Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Archive for 2006

Austen Blog

Posted in Regency on August 26, 2006|

Austen Blog seems to be mostly about movies and books about Jane, but the site is worth a visit.

Read Full Post »

Free Pride and Prejudice Audio

Posted in Free audio books on August 26, 2006| 1 Comment »

LibriVox describes itself as the “acoustical liberation of books in the public domain.”

On this site find all the chapters of Pride and Prejudice as MP3 files. I recommend that you download the 3rd version.

You have several options:

  • Download the chapters directly into your Ipod.
  • Save the chapters on your hard drive, and then listen on your favorite audio player.
  • Listen to each chapter by clicking on the files.

Click on Librivox or Pride and Prejudice (words above) to enter the sites.

Read Full Post »

Fashions of the Regency Era

Posted in Jane Austen's World, tagged on August 26, 2006|

View gorgeous gowns on this site.

Click here for more costumes and fabulous clothes.

Oh, ladies, this is going to be such fun!

Read Full Post »

Shall We Dance? Regency Style

Posted in Dancing on August 26, 2006|

(The First Quadrille at Almack’s, Wikimedia Commons:  The quadrille was introduced to England around 1808 by a woman known as Miss Berry. It was introduced to the Duke of Devonshire and made fashionable by 1813. In the following years it was taught to the upper classes, and around 1816 many people could dance a quadrille. It became the standard dance of the Victorian ball.)

“In 1814 the famous Lady Jersey was at the head of the Council, and the balls at Almack’s were the ne plus ultra of fashionable entertainments. In those days a voucher for Almack’s, only obtained from one of the six lady patronesses, was the aim and object of all who wished to shine in the mystic circle of the ultra-fashionable clique of London society; and an introduction to one of these great ladies was a matter of most anxious importance. The very stringent code of rules which guarded these gatherings from the intrusion of anyone outside the privileged circle was drawn up by Lady Jersey and her co-patronesses, and an admission was fraught with great difficulties. Each lady could only give a certain number of vouchers, and only the quintessence of aristocracy were present, while it was said three-fourths of the nobility knocked in vain at the portals of Almack’s.” – Mrs. Armytage

Read Full Post »

Welcome to the Regency Era

Posted in Regency on August 23, 2006| 4 Comments »

Ah, the Regency Era! Through the eyes of Jane Austen we have become intimately acquainted with this short period in English history. We admire the outrageous behavior and sparkling wit of their characters, as well as the era’s clothes, furniture, and architecture.

Unsated, we reread the same six Austen novels over and over, hoping to turn up additional nuggets of information from Jane’s keen insights. Thank God for the Internet, which puts us within an ames-ace of historical details.

The Kaunitz Sisters (Leopoldine, Caroline, and Ferdinandine), drawing, 1818, Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres (Public Domain, MET, 1998.21)

The delicate drawings and crystal clear paintings of Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres embody the refined sensibilities of the era. As we examine them, we are reminded that the English of the period revered all things French, despite Bonie’s tiresome habit of killing British soldiers on the Continent.

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts