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

"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!

When Calls the Heart

A little while ago I came across another film that was in development which was based upon one of Janette Oke's novels. 'When Calls the Heart' is the first book in Janette's Canadian West Series. I was particularly excited to hear of this as I loved the series as books. I think it is fantastic to see more and more Christian books being adapted into movies.

The Cast includes:

Maggie Grace as Elizabeth Thacher

Stephan Amell as Wynn Delaney

and is said to be directed by Michael Landon Jr

"When Calls the Heart" tells the story of Elizabeth Thatcher (Maggie Grace), a cultured, young Toronto schoolteacher who in 1910 bids farewell to her father (Peter Coyote) to take a teaching position out west in the hardscrabble Alberta prairie. Despite the many hardships of her new frontier life, she cares deeply for her schoolchildren. But she has closed her heart to love - until she meets Wynn Delaney (Stephen Amell), a member of the Royal North-West Mounted Police."

Unfortunately there is no longer an Imdb link to this film, and there is not alot of information on this made for TV movie. Filming in Canada has been confirmed (and the movie is said to have been completed in 2010) However a release date or trailer is not avaliable. Hopefully we will hear more about this film soon.

Here are several pictures I have found

Although hard to see this production still shows
 Elizabeth Thatcher (Maggie Grace) with
Wynn Delaney (Stephen Amell)



Maggie Smith on set with Natasha Calis