A Dance with Jane Austen

For those who have seen a ballroom dance scene in a Jane Austen movie adaptation, or witnessed a group of ladies and gentlemen dressed in Regency finery engaged in a country dance, you know the awe and energy that it generates can be quite thrilling. Then imagine what it would be like in Jane Austen’s day and you have a good notion what to expect in Susannah Fullerton’s new book A Dance with Jane Austen. Everything from frocks, carriages, music, dancing and flirting, and so much more are included in this tidy volume. Ready your fans ladies and take a stiff bracer of brandy gentlemen; we have entered the ballroom.

Did you know that Austen featured dance scenes in all six of her major novels and that Pride and Prejudice has no less than three? (The Meryton Assembly, an impromptu dance at Lucas Lodge, and the private ball at Netherfield Park.) Our heroine Elizabeth Bennet and her four sisters meet, spark, fuel, or flee from romance illustrating how dance was not only the pinnacle of social activity – but key to attracting a mate. Yes. I may be pointing my inelegant finger, but there it is. Balls and dances where the primary stage to attract the opposite sex and snag a partner. Jane Austen knew this fact very well and used it to her advantage in each of her novels. Here is a foreshadowing of its importance from the Bennet household:

The prospect of the Netherfield ball was extremely agreeable to every female of the family. Mrs. Bennet chose to consider it as given in compliment to her eldest daughter, and was particularly flattered by receiving the invitation from Mr. Bingley himself, instead of a ceremonious card. Jane pictured to herself a happy evening in the society of her two friends, and the attentions of their brother; and Elizabeth thought with pleasure of dancing a great deal with Mr. Wickham, and of seeing a confirmation of everything in Mr. Darcy’s looks and behaviour. The happiness anticipated by Catherine and Lydia depended less on any single event, or any particular person; for though they each, like Elizabeth, meant to dance half the evening with Mr. Wickham, he was by no means the only partner who could satisfy them, and a ball was, at any rate, a ball. And even Mary could assure her family that she had no disinclination for it. – Pride and Prejudice chapter 17

Written in a lively and accessible manner Fullerton delves into the subject with the energy of a fluttering fan cooling an overheated dancer. As an Austen enthusiast, and president of the Jane Austen Society of Australia, her knowledge and authority take us on a journey from learning to dance, dressing for a ball, types of balls, transportation, music, food, etiquette, conversation and even a short bit about the movie adaptations. It is primarily a cultural reference, but she liberally uses quotes from her novels, letters and family recollections throughout making it very personal and incisive.

Aimed at those who crave more knowledge of the cultural history of the Georgian era and insights into Jane Austen’s novels, A Dance with Jane Austen is inspiring, discerning and richly crafted. The illustrations add to each topic, but are sadly not credited, so the reader does not know who created them or when. However, there is a partial list of image credits, a plump bibliography, and short index to assist the reader with the paper trail.

It was a pleasure to dance with Jane Austen and her characters. I now have a better understanding of the importance of social position and wealth in marrying the right partner and how instrumental balls and dances were in attaining them.

4.5 out of 5 Regency Stars

A Dance with Jane Austen: How a Novelist and her Characters Went to the Ball, by Susannah Fullerton
Frances Lincoln, Limited (2012)
Hardcover (144) pages
ISBN: 978-0711232457

That the Miss Lucases and the Miss Bennets should meet to talk over a ball was absolutely necessary; and the morning after the assembly brought the former to Longbourn to hear and to communicate. – Pride and Prejudice, Chapter 5

A very special book is in the queue for fans of Jane Austen, Regency history, dancing and artwork from the era from publisher Frances Lincoln Limited of London. Fair warning: A Dance with Jane Austen: How A Novelist and Her Characters Went to a Ball will be released on October 1, 2012.

Take note gentle reader. This is not your average garden variety nonfiction reprint of images and commentary of the era that we already have in our “extensive libraries”. Written by Susannah Fullerton, the esteemed president of The Jane Austen Society of Australia, and featuring a foreword by preeminent Austen scholar Deirdre Le Faye, you will be agog with this beautifully designed, sumptuously illustrated and expertly crafted volume, wanting to give it “pride of place” in your front drawing room. Here is a description from the publisher:

BOOK DESCRIPTION

Jane Austen loved to put on her satin slippers with shoe-roses, her white gloves and muslin gown, and go off for an evening of fun at Basingstoke assemblies. The Bennet girls share their creator’s delight and go off joyfully to dance, and of course to meet future husbands.

Drawing on contemporary accounts and illustrations, and a close reading of the novels as well as Austen’s own correspondence, Susannah Fullerton takes the reader through all the stages of a Regency Ball as Jane Austen and her characters would have known it. Her subjects learn their steps, dress in readiness, find transport to convey them to a ball, choose between public and private balls, worry over a shortage of men, prefer a cotillion to a quadrille, talk and flirt with their partners, sustain themselves with supper, fall in love, and then go home to talk it all over at the end.

Susannah Fullerton is President of the Jane Austen Society of Australia and has lectured extensively around the world on Jane Austen’s life and novels. She is the author of Jane Austen and Crime, a book described by Claire Tomalin as “essential reading for every Janeite.” Deirdre Le Faye is an expert on Jane Austen, and the author of several books about her, including Jane Austen: The World of Her Novels and the new edition of Jane Austen’s letters for Oxford University Press.

ADVANCE PRAISE

“Susannah Fullerton leads us at a sprightly pace through the pleasure and anxieties attendant on every ball… This is a book to enrich our understanding of Jane Austen’s world, and even to make us feel invited to the ball ourselves.” – Maggie Lane, author of Jane Austen’s World

Click on the image above to read an excerpt

I don’t think that I have anticipated a new Austen-inspired nonfiction book as keenly as A Dance with Jane Austen. I feel quite giddy and hope to be all Lydia Bennetish when my copy arrives by post.

Cheers,

Laurel Ann

A Dance with Jane Austen: How a Novelist and Her Characters Went to a Ball, by Susannah Fullerton, foreword by Deirdre Le Faye
Frances Lincoln Limited, London (2012)
Hardcover (144) pages, color and black white illustrations
ISBN: 978-0711232457

Tag: A Dance with Jane Austen

A Dance with Jane Austen, by Susannah Fullerton – A Review