illustrate the text. Kudos also go out to her publisher who decided to use color images in this new edition and was wise enough to match the size and printing quality of each of the volumes to make Continue reading “Tea with Jane Austen, by Kim Wilson – A Review” →

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A Preview of The Jane Austen Handbook & Guest Blog with Author Margaret C. Sullivan

The Jane Austen Handbook: Proper Life Skills from Regency England, by Margaret C. Sullivan (2011)Please welcome the author and editrix of AustenBlog Margaret Sullivan today. She has graciously consented to share some thoughts on her newly re-issued The Jane Austen Handbook, a lighthearted how-to book for every Regency Miss in the making.

BOOK DESCRIPTION

Every young lady dreams of a life spent exchanging witty asides with a dashing Mr. Darcy, but how should you let him know your intentions? Seek counsel from this charming guide to Jane Continue reading “A Preview of The Jane Austen Handbook & Guest Blog with Author Margaret C. Sullivan” →

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The Jane Austen Handbook: Proper Life Skills from Regency England, by Margaret C. Sullivan – A Review

The Jane Austen Handbook: Proper Life Skills from Regency England, by Margaret C. Sullivan (2011)Everyone loves a new frock to brighten their day, and authors are as equally excitable when it comes to re-issues of their works. We were very happy for Margaret C. Sullivan of AustenBlog fame when we learned that her excellent The Jane Austen Handbook (2007) hardcover edition was getting a second go round from its publisher Quirk Books in a new and more accessible paperback format. Not only does the pretty new cover catch the eye, the price leaves a bit more pewter in ones pocket without any changes to the original text and illustrations.

Filled with pertinent facts that every Regency Miss should be aware of to become truly accomplished, it is easy for us to recommend this great little how-to book to our readers because we have used it personally over the past four years whenever we had a question regarding deportment, dancing, playing an instrument, frock shopping and making love (in the Regency context mind you) – the top five most critical social aspects to any young Regency ladies life. One can also throw in letter writing, entertaining house guests and managing a household Continue reading “The Jane Austen Handbook: Proper Life Skills from Regency England, by Margaret C. Sullivan – A Review” →

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Regency-era English Christmas Pudding: American Fruitcake’s Kissin’ Cousin

Mrs. Beeton's Traditional Christmas Plum Pudding circa 1890s

I recently read the delightful Regency-era Christmas novel The Mischief of the Mistletoe, by Lauren Willig. Our hero Reginald “Turnip” Fitzhugh and heroine Arabella Dempsey are brought together by a Christmas pudding! Yep. A very creative ice-breaker to introduce and spark a romance, right?

The Mischief of the Mistletoe: A Pink Carnation Christmas, by Lauren Willig (2010)In 1803, Arabella is an instructor at Miss Climpson’s Select Seminary for Young Ladies in Bath, where “Turnip’s” sister Sally is a pupil. He is delivering her Christmas hamper to her and she in turn gives him a small muslin-wrapped and beribboned Christmas pudding which he proceeds to drop after barreling into to our heroine in the making in the hallway of the school. After profusely apologizing, he bounds out the door with Arabella in pursuit in an attempt to return the pudding to him: Continue reading “Regency-era English Christmas Pudding: American Fruitcake’s Kissin’ Cousin” →

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