BOOK AND MOVIE REVIEW: Austenland by Shannon Hale

“She was growing used to slippers and empire waists, she felt naked outside without a bonnet, during drawing room evenings her mouth felt natural exploring the kind of words that Austen might’ve written.” – Austenland (novel)

Like many Jane Austen fans, I sat on the edge of my seat awaiting Austenland to arrive on our screens. And then I quickly started reading the very negative reviews rolling in, and found myself hesitating to watch the film. In fact, by the time I got around to seeing it even friends of mine who only vaguely know who Jane was had seen it.

BOOK REVIEW: The Man Who Loved Jane Austen by Sally Smith O’Rourke

“Jane tucked the letter into the folds of her cloak and looked at him, realizing that in the groom she had found an ally who would not betray her indiscretion.” – Prologue

I firstly must admit to liking this book against my better judgement. I found a paperback version of Sally Smith O’Rourke’s The Man Who Loved Jane Austen ISBN: 978-0758210371, along with six other Jane Austen-related reads, at my local library (Melton). The small paperback was the second I began reading out of the stack, and I was quickly hooked.

An unexpected delight: Regency dance

I left work dot on time yesterday to get on a train to Thomastown, Melbourne for a bout of Regency dancing at 6.30pm. I’m not a keen athlete in any way and while I adore dance, I am truly hopeless, with two left feet and two left hands to match. Admittedly, I was a little nervous – an unusual emotion for me to feel – and I had a large coffee while I waited to go in. Before I went in, I knew very little about Regency dancing. Most of us have seen at least one Pride and Prejudice adaptation, where Mr Darcy can use his refusal to dance to belittle, Mr Collins can use his inability to dance well to belittle himself and the women mostly stand around dying to dance with anyone other than Mr Collins.

BOOK REVIEW: Dinner with Mr Darcy by Pen Vogler

“Recipes inspired by the novels and letters of Jane Austen” – Front Cover

Visiting Newtown, one of my regular book hunting spots, and having already bought secondhand copies of Victorian Entertaining by John Crosby Freeman, Women and Marriage in Victorian Fiction by Jenni Calder and Jane and the Stillroom Maid by Stephanie Barron (at Gould’s Book Arcade further up King Street), I was thrilled to walk down the road and find Dinner with Mr Darcy at Art on King/Modern Times. It was in plastic, for $39.95. It was marked on the back for £16.99 or (US)$24.95 with Canadian prices higher.

NEWS ROUNDUP: Mr Darcy in Hyde Park

Q. What’s better than a twelve-foot tall statue of our Mr Darcy in Hyde Park? A. The news stories and comments generated on the back of it.*

(Photo embedded via The Guardian)

BOOK REVIEW: Fitzwilliam Darcy Rock Star

“A modern Pride & Prejudice that will rock your world … Sex, Drugs, Rock ‘N’ Roll” – Book cover

I picked up this 2011 modern retelling of our Pride and Prejudice from Glebe’s Sappho Books secondhand for $12 the other week – I spotted it straight away on the shelf (I think my brain is tuned into anything with the words ‘Darcy’, ‘Pride and Prejudice’ or ‘Bennet’ on it). I have struggled about where to begin with this review as I really enjoyed some aspects of it, and yet completely disliked other parts. Heather Lynn Rigaud has certainly succeeded in writing a book that will divide opinion, and my feelings are definitely mixed. By the end of it, you’ll feel as though you’ve gotten to know all the characters well, but you’ll also feel like you’ve run a marathon. Let me explain.

BOOK REVIEW: Cooking with Jane Austen & Friends by Laura Boyle

“Period recipes used in the Austen household, updated for modern kitchens” – Cooking with Jane Austen & Friends by Laura Boyle cover

I received this delightful book for Christmas, ordered for me from the Jane Austen Centre in bath, and as a fan of both cooking and Jane Austen I could not have been more excited – I was even excited over the brochure from the JACentre!  I rightly assumed I would be able to easily create a number of the dishes depicted and would learn quite a bit at the same time.

Pulp! The Classics’ Pride and Prejudice

“Lock up your daughters… Darcy’s in town!” (Cover)

This Pride and Prejudice cover leaped out at me from the shelf at Art On King/Modern Times in Sydney’s Newtown a week ago and I just had to pick up the 352 page paperback for a closer look. With red edged pages and a bold “Look at me cover” it was damn enticing for just AU$19.95 and as I’d seen it online previously I was so excited to finally find it in a shop. ISBN-13: 978-1843440710

Q&A: Fifty Shades of Mr Darcy author, Tessa Clayton

Many Janeites have heard of the upcoming Fifty Shades of Mr Darcy, a parody of Fifty Shades of Grey with Pride and Prejudice rolled in. I’m expecting steamy erotica with our favourite Pride and Prejudice couplings, and more than just brooding looks from Fitzwilliam.

Whether you’re a fan of Mills and Boon type books, have read the Christian Grey books, or remain primarily Pride and Prejudice fan, you’ll most likely find something that will get your tongues wagging from this novel. But is it going to get us hot under the cravats and bonnets? In this Q&A with the author, The Bennet Sisters takes a closer look at what we might be in for.

Dear Mr Darcy review and Q&A with Amanda Grange

Dear Mr. Darcy: A Retelling of Pride and Prejudice

I was contacted by Amanda Grange’s publicist with a review copy of Dear Mr Darcy early in late May. Leaping at the chance to have an early read of this book, and to provide readers of The Bennet Sisters with a Q&A from the writer herself, I downloaded my Kindle version and got to reading.