Literary Fixation: Longbourn

I have been a "Janeite" for some time. I have read all of Jane Austen's novels and seen just about every film adaptation of her works. In fact I have written posts about all of the Austen books on this blog. So when I was browsing the library the title Longbourn made be stop in my tracks.

Longbourn is the name of the house the the Bennets from Pride and Prejudice lived. This novel is about the people who work for the Bennets.

Longbourn focuses on the staff including the housekeeper Mrs. Hill, maids Sarah and Polly, Mr. Hill and newcomer James Smith. 

Think of Downton Abbey only worse. From the very beginning of the book you understand the bitter reality of being in the service class during Jane Austen's time. It is a glimpse of the daily struggles of servants in a time without plumping or electricity. It shows the filthy underbelly of these classic novels. Unlike Austen's works, this novel mentions sex and repercussions. Also detailing how bodily functions were dealt with by the servants when toilets didn't exist. Yup chamber pots. The leisure class either ignores the service class or treats them with contempt. 

In some ways this books takes the shine off of these well known and loved characters. When viewed from the eyes of those who see all but are not allowed to technically exist. While Jane and Elizabeth Bennet are still fairly decent people when it comes to the servants, the rest of the well known characters are not. Anyone who has read Pride and Prejudice already know the Mrs. Bennett, Lydia and Kitty are selfish, petty creatures. The biggest change in perspective goes to Mr Bennett. Wickham is seen to be an even bigger villain and a possible pedophile. 

 The biggest part of the book revolves around the maid, Sarah. At the very heart of the book is a love story full of sacrifices and false starts. 

I would write more about the staff but I think this is a book that I do not want to spoil. If you are a fan of Jane Austen or of Regency novels this is a good book with a different perspective. The story is interesting and the characters are compelling.

If you have read this tell me what you think.

Previous Jane Austen Posts:

Jane Austen 1- Emma

Jane Austen 2- Northanger Abbey

Jane Austen 3- Mansfield Park

Jane Austen 4- Sense and Sensibility 

Jane Austen 5- Pride and Prejudice 

Jane Austen 6- Persuasion 

5 Fandom Friday: Favorite Fictional Dads

It is time for 5 Fandom Friday!

This week's theme is Favorite Fictional Dads. And of course 5 Fandom Friday would not exist without The Nerdy Girlie and SuperSpaceChick. 

1. Ned Stark (Game of Thrones)

Ned made many mistakes (MANY mistakes) but he was a great dad to Arya. Out of the entire Stark clan I think these two had the best relationship. Ned knew Arya better than anyone else seemed to and he tried to help her be who she wanted to be. In many ways his support has helped keep her one of the few Stark survivors. Those "Dancing Lessons" have worked.

2. Rick Grimes (The Walking Dead)

The zombie apocalypse is no place for children but Rick has done better than most. Both of his kids are alive (in the TV series) and they are not too messed up. Sophia didn't last long and Lizzie went all psycho...Look at the Flowers. Sure one of the most used phrases from the series is "where's Carl" but Rick is doing everything he can to keep his kids safe.

3. Mr. Bennett (Pride and Prejudice)

Mr. Bennett may hate his wife but he does care about his kids. Well he cares about Elizabeth and to a lesser degree Jane. He comes across as a docile old man but he does step up when it count. If not for Mr. Bennett the plot of Pride and Prejudice would have gone wrong. Elizabeth Collins, no thank you.

4. Frank Gallagher (Shameless UK)

I binged watched this series from beginning to end last month. As horrible as Frank can be, he has these truly touching moments with his kids. They a few and far between but somehow this neglectful, sponging, vulgar bastard cares about his kids. This show is awful and everyone needs to watch it.

5. Rory Williams (Doctor Who)

Rory never got the chance to be a real father to his and Amy Pond's daughter, River. She was taken away from them from birth. Still Rory seems like he would have been an awesome dad. I can see him dressing up and playing all sorts of games with his kid. Even though they did not get the traditional father-daughter relationship they still managed to have some really good moments together. Father-daughter punching Hitler. Ah memories. 

IGGPPC Camp 2014: Solo Scavenger Hunt and Jane Austen Letter

This week the International Geek Girl Pen Pal Club is having a virtual summer camp.

Here are my Solo Scavenger Hunt photos.

Top row:
1. Favorite Nerdy Cup : My Tardis mug I made for my bday two years ago with my best friend Regan aka RiffRaff
2. Comic Collection: This makes me sad that I have only one comic book, and I got it in my last Loot Crate. Must fix this.
3. Favorite Candy: All the candy!!! Mainly chocolate
Second row:
4. Favorite Nerd Shirt: This was tough, I have so many, but Whombie wins.
5. Book Collection: My books are scattered in various shelves all through the house, but these are my go to books.

Top row:
6. Movie Collection: I am a dvd hoarder. You cannot see it, but there are at least two rows on each shelf. And a shelf not in pic.
7. Find an Animal: My lovely 21 year old Kristy taking in the sunshine.
Second row:
8. Favorite Shoes: Converse baby
9. Take a five minute walk outside and photograph something you see: I am not entirely comfortable walking around my neighborhood so I rambled in the backyard and took a pic of the old shed that nature is reclaiming. Kinda pretty.  
10. Show off your work-space

Top row:

11. Take a picture of a letter you've received: I have a few...

12. Show off a regional dish from where you are: This is Oklahoma, Meat and Potatoes.

13. Capture your favorite time of the day: Dusk

Second Row:

 14. Figurine based off a movie character: Does TV count?

15. Favorite Button: Big Rocky Horror fan. My nickname used to be Magenta and my friend, Regan, was Riff Raff.

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A Jane Austen Writing Challenge?!

Yes please!

For this challenge I wrote a letter to Ms. Austen using a quill and ink. 

Yes, I just happened to have a quill and some black ink. I'm sophisticated like that. : )

My letter basically asked about the lives of her characters after the weddings. That is something I have always wondered about. Did they all live happily ever after or were there issues?

Final Austen Literary Fixation: Persuasion

The last Jane Austen novel in my Literary Friday series, Persuasion, is my favorite.

Persuasion was the last book written by Austen and it was published after her death. It is also one of the shorter books she wrote, the other being her first, Northanger Abbey.

Knowing that she was probably dying when she wrote this makes the whole story rather bittersweet. It is a story of hope and second chances. Of true and steadfast love winning out in the end.

Anne Elliott is a good, kind person. Her only flaw is being weak willed where her family is concerned.

Her father and older sister are vain and really do not care one bit about Anne. I imagine if she were on fire they would only put her out because of scorch marks on the furniture. And then they would bitch about the trouble of doing so.

Lady Russell serves as the mother figure in Anne's life and she really does love Anne. Yet Lady Russell is the cause of much grief in Anne's life. Anne's breaking off the engagement to Captain Wentworth years before the story begins is all due to her "persuasion".

Speaking of Captain Wentworth, he enters the story as a charming navy man to everyone except Anne, to whom he is reserved and standoffish. They meet again due to Anne staying with her younger sister, Mary, who is vapid but not a wholly bad person. In many ways she provides comic relief with her fussing with her husband and his family, the Musgroves.

Eventually as the story goes on the reader begins to understand that Anne and Wentworth still love each other. Wentworth is hurt by the past refusal. He initially doesn't want anything to do with her but he never stopped loving her. 

What I really enjoy about this book is the pacing and the nervous feeling I get as the book progresses. Austen didn't put as much detail in the surroundings in the book compared to others so the story flows easier. 

As it goes along Wentworth and Anne have many obstacles to get through. The Miss Musgroves, Anne's family, Anne's cousin, Mr Elliott.

But above all, Anne and Wentworth themselves.

After Wentworth writes Anne the letter in the later chapters everything comes to a head. In those moments no matter how many times I have read this book I dread something will get in the way of their meeting again.

Yet they meet, they share their feelings and explain their actions. Finally seeing everything clear.

Why I love this book:

Hope.

This is the one Austen novel that I feel like nobody really thinks about. It is not as famous of some of the others but in so many ways it is better. 

Anne and Wentworth are no Elizabeth and Darcy. Pride and Prejudice is about falling in love. 

Persuasion is one of lost love found again.

The idea that good things can happen to good people.

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I think this will be my last literary Friday post for awhile. That is unless I read something amazing.

Literary Fixation: Jane Austen Part 5

My second favorite Austen novel is Pride and Prejudice. It was also the first one I read, as you can tell by the well worn binding. Pride and Prejudice is probably the most well known of Austen's books. So I will change up this month's literary Friday post and focus on some of the TV and film adaptations.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Prideundprejudice.jpg

Pride and Prejudice 1940 

Laurence Olivier as Mr. Darcy is flawless. But to be perfectly honest this man could have played any character perfectly. His Darcy starts off brooding and disinterested but softens with each scene that involves Greer Garson's Elizabeth. 

This being a 1940's film, many liberties were taken to make it palatable to the audience of the time. That is not to say it is bad, in fact I rather enjoyed the idea of Lady de Bourgh conspiring to get Darcy and Elizabeth together.  

Pride and Prejudice 1995 TV Series

The holy grail of adaptations. This is as close to perfect as a mini series can get. Let's face it, Colin Firth is Mr. Darcy. Every time I read the book he is my Darcy. Hell the lake scene is famous enough to get its own statue. 

I forgive Colin Firth for Mamma Mia! when I watch this.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Prideandprejudiceposter.jpg

Pride & Prejudice 2005

Not perfect by any means, but visually stunning. 

Matthew Macfadyen's Darcy just didn't work for me. Too disinterested, making him basically bland.

Kiera Knightley's Elizabeth, on the other hand, was pretty good. She really captured her was of seeing the humor in things. Her giggle sells it.

Also props to Donald Sutherland's Mr. Bennett. A character that could have been played over the top or boring. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Prideprejudice.jpg

Pride & Prejudice: A Latter-Day Comedy

2003's modern adaptation using religious mores in exchange for the social traditions of Austen's Regency era.

I really liked the soundtrack, upbeat and fun.

I do not know much about the Mormon religion, but that did not ruin the film for me. The leads are pretty good for an updated version. This sisters, who are roommates in the film, are really funny.

Many liberties were taken but some interesting references to Pride & Prejudice and Austen and made throughout the film. Not for the purists. 

Lost in Austen 2008

Now for something completely different.

Jemima Rooper plays Amanda, a Austen fan-girl, who trades places with Elizabeth Bennett. This mini series works best if you really know your Austen like the lead character. It takes a lot of turns from the book for the sake of telling a different story. I mean that in a good way. 

Jemima Rooper is a great actress, I have liked her ever since I saw her as the lesbian ghost BFF in HEX.

And OMG River Song aka Alex Kingston plays Mrs. Bennett. Whovian fan-girl scream!

Also worth noting, Tom Riley as Wickham is amazing. He really made me like a character that in the book I despised. Plus he freakin adorable. 

I feel like I am forgetting one.

If you like Pride and Prejudice, check some of these out. Especially Lost in Austen.

~Eris

Images were taken from Wikipedia where noted. Please contact me if they are not fair-use and need to be taken down. Thank you 

Literary Fixation: Jane Austen Part 4

In third place as my favorite Jane Austen novel: Sense and Sensibility.

I will be perfectly honest. I saw the  1995 movie before I read the book.

That is why it is so high on my list.

The movie has Kate Winslet and Emma Thompson, two of my favorite actresses and the glorious Alan Rickman.

I will try to stick to the actual book, but there may be some intermingling.

The story focuses on sisters Elinor and Marianne.

They are essentially the "Sense" and "sensibility". Elinor being the wise, prim and proper sister and Marianne being the passionate and impulsive one.

By doing everything right Elinor gets the man she loves and lives happily ever after.

Here is what seems odd. Marianne is overly spirited in comparison to every other character but does she not deserve a nice ending? She does not get to marry the man she fell in love with, so, after giving up on life and almost dying she just gives up and marries Colonel Brandon.

Everyone else thinks its a wonderful match but does Marianne?

It is like she settled for him because he loved her and her friends and family kept pushing her.

At least in the movie the Colonel is played by the solemn but sexy Alan Rickman.

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The characters that do not get enough credit are Mrs. Jennings and her daughter Mrs. Palmer.

They are the main comedic characters but they are genuinely good people.

I understand why Marianne doesn't like them, they are rather nosy and in your face.

Still all they want is to befriend them

Lucy Steele, on the other-hand, is a conniving bitch

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I really like this book. But it benefits from having a good movie counterpart.

A movie full a great actors and the story staying close to the original material.

There are a few characters omitted in the movie, like Miss Steele and Lady Middleton, but it doesn't take anything away from it.

On a side note, the actor who played Marianne's love interest Willoughby (Greg Wise) married Emma Thompson (Elinor) in real life.

Love it

~Eris

Literary Fixation: Jane Austen Part 3

The third Jane Austen book in the ascending order from least liked to most loved is Mansfield Park.

Fanny

She is such a weak and timid character. Yet she is observant and clever. She sees and understands more about what is going on around her than any of the other characters. Most of what is known about her is internalized and only the reader is privy to her thoughts and feelings.

She is a good girl who tries to the the right thing and no one seems to recognize it.

Here is where I will probably throw some people off. 

I don't think it would have been a bad match between her and Henry Crawford.

After he takes the time to observe and try and get to know her, he is more perceptive to the mistreatment she gets from many of the others.

Sure Henry Crawford is not a good guy, but for a time he seems capable of changing for the better.

Most of the characters are in the shade of gray concerning good and bad.

The only truly mean spirited ones are Mrs. Norris and Maria Bertram.

Some are oblivious to how they come across, for example Sir Thomas who appears gruff and standoffish but is really kind and caring. Others make mistakes and must either learn from them or adapt. 

Tom Bertram screws up, nearly dies, and becomes a better person for it. 

Mary Crawford panics over her brother's affair and says and does thing to disgust the man she wants to marry. He leaves her and she moves on.

Austen manages to make everything come out pretty close to even. The truly good get what they want and the truly bad get punished. And everyone in between finds their own balance.

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About the television and movie adaptations

The 1999 film version really got a lot wrong.

The 2007 TV version wasn't too bad. And it has Billie Piper as Fanny so that's a plus.

The problem with adapting this book is that Fanny is a quiet, introverted character and putting that onto the screen is pretty impossible unless they use many voice overs.

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Bad Gaming Habit Update:

I have almost finished Wii's Epic Mickey. That Shadow Blot boss was a real pain.

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   Next Week: Sense and Sensibility 

~Eris

Literary Fixation: Jane Austen Part 2

My second installment of the riveting Literary Friday series is about Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey.

The reason this novel is so low on my list isn't because I dislike it, its because I cringe throughout most of the book.

The main character Catherine Morland is a sweet, earnest and oh so naive girl. She is easily manipulated at varies times. Her imagination gets her into trouble and she over corrects in ways that it is hard to read. Yet I like her and I feel bad for her most of the time.

On her adventure to Bath she meets two sets of siblings. The Thorpes and the Tilneys.

The Thorpes, Isabella and John, are manipulative and self-centered creatures. What starts out as a fast friendship between Isabella and Catherine becomes twisted once their brothers arrive. Both of the Thorpes are looking to marry higher up and they have focused on the Morland siblings. 

It is obvious to the reader that the Thorpes are not good people. Slowly Catherine gets the sense of that too. Mainly because of the comparison the the Tilneys.

Introduced first to Catherine is the wonderful Mr. Henry Tilney. 

He may be my favorite of the Austen main men.

He is charming, funny and kind.

So of course Catherine falls in love instantly.

Catherine then manages to strike up a friendship with Miss Tilney, Mr Tilney's kind and caring sister. 

There is of course hitches the the love affair between Mr. Tilney and Catherine. The Thorpes being the lesser evil here. Mr. Tilney's father really gets involved. He wants them together when he thinks she is rich and then throws her out of the house all alone when he finds out she isn't.

This book makes it very clear who the good and the bad characters are. The villains show themselves clearly even if it takes Catherine awhile to realize.

This was Jane Austen first novel.

You can tell that she was still trying to find her voice in the literary world. There are times throughout the book that the style of narrative changes. It is like breaking the fourth wall and speaking directly to the reader. After reading all of her books I notice it more than if it were my first Austen book.

Also she relies on the assumption that the reader has read, or at least heard about, the books her character Catherine and the others have read. I would like to read The Mysteries of Udolpho simply because I want to know what they were on about. 

This is still a great book despite not being her best.

Mr. Tilney alone is worth reading it for.

I picture Tom Hiddleston as Tilney for some reason ; ) 

Literary Fixation: Jane Austen, Part 1

I've been thinking about doing a weekly blog post about books.

A virtual book club/review/rant 

I figure the best place to start is with Jane Austen

I have read all of her novels multiple times and truly enjoy the Regency world she wrote about.

To begin this I am starting with my least liked book and building up to my favorite through the upcoming weeks. 

Emma

How do I say this...I hate Emma. 

She is a snotty, spoiled and sometimes rude character that every other character thinks so highly of. Looking through the book again I cannot really find a redeeming moment for her. One would expect that by the end of the book she would have evolved or learned some lesson, but that doesn't happen.

In fact I think she gets worse as the book progresses. 

There is only one other character that equals her level of annoyance and that is her father. He is more spoiled than Emma and makes everyone accommodate him.

And Mr. Knightly, ugh, he is also above everyone else in his opinion. I can understand him vocally disproving of the things Emma does, but they are both snotty characters.

They really deserve each other.

Let me get away from the things that I didn't like and get more positive.

Frank Churchill and Jane Fairfax.

I liked their characters and story lines much better.

They are made out to be the bad couple, playing games and deceiving those around them. Yet they are the more interesting couple.

Emma thinks of Jane as a goody-goody because she is actually polite and seems genuinely kind.

I would love to have read a book about Frank and Jane. They may have not been right in the way their love affair was played out, but its more exciting and romantic. A clandestine romance is always intriguing.

And the Bates (mother and daughter)

I believe that everyone has family members or old family friends like these two. 

Emma is the one novel of Jane Austen's that is always hard for me to read. I like to root for the main character but Emma is not worth it. That isn't to say it is not worth reading. 

Not the best way to start a weekly blog post, but I want to build up to the Austen novel I love the most.

Next week Northanger Abbey 

~Eris