Mr. Darcy, Jane Austen’s proud, authentic, romantic hero of the novel Pride and Prejudice, remains, in my humble opinion, the best male character in romantic literature. I never tire of Mr. Darcy—of how he enters the novel full of pompous righteousness, and ends the novel being a character readers adore—because he begins to see the…
Tag: Jane Austen
In Snape and Col. Brandon There Was Committed Love
Learning the news of Alan Rickman’s passing today made me stop and pause. Rickman, 69, star of stage and screen, who is probably best known for his role as Snape in the “Harry Potter” films, lost his life to that dreaded demon, cancer. Rickman’s ability to play a variety of roles left us eager to…
Classically Beautiful
On Sunday, my daughter completed her History Day Project. She had chosen Jane Austen as her subject, as she wanted to study someone from history who was a woman and had a literary connection. As the parameters of the assignment were pretty broad, she decided Jane was a good fit for the project. Of course,…
“Austenland”—Creative, Funny, and Just What the Doctor Ordered
As I’ve mentioned in past posts, I’ve hunkered down in an attempt to finish my second novel, so I’ve been a bit out of touch. I’m getting really close to completion, but in order to get there, I’ve had to put other things on hold. Unfortunately, blogging has been one such thing… But we all…
Hanging Out With Jane Austen
I just reread part of Persuasion by Jane Austen, and it got me thinking what Jane would think and write about in today’s world. Would she still speak of and poke fun at the social classes? Would she draw characters who epitomized the thinking and scope of today’s morals and ethics in present-day society? She…
Pride and Prejudice: Which One and Why?
This is my favorite book of all time. It’s my mother’s copy, which she lent to me and will never get back. I love that it cost 45 cents. I love that it has my mother’s original highlights in it. She studied English and Literature, and I do pay attention to the notations when I…
Naming Your Home
The idea of naming your home, manor, mansion, or castle came into play in Britain and is a custom for those who were incredibly well-off. Often, the home was linked to a place in which it was located. But it wasn’t just the rich folks who named their houses; you would also find tradesmen and…
The Pleasure of Hating The Bad Guy
I take great pleasure in despising villainous characters, in particular, those two bad guys Jane Austen created over 200 years ago: Mr. Wickham and Willoughby. Honestly, it’s like therapy for me to detest them as fully as I do. The simplicity of their selfish, immature, conniving behavior is depicted so beautifully that you are reminded…
Guest Blogger: Charlotte English—Those Magic Words: “Jane Austen”
Happy Monday morning, readers! Today’s Guest Blogger comes to us from the Netherlands. A British transplant, thoroughly English, Charlotte recently moved and is enjoying a new environment away from home. She and I have become friends first through Twitter and then e-mail. We are, shall we say, modern-day pen pals. (Writing folks just seem to…
