Jane Austen Made Me Do It - Edited by Laurel Ann Nattress

Summary: If you just heaved a contented sigh at Mr. Darcy's heartfelt words, then you, dear reader, are in good company. Here is a delightful collection of never-before-published stories inspired by Jane Austen - her novels, her life, her wit, her world. Regency or contemporary, romantic or fantastical, each of these marvelous stories reaffirms the incomparable influence of one of history's most cherished authors. (Source: Cover)


Comments: This was a delightful set of short stories that were inspired, by some way or another, by Jane Austen. I would love to comment on each story, but I shall limit myself to the ones that caught my attention and piqued my interest. All the stories were enjoyable, but some had that little quirk that really made me think or laugh. Laurel Ann Nattress has created a volume that will have something (more than one something, of that I'm sure) for everyone.
I'd say I've read texts by half of these authors before, so it was the comfort of the familiar with the interest in the authors unknown, until now, to me. One, now, to the stories.
What would Austen do? by Jane Rubino & Caitlen Rubino-Bradway is one of the funnest stories I've read in a while. Parents being brought to school because their child is too good? I guess Miss Austen has that effect on people. It's contemporary, it's funny, it's irreverent. I
loved it and they are new authors to me.
Jane Austen and the Mistletoe Kiss by Jo Beverly Can a widow find love? Will she be willing to try again. This one just might because one of her neighbors is none other than Miss Austen. A lovely story with a lovely family that I would like to see expanded into a full book. Again, a new author to me. 
Nothing less than a Fairy-land by Monica Fairview is the lovely continuation of Emma in which Mr. Knightly moves into Hartfield, much to the consternation of Mr. Woodhouse. How can Emma reconcile her father to the situation. It's one of the most unexpected turns. 
It's really really hard not to just keep adding books, but I'll suffice with just a few more.
The Love Letter by Brenna Aubrey The author who until now was unpublished. She's the contest winner and gave a great modern Persuasion rendition that I particularly enjoyed as I work with a number of physicians. 
A Night at Northanger by Lauren Willig. An author I have read many many times and have enjoyed greatly takes on modern ghost hunting in Northanger Abbey. It's an hysterical take on modern television and modern society. Great fun. 
Heard of You by Margaret C. Sullivan (aka Mags) An author and blogger that I adore has written a back story of the meeting of Admiral Croft and Sophy Wentworth. It's charming, but I am shocked that Mags didn't write about Henry Tilney - that said, a lovely story that I wouldn't mind seeing more of. 
Okay, I have to stop at some point. So many great stories - which will all be available tomorrow. If you like Jane Austen you will enjoy these stories. 

The Hanover Square Affair - Ashley Gardner

Summary: Meet Captain Gabriel Lacey-in an extraordinary series of Regency-set mysteries. Cavalry captain Gabriel Lacey returns to Regency London from the Napoleonic wars, burned out, fighting melancholia, his career ended. His interest is piqued when he learns of a missing girl, possibly kidnapped by a prominent member of Parliament. Lacey's search for the girl leads to the discovery of murder, corruption, and dealings with a leader of the underworld. Lacey faces his own disorientation upon transitioning from a soldier's life to the civilian world, redefining his role with his former commanding officer, and making new friends--from the top of society to the street girls of Covent Garden.  (Source: Amazon)


Comment: I cannot remember how I stumbled into this book, but I'm certainly glad that I did. I'm pleased to see that there are several more in the series. I'm looking forward to reading them all. Captain Gabriel Lacey is my kind of guy. So let's proceed to why I liked this story. It was intriguing, with fully developed characters and in a time period I enjoy. Lacey is honest, has integrity, and isn't afraid to help the helpless. He's been wounded, both physically and psychologically, but uses neither as a crutch. He's also got the evil of a temper... not one I would want to be on the wrong side of, to be honest.
There are strong secondary characters, some of whom, I'm still not sure of their intentions. Lucius Grenville is a charming man-about-town, a trend leader, and a good friend to Lacey. Marianne Simmons, Lacey's slightly needy and slightly tart-ish, upstairs neighbor, is an actress who is constantly stealing from him and attempting to find protectors to keep her company. Louisa Brandon, wife of his former Colonel Aloysius Brandon, who is Lacey's very close friend and sometime confidant. The three have known each other for more than twenty years. Mr. Denis, is a strange person who has the ability to acquire things for others. But why does he want Lacey?I look forward to the next story, A Regimental Murder.

Jane Austen in under a minute

Okay, some might find they sacrilege, but I find it hysterical. Jane in under a minute. Here.

Powder and Patch - Georgette Heyer

Summary: For her, he would do anything...
Plainspoken country Philip Jettan won't bother with a powdered wig, high heels, and  fashionable lace cuffs, until he discovers that his lovely neighbor is enamored with a sophisticated man-about-town.
But what is it that she really wants?
Cleone Charteris sends her suitor Philip away to get some town polish, and he comes back with powder, patches, and all the manners of a seasoned rake. Does Cleone now have exactly the kind of man she's always wanted or was her insistence on Phillip's remarkable transformation a terrible mistake?
Comments: This is an interesting premiss and give Heyer a great amount of opportunity to show off her skills of language and her use of details in both person and place. Heyer's writing is always amusing. "A while back I spoke of the three gentlemen who built their homes round Little Fittledean. Of one I said but little, of the second I spoke at length and to the tune of one whole chapter. It now behooves me to mention
the third gentleman, who chose his site on the outskirts of the village, some two miles from Jettan's Pride and to the east." There is an interesting dynamic better Sir Maurice and his son Phillip, it was rather a good one and I enjoyed it. It was also nice to see that Sir Maurice cared so much for Cleone as well. I enjoyed this book, with the exception of the sappy ending which is predictable, but just a click over the top for me. Perhaps this is because I just read The Toll Gate, which is not sappy in the least.

Two of my favorite writers ... together

news from the Guardian newspaper...
"Like deft, elegant, Golden Age-ish detective fiction? Like Pride and Prejudice? Then have I got news for you. On November 3, Faber is publishing Death Comes to Pemberley: a crime novel set in Jane Austen's universe by none other than PD James.
"The year," runs the press release, "is 1803, and Darcy and Elizabeth have been married for six years. There are now two handsome and healthy sons in the Pemberley nursery, Elizabeth's beloved sister Jane and her husband, Bingley, live within seventeen miles, the ordered and
secure life of Pemberley seems unassailable, and Elizabeth's happiness in her marriage is complete. But their peace is threatened and old sins and misunderstandings are rekindled on the eve of the annual autumn ball. The Darcys and their guests are preparing to retire for the night when a chaise appears, rocking down the path from Pemberley's wild woodland, and as it pulls up, Lydia Wickham, an uninvited guest, tumbles out, screaming that her husband has been murdered." How about that? "

The Toll Gate - Georgette Heyer

Summary: It takes a lot to unnerve Captain John Staple, a man with a reputation for audacious exploits and whimsical nonsense. But when he finds himself mired on the moors on a dark and stormy night no less - John hardly expects to find a young frightened boy who's been left alone to tend a toll gate house. 
Never one to pass up an adventure, John decides to take up residence in Derbyshire as a gatekeeper until he can find the lad's father. But as John investigates the suspicious disappearance, he begins to unravel a far more complex mystery. And at its center is a woman ... the very one to tame John's reckless spirit.


Comments: John Staple is a unique man. Finding a poor child being a gate keep for his disappeared father, he stops, stays, and tries to sort out what is going on. Just because it needs to be done. This book is unlike any Georgette Heyer I've read before. It's way more of a
mystery than a romance. The couple in question get married with no real conflict about three quarters of the way through the book, but don't get to be together immediately. The mystery is what are Henry Stornaaway, cousin of Nell Stornaway and grandson of Sir Peter, and Mr. Coate up to - because it must be something to be at Kellands when it's dead boring - which it is most of the time.
The heroine is logical, the hero is, well, a rare breed of man and the secondary characters, from highwayman to Bow Street Runner to 7 year-old boy are well drawn and believable.
Great read - Up next Powder and Patch.

Happy Birthday Agatha Christie!

I am in the process of reading all of Agatha Christie's mysteries. The goal was to do it in order, but I've already messed that up, so I'm keeping to the published date order as much as possible. 


Questions:
Who is your favorite - Poirot or Miss Marple? Poirot, and a nod to Inspector Battle.


Favorite Book (so far)? Chimneys


Thoughts on Hastings... Love him. He keeps Poirot's overlarge ego in check.

Agatha Christie and the Doctor

Favorite reference to Agatha Christie..."The Unicorn and the Wasp"episode of Dr. Who that explains what happens in those 11 missing days. Great stuff that. 

Joanna Trollope to rewrite Jane Austen

From the Guardian Book Section
"From Elizabeth Bennet and Mr Darcy to Emma Woodhouse and Mr Knightley, Jane Austen created some of the most enduring romances in literary history. Now, publisher HarperCollins is hoping it has dreamed up another marriage made in heaven, commissioning Joanna Trollope to write a contemporary reworking of Austen's novel, Sense and Sensibility.


The pairing is the first in a what the publisher has dubbed a "major" new series, in which it will team modern authors with Austen's six novels, asking them to reimagine the books in a contemporary setting. The project is the latest addition to the current vogue for Austen
remixes, which have ranged over recent years from the unexpected  success of Seth Grahame-Smith's zombie mash-up Pride and Prejudice and Zombies to erotic fiction author Mitzi Szereto's X-rated Pride and Prejudice: Hidden Lusts."


Must say that being a contemporary writer, I had no idea who Joanna Trollope was... go figure. I can't wait to see who HarperCollins contracts with to rework Persuasion.

Coffee Cake

I tend to enjoy recipes by Alex Guarnaschelli. She seems relatively normal for someone on Food Network and I've had good success with the things I've tried before that she has created (or I assume she's created). I've been needing something good for breakfast, and since I still have this fear (unrealistic, I realize) of yeast, I've avoided breakfast breads so coffee cake seems to be a decent alternative. So here goes.

You can get the recipe here.

September 11, 2001

It is difficult - this tenth anniversary of the tragic murder of innocent Americans and other nationalities that were either in the Pentagon, in the Trade Center or on one of the planes used as weapons. Everyone remembers where they were, when it seemed like just one horrific thing after another kept happening, and it's doubtful those memories will ever fade.
I was immediately very busy. My chancellor wanted an event for the next day to honor the victims and responders, and to mourn those we had lost at our university. It was my first real event in a job I had been on less than two weeks. Hell of an initiation, but it kept my mind off things going on in the world. We had deliveries of tables, chairs, podiums, speakers to engage, oh, and a capital campaign gala to cancel. It sounds superficial and it was, but it helped to be busy.
I don't think I really had a good idea of how much of an impact this had on me until late in the night. The Boy and I had gone to a restaurant that we were already quite the frequent customers because I knew there were no TVs in the restaurant. Later, I noticed how quite it all seemed. No flights over head, few cars. It was eerie. It was a very sad time. And it made me very very angry. Ten years doesn't make it any less sad, but hopefully, we, as a people and as a country, have learned something about ourselves and what we hold dear.