My Dear Miss Elliot

Langford Hall

Whitley, Wiltshire

May 18, 1815

Miss Anne Elliot

Camden Place, Bath

My Dearest Miss Elliot,

Oh Anne, please know that I will be arriving in Bath shortly after you receive this missive.  Upon reading your most informative letter, I put an order in for my carriage to be ready for an immediate departure for Bath.  There is nothing that could keep me from your side at a time like this.  You must be in quite a state!  If I were in your position, I know that my mind and my heart would be all at wrong ends of one another and I would not know which way is up.

I see, from your missive, that your parent and sibling have not changed as much as their scenery has.  One would suspect that having to retrench would put one in mind of greater economies, but it seems that is not the case, and I do feel sorry that you have to witness this avarice behaviour in one’s own family.  To go on about Lady Dalrymple and her daughter, that must have been a sight to see as when one’s own parental figure get in a dither about a cousin, simply because she has a title.  From what I remember of your father, I could see the potential for him to ‘froth at the mouth’ as you say when he was speaking of the local nobility.  I am sure you have already thought of his elevating himself (and hopefully his daughters) in society simply by association.

I understand that you had a great disappointment when visiting Uppercross and your sister, Mary Musgrove.  I know how difficult it is to be faced with one’s past, especially when there are younger and less-reserved females on the scene.  It was unkind of Mary to put you in that position, to be so near the man you had wanted to marry.  Did Mary not know of your connection with the infamous Captain Wentworth those many years ago?  To put you, my Dear, in such a position was without feeling and rude, indeed.  Though, I know you, Anne, and I wish that I were there so you need not have suffered in silence.  Why did you not write to me sooner?  You know that I would have been by your side in an instant, had you but asked.

However, it seems as if things took an interesting turn.  This Captain Benwick sounds like an interesting young man.  It is not often you find one that can quote the various poets of our times so well.  Though, the melancholy could have been too much to bear if was any bit worse than what you had alluded to.  If he had served with Captain Wentworth, then he too must have an enviable position in which a small manor in the countryside, or even near the sea would not be out of the question.  Miss Louisa Musgrove, I am sorry to say, precipitated her own injury by being so very uncautious as well as displaying behaviour unbecoming to a young lady of her age and station.

I am saddened to hear that she did not fare well from her fall.  I do hope that she does recover in a timely manner.  I always knew that you had a cool manner about you, Dear Anne.  If not for you and your quick mind, Miss Louisa may not be recovering at all.  How you must have suffered on that journey through the countryside with that blathering captain who could not stop blaming himself for the incident.  How were you to bear hearing your past love go over the situation for those many hours in one ear, and your sister’s histrionics in the other?

Then to be well received in Bath, especially with a young gentleman of fortune who not only happens to be connected to your family, but seems to have intentions to be even further connected to your family through your hand.  From your own account, Mr. Elliot seems to be all genteel and not unpleasant to watch move about a room.  Has he walked by your side whilst you partake in the mineral waters of the Pump Room?  Did he ask for a prime spot on your dance card when you attended the Assembly Room?  I must know more about this young man that had you speaking so profusely of his intelligence and good manners.  I know that he must be of good sense to have singled you out above your elder sister, Elizabeth.

You have such an even temper, a pleasant manner, and a sweet look about you.  Please do not go on any longer about your age and position.  You will most assuredly not spend your years simply as an aged maid who attends your sister Mary’s children.  Does not having two men paying homage to you through poetry or sweet words on the dance floor prove that?  Please know that I am rushing as quickly as possible behind this note to be by your side to see how the rest of the story unfolds.  My Dearest Anne, rest assured that your dear friend is on her way to walk with you through the streets of Bath to distract you from all that troubles you.  I have a mind to walk along the Royal Crescent and take tea with you at the Assembly rooms so that I can learn all of the details of these past months that you were not able to put in your too short note that was recently sent to me.  Have no fear, my Dear Anne, I will be there in a trice to help you choose which gentleman is worthy of my dearest friend.

I am always at your service,

Katherine Maxwell

Thank you for reading my letter to my favorite Jane Austen character, Anne Elliot of Persuasion.  

It was wonderful to be asked by Meredith of  Austenesque Reviews to partake in her Austen Extravaganza.    Gentle Reader, you might also like this post I did on Persuasion, which includes "The Letter" from Captain Wentworth.  Please let me know which Austen character you would write a letter to if you could.

review: Mr. Darcy Forever

Title by Author: Mr. Darcy Forever by Victoria Connelly

Series (if applicable): Austen Addicts #3

Publisher: Sourcebook Landmark

Publication Date: April 2012

Page Count:  336

Source: netgalley.com

Blurb: The third in a trilogy of Jane Austen romantic comedies from UK author Victoria Connelly featuring characters obsessed with Jane Austen and set in Jane Austen locations (A Weekend with Mr. Darcy, Dreaming of Mr. Darcy). Sarah and Mia Castle, two estranged sisters (and Austen addicts) who have spent a lifetime fighting over the men in their lives, meet for the first time in three years during the annual Jane Austen Festival in Bath, the city where Anne Elliot (Persuasion) and Catherine Morland (Northanger Abbey) found their happy endings. During the festival, the sisters realize that they can't bear to be apart, even though Mia fell in love with the man Sarah eventually married and settled with in beautiful Devon, another Jane Austen location (the filming of Emma Thompson’s Sense & Sensibility). They discover that their sisterhood forms a bond stronger than their mutual connection as Jane Austen addicts. And in true Jane Austen fashion, they each begin to lose their hearts to dashing gentlemen. A beautiful, fun and quirky story of sisterhood and romance.

My Interest in this book is: Loved, loved, LOVED A Weekend with Mr. Darcy, read the second one, and wanted to finish the series.

My Review:

I’m a single mother with no career prospects who hasn’t spoken to her sister in over three years and who, in the Bath Pump Room, managed to slap her ex-lover who, it seems, wants nothing to do with his son.  – Mia Castle

This story is about two sisters who are nine years apart.  When Sarah and Mia’s mother walks out on them, Sarah is left raising Mia.  They share a deep love for everything Jane Austen, and on Mia’s 21^st birthday, Sarah had managed to rent ‘Barton Cottage’ from the movie Sense and Sensibility.  It was to be a ‘No Man’ weekend, but that didn’t last long, as Alec was staying down the road from Barton Cottage.  That week that was meant to 'get away and spend time together' ended up driving the two sisters apart for the next three years.  Much had happened in that time period, but neither sister knew what was happening with the other, as they did not speak with one another.

Sarah is an accountant and a sufferer of OCD.  Everything must be in its place or it disturbs her.  Mia is a free spirit who loves to sing and graduated from drama school, in hopes of being on stage one day.  Even though Sarah is nine years older than Mia and feels that she has to always protect her little sister, a man came between these two sisters.

Three years after that fateful holiday, both sisters independently decided to participate in the Jane Austen Festival in Bath.  They had done so in the past, and it was time to move on.  However, unknowingly, the sisters constantly think they are catching glimpses of one another, and have it verified when they end up as dance partners.

The book is written in alternating chapters of the past and the present.   A little bit is revealed in each chapter to get the two sisters together to work things out.  This was done well enough, and in the present you also learn a little more of what their past three have been like as they divulge deep secrets to perfectly strange men.  Thus, this leads to two romances by sisters who fall for different men, and fall in love in less than a week.

I loved A Weekend with Mr. Darcy – it was fun and flirty!  The second book, Dreaming of Mr. Darcy was an alright second book, but this last book in the Austen Addicts series almost seems to have been written by someone else.  I know that the author is British, and it is evident in the first two books, but this novel seems to have been washed of anything British – the speech patterns, the terminology and even how the characters acted seems to have been rather Americanized.  This was a great disappointment.  The conversations were also very stilted and not individualized for the different characters – they all sounded the same – men and women alike.

While it was nice to revisit some of the concepts of Jane Austen’s books, this book felt forced and ill-conceived.  It also seemed as if the author was told to do something with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (which was seen in another Sourcebook Landmark book, Compulsively Mr. Darcy) – granted, this book did a better job than the other, but still didn’t quite put in to words the true sense of OCD…it was more of an affectation.  The romance also had a certain lack-luster to it.

This book seemed void of much emotion.  When either Sarah or Mia tried to articulate whet they loved about Jane Austen and her novels, I was hoping to find words that describe how I feel about the novels, but it feel short and seemed a rather simple response.  The only passionate response was about reading on a Kindle – and how Mia felt it was not natural to read on an electric reader.  I kept waiting for the humour that is present in most of Miss Connelly’s books – and wasn’t rewarded until the Darcy Wet Shirt contest near the end.

Personally, I would recommend reading A Weekend with Mr. Darcy, and leave it at that.  That book was brilliant and a lot of fun!  Mr. Darcy Forever seemed rushed, forced and a bit sad.  I hope that future books by Ms. Connelly return to her previous humour, wit and romance.

This book was provided by the publisher through Netgalley.com for an honest review.

 

Favorite Quotes:

Mia was a romantic and wanted to exist in the world where all men were handsome and eloquent and – above all – polite.  Was that too much to ask?

‘Why is life a constant disappointment?’  ‘Because we read fiction,’ Mia said, and Shelley nodded, knowing it was true.

‘Never give up.  If you have a dream – no matter what that dream is, whether it be to become a great actress or to open your very own sweet shop – never stop dreaming it, because if you do, life becomes one long nightmare.’

When I finished this book, I felt: Disappointed – left wondering if the same author who did A Weekend with Mr. Darcy wrote this book.

Rating: 3 stars

Other books to read by this author or theme: A Weekend with Mr. Darcy is a must!  Molly’s Millions was a fun one, but not as wonderful as the aforementioned!

Tag: romance, OCD, sisters, Bath, England

review: Death Comes to Pemberley

Title by Author: Death Comes to Pemberley by PD James

Series (if applicable): none

Publisher: Knopf

Publication Date: December 2011

Page Count:  291

Source: library Overdrive account (kindle version)

Blurb: It is 1803, six years since Elizabeth and Darcy embarked on their life together at Pemberley, Darcy’s magnificent estate. Their peaceful, orderly world seems almost unassailable. Elizabeth has found her footing as the chatelaine of the great house. They have two fine sons, Fitzwilliam and Charles. Elizabeth’s sister Jane and her husband, Bingley, live nearby; her father visits often; there is optimistic talk about the prospects of marriage for Darcy’s sister Georgiana. And preparations are under way for their much-anticipated annual autumn ball.

Then, on the eve of the ball, the patrician idyll is shattered. A coach careens up the drive carrying Lydia, Elizabeth’s disgraced sister, who with her husband, the very dubious Wickham, has been banned from Pemberley. She stumbles out of the carriage, hysterical, shrieking that Wickham has been murdered. With shocking suddenness, Pemberley is plunged into a frightening mystery.

My Interest in this book is: A Jane Austen spin-off by a well-known mystery writer… do I need more of a reason?

My Review:

While it was fun to visit Pemberley, I was a bit disappointed with this story.  It was nice to see that Elizabeth and Darcy were doing well, with two children.  Jane and Bingley lived down the road so that they could visit often, with or without their own children.  We already knew that Lydia Bennet married Wickham, who still cannot get a job.  Surprisingly, Mary Bennet made a match before Kitty did, and Mrs. Bennet will not visit Pemberley, if she can avoid it, as she feels rather intimidated around her son-in-law.

Georgiana Darcy still lives at Pemberley and is ready for marriage; but whose hand will she accept?  That of long time guardian, Colonel Fitzwilliam, now heir to his father’s estate, or the frequent visiting friend of Charles Bingley, a Mr. Henry Alveston, London barrister?  Georgiana is quite taken with Mr. Alveston, and it doesn’t hurt that he is rather wealthy himself, as well as considerably younger than the Colonel.  However, the Colonel hopes to have Georgiana’s hand in marriage.

We then have Lydia arrive at the doorstep of Pemberley before the large ball, shrieking that her dear Wickham is dead by the hand of Captain Denny.  Darcy starts to mount a rescue mission, which is quickly taken over by Colonel Fitzwilliam, who arrived on horseback right after Lydia did.  Why was the Colonel out so late on a stormy night, and arriving after the carriage containing Mrs. Wickham?

There is supposedly a mystery surrounding a certain portion of the woods of Pemberley – ghosts and suicide in the area of a cottage that now contains the Bidwell family.  Who is the lady in shadows that haunts the wood? 

This story was well-written, with a bit of wit, but I felt cheated on several levels.  The most important level is that of the mystery.  I felt that the mystery was not very well-played, especially considering that a venerate mystery writer wrote this story.  Was it simply because her publisher wanted to jump on the Austen wagon to the stars, hoping to get readers from across the two very different genres?  The second was the opening of the story and the piecemeal effect of the writing.  The first six percent of the book was a complete rehash of Pride and Prejudice.  There were other parts that it felt as if Ms James was trying to give the reader a load of information about Jane Austen works, without skillfully working it in to the story. 

What I did love about the book was the language.  I had learned a great many new words reading this novel, and I do appreciate a writer that uses words that are uncommon.  However, I feel that she did use a few phrases that might not have yet been in use at the time – police is on that comes to mind.  Ms James does write well – if not know how to spin a mystery well.  This reader fell for many of the descriptions of the people in the story.  The author did try to emulate Jane Austen in describing a person – not with outright “she was a pretty girl with blonde hair and blue eyes” – but more of a description of character:

                 With his square leather bag strapped to his saddle, he was a familiar figure in the roads and lanes of Lambton and Pemberley.  Years of riding in all weathers had coarsened his features but, although he was not considered a handsome man, he had an open and clever face in which authority and benevolence were so united that he seemed destined by nature to be a country doctor.

Not only were there nods to Jane Austen, as this book seems to be derived from many years of enjoyment of Miss Austen’s novels, but I also detected a nod to other writers, particularly Oscar Wilde with the following quote (reminds me of The Importance of Being Earnest):

I have never approved of protracted dying.  It is an affectation in the aristocracy; in the lower classes it is merely an excuse for avoiding work.  [I have] never gone in for prolonged dying.  People should make up their minds whether to live or to die and do one or the other with the least inconvenience to others.

       - From a letter by Lady Catherine de Bourgh

The majority of the book was spent on awaiting the inquest of Wickham for the death of Captain Denny, and then the trial of Wickham for the murder of his friend.  The story never developed that gothic sense of the haunted woods and the murder by a smug man.  It was more of a plodding story moving from the discovery of Wickham over the lifeless body of his friend to his trial and how Wickham was still smug while facing a jury for murder.  I never got the sense that there was a mystery in this story, simply a story of a trial with no evidence truly put forth.  It was one of those stories that had wrapped up the trial and the real story within a small percentage of the novel.  I have never read a book by PD James, and I am not likely to do so in the future.

Favorite Quotes:

You discuss what Miss Darcy should do as if she were a child.  We have entered the nineteenth century; we do not need to be a disciple of Mrs. Wollstonecraft to feel that women should not be denied a voice in matters that concern them.  It is some centuries since we accepted that a woman has a soul.  Is it not time that we accepted that she also has a mind? – spoken by Henry Alveston

A brutal murder on one’s own property by a brother by marriage with whom one is known to be at enmity will inevitably produce a large congregation, including some well-known invalids whose prolonged indisposition had prohibited them from the rigours of church attendance for many years.

When I finished this book, I felt: Let-down; I had expected more of a mystery, not a book about a trial of a man which I could care less if he hanged for a crime that he may or may not have committed.

Rating: 3 stars (The language deserves 4 Stars)

Other books to read by this author or theme: there are so many other books with Jane Austen mysteries, two authors in particular that do a much better job are Carrie Bebris and Stephanie Barron.

Tag: mystery, Jane Austen, Regency

review: Austentatious

Title by Author: Austentatious by Alyssa Goodnight

Series (if applicable): none

Publisher: Kensington Publishing Group  

Publication Date: Jan 31, 2012     

Page Count:  320

Source: author Alyssa Goodnight

Blurb:

In this quirky, sexy novel set against the lively, music-filled backdrop of Austin, Texas, a young woman learns that romance can wreak havoc with even the best laid plans. . .

It started innocently enough. While browsing in one of Austin's funky little shops, Nicola James is intrigued by a blank vintage journal she finds hidden among a set of Jane Austen novels. Even though Nic is a straight-laced engineer, she's still a sucker for anything Austen-esque. But her enthusiasm quickly turns to disbelief once she starts writing in the journal--because somehow, it's writing her back. . .

Miss Nicola James will be sensible and indulge in a little romance. Those twelve tiny words hit Nic like a thunderbolt, as if her diary was channeling Austen herself! Itching for a bit of excitement, Nic decides to follow her "Fairy Jane's" advice. The result: a red-hot romance with a sexy Scottish musician who charms his way into Nic's heart in about five seconds flat.

Sean MacInnes is warm, funny, and happens to think Nic is the most desirable woman he's ever met. But a guy like Sean doesn't exactly fit into her Life Plan. With no one but Fairy Jane to guide her, Nic must choose between the life she thought she wanted--and the kind of happy ending she never saw coming....

Review:

This clever, witty, and quick-paced novel was a joy to read!  Nicola James, an engineer in Austin, Texas, created a Life Plan when she was 13 years old, and was still (begrudgingly?) sticking to it when she came across a magical journal that led her down a path least expected.  I don’t think I have laughed out loud with any book as much as I did with Austentatious!

Alyssa Goodnight has created a character so human and so funny, that I instantly fell in love with her and wanted her to be my new best friend.  I also loved how geeky she is…loved so many of the references only us geeks probably know!  (Princess Bride is one that definitely comes to mind!)   Nicola is also an avid cupcake baker and eater!  Girl after my own heart – and would love to make some of these different types of decadent yumminess!  I was actually saddened when the book ended, as I wouldn’t have any more funny vignettes to hear about!  Nicola James is a young woman who is science-minded, with a little piece of her heart wishing for a happily-ever-after – just like the ones that Jane Austen wrote.  She knows it will most likely not fit in to The Plan, but she can hope.  Knowingly, though, she has her plan and nothing will deter her from it; or so she thinks.

When Nicola is spending a Saturday walking through quirky shops in Austin, Texas, she comes across a slim journal that was shelved with books by her favorite author, Jane Austen.  She had intended the book for her cousin, but Fate took control, and Fate’s name seems to be that of none other than Jane Austen herself.  Obviously, Nicola secretly desired something to shake up her world, and she definitely obtained it in the magical journal that is now hers.  She follows the advice of not only the words from the journal, but also of her spunky mentee, Beck of the mesmerizing pink accents.  Beck is another fantastic character that was well drawn and a riot to watch when she came on the scene.

Due to the words that appear magically in the journal that Nicola found in an antique shop, she starts to take chances, and follows the advice of a magical item.  Being science-minded, she isn’t sure what about the journal’s workings, let alone what the journal has in store for her, but she does go along with the strange phrases and it ends up completely changing her life. 

The book is quickly paced with one hilarious scene after another (a scene with a mushroom… still makes me chuckle!).  The tone of the book is also quite enjoyable.  The characters almost seem larger than life, but none are so outrageous that they seem fake.  Ms. Goodnight has a unique talent for creating characters that you may have come across in your own life, or hope that you do.  Even the journal has a certain Sass that becomes a character in its own right. (I wish that the journal I had recently purchased would be a magical one, simply to experience!)

I have visited Austin before, but want to go back and see the Austin that Nicola James runs around.  The book is set during the annual Spring event of SXSW, or South by SouthWest for the uninitiated.  It is a Movie and Music Festival extraordinaire.  There are restaurants, parks and events that Nicola and friends go to, and this story truly brings Austin, Texas alive!

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good laugh, wants to find a new best friend in Nicola, has enjoyed the witticisms of Jane Austen, and would like to learn more about the best city in Texas.  It is a wonderful read that immediately draws the reader in, and you can’t help but fall into Nicola’s world to find out what happens next.  Do yourself a favor, read Austentatious, and learn to believe in Magic!

Favorite Quote: So many to choose from….

I tried to imagine an enchanted world where fairy godmothers existed with magic wands and fairy dust up their sleeves.  Brownies were the solid, chocolaty base of the food pyramid, my A-cups overflowth, and roaches worked like Roombas.  I felt my lips curling into a smile as I imagined the impossible, but that entire impossible world disappeared in an instant as my eyes flashed open, and I remembered that it wasn’t’ the imagining but the believing that got you in trouble.

Was it possible that her spirit had lingered on after her death and then flourished with the widespread popularity of her books?

“…why did we wait for anything? Why not seize the pleasure at once? How often is happiness destroyed by preparation, foolish preparation!” – Emma

Note to self: A PDA with a rock star is like polishing off a huge hot fudge brownie sundae – unbelieveably decadent, sweet and satisfying, but capped off with a queasy, what-did-I-just-do sort of feeling.

Rating: 5 Stars

Tag: contemporary, Jane Austen, romance, Austin, music