Jane Austen Society of North America-- Central New Jersey Chapter

A cup of tea?

noreply@blogger.com (Central NJ JASNA) — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 13:43:00 +0000

Source: infographicsarchive.com via Amelia on Pinterest

Book Review: The Espressologist

noreply@blogger.com (Central NJ JASNA) — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 19:39:00 +0000

The Espressologist by Kristina Springer

Book Description from Goodreads

What’s your drink of choice? Is it a small pumpkin spice latte? Then you’re lots of fun and a bit sassy. Or a medium americano? You prefer simplicity in life. Or perhaps it’s a small decaf soy sugar-free hazelnut caffe latte? Some might call you a yuppie. Seventeen-year-old barista Jane Turner has this theory that you can tell a lot about a person by their regular coffee drink. She scribbles it all down in a notebook and calls it Espressology. So it’s not a totally crazy idea when Jane starts hooking up some of her friends based on their coffee orders. Like her best friend, Em, a medium hot chocolate, and Cam, a toffee nut latte. But when her boss, Derek, gets wind of Jane’s Espressology, he makes it an in-store holiday promotion, promising customers their perfect matches for the price of their favorite coffee. Things are going better than Derek could ever have hoped, so why is Jane so freaked out? Does it have anything to do with Em dating Cam? She’s the one who set them up! She should be happy for them, right?

With overtones of Jane Austen’s Emma and brimming with humor and heart, this sweet, frothy debut will be savored by readers.

Book Review:

I sit here writing this while drinking a Venti Vanilla Soy Latte and I'm wondering what Jane would say about me. Who would she match me up with?

This was a really cute and short read (I believe it was only like 127 pages). The description says with overtones of Emma and once you start reading you can clearly see the resemblance. Just like Emma, Jane is only trying to help those around her but just like in Emma you can start to see the mess she's creating.

If you need a quick, run read this summer I suggest picking up this book!

View all Amelia's reviews

Friday Fun - Ring for Service

noreply@blogger.com (Central NJ JASNA) — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 14:00:00 +0000

Name yourself with an aristocratic flair!

Choose your title (Duke/Duchess, Lord/Lady, Prince/Princess, ect.)
Your middle name
The street you live on
The count of your birth

So I was Lady Elizabeth Unwin of Philadelphia

What's your aristocratic name?

Ring for Service - The Servants Rules & Pay

noreply@blogger.com (Central NJ JASNA) — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 14:00:00 +0000

The Servants Rules

Never let your voice be heard by the ladies and gentlemen of the house.
Always 'give room' if you meet one of your employers or betters on the stairs.
Always stand still when being spoken to by a member of the family and look at the person speaking to you.
Never begin to talk to any ladies and gentlemen unless spoken to first.
Servants should never offer any opinion to their employers, not even to say "good night."
Never talk to another servant in the presence of your mistress.
Never call from one room to another.
Always keep outer doors fastened.
Only the Butler may answer the bell.
Every servant must be punctual at meal times.
The female staff is forbidden to smoke.
No servant is to receive any visitor, friend, or relatives in the house.
Any maids found fraternizing with a member of the opposite sex will be dismissed without hearing.

-Taken from The History of the Hinchingbrooke House

Typical Monthly Wages of Kean Family Servants

Butler - $45
Valet - $30
Coachman - $30
Gardener - $36
Footman - $25
Groom - $15
Cook - $30
Parlor Maid - $16
House Maid - $14
Assistant Kitchen Maid - $12
Laundress - $16
Nanny - $20

Ring for Service: The Role of Servants in a Country House

noreply@blogger.com (Central NJ JASNA) — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 19:56:00 +0000

For our June meeting, a small group of us went to Kean University's Liberty Hall Museum for brunch and a tour of Liberty Hall and the servants who lived and worked in the house in the early 1900s.

We started off with the Downton Abbey Brunch.

Brunch started off with a champagne toast and was followed by a delicious assortment of breakfast foods, assorted sandwiches, and fresh fruit.

After we ate, came Downton Abbey Trivia. First we had to all come up with our aristocratic names*. I'm happy to announce that four of our members had correct answers and won some prizes. You go ladies!

After brunch we were broken into groups to go on tour of Liberty Hall. The house is set up to show you what the servants lives/jobs were like working in a country house in the early 1900s. Most rooms had a headless mannequin that represented a staff member who worked at the house during this time period.

We started our tour in the basement where an unnamed maid was doing some stitching in the servants' dining room. Anna was hard at work preparing dinner. As the cook she was the second highest in the staff hierarchy, she was in charge of all food preparations and order as well as keeping the accounts. In the laundry room, Mary, was finishing up with the last of the napkins for dinner. As laundress, Mary, had the hardest and lowest paying job. She was in charge of washing, drying and ironing all the clothing and linens for all family and staff in the house.

Grace, the butler, was at his station by the front door waiting to great the visitors coming to tea. He has the honor of being the top of the hierarchy and holds a position of power and respect. He is the representative of the family, the first person any guest will meet upon entering the house. Elsewhere on the first floor two maids, Pauline and Alize, are busy at their jobs. Both women were highly trained and as such were able to do their jobs and remain unseen by the family and their guests. Pauline was cleaning up the morning room after the family's breakfast and Alize was in the Victorian parlor with Mrs. Kean waiting for the guests for tea. William, the footman, was busy setting a precise and perfect table in the dinning room. As a footman's job was to be a show piece as much as to do other functions. They were expected to be tall, single, and good looking.

As we moved up to the second floor we meet Mary, a chamber maid or lady's maid who is helping Mrs. Kean (who is now done with her tea) get dressed for dinner. As we head from Mrs. Kean's bedroom into Mr. Julian's room we see that William has finished setting the table and since he is also Mr. Julian's valet has laid out his clothes for dinner.

While the staff is busy getting the house ready for dinner we headed upstairs for a peek into their rooms. Anna, the cook, has a very nice room compared to the other staff on this floor. She has minimal furnishings but a great view of the gardens.

I hope you enjoyed my brief account of our tour and I highly suggest you head up to Kean University to see this exhibit before it closes in October. Check back Wednesday when I'll share with you the Servants Rules and the monthly wages of the staff we visited today.

*Check back Friday to see how we created our names.

Friday Video!

noreply@blogger.com (Central NJ JASNA) — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 12:00:00 +0000

Book Domino Chain World Record - Seattle Public Library

I saw this the other day and just had to share it with all of you book lovers. This is how the Seattle Public Library launched their 2013 Summer Reading Program.

The Many Words of Jane Austen

noreply@blogger.com (Central NJ JASNA) — Mon, 03 Jun 2013 14:39:00 +0000

Last week I posted an article to our Facebook page called The Queen of Modern Slang which briefly discussed words and phrases coined by Jane Austen that we still use today. After I posted that article I saw another brief article, In Jane's Words, and a mention in an Editorial: There's a Word for That (you have skim down the page a bit).

All three of these were discussing Oxford professor Charlotte Brewer's talk at the Hay Festival.

...that while Austen had a great influence on the first Oxford English Dictionary publised in 1928, she is quoted 1,640 times in the most recent edition.

Entries include 321 phrases from her 1815 novel Emma... (from The Queen of Modern Slang @ The Daily Mail)

Here is a list of the words and phrases shared in these three articles:

dinner-party
brace yourself
if I've told your once, I've told you 100 times
family portrait
door bell
morning room
shut up
dirt cheap
dog-tired

Fun Friday!

noreply@blogger.com (Central NJ JASNA) — Fri, 31 May 2013 15:53:00 +0000

Source: quickmeme.com via Meredith on Pinterest

...the neglect of a family library

noreply@blogger.com (Central NJ JASNA) — Wed, 29 May 2013 15:15:00 +0000

Quote from P&P

I have missed this quote in past readings of P&P and thank Katie for posting this picture when she too finally noticed the quote.

I have an interesting family library, the books my father collected are now mine and they line the shelves/walls in the guest room. I'm adding my own books to them and while it's nothing scholarly or impressive it's a reflection of our family and our interests in reading.

Do you have a family library?

--Amelia

Fun Friday!

noreply@blogger.com (Central NJ JASNA) — Fri, 24 May 2013 12:32:00 +0000

Source: tumblr.com via Amelia on Pinterest

Wordless Wednesday #15

noreply@blogger.com (Central NJ JASNA) — Wed, 22 May 2013 12:32:00 +0000

Source: Uploaded by user via Amelia on Pinterest
2000-Barbie Wedgwood 2° England 1759

Jane Austen LIterary Sighting! - Wife 22 by Melanie Gideon

noreply@blogger.com (Central NJ JASNA) — Mon, 20 May 2013 14:07:00 +0000

It was a May book club pick for my book club. It was a random pick off the shelf and turned out to be a really cute book and worth reading.

Description from Goodreads:

For fans of Helen Fielding’s Bridget Jones’s Diary and Allison Pearson’s I Don’t Know How She Does It comes an irresistible novel of a woman losing herself . . . and finding herself again . . . in the middle of her life.

Maybe it was those extra five pounds I’d gained. Maybe it was because I was about to turn the same age my mother was when I lost her. Maybe it was because after almost twenty years of marriage my husband and I seemed to be running out of things to say to each other.

But when the anonymous online study called “Marriage in the 21st Century” showed up in my inbox, I had no idea how profoundly it would change my life. It wasn’t long before I was assigned both a pseudonym (Wife 22) and a caseworker (Researcher 101).

And, just like that, I found myself answering questions.

7. Sometimes I tell him he’s snoring when he’s not snoring so he’ll sleep in the guest room and I can have the bed all to myself.
61. Chet Baker on the tape player. He was cutting peppers for the salad. I looked at those hands and thought, I am going to have this man’s children.
67. To not want what you don’t have. What you can’t have. What you shouldn’t have.
32. That if we weren’t careful, it was possible to forget one another.

Before the study, my life was an endless blur of school lunches and doctor’s appointments, family dinners, budgets, and trying to discern the fastest-moving line at the grocery store. I was Alice Buckle: spouse of William and mother to Zoe and Peter, drama teacher and Facebook chatter, downloader of memories and Googler of solutions.

But these days, I’m also Wife 22. And somehow, my anonymous correspondence with Researcher 101 has taken an unexpectedly personal turn. Soon, I’ll have to make a decision—one that will affect my family, my marriage, my whole life. But at the moment, I’m too busy answering questions.

As it turns out, confession can be a very powerful aphrodisiac.

Sightings:

1. The study is being done by the Netherfield Group.
2. There is a ring involved (not telling you how) with a quote from Pride and Prejudice.

Friday Video - Welcome to Sanditon

noreply@blogger.com (Central NJ JASNA) — Fri, 17 May 2013 14:00:00 +0000

Welcome to Sanditon is the sequel to The Lizzie Bennett Diaries. This new webseries will follow Gigi Darcy as she sets out to Sanditon, California. She's there to help the beach town reinvent itself as a top resort destination.

The first two episodes were aired this week. Below find the first episode

Wordless Wednesday #14

noreply@blogger.com (Central NJ JASNA) — Wed, 15 May 2013 12:43:00 +0000

Source: flickr.com via Amelia on Pinterest Regency Lamp Posts, Brighton, England

Jane Austen Literary Sighting! - The Beach Street Knitting Society and Yarn Club

noreply@blogger.com (Central NJ JASNA) — Mon, 13 May 2013 13:04:00 +0000

There is an elaborate estate that movie star Grace Harrison has purchased and is now called Graceland. When Jo (our main character) drives up for the first time this is her reaction:

Bloody hell. It's like something from Jane Austen, not quite Pemberley, but pretty close, with landscaped lawns as far as you can see, and a tree-lined avenue up to the house. ... There's a lake in the distance, and a vast circular drive in front of the house. I'm half expecting to see Darcy emerging from the lake and people drifting about in muslin dresses. (pgs 163-4)

This was a really cute book and I'm starting the second book in the series today! -Amelia

Fun Friday - Downton Abbey cooking!

noreply@blogger.com (Central NJ JASNA) — Fri, 10 May 2013 14:00:00 +0000

One of my favorite blogs is Bite From the Past. She reintroduces us to period cooking and makes it look so easy.

She is also a huge Downton Abbey fan and some themed dishes for the premiere weeks ago (but I totally forgot to share this with you all until I found the unpublished post earlier this week).

Salmon Squares with Dill Mayonnaise

Edniburgh Tea Squares

Wordless Wednesday #13

noreply@blogger.com (Central NJ JASNA) — Wed, 08 May 2013 14:00:00 +0000

Does this look familiar to you?

Book Review: Return to Longbourn

noreply@blogger.com (Central NJ JASNA) — Mon, 06 May 2013 14:46:00 +0000

Return to Longbourn by Shannon Winslow
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Description from Goodreads:

What will happen to the Longbourn family when Mr. Bennet dies? --Seeing that his estate is entailed away from the female line. The question was first posed by Jane Austen herself 200 years ago, in the opening chapter of Pride and Prejudice, and it’s still hanging there, unanswered. The matter is settled once and for all in this next installment of Shannon Winslow's Pride and Prejudice saga. Return to Longbourn picks up the story about five years after the close of The Darcys of Pemberley, and centers on Mary, Kitty, and the heir to the Longbourn estate – Mr. Tristan Collins (the younger, pleasanter, and surprisingly handsome brother of Mr. William Collins, deceased).

This is the book about Mary Bennet I have been waiting to read! She is the perfect mix of her sisters but entirely her own woman. Mary has been the governess for the three Farnsworth children at Netherfield for a number of years and seems content at her place in life. She gets swept up in her mother's plans to keep Longbourn in the family. It is through these events that we see Mary grow and become a strong woman.

I will admit I had to peek at the end, something I have done with all three of Shannon's wonderful novels and I'm never disappointed with the results.

Shannon's has also written a stand alone Regency novel For Myself Alone.

View all my reviews

Friday Fun/Videos

noreply@blogger.com (Central NJ JASNA) — Fri, 03 May 2013 12:22:00 +0000

I shared a couple of things on Facebook and Twitter yesterday that I wanted to share here too. The

First thing - The Royal Shakespeare Company has a new idea for their yearly performance of A Midsummer Night's Dream

Published on May 1, 2013
Midsummer Night's Dreaming is a one-off digital theatre project and our 40th interpretation of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream a tale of love, fairies and mischief.

Billy Shakespeare and his pig Francis can tell you more about the story.

Across Midsummer weekend (21 -- 23 June) the play will be performed by an acting company in real time, directed by our Artistic Director Gregory Doran, culminating in a wedding, which you can attend. More information about the live events and the cast will be released shortly.

Meanwhile, the story will be shared through photos, snippets and news stories online from the perspectives of some lesser known characters, as if it was happening in real life. Where ever you are in the world you can watch the play unfold via some clever technology on our website, and we are inviting you to share your take on the production.

Find out more at RSC-Dreaming and follow the RSC on Google+

The second thing - "Alloy Digital rolled out a slate of eight original Web series...including...a promising Jane Austen-esque drama The Espressologist, based on a novel by Kristina Springer." - from this article.

Here's the book trailer:

Wordless Wednesday #12

noreply@blogger.com (Central NJ JASNA) — Wed, 01 May 2013 15:18:00 +0000

Source: Uploaded by user via Amelia on Pinterest

Author Interview with Scott D. Southard

noreply@blogger.com (Central NJ JASNA) — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 12:22:00 +0000

A Jane Austen Daydream by Scott D. Southard
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Mix one part biography and one part historical re-imagining...add witty characters and some surprises and you have A Jane Austen Daydream. This was a delightful read.

- Amelia

Can you tell us a little about yourself?

My name is Scott D. Southard and I am the author of A Jane Austen Daydream. I have written a handful of other books and have a writing blog at sdsouthard.com where you can find out about my other works and also read my thoughts on life in general, usually with a lot of humor attached since I am figuring this out as I go along (like everyone else). I was inspired to write Daydream after doing a little exploring into Austen’s life and realized she didn’t have the romantic life she wanted for herself. So I decided to create that in novel form, using her own books and life story as a starting point. I then added into the mix a very bizarre literary twist to it that as a writer I am still nervous about…

What do you do when you are not writing?

Writing is usually what I do when I get a break from life. I am a parent of two great little kids and they take up a bulk of my home life. That usually means my writing is scheduled for the evenings between 10 and midnight. When I need to get focused or turn my active brain off, I usually turn to video games and exercising to be honest… To be very honest, I turn to video games more than exercise!

How long does it take you to write a book?

This is a hard question to answer because I have found that each book has been different for me. A Jane Austen Daydream has been…well… a daydream of mine to write for years, always wondering if I had the capability to really pull it off. It was my wife that encouraged me to take it on. I probably spent more time planning, writing, and editing that book than any other.

What is your work schedule like when you’re writing?

It’s all about scheduling and planning for me. Evenings and, my favorite, Sunday mornings at a coffee shop in town. If I am lucky there will be no one near me and I can write for over two hours… Sadly, recently, two older women keep coming in and sitting by my spot while discussing their lives quite loudly. I’m thinking of evilly adding them to a story out of writing revenge. That would be wrong, right?

What does your family think of your writing?

My family is rooted in the arts. My wife is an amazing choreographer and dancer, and I grew up around the theater thanks to a younger brother obsessed with acting. So, happily, they know not to look for themselves in my work… most of the time.

What was one of the most surprising things you learned in creating your books?

To trust my instinct. That maybe a weird thing to say (hopefully, not very arrogant), but if given a chance I will stress and stress over a book and plot, but if I just sit down and write, the right path will show itself more organically. I need to always remember to trust myself.

If you had to sum up A Jane Austen Daydream in 30 words or less what would you say?

A Jane Austen Daydream is Jane’s life re-imagined in fiction. It is her story, and also definitely not her story. I like to think it is the story Jane would have wanted for herself- filled with love, suitors, surprises, comedy and literary invention. (That was a little more than 30… Argh! And I didn’t even get to the big twist in the book!)

Which character did you enjoy writing the most?

Jane… Definitely Jane. Not even a question. Jane could say anything, being so witty and clever. And I loved finding actual things she wrote in her books and letters and incorporating them into her speeches. The book may be questionable in some regards, but with Jane it feels real in some ways. It’s all about Jane.

What inspired you to incorporate Jane’s characters into your story as real people?

When I knew I was going to “change” her life story, I became worried that some new readers out there might confuse this with a biography, which it definitely is not. Bringing some of her characters into the novel as friends, makes it more difficult for people to do that. Yeah, it’s a failsafe for me.

Did you have a say in the design of the book cover?

I wish I could take credit for it. That is all my publisher’s doing! I was so worried it was going to be something romantic or period-esque like historical romances, but when they gave that to me, I was happily floored. It reminds me of her hometown. Yeah, I signed with the right publisher for it, no question.

Do you buy a book based on the cover?

Not usually, to be honest. Recently, I gave my nephew for Christmas a copy of Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury and that has a lousy cover! If I didn’t know the book, I would have never thought to buy it (or even thought it was a good book to read). I had to explain to him a few times that it was one of my favorite novels.… Luckily, I am happy with A Jane Austen Daydream’s cover.

What is one of your favorite quotes?

Jane is filled with wonderful quotes. One of my favorites though from Pride and Prejudice is “For what do we live, but to make sport for our neighbors, and laugh at them in our turn?” I was very happy with how I was able to “incorporate” that passage in Daydream.

List 3 books you just recently read and would recommend?

Today, being so obsessed with my own writing, Jane Austen, and being a parent it would be difficult to do this, sadly. Finding more time to read for pleasure is one of my goals in the new year (I hope to start reviewing books on my site, for example). Most of the books I have read recently revolve around my children. Dare I mention the genius that is Pete the Cat?

Where can readers stalk you?

Blog
Facebook
Twitter – @SDSouthard
Goodreads author page
GooglePlay

Is your book in Print, ebook or both?

The book will be available on both print and eBook starting on April 30.

Fun Friday! - Alexander Graham Bell

noreply@blogger.com (Central NJ JASNA) — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 09:00:00 +0000

This is completely not related to anything Jane Austen or Regency BUT I just had to share.

Here the Voice of Alexander Graham Bell for the First Time in a Century

From the Article on Open Culture:

In the short recording dated April 15, 1885, the inventor declares: “Hear my voice — Alexander Graham Bell.”

Book Recommedations: Wordless Wednesday Style

noreply@blogger.com (Central NJ JASNA) — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 12:38:00 +0000

In continuing with my spring cleaning I found two postcards promoting books that came out this past year.

Everybody's Jane: Austen in the Popular Imagination

Matters of Fact in Jane Austen: History, Location, and Celebrity

News Update: The Passing of a Jane Austen Scholar

noreply@blogger.com (Central NJ JASNA) — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 18:37:00 +0000

David Selwyn has died (aged 61) of heart failure following lymphoma.

Daivd was Jane Austen scholar who was particularly interested in the role of children and leisure in her novels.

His full obituary can be found on The Guardian's website.

David served as a plenary speaker at two JASNA AGMs:

He also helped developed/launched JASNA’s International Visitor’s Program

David's Books

Jane Austen and Leisure (1997)
Jane Austen and Children (2010)

David also edited a book of poetry titled The Poetry of Jane Austen and Her Family

Readalikes: Downton Abbey

noreply@blogger.com (Central NJ JASNA) — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 17:04:00 +0000

First I'd like to wish everyone a Happy Earth Day! Also Happy Jelly Bean Day!

In honor of Spring I did some cleaning of my online saved files.

Downton Abbey Readalikes from Reader's Advisory.

This post send you over to Reading the Past (another blog I read daily) and the two posts filled with Downton Abbey readalikes.

Here are some of the titles from the first blog post:

Summerset Abbey by T.J. Brown
The Last Summer by Judith Kinghorn
Ashenden by Elizabeth Wilhide

and from the second blog post:

The Sandcastle Girls by Chris Bohjalian
Tyringham Park by Rosemary McLoughlin
Ravenscliffe by Jane Sanderson

All the books listed on these two blog posts will be added to our LibraryThing page of our Read Jane page.