Dear Jane Austen Advice Column...

Dear Jane Austen Advice Column,

I'm Molly Gibson please and I am in need of some advice for I fear my heart shall break. I don't know what to say or do about this hateful - detestable news...Papa is going to be married again. And am I ever sorry for it! He tried to convince me it was for the best, he said I was to have a new mama and he a companion. But he does not understand, He had me. You don't know what we were to each other- at least, what he was to me. And the most painful part is I was sent out of the house that all this might be quietly arranged in my absence!

What am I to do? I did behave so badly to Papa this morning when he told me. Especially when he told me his choice of wife; a Mrs Kirkpatrick. Everyone thinks she was kind to me as a child - she let me sleep in her bed and then she forgot all about me. I don't think she cares about other people at all! I have been told that although this will be difficult, the more I try the happier I will become but I know that I shan't. It will be very dull when I shall have killed myself, as it were, and live only in trying to do, and be, as other people like. I don't see any end to it. I might as well never have lived. And as for happiness, well I feel I shall never be happy again.

What ever shall I do?

Molly Gibson.

My Dear Molly,

I make no apologies for my silence, because I know how little people think of letters and advice at such terrible times, though I doubt your day has been as hard as mine. My advice to you dear Molly is that you must not dwell on your own problems, for there are many people who have much worse problems. Take my poor self for example, I am so ill I can barely speak --or write for that matter. Oh, I do not think I ever was so ill in my life! And what is worse I still I have not seen a creature this whole morning.  Even though those at the great house all know I am gravely ill and very unfit to be left alone, I am sure.

On the subject of a new mother-- dear me, I know simply everything about it for I gained a most fearsome mother-in law on my marriage to Charles. Mrs Musgrove never gives me the precedence which is due to a woman such as me and she spoils my children excessively. It it no wonder that I am so ill all the time, with a mother-in-law such as this. So beware dear, do not let your father remarry.

Oh! I must go, Charles is out shooting- He would go, though I told him how ill I was. Unfeeling soul, and I suppose it did not suit for the Miss Musgroves to visit...Oh! and I assure you, I have not seen a soul this whole long morning, though they should know what is due to me. But it cannot hurt to take a walk, perhaps I may chance upon them.

Yours affectionately

Mary M---

I kept this letter open, that I might have something further to say upon the subject of your predicament. I have thought long and hard, and in the case that your father does remarry and you develop some terrible illness due to your new mama, which will most likely be the case, I entreat you to visit me. I have quite a lovely and rather comfortable sofa which when lying upon may help to ease your pain--- though I have not had any success with it, but that is simply because my sore throats, you know, are always worse than anyone's.

Jane Austen Week Questions- Part 1

As many of you would already know Miss Elizabeth Bennet over at Elegance of Fashion is running Jane Austen Week! How exciting!  
To get everyone involved in this special event Miss Elizabeth has complied a list of questions for us bloggers to answer. Be sure to visit her blog and join in the fun!

Due to the number of questions and the length of my answers I have decided to divide this post into two parts. The second part will be posted later during the week. 


What was your introduction to Jane Austen?

As a child I loved classic literature, I am not entirely sure how I first came to love it as although both my parents were avid readers they enjoyed the more modern titles. Growing up my favourites were Black Beauty, Anne of Green Gables and Little Woman followed quickly in the next years by Great Expectations, Jane Eyre and Washington Square. After that I read all the classic literature I could get a hold of, however I always passed over Jane Austen! Although I had heard of Pride & Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility had never seen the films or read the books and I actually didn't have a clue they were written by Jane!

But, one day when I was browsing at the local library, I saw a beautiful little book at the very bottom of the bookshelf. I remember it so clearly-it was sticking a little further out than the rest of the novels in the shelf- as if someone pulled it out to look at it but found it did not interest them and just left it half poking out. I remember feeling sorry for it, so I picked it up and read the title:

“Mansfield Park”
by Jane Austen.

And in two days my world was changed-I had finished my first Austen novel, I had a new favourite author and I had been introduced to a whole new world.

What is your favourite thing about Jane Austen? Why?

Goodness me, this is the hardest question to answer. My favourite thing about Jane Austen... I suppose it is the inspiration she brings. Both the inspirational life that she led and the inspiration I get from her novels.

One of the things that I love most about her novels in particular is how she writes so convincingly about life. The way she portrays everything- I love the language, the dancing and the social etiquette in her books and the how the more I read it the more I wish it was all still like that today.

I also admire Jane for the legacy she has left behind, the fact that many generations have been, and will continue to be impacted by her novels.

What are your top three favourite Jane Austen novels and why?

1. Northanger Abbey

Northanger Abbey is my favourite book in the whole wide world. If I go on holidays it is the first thing I pack, on my way to an exam it’s the last thing I read, if I’m having a tough day Catherine Morland's world is the first place I escape to. I love that every time I read it- wherever I may be; I am transported to a world a thousand miles away and where some of my best friends exist. But what is even better is that I don’t have to feel stupid for imagining this, because after all it is exactly what the heroine Catherine does.

I also love how Jane has cleverly combined the romance and irony of the story. It is so brilliantly written and the characters are so easy to identify with. And I also must mention that I am absolutely in love with Mr Tilney, which makes the reading of this novel all the more enjoyable.

2. Mansfield Park

Mansfield Park is a novel that is so close to my heart. I love it! As I have already mentioned it was the first Austen novel I ever read, so it is very special.
I truly believe that Mansfield is the most beautifully written book that I have ever read, and I love reading it aloud because the language is so beautiful.

I love the characters in this novel- especially Fanny. She is sweet, selfless and so very patient. She is an unsung heroine, who just like in the novel deserves much more attention than she receives. As I read this book I am always struck with how Fanny's pain (and joy) becomes mine too. I love the emotional depth of this novel.

3. Persuasion

I love Persuasion because it gives me hope. Anne is getting older, she is losing the bloom of her youth, and she has perhaps lost the only man she could ever love. The storm clouds are looming ahead and her future seems...somewhat bleak. But in the midst of it all Anne stays firm and determined she does not succumb to the pressure and just give up.  I think it is such a touching and uplifting story with some great lessons which we can learn.

Also Capt. Wentworth’s letter! Seriously, that letter alone is enough reason for this novel to be #3 on my list. It melts my heart and gives me goose-bumps every time I read it.

Jane Austen Sequels...Do you like them or not?

I have never actually read a sequel and I am not sure whether or not I ever will. Generally I try to stick away from book adaptions and sequels because I always feel like I will judge them harshly and get frustrated. But lately I did read a modern adaptation on one of her books (Persuasion) which I did really enjoy.

Do you have a favourite spot to keep all your Jane Austen "stuff"?

Definitely! My entire room is kind of a Jane Austen zone, but I do have a special little corner where my Jane Austen calendar hangs, above my Jane Austen bookshelf. Because I collect the various covers and publishing dates of Austen novels and due to the fact I at present I own 44 copies (and still counting) they must have their own bookshelf. I am very protective of them too! The bookshelf is also very close to my bed so at night I can easily grab one to read! My Jane Austen dvds are also arranged together across the top of the bookshelf.

Much love; as always,

Mel xx

ps. Be sure to check back for part 2 later in the week!

New Poll: Which Austen heroine has the best first-name?

The second poll in the name poll series is up! Following on from the first one, "Which Austen hero has the best first-name" the new poll is:

"Which Austen heroine has the best first-name" 

Once again we have 8 heroes and 8 names, all of which are the female *halves* of the heroes which were represented in the last poll. Just a reminder this poll is supposed to be based upon the name (not which heroine is your favourite) and as before I have also given the origin and some of the meanings. You do not have to vote on which meaning is your favourite, I personally just find that if I am stuck between two names the meaning may help me to pick between them. Have fun :)

*in alphabetical order (not preference)
  

ANNE 

Origin: Hebrew, French, English

Meaning: "He (God) has favored me", "gracious", "grace"

CATHERINE

Origin: Greek, English, French

Meaning: "pure"

ELINOR

Origin: Greek

Meaning: "sun ray, shinning light", "light"

ELIZABETH

Origin: Hebrew

Meaning: "God's promise", "God is my oath", "consecrated to God"

EMMA

Origin: German

Meaning: "entire", "universal", "whole"

FANNY

Origin: Latin

Meaning: "from France", "free"
*A diminutive or pet name of Frances (which was Fanny's mother's full name. I am not entirely sure but personally I think it is highly likely Frances was also Fanny's full name)

JANE

Origin: Hebrew

Meaning: "God is gracious"

MARIANNE

Origin: French

Meaning: A combination of MARIE (meaning "star of the sea") and ANNE (meaning "grace")





Didn't Jane choose some beautiful names with equally lovely meanings for her heroines! They all also seem to suit the characters so very well.


Much love,

Mel xx

PS. Sorry for the delay in posting this up- I've been having a little trouble with the poll gadget. Hopefully it is working now- even if the question/title does appear twice.

My ever growing library

Lately I have added quite significantly to my ever growing book collection. I just can't seem to help myself when I see cheap secondhand books! However it is almost always the same problem- which ones to buy and which to put back (and hopefully come back for at a later stage when the bank balance says so!). Choosing between them is like deciding which puppy is the cutest at the pet shop- it's impossible! But I did it, as hard as it was and I am very pleased with my new "friends". So just as I usually do, I've decided to share with you the ones I chose. And hopefully review in the future :)

Jane Austen
Of course the first ones I decided upon were the Austen's. As you may already know I have a growing collection of Jane Austen titles, ones with different covers, publishers, editions and so on. My goal of 100 by 2012 is looking a little dim but with the addition of five more I do believe I am slowly getting there.

I was able to get my hands on two more copies of Pride and Prejudice,  two more copies of Sense and Sensibility and another copy of Emma (which is the film tie in with the Miramax film starring Gwyneth Paltrow and it even has some beautiful stills from the movie inside!!! Even though this film version isn't my favourite I am still very happy with it).
And have a look at the Vintage Austen's (the two in the bottom half of the picture)- aren't they gorgeous!




Charles Dickens

As I wrote in a post a short while ago (here), it will be the bicentenary of Charles Dickens birth next year. This anniversary has inspired me to set myself a goal. To read at least 10 Dickens novels in 2012. Because I had already read Great Expectations and Oliver Twist I believed that I would have several copies of Dickens in one of my bookshelves- but can you believe it, I had not one Dickens novel!!! How terrible, I must have borrowed them from the local library (that evil place *laughs*). So obviously I was on the lookout for some of his novels, and I am happy to report I now own two: Great Expectations and Hard Times.

Charlotte Brontë

 There are a few other novels, apart from the Austen ones, that I collect more than one copy of. In every case it is a novel which is considered a classic. These being Little Woman,  Black Beauty, a few of Hardy's work and most recently I have also decide to collect versions of Great Expectations. However one book I have been collecting since around the time I started my Austen collection. Is Jane Eyre, so I also bought this one to add to it.





Others
These last two I bought simply because I couldn't resist. I have been looking everywhere for a copy of Alison Weir's Innocent Traitor that I almost screamed for joy when I came across it. Due to my recent admiration for Lady Jane Grey it was almost the best find of the day (second to the Austen finds).

William Wordsworth- The Poems Volume One, had me at literally snatching it off the shelf. Why someone else had not bought this book still amazes me.

...and last but not least my Ma brought me home this insightful and rather humorous study book- Jane Austen's Novels: A study in Structure by Andrew H. Wright. I have only read a few portions and I am already enjoying it so much!

What I love the most about these old secondhand books are the notes inside, many of them have little inscriptions from the previous owners or lovely dedications in the front. I always feel it gives my books an identity and a history and I often like to think about the Sally's or Emma's before me that owned these wonderful books (strange I know). In front of one of the  Austen copies was a beautiful dedication to a Miss H. with love from Jordan who was wishing her good luck in the future. I just love inscriptions like that!


Love Mel xx

PS. My Austen Collection now stand at 44!

Poll results: Heroes first-names

The poll for "Which Austen hero has the best first-name?" has finished! We had a total of 35 votes! 35, by memory I think that is the largest amount of votes I have on any poll...Ever :)

and the results are:
*in order of votes

1. Edmund- 10 votes (28%)

2. Fitzwilliam- 9 votes (25%)

3. Charles- 5 votes (14%)

4. George- 4 votes (11%) 

 *5. Christopher/ Frederick/ Henry - 2 votes (5%)

8. Edward - 1 vote (2%)

Congratulations Edmund!

I am particularly happy at the outcome of this poll, Edmund is quite possibly my favourite boy's name at the moment.  If you would like to know more about the name Edmund I encourage you to read this lovely post written by Miss Laurie- Name Enthusiast: Edmund

I did find the results a little strange in that Fitzwilliam came in so close (with 9 votes) but I think that is just because I don't particularly like the name.



Also I plan to do a series of these polls (concerning names of taken from Jane Austen's novels), the next one will be up within the next week which will be on the first names of the Heroines.


I hope you are all enjoying your day!

Love Mel xx

*Christopher, Frederick & Henry all tied for 5th place with 2 votes each (a total of 6 votes altogether)

Book Review: A Modern Day Persuasion

Title: A Modern Day Persuasion


Author: Kaitlin Saunders


My Rating: 9/10

I tend to be very picky when it comes to adaptations of Jane Austen's work simply because I love the orginals so much. Everytime I pass a copy of "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" I feel I can almost hear Jane spinning in her grave (thats my personal opinion). I have however, no reservations what-so-ever when it comes to this newest adaptation, A Modern Day Persuasion.



Synopsis:

Nearly eight years ago, Anne’s family, specifically her father, convinced her that she was too young to wed and insinuated that her fiancé Rick was solely interested in her wealth and status. Against her better judgment, Anne agreed to postpone the marriage, only to watch the love of her life walk away, never to be heard from again. Since then, time has not been kind, and with the family fortune now gone and Anne unable to move on with her life romantically, she struggles to make a name for herself as a greeting card designer. However, a series of serendipitous events causes Rick to re-enter her life, and at the same time a new beau seeks to claim her affections. The question that needs answering, however, remains the same: Can Anne recover from her previous rejection and love again?


My Opinion:

I loved this book. It was beautifully written and did not resemble any of the rather cheesy modern-day Austen adaptations, which seem to be showing up in the cinemas.  From the very first page I was drawn into the Anne's world - a world I which I felt could identify with. As I turned the first pages, I ever the sceptic continued to read cautiously almost as if I were looking for a fault- I never found one.

Kaitlin Saunders is a wonderful, talented author, with this novel she has brought Persuasion into the 21st Century without compromising the characters or the events. Adapting a classic novel into a modern-day story is not an easy task, making the events all fit together in an entirely new setting is challenging in itself but much care is also needed to make sure it doesn't feel forced or too cheesy. Kaitlin made this seem effortless, during some chapters I would wonder "How is that event going to be adapted into modern-day, it will seem so weird" but sure enough Kaitlin was able to include it in a way I would never had thought.
And I must say that this novel is one of the few adaptations in which I have not had to immediately grab out a copy of the original and read it to get the horrible memory out of my head.

The relationship between Rick (Capt. Frederick Wentworth) and Anne is as beautiful as the orginal and reflected in the same way. I love how even in modern times their love and the horrible events surrounding their relationship breakdown is still something that can be translated and adapted over the years- I think it shows us that not all that much has changed and that indeed Jane Austen is still relevant today.

I found this book to one I could not put down, I had it completed in the one night. It was as if I were reading the story fresh, I had to make sure Rick and Anne would get together. And I had to make it to the famous scene- where Anne reads the letter!

If you are an Austen fan I would definitely recommend this book. I would also encourage anyone who hasn't read any of Jane Austen's work to read it, particularly if you have avoided her work because you feel the language is to hard to understand.


Much Love, as always

Mel xx

New Poll: Which Austen hero has the best first-name?

When it comes to names I have somewhat of an obsession, I love looking at their meanings and origin, and I often spend hours looking through baby name books or websites. Lately I have been thinking a lot about the names of some of my favourite heroes, and in particular those wonderful men within Jane Austen's novels. Although it was extremely easy to pick my favourite, I thought it might be fun if I did put up a poll to see which name you thought was the best.
So, we have 8 heroes and 8 names, in additon to listing the names I have also given the orgin and some of the meanings, because sometimes I find the meaning can help you to decide. I hope you enjoy this post and don't forget to vote for your favourite name.

*in alphabetical order (not preference)
 

CHARLES

Origin: German, English, French

Meaning: "man", "free man", "army, warrior"

CHRISTOPHER

Origin: Greek

Meaning: "Christ- bearer", "bearer of the Christ"

EDMUND

Origin: Old English

Meaning: "prosperous protector"

EDWARD

Origin: Old English

Meaning: "prosperous guardian", "wealthy protector"

FITZWILLIAM

Origin: English, Celtic

Meaning: "son of William"

FREDERICK

Origin: German

Meaning: "peaceful ruler"

GEORGE

Origin: Greek

Meaning: "farmer", "earth worker"

HENRY

Origin: German

Meaning: "ruler of the household"






Also if you happen to love (or you're just simply interested) in names Miss Laurie has a wonderful blog I would encourage you to visit called Name Enthusiast.

Much love from your friend,

Mel xx

Jane Austen: An Illustrated Treasury

A few days ago I finished my last University exam for this semester so yesterday I decided to go out and celebrate by buying this beautiful book: Jane Austen - An Illustrated Treasury.
It is not often that at my local bookshop I would come across something as exquisite as this lovely book so it was a very exciting find. I have spent the better part of yesterday and today browsing through the detailed pages.

 Because this is possibly the most beautiful book I have seen in my entire life, I am very eager to tell you about the delightful pictures and beautiful removeable items. However first I must say this book is by no means lacking in the content department, it is full of interesting information and is perhaps the first book I have come across in a long time in which I have learnt some new things about Jane, her world and her novels.

The book is 157 pages in length and is composed of an Introduction, which looks at the life and world of Jane Austen and six chapters, each focusing on the six of Jane's major novels. The each of the pages are so detailed, many of which contain pictures which range from photos of Jane's home to illustrations from her early novels and even a few photos of scenes from major movies.

My favourite part about this book however is definitely the little clear envelopes which are attached between some of the pages within the book. There are six in total. Inside the first one their is a small book containing selected pages of her Juvenilia and also a reproduction of a letter from Jane to Cassandra. All the items within the envelopes look so real that I barely want to touch them. The second one contains some Illustrations from a 19th century edition of Pride & Prejudice which are absolutely gorgeous. Other envelopes include thing such as Jane's silhouette and even a reproduction of the original handwritten manuscript of Persuasion. My favourite envelope however is found in Chapter Five: Northanger Abbey which among other things includes- a letter from Jane to her niece, it is rather a funny letter she has used mirror writing to compose it. Every word is written backwards, I love it particularly because it shows us Jane's sense of humor.

As you can see I am very much in love and could almost definitely write another five or so paragraphs talking about it I had better finish this post, and to do so I thought I would leave you with a lovely quote from the book- which is so true, especially in my life!

"With her insight into the human heart and the female mind.

Jane Austen becomes a private best friend to many of her readers."

-Rebecca Dickson (Jane Austen: An Illustrated Treasury)

Much Love,

Mel xx

Distracted by Jane

So how many marks do you think the person marking my chemistry exam would give me if instead of answering the questions asked, I wrote an essay titled "How much I love Henry Tilney" or "My favourite Jane Austen novel: Northanger Abbey"?

You see I have an exam coming up in the next week and today I tried to study...well that is to say, I usually don't mind studying at all but for some reason I found myself daydreaming about the world of Jane Austen and in particular that of Catherine Morland. And in the time it takes to pick up a book and say "Goodbye study, Hello Tilney" I had assumed the role of Catherine and was walking the halls of Northanger Abbey without any hope of returning to reality in the near future.

Surely I cannot be the only one who gets distracted by the world and characters of Jane Austen at the most inopportune times?

Love as always :)

Mel (Tristans_Isolde) xx

"A Modern Day Persuasion"- A novel by Kaitlin Saunders

                                                                                                  Nearly eight years ago, Anne’s family, specifically her father, convinced her that she was too young to wed and insinuated that her fiancé Rick was solely interested in her wealth and status. Against her better judgment, Anne agreed to postpone the marriage, only to watch the love of her life walk away, never to be heard from again. Since then, time has not been kind, and with the family fortune now gone and Anne unable to move on with her life romantically, she struggles to make a name for herself as a greeting card designer. However, a series of serendipitous events causes Rick to re-enter her life, and at the same time a new beau seeks to claim her affections. The question that needs answering, however, remains the same: Can Anne recover from her previous rejection and love again?

As many of my readers are already aware, I simply adore Jane Austen, so when I heard about this new adaptation of a Jane Austen classic, I almost cried for joy. The novel is titled A Modern Day Persuasion and brings Austen's moving love story Persuasion to the 21st Century.  

I am excited to let you all know I have ordered this book *yay* so I will be posting up a review as soon as I recieve and read it. However in the meantime if you would like to know more about novel I encourage you to check out Kaitlin's lovely website http://kaitlin-saunders.com/ where you can find information about Kaitlin, the book, and even see what other readers have to say about it.

Much love,

Mel (Tristans_Isolde) xx

ps. Isn't the front cover design simply gorgeous!

Book Review; The Proposal

Title: The Proposal

Author: Lori Wick

Series: The English Garden Series: Book One

A moving story of Christ's love at work in the most stubborn of hearts.

William Jennings is a handsome, successful, wealthy bachelor and is quite happy caring for only himself. He has never desired marriage, although he longs to have a son of his own. When a relative of his dies leaving him the guardian of two young boys and a little girl, he believes all of his dreams have come true- and all without the hassle of a wife!
However Jennings soon finds after a terrible oversight which jepardises the safety the little girl, that he is ill-equipt to deal with turns to his sister for help.
After spending time with his sister, Lydia and meeting her best friend - a beautiful young woman named Marianne, Jennings begins to see that perhaps there is more to life than what he thought and that maybe he does need God in his life.

This novel is set in 1810, London, England and has a decidedly Jane Austen feel about it. It is a wonderful beginning to the series and although sometimes it hard to keep up with whos-who in the characters, you quickly become aquainted with some truly inspiring characters. This is a book I would recommend as a pre-cursor to young readers before reading Jane Austen. I love this series particularly because it has so much Christian content and as the characters developed in their faith I to felt I grew in the same way.

The only criticism I would give on this book is, I didn't mind, at first that a few of the characters had very Austen-ish names, for example there is a Mr Collins, the Palmers, the Jennings but when the names like Bates, Knightely, Dashwood and Augusta popped up, not to mention Marianne having a sister named Elinore and Marianne at one stage spraining her ankle- I confess it was a little too much. However I am willing to believe that perhaps Lori Wick is an Austen fan and wanted to represent that in her work- I cannot blame her for that.

If you get the chance to read this book, I highly recomend it- its quite easy to read and although it is predictable its a sweet story.

to be a heroine...Lesson #1

Lesson # 1- You don't have to be a "true-quality" heroine.

You may be thinking, what do I mean by true-quality heroine, well Jane Austen refers to a true-quality heroine in the 2nd chapter of Northanger Abbey.

"She was looked at, however, and with some admiration; for, in her own hearing, two gentlemen pronounced her to be a pretty girl. Such words had their due effect; she immediately thought the evening pleasanter than she had found it before − her humble vanity was contented − she felt more obliged to the two young men for this simple praise than a true−quality heroine would have been for fifteen sonnets in celebration of her charms, and went to her chair in good humour with everybody, and perfectly satisfied with her share of public attention."

Often when a person thinks of a heroine they think of a perfect, beautiful, strong woman whom everyone admires, however in the context we are using it- heroine simply means:

1. the main good female character in a work of fiction

The true-quality heroine is I believe the heroine stereotype that the world has created- it is the idealized version. And is more often than not, someone we may look up to but can never relate to. This is what I love about Jane Austen's heroines - and Catherine Morland in particular she is not a true-quality heroine, she does not possess the traits that are often associated with heroines; she is from an average family, she is not wealthy, she has not all that many aquaintances, she is considered plain for most her life and at time is almost pretty and she is not interested in becoming 'accomplished'.

 

So Lesson #1 :  If you want to be a heroine but you don't quite think you fit the "mould" don't worry you don't have to!  be a true-quality heroine! Each heroine in every story is designed by that author specifically to complete the task/ fufill the destiny/ achieve whatever needs to be acheived in order to overcome the obstacles to reach the end- So if all heroines were the same and fit the 'true-quality' ideal they would never be able to be so different!

 

Take Care,

Tristans_Isolde xx

UPDATE (25/05/2011) On futher thought I decided that these lessons should be shorter so I have edited this post a little from the original. Its still basically the same content just shorter :) 

Villains we sympathise with (Part 4)- Final

This small series has been so fun to research and write, it has been quite interesting to look at these villains who in many cases were the almost-hero of the story. Very often we can see how events and the choices of these villains have led to their demise and if only they had chosen to do the right thing, or fix their mistakes and mend their ways their lives could have been very different.
I hope you have also enjoyed these posts and that although we don't condone the actions of many of these villains we appreciate what these characters add to the story/movie and in sympathising with them we also learn from the errors they made.

Here is the final list of villains which will be represented in the poll.

- John Willoughby
- Carver Doone
- Henry Crawford
- Mr Preston
- Guy of Gisbourne
- Mr Elliot
- Mr Elton
- John Thorpe

And just to throw a female villain (I supose you call that a villainess) in the mix, I have decided to add:

Lady Catherine de Bourgh

Lady Catherine is a villainess in Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice. She is a Lady of wealth and title and the controlling Queen of her relm. She is the aunt of the one-and-only Fitzwilliam Darcy and has her heart on a union of marriage between he and her own daughter.  Lady Catherine tries to frighten Elizabeth Bennet with her force, when she learns of  the possible engagement of Darcy and Elizabeth. She shows her true colours as a snob and tyrant and gives Elizabeth Bennet a run for her money, so to speak when it comes to being strong-willed. In the end, as we all know Lady Catherine looses - her strong words are to no avail, and in the end all she did was bring Darcy and Elizabeth closer together.


 And to make it an even ten I have decided to add:

Morris Townsend
Morris Towsend is from Henry James' novel Washington Square and is a great villain. He is a young man who has in a matter of a few years has blown his entire fortune. Morris sets his sights on Catherine Sloper a young woman of fortune and intends to marry her until her father informs him that he will disinherit his daughter if Morris marries her. Morris leaves Catherine (who by now is in love with him) and runs away subjecting her to her tyranical father. Morris returns upon Catherine's father's death some 20 years later only to be rejected.




Thank you everyone for your suggestions and comments, unfortunately I wasn't able to include all the villains, in particular the ones I didn't know all that much about, due to time restraints and numbers. But Thank you and I will definitely look into featuring them in another post at some other stage :)

New post series "to be a heroine..."

I mentioned, a little while ago, about about a Jane Austen related series of posts I had planned, which I now have the time to tell you about - Yay! These posts will be known as the "to be a heroine" series. I will be posting the first in the series in the next day or so but before I do that I wanted to give you a little insight into the series.

"But when a young lady is to be a heroine, the perverseness of forty surrounding families cannot prevent her. Something must and will happen to throw a hero in her way"

Ever since I read my first Austen novel I have always imagined what it would be like to be one of her heroines. How great would it be to be Elizabeth Bennet or Catherine Morland!? I even at times find myself in some way imitating one of my favourite characters, perhaps even without realising it. Lately I have found myself at times thinking a lot about Jane's heroines and who they are, what does it takes to be a heroine and what are the things we can learn from them. But in looking at this I have realised there are alot of mistakes these famous heroines made which we can learn from too.

So that's why I have decided to make up these series of posts (which I plan to post up on a 1 to 2 week basis). I hope you will enjoy them :)

Villians we sympathise with (Part 3)

A big "Thank you" to Miss Laurie from Old Fashion Charm (which is one of my favourite blogs, I encourage you to check it out if you haven't already), who has been kind enough to give us 6 more suggestions:

Mr Elliot

Mr Elliot is a villain in Jane Austen's Persuasion. He is the cousin of the main character Anne Elliot who re-unites with her family after a falling out when he married a very rich woman who was of inferior birth. After the death of his wife he desires to move up socially, to do this he reconcilles with the Elliots to gain higher social connections. Mr Elliot is very sly in his actions and changes his thoughts, opinions, manner and actions to suit whatever situation he is in. He also proposes to Anne with the intention of setting her up as his wife whilst still keeping Mrs Clay as his mistress.  
Personally I cannot even force myself to sympathise with Mr Elliot, I find him to be a slimeball, he is totally creepy and the only two villains I can think of right now which are worse than he is are Mr Collins (Pride & Prejudice) and Alec D'Urberville (Tess of the D'Urberville's). I am not sure whether I believe his admiration for Anne's character is sincere but I supose you could sympathise with him in the fact that he does lose Anne and is ultimately left with Mrs Clay who is just alike him in disposition and perhaps she will also play him just as she played everyone else.

Mr Elton

Mr Elton is one of Jane Austen's villains in her novel Emma. He is a clergyman who after being rejected by Emma literally runs-off and picks up a wealthly wife as if to shove it in Emma's face. If I had to name why I sympathised with Elton it would be because of his wife, although it could be said they deserve each other, or like many other villains this is in fact his punishment, his wife is a horrible character. Mrs Augusta Elton is much worse than Mr Elton she is a social climber, annoying and utterly ridicuclous. She is rich and constantly reminding those around her of the fact, she sticks her nose into everyone business because ultimately she believes everything is her business. She believes she is the best thing to come to Highbury and is determined to control every situation, ball, party and person! The information given to us in the novel about Augusta is not much however it is enough to give us an insight into the person she is, I cannot begin to imagine what it would be like for poor Mr Elton living with Augusta as his wife :)

John Thorpe 

John is a character out of Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey (my favourite novel!) and although I have never really thought of him as a villain, most likely because I like him so much, he is such a great character and absolutely hilarious, he can definitely be counted as a villain. John is, I think, one of those characters you love or hate as he is quite dimwitted, rude, obnoxious and always talking about horses or carriages especially at the most inopportune times. John is the chief instigator of all the trouble the befalls Catherine Morland during the course of the novel as he lies to General Tilney about Catherine being wealthy. I find it quite easy to feel sorry for John, particularly because he is such a hilarious character but also because he did intend to marry Catherine and the lie about her wealth ultimately brought her closer to Henry Tilney, the man whom he was contending against for Catherines attentions. We never really get to know what happens to John, his character disappears after he helps the plot in the right direction, so i must admit I feel sorry for him in the fact that he is a character who unintentionally points the story in the right direction but doesn't gain the anything, and is never heard of again.

The last 3 suggestions were:

- Mr Tulkinghorn (Bleak House)

- Mr Smallweed (Bleak House)

- Bradley Headstone (Our Mutual Friend)

Unfortunatley I don't know anything about these characters so I am going to have to do a little research on them before I post up their small profile. If you know of them I would love to hear why you think people may feel sympathetic towards them despite that they are villains.

Also have you noticed all our villains are males!? I wonder if in general we sympathise more with male villains then female ones? I would love to know any female villains you sympathise with?

*UPDATE (14/05/11):
As you are most likely already aware Blogger has had some issues the past couple of days, the result for this blog was some posts being temporarily taken off. Although the posts were restored the comments were not :) so if you posted a comment on this post I have re-posted it from the notification email I received :)

Villains we sympathise with (Part 1),

Here are two more villains which I think many people sympathise with:

Carver Doone:

Carver is one of the villianous Doones of R.D Blackmores Lorna Doone. The Doone's are a wild, lawless and brutal outlaws and Carver is their future leader. Carver is betrothed to the beautiful Lorna Doone and although Carver is able to have anyone he wants he truly wants Lorna because he loves her. However Lorna doesn't reciprocate these feelings, as she is in love with another man, John Ridd. Carver is extremely jealous and risks his life, that of the Doone's and jeopardises the future and the existance of the Doone hideout in order to get Lorna back from John. Carver's love for Lorna totally overtakes him and is eventually the death of him. In his last moments he is sinking in a bog and refuses to take the staff which is extended out to him by John Ridd.
Carvers life is a tragic one, he loved but never felt love, he saw everything that the generations before him work for their entire lives collapse before his eyes only after a short time in his command. However Carver's final moments show his spirit in the fact that he would never give up or give in.

Henry Crawford:

Henry Crawford is one of the key characters in Jane Austen's Mansfield Park. Along with his sister Mary, he causes a lot of havoc within the Bertram/Price family. After failing to snap-up one of the Bertram sisters- Maria Betram, Henry settles upon their un-appreciated cousin simply to amuse himself and with every intention of making her fall in love with him. However Henry, in his pursuits is the one who falls in love, and reforms himself entirely to show Fanny how seerious he is about her. When reading the book (which is one of my favourites) I really don't like the character of Henry however I think he does give an effort to change for the sake of Fanny. He goes to a lot of trouble to prove his love is not inconstant and unfortunately despite everything his does fall short and his proposals to Fanny are rejected.

Henry is, pehaps considered a villain we sympathise with because when he tries to change and prove his feelings are true, he is rejceted and humilliated. Although I do not agree with his actions after (or before for that matter) he fall in love with Fanny (running off with the married Maria Betram) I can understand his disappointments may lead him this way. And I do believe Fanny's refusal hurt him alot.

Can you think of any other villains we may sympathise with?

Which villains do you sympathise with?

Lately I have been thinking a lot about villains (most likely due to the fact that I have been discussing the villains of The Abduction Club over at my other blog) and I have realised that I don't dislike all villains actually I rather sympathise with a lot of them. With that said I thought it would be interesting to, over the next week, compile a list of villains or antagonists in period dramas/ classic novels with whom we sympathise with.

Here is my first suggestion:

Mr Willoughby:

John Willoughby is a character from Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility. He is one of those characters who is his own worst enemy and that is why I feel sorry for him. It is only himself that he can blame for the events that transpired throughout the novel and he knows this. I believe that despite his past actions, which of course I do not condone, he tried to change - because he truly loved Marianne Dashwood. He had every intention of marrying her but when  his past was exposed and his world came crashing down about him he could not cope with the possibility of poverty. It was this desire for wealth and status and his own vanity which were the driving motivation for his leaving Marianne. Also perhaps he believed that Marianne would not have forgiven him for what he had done in the past (just a thought). In order to prevent what he thought was his life falling apart before his eyes, John married the respectable Miss Grey- with fifty thousand pounds and this marriage was indeed his punishment,

 "If you can pity me, Miss Dashwood, pity my situation as it was then. With my head and heart full of your sister, I was forced to play the happy lover to another woman!"  (chapt.44)

Although John's obvious punishment is that of his marriage to Miss Grey, I think what is the worse punishment is the emotional one - the fact that he once had possession of love and lost it. He knew what it was like to be loved and to love and because of his own vanity lost it all, and knowing that never again would he possess all that was dear to him, or ever feel that feeling again. It's tragic and I believe what redeems him as a character is that he shows remorse and blames himself entirely for what he has done.

"But I have done it. To avoid a comparative poverty, which her affection and her society would have deprived of all its horrors, I have, by raising myself to affluence, lost everything that could make it a blessing."  (chapt. 44)

I will post more up for you to see during the week and once the list is big enough I will put it up into a poll and we can see who is generally acknowlegded as the villain/antagonist we sympathise with the most.

I would love to have your thoughts and suggestions on which villains/antagonists you sympathise with!

A little something from; Jane Austen/ Captain Wentworth

I love Jane Austen's Persuasion, and more specifically this passage...

"You pierce my soul. I am half agony, half hope. Tell me not that I am too late, that such precious feelings are gone for ever. I offer myself to you again with a heart even more your own than when you almost broke it, eight and a half years ago. Dare not say that a man forgets sooner than woman, that his love has an earlier death. I have loved none but you. Unjust I may have been, weak and resentful I have been, but never inconstant."

Don't you just fall in love with Captain Wentworth all over again when you read that!?