Monday, November 16, 2009

Jane Austen Addict!

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It's true, I don't try to hide the fact that I'm absolutely, completely addicted to Jane Austen.

I love her books, it's hard for me at times to wrap my mind around the fact that this amazing author wrote these masterpieces over almost 200 years ago.

It also boggles my mind when I talk to people who have no idea who Jane Austen is, doesn't everyone know who she is? No? Well for shame, they should LOL

So in my quest to reread her most famous books I ended up at the library on Sunday, surrounded by anything related to this brilliant woman, even books who were not written by her but are related to her characters or books.

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Do you want to see what I got? Oh and if you've read any let me know what you thought.

First and foremost, Jane Austen's Complete Works which include all 6 of her published books:

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One of the great and ever popular masters of the English novel is represented here by every one of her novels. Includes Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, Emma, Northanger Abbey, Persuasion, and the lesser-known Lady Susan.

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The Confession of Fitzwilliam Darcy

In Fitzwilliam Darcy, Austen created the ultimate romantic hero. Yet Pride and Prejudice reveals little of Darcy's innermost thoughts. Here, Street unveils the true motives and mysteries of Elizabeth Bennet's enigmatic suitor. Through Darcy's eyes we discover the reality of his relationships with his sister Georgiana, his cousin Colonel Fitzwilliam, the dastardly Wickham, his friend Bingley, and his formidable aunt, Lady Catherine. And of course, all his memorable encounters with Elizabeth, from that first view of her fine eyes to his disastrous proposal, and then to a pride and arrogance tempered by an unquenchable love.

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The Independence of Miss Mary Bennet

Everyone knows the story of Elizabeth and Jane Bennet in Pride and Prejudice. But what about their sister Mary? At the conclusion of Jane Austen's classic novel, Mary, bookish, awkward, and by all accounts, unmarriageable, is sentenced to a dull, provincial existence in the backwaters of Britain. Now, master storyteller Colleen McCullough rescues Mary from her dreary fate with The Independence of Miss Mary Bennet, a page-turning sequel set twenty years after Austen's novel closes. The story begins as the neglected Bennet sister is released from the stultifying duty of caring for her insufferable mother.

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Emma Watson: The Watsons Completed by Joan Aiken

It has always been a source of great frustration to Janeites that Jane Austen abandoned The Watsons after only seventeen and a half thousand words. It is, as Margaret Drabble says, a "tantalising, delightful and highly accomplished fragment, which must surely have proved the equal of her other six novels had she finished it." In Emma Watson, Joan Aiken at long last completes The Watsons. Nineteen-year-old Emma, adopted by her aunt after the death of her mother, has rejoined her ailing father and her favorite sister, Elizabeth. Her stuffy brother Robert is living in Croydon with his grasping wife; her shrewish sister Penelope looks to have made a good match; her brother Sam is trying to make his way as a doctor; and Emma's immediate elder, Margaret, fancies herself in love with Tom Musgrave. Austen characters all, yet Joan Aiken, with consummate skill, makes them her own.

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Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict by Laurie Viera Viegler

This delightful sequel to Rigler's Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict has 19th-century Jane Mansfield switching bodies and milieus with contemporary L.A. girl Courtney Stone. As Jane grasps the idea that she's a different person in an unimaginable world, and grapples with the radically liberal social mores, dress and language, she leans on Jane Austen's novels as touchstones to reality.

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Now do you understand why I seem to be addicted to Jane Austen?

It's quite funny actually, as I do tend to go through these phases, I still vividly remember my King Henry VIII phase where I simply devoured every book, biography, documentary and tv show or movie ever made about this era.

But I've always been a Jane girl, they are the only books that I read over and over again and never get tired, they are also the only movies I will watch more than once.

My husband thinks I'm crazy, see he's the kind of guy who can watch the same movie 5 or 6 or 7 times and still enjoy it and I usually turn my nose at it and tease him about it. After all, everyone knows that Sandra does NOT read or watch anything twice.....except for Jane Austen, I don't think there can ever be enough of Mr Darcy can there?

So now that I've let you in to that little secret, I'm off to go and read, I'm currently enjoying the Rude Awakening of a Jane Austen Addict and it's quite funny so far.

What are you reading right now?

16 comments:

Mari said...

I love Jane Austen too. I checked and our video store doesn't have Lost in Austen. What a bummer! These books look good!

Anonymous said...

She's one of my favorites too

YayaOrchid said...

Sandra, in that respect, I AM EXACTLY LIKE YOU! I do not read or especially watch any movie twice....but ask me how many times I've watched pride and prejudice, emma, sense and sensibility....many, many times...especially during cold weather curled up on the sofa with a nice hot cuppa tea.

Now, my sweet Hubbie watches things over and over when they come on, I just don't get it! LOL!

Linda C said...

I love Jane Austen also! But I haven't read the books-though I plan to get them from the library. Did you know that you can watch the movies of all the titles on youtube? I really enjoyed them! Hope you like them too!

Happy Monday!

Linda C

P. said...

I understand you. I'm one addict too.
Alfazema

Whatever Is Lovely said...

Yep! Me too Sandra!!! I absolutely Love Jane Austen!!!


I'm reading.. The Sarah Agnes Prine Series.. Written by ~ Nancy E. Turner
3 books in the series...
These is my words, Sarah's Quilt & The Star Garden. Written in Diary or Journal form. Based on Nancy's Great-Grandmothers Diaries...
I did a post about These Is My Words on my Blog recently.
These are great books!

Hope you have a Great week Sandra!
Blessings ~ Teresa

Mississippi Songbird said...

I love Jane Austen. Thanks for posting this.. I haven't been blogging much because of facebook, and I haven't had much time.. I hope you enjoy the upcoming holidays.. Bunches of hugs..

Susanne said...

Can you believe I've never read one of her books? I'll have to remedy that.

Anonymous said...

Good ol' Jane.

Try to get copies of her letters, they're really interesting and she has a really dry sense of humour.

xx

vvb32 reads said...

Nice post on Austen! Please come join me for the Pemberley Ball this Friday on my site.

being molded said...

I LOVE(!!!) Jane Austin too!! I have also read many of the books that take Pride and Prejudice further. My favorites are by Abigail Reynolds. She takes parts and says "what if this happened instead". Unfortunately I've had to purchase them all as no library around here has them. They are all very well read though so it was well worth the money.
My 13 year old daughter finally sat with me and watched the BBC version of Sense and Sensibility, which she insisted she would NOT like. Needless to say less than 1/2 way through she asked it I had the book. Score 1 for mommy :)

Unknown said...

Crazy about Jane here! :)I will look into those books! THANKS! I took a break from Happy Homemaker Monday's but I've been missing it! :0) I just might have to come back! :D

A while back, you posted a recipe for Potatoes with Ham...made with rosemary & a bay leaf in the crockpot! I couldn't find your recipe?! WE LOVE THIS AROUND HERE!

Many blessings, Sandra!
Amy

Unknown said...

Oh and have you seen Elizabeth Gaskell's movies? I just recently watched Cranford and Wives & Daughters! They are both put out by BBC! I thought they were GREAT! I'm waiting for the books!
:-)

Elizabeth said...

Dear Sandra, I hope you read this comment although I'm late responding to your fabulous Austen post, and I can't find your email, but I wanted to tell you about the movie "Becoming Jane" with Anne Hathwaway...I sooo loved this, it's a story about Jane's teenage life and first love, and the special part are the DVD extras. This film has 'to drool over' sets and costumes and englishmen! If you haven't seen it, please check it out!!

I bought the Lost in Austen DVD for only about $10 on half.com..a good deal for 3 hours of fun...thanks for recommending it! Unlike yourself, if I enjoy a movie I WILL watch it again and again, so I like to have it in my collection.

Thanks for your blog, always enjoy your goings on and your wit at dealing with life :o)

Elizabeth

Kirstin said...

mY oldest daughter loves Jane Austen. She hasn't read books but likes the movies

Heather said...

I love Jane Austen too, I started reading her in college (not for a class though, just thought it was time LOL) and loved all her books. I think my favorite is Northanger Abbey, at least it was when I read it which was several years ago at this point. I remember DH and I watching the Pride and Prejudice mini-series when it was on A & E in the mid-90s, we were blown away by how good it was (not my DH's usual choice btw, LOL). I am reading the "Bobbie Faye" mystery series at the moment - fun - and just bought my first Jodi Picoult, can you believe? Handle With Care. Don't know how I've missed her books for so long!