Web Spotlight Wednesday: Entertainment Style

Continuing with the Jane Austen craze, I was perusing other people's accomplishments on the Everything Austen link page, and was delighted to read about Fuzzy Cricket's discovery. If, like me, the idea of coffee and a book to read is something like heaven for you, then I think you'll like this, too:

Dominic West reads the first Darcy proposal scene aloud, while you take a coffee break and enjoy.

It is put on by Carte Noire, a coffee company, and you may recall Dominic West from his roles as the creepy guy in 300, the Italian professor in Mona Lisa Smile, and star of HBO's The Wire. Basically, this is a good-looking British guy reading Jane Austen while you drink coffee... in other words, possibly the perfect website. If you look around, there is also Greg Wise, who played Willoughby in the Ang Lee version of Sense & Sensibility reading from that book.

I... have no more words, really. What a cute little marketing site!

A Shorty, but a Goody. A Historical Story Review.

Pride and Prometheus
by John Kessel

Where to Get This: Pride and Prometheus won the 2009 Nebula Award, which is a big deal for excellence in Fantasy and Science Fiction. It comes from Kessel’s anthology, The Baum Plan for Financial Independence and Other Stories, and was made available as a free download by its publisher, Small Beer Press, here. I read off of a Sony eReader, so I downloaded the .pdf format, which is also good if you plan on reading off of your computer screen. It’s only 38 pages, so I think it’s definitely readable off of a computer.

Summary: It’s more than 8 years since Pride and Prejudice left off, and Mary Bennet is accompanying her sister, Kitty, on her season in London. Mary is 28 (which… I am too lazy to check the dating here, but I suppose that’s believable) and “off the shelf” in terms of marriage prospects. She is aware of her awkwardness, and feels a lack of proper society to satisfy her intellectual pursuits. Kitty flits around her season (she is 25, and I would have to conclude too old to be “introduced” into society as she is here) and Mrs. Bennet frets about marrying off her youngest daughter and everyone generally ignores Mary, which is not entirely to her displeasure.

While in London, however, Mary is introduced to the young, brooding Victor Frankenstein, who intrigues her with his talks of “natural philosophy” and life in Europe. Mary is disappointed that she and her sister must remove to Derbyshire for Kitty’s health and leave behind her new friend, but is quickly restored when she finds Frankenstein (and Henry Clerval) in town, as well, buying up supplies for scientific experiments. Frankenstein seems haunted, both figuratively and literally, and Mary wants to find out the truth before she, too, becomes involved in his dangerous world.

My Review: This story is terrific on many levels; let me number them for you:

1. The writing style is somewhat reminiscent of Regency formality, but it is not a complete copy, and definitely not a pastiche. It’s rather a modern continuation of the original, rather than trying to rewrite or glom on to the untouchable original. I thought this was respectful and welcoming to read.

2. The characterization is beyond believable. Mary’s personality here could easily have sprung from the sketch that Austen left us with, and while it has been many years since I last read Frankenstein, Or the Modern Prometheus, it touches well on Shelley’s characters, as well. I particularly enjoyed the description of Lydia and Wickham’s marriage; their bickering but mutual dependence is very much how I imagined it would be.

3. The plot is only slightly mysterious, but still acts as a great character study on Mary Bennet, and the kind of man she could fall in love with, and how it would happen. The plot, however, is neither trivial nor uninteresting.

4. The discussions of science during Regency times are very accurately dealt with. Scientific investigation was coming into vogue, but more conservative people such as Mr. Darcy would have shunned the topic entirely.

My only caveat on reading this story is that there is Austen character death. Be forewarned! I won’t tell you which one it is, but if you can’t bear the thought of one dear character coming to an untimely end, then you may want to skip this one!

In conclusion, this was a great short story. I haven't read a short in a while, and I know I should go back and read them more often. Pride and Prometheus was definitely enough to intrigue me to want to read more by John Kessel. And it's another delightful step toward completing the Everything Austen Challenge!


Buy the anthology on Amazon

*SWOON* Friday Film Review.

Pride & Prejudice (2005)

Director: Joe Wright

Cast: Keira Knightley, Matthew Macfadyen, Donald Sutherland, Rosamund Pike, Simon Woods, Dame Judy Dench, Jena Malone

Summary: I’m… not going to summarize this. If you’re reading a book blog, and furthermore a historical book blog, I think I have good odds that you know what the story is about.

My Review: As I’ve already stated, I love this movie. The book purist in me cringes at the cuts and changes they made to the storyline and various characters, but I love it regardless.

Thus, this is mainly going to be a gushy picture post.


I liked Keira Knightley as Lizzy a lot. I think that she comes off as an intelligent person on screen and she does a great character arc.

I did once read, however, a review that said she would have done better as Cathy in a production of Wuthering Heights, rather than P&P. They said, among other comments, that she wasn't quite charming enough as Lizzy, and anyway the rest of the cast was ready made for that movie. I do think that Matthew Macfadyen would also have been great as Heathcliff, and this picture:


could absolutely have been lifted straight out of a scene of WH.

Regardless. I like this cast together a lot, and I still love this movie. Also, this scene at the end, where Darcy walks across the field with his jacket billowing in the breeze? That's awesome.


Which brings me to Mr. Darcy himself. Look at that. He's all broody and judgey. He just wants a hug, and to get the hell out of that ballroom. Matthew Macfadyen was definitely worthy of taking on the role. But is he better than Colin Firth? I answer that question with another question: why do we have to choose? There's plenty of Darcy love to go around!


I also like most of the rest of the cast. I loved Rosamund Pike as Jane, particularly because now we could believe what all the characters say in the book: Jane is the fair, gorgeous Bennett girl, and Lizzy is the sharper, slightly less polished daughter. As for the other girls... they were fine. I can't tell if I didn't like Jena Malone because Lydia is such an infuriating character, or because I was jealous that she got to be in this movie and I didn't, or because I have traumatic memories of being forced to watch that horrible Stepmom movie where she plays the daughter. Either way, I could have done without her.


This is a very visually appealing movie. I know a lot of people didn't like the drabness of Lizzy's dresses and her giant walking coat, but I actually did. I feel like, given their family situation, they might not be wearing the latest cute fashions, or have clothes that fit them exactly, or have perfect hair.

I love the hair in this movie. Witness this picture. Getting my hair to look like this is on my list of things to do before I die. I simply feel that this movie is the way it might have looked to live in Regency England. Also, see the Ciaran Hinds version of Persuasion. Even the actors in that one look straight out of Regency. I don't know what it is, if there's a certain look or dress, but that's the feel I get from these two movies.


This is my favorite scene in the movie. Thiiiiiiis. This is subtle and gorgeous and so real, and more beautiful than the final kiss. This is actually one of my favorite movie scenes out of any movie.

So that's one item down on my list of things to do for the Everything Austen challenge. In fact, I'm enjoying this so much, I may just review a film adaptation of every major Jane Austen novel. We'll see next week!

Web Spotlight Wednesday: The Republic of Pemberley

In honor of the first day of Stephanie’s Everything Austen Reading Challenge, I will be profiling “The Republic of Pemberley,” one of the best sites on the web for Jane Austen information and discussion!

The wealth of this site is the discussion forum. Jane Austen fans of every knowledge level frequent the boards and ask questions, read along together, and rave over the different novels. I like how there is an individual board for each of the six big novels, too.

Basically, I wish I had known about this site back when I was doing a paper on Pride & Prejudice in my senior year of high school; The Republic of Pemberley has all sorts of academic help (the forum is for general discussion, not homework answers) in its easy-to-understand site guide on the front page of the site. Their Jane Austen Information Page is a compilation of etexts of the novels as well as biographical and critical information regarding Austen and her era. I’m going to jump in here and add, though, that at least all six of the big novels should be available for free from Google and for the Sony eReader because they are no longer within copyright.

And of course, what kind of site would it be without a good gift shop? The Pemberley Shoppe has plenty of Café Press items featuring quotes and images either directly from or inspired by Austen.

Reading Challenge July 1st- January 2010: Everything Austen!

Stephanie over at The Written Word is hosting the Everything Austen reading challenge from July 1-January 1. I’m really excited about this one, especially since I still haven’t read two of the original novels! The challenge is to complete at least six Jane Austen-related books or movies within the time frame, and it’s very flexible, because you can even choose derivative works, like sequels or modern adaptations.

I hope you will join me in participating—go and sign up, and let me know in the comments here if you do!

Here is my list:

1. Mansfield Park-- Ugh, I can’t believe I’ve still never read this one. I saw the 1999 movie and found that I didn’t really like Fanny Price, so I’ve never felt compelled to read it. However, I am determined to find something to like about it!
2. Persuasion-- I have also seen the Ciaran Hinds version of this movie, liked it very much, and yet never read the book. I know quite a few people who say that this is their favorite, so I am excited.
3. Sanditon-- I plan to go out and find a good version of this, though I’ve seen some places where different authors have edited it or added to it and that seems iffy to me. Now I will finally have completed all the Austen novels!
4. Pride and Prejudice, the 2005 film—This is just one of my favorite movies. I’ll probably watch it this week, anyway.
5. Pride and Prejudice, the 1995 BBC miniseries—I haven’t sat down and watched this whole thing since the first time I saw it years ago. It’s time I watched it again and remembered how much I loved it.
6. What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew by Daniel Pool—I’ve been meaning to read this ever since I first opened an Austen novel. I’ve only ever heard rave reviews about it.

And bonus… as if I didn’t have enough in my TBR pile…

7. Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife by Linda Berdoll—I’m laughing as I type this because one of my best friends read this book and told me she hated it so much she threw it across the room. But I obviously like a romance novel every once in a while, and I think that this is the sequel that has gotten the most press out of all of the many that have cropped up over the last few years, so I might as well borrow her battered copy and give it a go.
8. Pride and Prometheus by John Kessel—This is a short story that I downloaded for free to my Sony eReader that I’ve been meaning to get to. So this is just a little bonus that will probably take an hour or so to read. Anyway, it’s a crossover that won some award (don’t worry; when I review it on here I’ll look up all these links!) where Mary Bennet meets Victor Frankenstein.

I will be reviewing everything here, posting along on the challenge board, and otherwise tagging everything having to do with the challenge with the label "Everything Austen." I also will keep a link to the challenge on the sidebar of this blog.

Happy reading, and I hope you’ll follow along with me!