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Archive for the ‘Austenesque novels’ Category

Persuasion, an Annotated Edition edited by Robert Morrison: A Review

Posted in 19th Century England, Austenesque novels, Book review, jane austen, Jane Austen Novels, Jane Austen's World, Persuasion, Regency World, tagged , on October 18, 2011| 21 Comments »

Harvard University Press has done it again and wowed us with a superb annotation of a Jane Austen novel! Persuasion: An Annotated Edition, edited by Robert Morrison is slated to be released in November. This large edition hardback is a mouthwateringly scrumptious book that contains 102 color illustrations (some of which are included in this review), notes on the original text, a 21-page introduction by Dr. Morrison, the text of Persuasion and annotations placed in the far margins, the original ending of Persuasion, (which Jane Austen abandoned), biographical notice of the author by her brother Henry Austen (written shortly after her death), and further recommended reading. Annotator, Dr. Morrison, describes the book as the most profound novel that Jane Austen has written, containing “her most compelling and adult love story.”

1808 evening dresses, August issue of Le Beau Monde.

I found every part of this book worthy of reading. In his foreword, Dr. Morrison sets up the novel in context of the Napoleonic Wars and Jane Austen’s experience with her sailor brothers and knowledge of how the wars changed the British class system, allowing self-made men like Admiral Croft and Captain Wentworth to rise in the world, while those who clung to traditional conventions, like Sir Walter Elliot and his daughters Elizabeth and Mary, to become increasingly anachronisistic. Dr Morrison explains in an interview for Harvard Press:

“Austen, on the other hand, is a novelist, and the emphasis when editing her is frequently on her immensely insightful views on social structures, sexual politics, economic pressures, and individual obligations and aspirations. Editing her means developing a very clear sense of the difference between riding in a barouche and riding in a curricle, of what it means to command a frigate as opposed to a sloop.“ – Interview with Robert Morrison, Harvard Press 

Between Lyme Regis and Charmouth, by John White Abbot

The star attractions of this book are the annotations, which are liberally sprinkled in the sidebars of each page. Dr. Morrison chose information that would appeal to seasoned readers of the novel as well as those who are reading it for the first time. He discusses naval rank, the various reasons why Anne’s family pressured her to not marry Wentworth, descriptions of the duties of apothecaries and surgeons, inheritance laws, the streets and buildings in Bath, descriptions of Lyme Regis, letter writing, and more. He explained in an interview for Harvard Press:

“Knowing my prose was going to appear right beside Austen’s really did change the way I approached writing my commentary. I have tried to use the commentary to illuminate the text as often as I can, and from as many different angles as I can, and to emphasize both what I believe to be central in Persuasion, and what the finest critics from Austen’s day to ours have written about it. I have attempted to produce a commentary that is in immediate and active dialogue with her text, rather than in a relationship that is more distant and intermittent.” – Interview, Harvard Press

Sea bathing at Scarborough

I find it hard to read a novel smoothly while referring to the annotations, which I regard as interruptions, so I generally read the annotations alone. I then refer to the sections of the novel that are described. After going through the annotations, I will sit down and read the novel again. That second reading is much enriched because of the additional information. (I am curious to know how others tackle reading an annotated book!)

The White Hart Inn

Professor Morrison ends his interview with Harvard Press by comparing the radical change in Anne from a faded to a blooming woman to the transformation in Jane Austen’s novels: “[Persuasion] signals a radical change from what she has written in the past, and throws searching light on the world that is to come.”

Francis Austen, Jane Austen's sailor brother.

Persuasion, an annotated edition will sit proudly on my bookshelf next to last year’s edition of Pride and Prejudice: An Annotated Edition by Patricia Meyer Spacks, also from Harvard University Press. I give this book five out of five Regency teacups.

Dr. Robert Morrison. Image @Galit Rodan

About the author: Robert Morrison, is an English professor and world-class scholar of Romantic and Victorian literature at Queen’s University, Ontario, Cananda. He is the author of the acclaimed biography of Thomas de Quincey entitled The English Opium Eater.

Hardcover: 360 pages, 102 ills.
Publisher: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press; Annotated edition
Language: English
ISBN-13: 978-0674049741

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Persuade Me by Juliet Archer: A Review

Posted in Austenesque novels, Book review, Jane Austen Novels, Jane Austen's World, Popular culture, Regency World, tagged , on October 13, 2011| 8 Comments »

Persuade Me by Juliet Archer is a modernized treatment of Jane Austen’s Persuasion. When I first received the book I was reminded of the Three Weissmanns of Westport, a modern take of Sense and Sensibility by Cathleen Schine. Since I wasn’t as impressed with the Weissmanns as the New York Times bestselling book crowd seemed to be, I picked up Persuade Me with a sense of “Here we go again.”

Persuade Me is the story of Anna Elliot and Rick Wentworth, celebrity scientist and best selling author of Sex in the Sea, an entertaining yet informative non-fiction book about sea animal propagation. Rick’s movie star good looks propel him to instant stardom. And thus we meet him on a book tour in England, away from Australia, his adopted country. Rick’s return to England is bittersweet. While he’s found fame, he’s never found a woman to replace his lost love, Anna, and memories keep washing over him as he visits familiar haunts. Even though the memories are sweet, Rick remains bitter, for his failed romance with Anna has spoiled him for any other woman.

Enter Anna Elliot. Softly pretty, single, and with a serious job, that of a Russian literature scholar. Her life, too, has been scarred by a love once treasured, now lost. Memories of Rick’s kisses and arms are as fresh to Anna today as they were ten years ago, before she foolishly broke up with him.

Insofar as the plot goes, Jane Austen fans know the drill. Rick meets Anna on his book tour, and circumstances serve to throw the two together physically while emotionally keeping them apart. Anna’s sisters Lisa and Mona resemble their Jane Austen counterparts, except that shrewish Mona is also a lush, a touch I loved. Sir Walter Elliot is a vain popinjay who instantly re-invites his slimy, two-timing nephew William back to the bosom of his family because he is (and here I am paraphrasing Sir Walter) a “mimick-me”. Except for William’s chin having an unfortunate tendency towards receding, Sir Walter regards the man as the perfect consort for his lovely eldest daughter Lisa.

I won’t go into more details about the plot, since that will spoil the book for you, except to make a few observations. Juliet Archer takes the reader into both Anna’s and Rick’s minds. Now, I am one of those readers who thrills in reading books in which the author does this. I am always dying to know what other characters are thinking, and Juliet has given me that gift. This works both for and against the plot. Let me explain. When Rick and Anna get together, you can cut the sexual tension with a knife. Knowing what both were thinking and why they were unable to act upon their desires kept me turning the pages.

BUT! By providing us with Rick’s thoughts, the mystery of the book is gone. Jane Austen brilliantly kept her readers in suspense about Captain Wentworth’s thoughts and how they informed his actions. We knew what emotional torture poor Anne Elliot was going through and we had to wait (with bated breaths) for the last few chapters to learn how very much Captain Wentworth had wanted her back all along. For a variety of reasons, there is no such mystery in Persuade Me. Nevertheless, Juliet Archers has given us the thrill of following Rick’s mind as he encounters Anna in Lyme and Bath and sees her with William Elliot. It helps that the author is British, and therefore can capture the nuances of speech and customs of her country perfectly. One feels that this Anna and William could have been the great great grandchildren of Jane Austen’s counterparts.

The second reason that the suspense of this tale is missing is that it is based on a beloved book that 99% of Janeites have read. We already know the outcome. Yet I found the book a satisfying read. Even though I regard its original model as nearly perfect, I give Persuade Me four out of five Regency tea cups.

Persuade Me is the second book in Juliet Archer’s Darcy & Friends series, published by Choc Lit at http://www.choc-lit.com

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Murder Most Persuasive by Tracy Kiely: A Review and Book Giveaway

Posted in Austenesque novels, Book review, Jane Austen's World, Popular culture, tagged , on September 5, 2011| 54 Comments »

Murder Most Persuasive is Tracy Kiely’s 3rd mystery based loosely on Jane Austen’s novels. One can readily guess the influence from the title. Elizabeth Parker makes her third appearance as a sleuth. Much like Miss Marple she finds herself at the right place at the right time. Like Miss Marple, Elizabeth understands that she has a talent for solving mysteries.

In this instance, Elizabeth has gathered with family members at the funeral of great-uncle Martin Reynolds. When Uncle Martie’s house in St. Michael’s is sold for the benefit of his three daughters, the body of Michael Barrow is discovered buried underneath the swimming pool. Michael, who was to have married Reggie, Martie’s eldest daughter, had disappeared the night before the wedding and only days before the pool’s concrete shell was poured.

Along with Michael went a great deal of Uncle Martie’s money, embezzled by the runaway groom it was presumed. With the discovery of Michael’s body the questions uppermost in everyone’s minds are: how did Michael wind up under that slab of cement and what happened to the money?

As with Tracy’s other novels, the writing style is light and breezy and the mystery’s fun to follow. In this instance, the parallel to Austen’s Persuasion is hard to ignore. Ann, Uncle Marty’s middle daughter, broke up with young Joe Muldoon under the influence of her father and her dead mother’s dearest friend, an action she still regrets 8 years later. A mousy professor who has lost her looks, she encounters Joe, now a successful man and the detective on the case. Will this star crossed couple come to find love again? My curious mind not only wanted to know, but was wholly satisfied.

I could describe the plot in more detail, but I don’t want to spoil the fun for you. Of Tracy’s three mysteries, this is my favorite so far (as is Austen’s Persuasion). I enjoyed meeting the characters so much that I quite forgot to follow the clues. Still, even when I tried to solve the mystery, I was pleasantly surprised to find out who had done the dastardly deed.

Tracy writes mysteries in the old style. No gritty reality and base language sully her pretty towns and well-drawn characters. Blood, while mentioned, is not described down to its forensic core. Thus I recommend that you read Tracy’s book on a lazy afternoon in a sunny alcove, with a pot of steaming hot tea and some scones and clotted cream, and a cat on your lap and a dog at your feet. I give this delightful tale four out of five Regency tea cups.

Murder Most Persuasive by Tracy Kiely
Hardcover: 304 pages
Publisher: Minotaur Books (August 30, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0312699417
ISBN-13: 978-0312699413

Giveaway Contest:

The name of the winner will be drawn by random number generator at midnight on September 10th, EST. To enter, please tell me which Jane Austen character you would like to see murdered in a mystery and why. Contest over. Congratulations, Martha!

My other Kiely reviews:

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The Making of Lust in Pride and Prejudice, a Review of Sorts: Mitzi Szereto and Vic Talk Lust and Dust Up

Posted in Austenesque novels, Book review, jane austen, Jane Austen Sequels, Jane Austen's World, Popular culture, tagged , , on August 22, 2011| 26 Comments »

Gentle Readers, You may have noticed my previous rant about Mitzi Szereto’s blog post on Huffington Post. I had struck an attitude of silence and indifference to her sexy parody of Pride and Prejudice (Pride and Prejudice: Hidden Lusts) until I read her fighting words. Then I realized, why not debate each other and find out what we really think? Mitzi has graciously agreed to a discussion about her book and sequels in general.

Vic: Hi Mitzi, it took a while to find my pitchfork and untwist my knickers. Now that the elderberry wine has calmed down my poor nerves and heart palpitations, I can ask you this question: What on earth were you thinking writing that Huffington Post ramble? Only a few vocal Jane fans objected to your book, as most of us were too busy swooning over Colin’s wet shirt to notice the brouhaha until you pointed it out.

Mitzi: Glad the elderberry wine helped. I’ve never tried it; please send a bottle over! I should say that Colin’s little swim left an indelible impression on me as well and accounted for Pride and Prejudice becoming a major favorite of mine. As for my piece in the Huffington Post, I found that all the pitchforks being aimed at me were getting to be a bit silly, particularly when the overwhelming majority of their wielders had not even read my book, let alone anything I’ve written! I have no issue if someone simply does not like the book; everyone has their own taste in reading material. But I figured that since everyone seemed to have so much to say about Pride and Prejudice: Hidden Lusts (and me as its author), I too, had a right to speak and point out the absurdity of these arguments. Many of the comments were being directed at me in a quite personal way, not to mention insulting. Not very polite for people who claim to be defending the honor of our beloved Jane Austen! The LA Times and the Guardian were the first instigators of this whole thing. I actually didn’t think anyone’s hackles would be raised by the publication of my book, especially when it was meant to be a historical parody in the same spirit of the highly popular Zombies versions. I still don’t see what the big deal is, unless it actually is the sexual element in the book that’s upsetting people the most, because the tons of romance and chicklit versions don’t appear to be inspiring upset. If literary purists have an issue with re-imaginings of classic works or writers taking inspiration from them or borrowing from them, they should do a bit of literary investigation into the very long history of this practice and aim their pitchforks at others as well. After all, fair is fair!

Vic: Actually, the Zombies were not well received in some quarters either, but Quirk Books won me over by their cheerful willingness to forego pride and forge into new marketing territories, like toy stores, hardware stores (I kid you not), and gag stores . As an established author you must know from the outset that you can’t please everyone and that you would raise a few hackles with your rapier pen. I am thinking of statements like: “I wonder if these hecklers from the peanut gallery have even read the original Pride and Prejudice…” At this point, my teeth gnashed involuntarily for I sensed an INSULT. (Although I must admit to having met many a rabid Darcy fan who has only seen the movie.)

Mitzi: I don’t expect to please everyone, nor do I wish to! As for insults, I don’t see that it’s an insult to point out that things were not all pristine and squeaky clean in the original novel, and those who claim to have read it might be wise to do so again. Let’s get real: Jane Austen was giving us some very strong hints of the kind of impolitic behavior that was taking place between some of her characters (particularly Lydia Bennet and Mr. Wickham). Of course you’re going to get people saying we don’t need the lurid details, but you must remember that Jane Austen lived in a time when women authors were not taken seriously and were generally relegated to the category of “hack.” If she wanted to be taken seriously and keep her respectability as an author (which she clearly did), she had to be very cautious regarding how far she could go and just how much she could say. Had she been a man writing, things would have been different. But she wasn’t. So when my critics start getting all hot and bothered by my comment, they should wake up to the fact that Jane was a female writer who did not enjoy the kind of literary freedom female writers enjoy today.

Vic: OK, I see your point, but methinks I smelled a publicity stunt in that article. If so, kudos to you, for the controversy forced us to think about why we cling to our preferences AND notice your book.

Mitzi: On the contrary. As I mentioned earlier, I didn’t start the brouhaha; the Los Angeles Times did, followed by the Guardian. Hey, I’m more than happy to get publicity and maybe sell a few books to help put some food on the table. But in all honesty, I wrote a book that was intended to be a fun and entertaining historical parody/sex farce. So yeah, I do think some people definitely need to get a sense of humor! If they’re that upset, then go after the various mash-up authors and the Jane Austen romance authors as well. And let’s add to this all the Jane Austen chicklit authors. Go on, have a field day and get those bonfires burning! It worked for Salman Rushdie (though I’m not sure the fatwa on him has been lifted yet).

Vic: I finally wound up reading the Jane Austen/Zombie mash ups and they were FUN. I realize that your book is written along the line of parody and harmless entertainment, but think about the readers’ perspective. While you wrote only one Austen sequel and regard this as a noble literary tradition, we are inundated with them. Literally.

Mitzi: Oh, I agree with you. It has gone a bit haywire of late. I guess when something hits big, you’re bound to get a whole lot more of it. That’s why I wanted my book to be very much its own kind of thing, rather than just another straightforward romance or fan-fiction-ish version. This is the first time I took a classic novel and remade it, though technically I did a similar kind of thing with my book In Sleeping Beauty’s Bed: Erotic Fairy Tales. In my research I discovered that these tales went back a very long way, some even into antiquity. Perhaps Jane Austen’s works have become the new fairy tales, and will continue to be adapted and remade and re-imagined well into the future.

Mitzi Szereto in London

Vic: I cannot tell you the number of email requests I receive from authors and publishers who want me to review yet another Austen sequel, prequel, or parody. They range the gamut from truly well written pieces to stuff not fit for the shredder. Right now my mind is in a whirl. Precisely what time do Darcy’s fangs come out? Why did he disapprove of Lizzie for bearing him five daughters and one mewly son? When Wickham soiled his diapers, who changed them? Is Mary Bennet really more beautiful than Jane, who has turned into a brood sow? At this point I am in danger of forgetting what is what, and so my reaction to your book was one of indifference. I am done reviewing most of the sequels, except for a very few.

In addition, many authors are not fan fiction fans. Diana Gabaldon, author of the incredible Outlander books, dislikes fan fiction and has publicly said so, and yet you make a good point: Many authors, playwrights, and film makers have had their works reinterpreted or have reinterpreted the works of others.

Mitzi: Absolutely. Because so many of the Jane Austen authors have made the original work all but unrecognizable, the story and its characters can get lost, as you say. That’s why I used Austen’s story as the framework; it’s essentially the same story in my book, but I’ve taken it on a major tangent. My version is not fan fiction at all, nor is it a sequel. Those are again more erroneous assumptions being bandied about by people who’ve not read my book. I wonder if these same people would accuse Dean Koontz of writing fan fiction with his Frankenstein series or want to burn him at the stake for taking a literary classic and remaking it into something else, just as I have done with Pride and Prejudice. I can mention a slew of other authors who’ve done likewise, but we’d be here all day!

Vic: Good point. Now, let’s cut to the chase. Is there anything you would like to say about your book to my readers?

Mitzi: Pride and Prejudice: Hidden Lusts is intended to be pure entertainment and fun. I wanted to write a book that read exactly as if Jane Austen wrote every single word of it. Whether you love or hate my book, I know that I’ve been successful in achieving the Jane Austen illusion and remaining true to the essence of her characters. My book is raunchy, rude, outrageous and outlandish. It’s also extremely funny. If that sort of thing appeals to you, by all means go out and buy my book. If it doesn’t, then by all means choose something more to your liking. Thanks very much for inviting me to chat with you, Vic!

Vic: My pleasure. I wish you much success with your book, Mitzi, and thank you for visiting my humble blog.
Find Mitzi’s books and information at these links:

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Jane Austen Between the Sheets: The Rant of Mitzi Szereto

Posted in Austenesque novels, Book review, jane austen, Jane Austen's World, Popular culture, tagged , , on August 18, 2011| 24 Comments »

Emma Hamilton in one of her 'Attitudes', Thomas Rowlandson caricature, 1790

Just when the rage for Jane Austen monster mash-ups seems to be over, our favorite author’s fine books have been targeted for a different sort of mangling, one that explores the sexual side of her characters’ lives.

Frankly I don’t care for Jane Austen sequels in general and so chose to ignore all the hoopla surrounding Mitzi Szereto’s 15 minutes of fame with Pride and Prejudice: Hidden Lusts. But then she wrote a blog post for Huffington Post and I found that my indifference over her  x-rated foray into Pride and Prejudice could no longer be ignored. This statement particularly set up my hackles:

There appears to be this presumption by the pitchfork coalition that Jane Austen was some prim and proper spinster who wouldn’t have dared to be so impolitic as to address sexual matters in her novels. Therefore who was I, a lowly writer, to tamper with such purity? I wonder if these hecklers from the peanut gallery have even read the original Pride and Prejudice, since it alludes to matters most impolitic, indeed.

That’s a broad  sweeping statement if ever I read one.  If Mitzi had used her critical thinking skills she would have realized that even pitchfork carrying Janeites are conversant with the Regency era and its history. By and large they know about the scandals, the Hell Fire club, the mistresses, the revealing clothing, and the sexual proclivities of all segments of that society, not just the aristocrats. Thomas Rowlandson’s sexually charged cartoons are not unknown to this group. Neither are the stories of such well-known mistresses as Perdita, Emma Hamilton, and Harriette Wilson.

So if it isn’t ignorance about the Regency era and knowledge of Jane Austen’s awareness of the  hanky panky that surrounded her that has kept a Janeite like me on the sidelines regarding Mitzi’s tome, why have I been unable to embrace her new novel?

I am simply not interested.

There are readers who will LOVE her sequel, and I say to each their own. But don’t expect EVERY reader to fall all over themselves to be the first to read yet another twist on the Pride and Prejudice tale. I am so over reading these countless variations on a single theme that I no longer review them. (By the way, the sensual side of Jane Austen characters has been explored by other sequel writers; Mitzi is the first one whose steamy version has caught the eye of mainstream media.) I don’t begrudge Mitzi’s enterprising nature, her talent, or her desire to explore different sides to Lizzie and Darcy; I begrudge that she is miffed that many of us are not impressed. Here’s another statement on Huffington Post:

Why do the re-imaginings of Austen’s works push so many buttons with these “literary purists” – especially re-imaginings that don’t follow the traditional romance route? And why the vitriol, some of which is not very gentlemanly or ladylike? If it’s the sexual content that’s getting these naysayers’ knickers in a twist, perhaps said naysayers should pay closer attention to the original Pride and Prejudice …

Vitriol? To that I say piffle. And before I am lumped in with the Puritans or some virginal sect group, I have read my share of romance novels and believe me, the traditional romance route of which Ms Szereto speaks is hotter than a Houston pavement in 101 degree heat. Ever since Kathleen Woodiwiss arrived on the scene in 1972 with The Flame and the Flower, the majority of romance novels could safely be labeled as soft porn. Some, like Thea Devine’s, are downright hard-core erotic. My point is that Ms. Szereto should have let sleeping dogs lie and not responded to her naysayers in such a public way, for she gained no fan in me.  She concluded her rant with this statement:

Perhaps the members of the pitchfork brigade need to pull that stick out of their backsides and get a sense of humor. After all, Jane Austen had one!

Nice way to win me over. Talk to my friends, by the way, and none will accuse me of lacking humor or of not taking advantage of the bawdy side of my sensual nature to make a point. I am sure Mitzi’s novel will be a hit, for it has garnered more publicity than Casey Anthony sightings. I, for one, will not be reading it.

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