strange and random happenstance

Sanditon and Other Stories by Jane Austen
Published by: Everyman
Publication Date: March 28th, 1996
Format: Hardcover, 502 Pages
Rating: ★★★★★
To Buy

Due to a geographical mistake and an accident Charlotte Heywood has been given the extreme pleasure of visiting Sanditon with it's chief cheerleader, Mr. Tom Parker. A seaside resort unlike any other. The water is clearer, the sand cleaner, and the prospects endless, as long as one or two large groups were to take homes for the summer. But not to worry, it's just the beginning of the season and Sanditon's year round inhabitants are characters enough for Charlotte. Especially when all the Parker siblings descend on the town and Mr. Arthur Parker shows Charlotte the joy of a perfectly toasted piece of bread. Well buttered. While in another part of England altogether Emma Watson has be thrust back on her family after being raised by her wealthy Aunt and Uncle. Her Uncle tragically died and her Aunt remarried, thus making Emma superfluous and no longer an heiress. She and her family make the best of this sudden reversal in fortune, but it is very odd being thrust back on one's family who now seem more like strangers. Whereas in another section of England entirely Lady Susan is concocting a scheme. Being recently widowed she was rather too open with her feelings and flirtations at some friends she was visiting and therefore has taken refuge with her brother-in-law and his wife, a wife that Lady Susan did her best to make sure he didn't marry. But Lady Susan is so eloquent with her words that she soon smooths over any reservations that anyone might have. She has been ill used and isn't the villain everyone makes her out to be. Or that is what she loudly proclaims while secretly scheming to get her daughter Frederica off her hands and carrying on her affair with a married man. Sadly for Lady Susan her sister-in-law soon starts to suspect that her first opinion of her was the true one and she works to disentangle her family from Lady Susan's copious affairs while also keeping her ill used daughter Frederica within the bosom of her true family. Will Lady Susan be found out or will she somehow slither her way free of scandal once more?

If you are someone who views Jane Austen's output as her canonical six books you are missing out. While yes, if you read this book you might forever be scarred because she was unable to finish Sanditon, once you get beyond this disappointment, made easier by the television adaptation, you will be delighted by the humor and wit of her unfinished works. These aren't polished, these aren't perfect, but that's what makes them genius. This is Jane Austen unfiltered. Her books are perfectly polished gems, these are the uncut rhinestones that will just delight you with their sheer absurdity. Here gentlemen of good fortune aren't in want of a wife, they are in want of animal traps to ensnare women who dare to come too close to their homes, as one does. And yes, I literally snorted out loud at that remark. And don't worry, the young lady's leg which was mangled ended up perfectly fine. I think. She might have fainted a time or twenty. And that was my impression over twenty-five years ago when I first read Austen's juvenalia and it still holds true. Women are passing out left and right, poisoning rivals, carrying on with married men, having husbands die in the most outrageous manner, and hating on Queen Elizabeth. Anything and everything was skewered by Austen and she took obvious delight in doing so. The novella Lady Susan is included in this collection and while many people sadly only know this story because of the subpar adaptation of it a few years back staring Kate Beckinsale confusingly called Love and Friendship, because Love and Friendship is an entirely different story, no one ever talks about how Lady Susan is a brilliant parody of Les Liaisons Dangereuses. Seeing as at seventeen I had not read Les Liasons Dangerueses, though I was familiar enough with the story thanks to the Glenn Close/John Malkovich adaptation being omnipresent, I didn't get how Austen's writing style was aping Pierre Choderlos de Laclos. She was a beautiful mimic when she wanted to be, and she got right to the heart of everything I hate about that book and mercilessly poked fun at it. Seriously, if there's one thing rereading Austen's unfinished and early work all these years later has taught me is that I think she would have been the best and funniest friend a person could ask for.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Jane Austen, Juvenilia, Kate Beckinsale, Lady Susan, Les Liaisons Dangereuses, Love and Friendship, Pierre Choderlos de Laclos, Regency Romp, Sanditon, Sanditon and Other Stories, The Watsons, Toast

Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
Published by: Little Books Ltd
Publication Date: 1817
Format: Hardcover, 240 Pages
Rating: ★★★★★
To Buy (different edition than one reviewed)

Catherine Morland isn't like the Gothic heroines she loves to read about; her name is prosaic, she's a content and happy girl who could never think badly of anyone and is surrounded by a big family who love her. But more importantly, alas, she's never even been to a crumbling castle or monastery let alone to the South of France where she could be held hostage. Her first real adventure is when her kindly and wealthy neighbors, the Allens, invite Catherine to accompany them to Bath. Mrs. Allen views Bath in the first few days of their residence as rather boring as they have no acquaintances, but that is soon about to change. Catherine's first acquaintance is a Mr. Henry Tilney, a lovely young man who dances with her and disappears. Her second acquaintance appears as if she'll be around longer. Isabella Thorpe is the daughter of an old classmate of Mrs. Allen's and they soon become fast friends. It transpires that Isabella's brother John is friends with Catherine's brother James, and soon Isabella is confiding her feelings for James to Catherine all while trying to get Catherine and John together. Wouldn't it be wonderful to be sisters twice over!?! But despite just that one meeting Catherine's heart already belongs to Henry Tilney. Luckily for her he soon returns to Bath, bringing along his sister Eleanor and his rather forbidding father. As is often the case with young girls, battle lines are drawn, Isabella wants Catherine to be hers alone now that she has become engaged to James, yet Catherine is defiant and sticks to the Tilneys. In fact Catherine shortly leaves Bath with the Tilneys for their ancestral home, Northanger Abbey. All the complications of Bath are behind Catherine but will she create her own obstacles in the Gothic surroundings of an old abbey that might thwart her and Henry's happily ever after? Or did the Thorpes already plan for her disappointment?

Northanger Abbey in my mind is unfairly the most maligned of Austen's novels. The reason is because it's not what people expect. It's not like her other books and I think that is precisely the reason it holds such a special place in my heart. Admittedly the first time I read it I was thrown, because being released after her death you think it will adhere more to her later works, whereas in truth because of when it was written it's more a transitional novel bridging the style of her juvenilia and her later work. Therefore it's only on subsequent re-reads that you can fully appreciate Northanger Abbey for what it is. This book is unbalanced, it's not perfect, but it so clearly shows what Austen will be capable of with her wry observational style in the first section of the book. Which is why so many people say the book gives them such hope only to fall apart. While the second half is weaker, it shows that she is capable of seeing her concept through to the end. Because Northanger Abbey was written as a parody of Gothic literature, so therefore she had to take it to it's logical conclusion of Catherine thinking laundry lists are secrets of the dead. The way Austen even parodies the origin stories of heroines is spot on. Plus, it's totally meta! So in other words, to fully appreciate Northanger Abbey you need to read something Gothic then come back and read how Austen tells her version... It's a little snarky, but in my mind nearly perfect. As a parody it is a wonderful send-up of the popular literature of the time, but as proto-Austen the first half is a glimpse into the writer she will become. That this is what she will be known for. For her humor, for what she will become, for the feelings, all the feelings I have each time I re-read this book, it is easily in my top three of Austen's six novels no matter my current rankings.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Bath, Catherine Morland, Gothic, Gothic Heroine, Henry Tilney, Isabella Thorpe, Juvenilia, Laundry Lists, Meta, Northanger Abbey, Observational Style, Parody, Proto-Austen, Ranking, Regency Romp, Wry Humor

Sanditon and Other Stories by Jane Austen
Published by: Everyman
Publication Date: March 28th, 1996
Format: Hardcover, 502 Pages
Rating: ★★★★★
To Buy

Due to a geographical mistake and an accident Charlotte Heywood has been given the extreme pleasure of visiting Sanditon with it's chief cheerleader, Mr. Tom Parker. A seaside resort unlike any other. The water is clearer, the sand cleaner, and the prospects endless, as long as one or two large groups were to take homes for the summer. But not to worry, it's just the beginning of the season and Sanditon's year round inhabitants are characters enough for Charlotte. Especially when all the Parker siblings descend on the town and Mr. Arthur Parker shows Charlotte the joy of a perfectly toasted piece of bread. Well buttered. While in another part of England altogether Emma Watson has be thrust back on her family after being raised by her wealthy Aunt and Uncle. Her Uncle tragically died and her Aunt remarried, thus making Emma superfluous and no longer an heiress. She and her family make the best of this sudden reversal in fortune, but it is very odd being thrust back on one's family who now seem more like strangers. Whereas in another section of England entirely Lady Susan is concocting a scheme. Being recently widowed she was rather too open with her feelings and flirtations at some friends she was visiting and therefore has taken refuge with her brother-in-law and his wife, a wife that Lady Susan did her best to make sure he didn't marry. But Lady Susan is so eloquent with her words that she soon smooths over any reservations that anyone might have. She has been ill used and isn't the villain everyone makes her out to be. Or that is what she loudly proclaims while secretly scheming to get her daughter Frederica off her hands and carrying on her affair with a married man. Sadly for Lady Susan her sister-in-law soon starts to suspect that her first opinion of her was the true one and she works to disentangle her family from Lady Susan's copious affairs while also keeping her ill used daughter Frederica within the bosom of her true family. Will Lady Susan be found out or will she somehow slither her way free of scandal once more?

If you are someone who views Jane Austen's output as her canonical six books you are missing out. While yes, if you read this book you might forever be scarred because she was unable to finish Sanditon, once you get beyond this disappointment, made easier by the television adaptation, you will be delighted by the humor and wit of her unfinished works. These aren't polished, these aren't perfect, but that's what makes them genius. This is Jane Austen unfiltered. Her books are perfectly polished gems, these are the uncut rhinestones that will just delight you with their sheer absurdity. Here gentlemen of good fortune aren't in want of a wife, they are in want of animal traps to ensnare women who dare to come too close to their homes, as one does. And yes, I literally snorted out loud at that remark. And don't worry, the young lady's leg which was mangled ended up perfectly fine. I think. She might have fainted a time or twenty. And that was my impression over twenty-five years ago when I first read Austen's juvenalia and it still holds true. Women are passing out left and right, poisoning rivals, carrying on with married men, having husbands die in the most outrageous manner, and hating on Queen Elizabeth. Anything and everything was skewered by Austen and she took obvious delight in doing so. The novella Lady Susan is included in this collection and while many people sadly only know this story because of the subpar adaptation of it a few years back staring Kate Beckinsale confusingly called Love and Friendship, because Love and Friendship is an entirely different story, no one ever talks about how Lady Susan is a brilliant parody of Les Liaisons Dangereuses. Seeing as at seventeen I had not read Les Liasons Dangerueses, though I was familiar enough with the story thanks to the Glenn Close/John Malkovich adaptation being omnipresent, I didn't get how Austen's writing style was aping Pierre Choderlos de Laclos. She was a beautiful mimic when she wanted to be, and she got right to the heart of everything I hate about that book and mercilessly poked fun at it. Seriously, if there's one thing rereading Austen's unfinished and early work all these years later has taught me is that I think she would have been the best and funniest friend a person could ask for.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Jane Austen, Juvenilia, Kate Beckinsale, Lady Susan, Les Liaisons Dangereuses, Love and Friendship, Pierre Choderlos de Laclos, Regency Romp, Sanditon, Sanditon and Other Stories, The Watsons, Toast

The Inheritance by Louisa May Alcott
Published by: Dutton
Publication Date: 1997 (written 1849)
Format: Hardcover, 188 Pages
Rating: ★★★★
To Buy(different edition than one reviewed)

Edith Adelon was rescued from an Italian orphanage years ago by the kindly Lord Hamilton to be a companion to his daughter Amy. Lord Hamilton has since died and his son Arthur is the current Lord Hamilton and Edith and Amy have grown into lovely young women. Yet Edith has always felt apart, treated by some in the household, in particular Amy and Arthur's cousin Ida, as nothing more than a servant. When Arthur's friend Lord Percy arrives for the summer, Ida can see there is a connection between Edith and the Lord... a connection that Ida wishes to have for herself. Compounding matters, when their house party expands to include Lord Arlington, he too develops feelings for Edith. Also, after a daring rescue, Edith is responsible for saving Amy's life and is now treated by all as family.

Ida will not tolerate the situation she has been placed in. If being devious won't do, she will be downright underhanded. She will make all those who care and respect Edith despise her. Ida will make it look like the girl with the heart of gold who attends to all the ill and poor of the neighborhood is nothing more than a common thief. Yet there is a secret about Edith that she herself is unaware of. A secret that will change everything, perhaps even her chances with Lord Percy.

Surfing the upper cable channels late at night was how I first discovered The Inheritance. This being before I had a handy cable box that told me what I was watching, or even a computer, I'd just catch parts of it every now and then but I never knew what it was. For some reason I've seen the ball scene probably fifty times because of this strange viewing relationship I had with the miniseries. Also, seeing as I seemed to stumble upon it always around two in the morning I'd never be able to stay awake to see how it ended. All I knew was that it was a romance and Thomas Gibson from Dharma and Greg was in it, oh, and the mother from Family Ties. But being a huge Dharma and Greg fan and seeing Thomas Gibson dancing and strutting around in period clothing was enough to keep me hooked. Quite literally years after the fact I finally found out that it was called The Inheritance and was based on one of the very first stories Louisa May Alcott ever wrote, and then I was able to get it from Amazon for about $4!

So over a decade after it was made and probably five years or more after I had stumbled upon it, I finally knew the ending and the beginning and everything in between. I was also amused that the family estate was Rory Gilmore's High School on Gilmore Girls, but that was just a funny aside because that building has been used in almost everything, even Alias used it as some Eastern European Consulate. Now that I finally knew the author was the famed author of Little Women I ordered myself a copy of the book and was excited to get to reading it right away to see how it compared to the miniseries. As is often the case with me, right away means: and over three years later I create a themed event on my blog so that I force myself to pick up books I've been meaning to read for years. Hence me and The Inheritance finally set a date to meet each other. At least it took a lot less time than getting me to watch that miniseries in full...

The first thing that stuck me about the book was how much the miniseries had changed it! I'm not talking about little things here and there, but that this book is set in England not Concord, Massachusetts, and one of the main characters who I should add is long dead in the book is magically alive in the miniseries only to die tragically. At first I could see no correlation between the two. I was more than a little confused. The book and the miniseries where done in the same year, so at first I thought, maybe the people behind the miniseries where given just a vague outline of the plot and they just made up the rest... but then little things started to pop up which I recognized. The daring cliff rescue, the horse jumping the wall... little things that made me realize that yes, this was, in it's barest essence, the same thing.

Personally, I don't know whether it's because I saw the miniseries first, but the truth is, I far enjoyed the miniseries over reading the book. Edith was a little too good. She was a goody two-shoes. Always suffering silently and working to help the poor and willing to risk her life and her reputation for promises and oaths. How did she suffer from unwanted attention! Dear me, the horrors of men liking her, please. How Ida not loving her pained her most of all. Blah blah blah. She needs a backbone! Also, I know this is in all probability the earliest work of Louisa May Alcott, until something else comes along, but, unlike authors like Austen who where quite developed at this young age, you can tell the youth of the author. Everything is so juvenile and kind of badly written and repetitive. How I wish that Louisa had gone back to this story as a more mature writer, because I think she could have made this a masterpiece, instead it feels like a clunky rough draft of her childhood fantasies.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 1 comments  

Labels: Alias, Concord, Dharma and Greg, Family Ties, Gilmore Girls, Juvenilia, Louisa May Alcott, Miniseries, Rory Gilmore, The Inheritance, Thomas Gibson