WICKED Do not oblige him to read any more. Have mercy on him, tell him the truth, and make him an apology. He and I should not in the least agree, of course, in our ideas of novels and heroines. Pictures of perfection, as you know, make me sick and wicked; but there is some... Continue Reading →
Taciturn disposition
TACITURNÂ "Do you talk by rule, then, while you are dancing?" "Sometimes. One must speak a little, you know. It would look odd to be entirely silent for half an hour together; and yet for the advantage of some, conversation ought to be so arranged, as that they may have the trouble of saying as... Continue Reading →
Austen countdown: 7 days to Persuasion
 7 DAYS TO PERSUASION ON PBS Sunday, the 13th of January, at 9:00pm Mark your calendars and set your watches for the premiere of the latest adaptation of Jane Austen's classic novel of love and redemption, Persuasion, staring Sally Hawkins as Anne Elliot. Presented by those great folks at Masterpiece Classics. Further details can... Continue Reading →
Persuasion: You may perhaps like the heroine
Do not be surprised at finding Uncle Henry acquainted with my having another ready for publication. I could not say No when he asked me, but he knows nothing more of it. You will not like it, so you need not be impatient. You may perhaps like the heroine, as she is almost too good... Continue Reading →
Are they all horrid?
HORRID "Dear creature! How much I am obliged to you; and when you have finished Udolpho, we will read the Italian together; and I have made out a list of ten or twelve more of the same kind for you." "Have you, indeed! How glad I am! What are they all?" "I will read you... Continue Reading →
Poor little Harry?
Sense & Sensibility 2008 mystery child Mild spoilers. The new BBC production of Sense & Sensibility has aired in England and I promise not to speak of it again until after our US airing on March 30th & April 6th, but I am feeling silly tonight and the photo of this young chap just gave... Continue Reading →
Jane Austen gifts & toys
THIS ISÂ GRATUITIOUS SELF PROMOTION BUT I LOVE MY JANE AUSTEN TOYS I wept the day I moved away from the state of California. My family thought that I was being sentimental, and rightly so. I had lived there all of my life. I was leaving friends, connections and fair weather. Reason enough to be... Continue Reading →
Highly agreeable
AGREEABLE for Mrs. Grant, having by this time run through the usual resources of ladies residing in the country without a family of children-having more than filled her favourite sitting-room with pretty furniture, and made a choice collection of plants and poultry-was very much in want of some variety at home. The arrival, therefore, of... Continue Reading →
A Preview of the Complete Jane Austen on Masterpiece Theatre PBS
PBS TO AIR ALL SIX JANE AUSTEN ADAPTATIONS IN THE NEW YEAR I am all anticipation of the new Masterpiece Theatre presentation, Sundays with Jane: The Complete Jane Austen, which airs on PBS starting January 13th at 9:00 pm. It will include four new adaptations of the Jane Austen novels Persuasion, Northanger Abbey, Mansfield Park and... Continue Reading →
Intoleralby stupid
INTOLERABLY "The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid. I have read all Mrs. Radcliffe's works, and most of them with great pleasure. The Mysteries of Udolpho, when I had once begun it, I could not lay down again; I remember finishing it in... Continue Reading →
English verdure
VERDURE It was a sweet view -- sweet to the eye and the mind. English verdure, English culture, English comfort, seen under a sun bright, without being oppressive. The Narrator on Abbey-Mill Farm, Emma, Chapter 42 These poetic lines were prefaced by a description of Abbey-Mill Farm, which Emma and her party of family and... Continue Reading →
Too ill to be endured
ENDUREDÂ I danced with Mr. John Wood again, twice with a Mr. South, a lad from Winchester, who, I suppose, is as far from being related to the bishop of that diocese as it is possible to be, with G. Lefroy, and J. Harwood, who, I think, takes to me rather more than he used... Continue Reading →