Jane Austen Would you Rather

I first saw this tag over at Wonderland Creek but it's originally from Write on Cordy. You should definitely check out both blogs! I will make a special plug for Naomi's answers..... they made me laugh so hard! :)

• Who would you rather have act as your matchmaker, Lady Russell (from Persuasion) or Mrs. Jennings? Mrs. Jennings. I think she would annoy me but she would also humor me. Lady Russell just annoys me. 
• Who would you like as a pen pal from Jane Austen's works? I think if it was a female friend I would like Catherine Morland. If I wanted a pen pal that would make me laugh it would be Mr. Collins. However, if I wanted a beautifully romantic letter I'd have Captain Wentworth be my pen pal. ;) 
• Who would you rather go on a walk with, Colonel Fitzwilliam or Captain Benwick? I'm not a fan of poetry so Colonel Fitzwilliam. He always struck me as a great conversationalist and friendly. 
• Who would you rather have to befriend, Mrs. Elton or Lucy Steele? Gah! I think it would have to go with Mrs. Elton. Lucy is just too annoying and Mrs. Elton would at least humor me. 
• Who would you rather have as a sibling, John Knightley or Mary (from Persuasion, not Mary Bennet)? Mary really annoys me in Persuasion so I guess John Knightley. I think I could handle his tempers. :) 
• Who would you rather dance with? Mr. Tilney! We would have such conversation while dancing and hopefully one smirk before we may be rational again. ;)

  

  The Henry Tilney smirk. :) 

• Who would you rather refuse, Mr. Collins or Mr. Elton? Mr. Collins! Mr. Elton disgusts me but Mr. Collins humors me. 
• Who would you rather match-make for, Miss Bates or Mary Bennet? Mary Bennet! Because we all know she's destined for Mr. Collins! 
• Who would you rather have as a best friend? Elizabeth Bennet! :) 
• Who would you rather argue with? (Mrs. Bennet, Lady Catherine, Emma Woodhouse, Mr. Woodhouse, Mr. Palmer, Mrs. Jennings, Fanny Dashwood, Captain Wentworth, Mr. Darcy, ect.) Lady Catherine. I think it would divert me excessively though it might make her seriously displeased. However, arguing with Mr. Darcy is fun and will most likely cause him to fall more in love with me so there is that. ;) 
• Would you rather wander the grounds of Pemberly and risk being 'discovered' or wander over the downs surrounding Barton Cottage in the rain and twist an ankle? Discovered by Mr. Darcy? Yes! ;) Actually in all seriousness I'm not sure. It's really awkward running into someone you've turned down... especially when it's quite unexpected so actually I'd probably be like Lizzy and (try to) avoid Pemberly like the plague. I do love the scenery around Barton Cottage though so I think I'll chose it. A twisted ankle will just have to be one of the unpleasant side effects. 
• Where would you live in Austen's works? With whichever Austen hero I marry obviously! I hope it's Darcy though because I kind of want to live at Pemberly. ;) But Donwell Abbey and Northanger Abbey and respective owners are acceptable to me as well. ;)

Love this tag? Consider yourself tagged! :) 

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Book Review- Colonel Brandon's Diary

For the Mount TBR challenge and the Shelf Love challenge I read Amanda Grange's novel Colonel Brandon's Diary.

Synopsis from Goodreads: At the age of eighteen, James Brandon's world is shattered when the girl he loves, Eliza, is forced to marry his brother. In despair, he joins the army and leaves England for the East Indies for the next several years. Upon his return, he finds Eliza in a debtor's prison. He rescues her from her terrible situation, but she is dying of consumption and he can do nothing but watch and wait. Heartbroken at her death, he takes some consolation in her illegitimate daughter, who he raises as his ward. But at the age of fifteen, his ward goes missing. Devastated by the thought of what could have happened to her, he is surprised to find himself falling in love with Marianne Dashwood. But Marianne is falling in love with the charismatic Willoughby...

As with Mr Darcy's Diary, I really enjoyed looking at what could have been in our Austen hero's diary. Sure it's just speculation but it's well done speculation. The book begins with Colonel Brandon as a young man falling in love with Eliza, his fathers ward and the heartache and disappointment that therein followed. Then it skims over his career in the militia until we reach the events of our old favorite Sense and Sensibility.
I've always loved Colonel Brandon; he's the true hero of Sense and Sensibility, let's face it. This brings his story to life. After reading it I felt even more how perfectly him and Marianne were suited to each other. Overall it was quite well done and enjoyable. :)

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Top Ten Tuesday- Freebie

This week's Top Ten Tuesday theme is a freebie so I'm going with my Top Ten Literary Couples! :)
When I'm reading a book or watching a movie a lot of what I look for in a couple is respect and a great sense of humor. :) I think that is reflected in this list. :)
Obviously I couldn't just stop at ten! So here you go in on particular order!

1. Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy from Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice
2. Jane Bennet and Mr. Bingley from Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice
3. Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner from Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice
4. Eowyn and Faramir from J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings
5. Henry Tilney and Catherine Morland from Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey
6. Mr. Knightley and Emma Wodehouse from Jane Austen's Emma
7. Fanny Price and Edmund Bertram from Jane Austen's Mansfield Park
8. Anne Elliot and Captain Wentworth from Jane Austen's Persuasion
9. Elinor Dashwood and Edward Ferris from Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility
10. Marianne Dashwood and Colonel Brandon from Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility
11. Molly Gibson and Roger Hamley from Elizabeth Gaskell's Wives and Daughers
12. Anne Shirley and Gilbert Blythe from L.M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables and others
13. Arthur Clenham and Amy Dorrit from Charles Dickens' Little Dorrit
14. Mr. Thornton and Margaret Hale from Elizabeth Gaskell's North and South
15. Beatrice and Benedict from William Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing
16. Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger from J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series
17. Sir Percival Blakeney and Marguerite St. Just from Emmuska Orczy's The Scarlet Pimpernel 

And for the fun of it.... movie and TV show favorites as well! 

1. Parker and Hardison from the TV show Leverage
2. Amy and Rory from the TV show Doctor. Who
3. The Doctor and River Song from the TV show Doctor. Who
4. Martha and Mickey from the TV show Doctor. Who
5. Nick and Nora from the Thin Man movies
6. Han Solo and Princess Leia from the Star Wars movies
7. G.W. McLintock and Katy McLintock from the movie McLintock
8. Patty and Canoe from the movie That Darn Cat
9. Marjorie Winfield and Bill Sherman from the movies On Moonlight Bay and By the Light of the Silvery Moon.
10. Dr. Bradford and Paula Bradford in the movie The Ex-Mrs. Bradford

I'm sure I missed some great ones so comment and remind me! 

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Top Ten Favorite Heroines from Literature

For Broke and Bookish's Top Ten Tuesday meme, this week's theme is my Top Ten Favorite Heroiens from literature. Choosing favorites is always hard but here goes in no particular order. :)

1. Elizabeth Bennet from Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
2. Fanny Price from Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
3. Anne Elliot from Persuasion by Jane Austen
4. Elinor Dashwood from Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
5. Anne Shirley from Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
6. Amy Dorrit from Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens
7. Lady Jane Grey from Coronation of Glory by Deborah Meroff- Kind of cheating because she is a real historical figure that I admire but there's a book about her so there! 
8. Molly Gipson from Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell
9. Precious Ramotswe from The No. One Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith
10. Luna Lovegood from The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling- I know she isn't exactly the heroine of the story but I actually kind of prefer her to Hermione. 

You may notice a Jane Austen theme here and I do not apologize. ;) She is my favorite author. :)
P.S. If you haven't already be sure to check out my newest project: The 1000 Book List!

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Not Romance

I know this has been bothering you for a long time. It probably haunts you at night and most certainly infests your daydreams. At first it wasn't too bad. You only occasionally woke up in a cold sweat screaming "Austen... romance?" Then it got worse. Every time you blinked your eyes the image of Pride and Prejudice came closer... and closer.
That is why I write this blog post, that is why you are here. To alleviate all of your deeply set worries once and for all. Jane Austen's novels are NOT, and NEVER will be romance novels.
Granted, there is romance in the novels and they are kind of a running theme in each of her books but they aren't the only theme. At this point I'd also like to say that I don't mind a little romance.  However, when it comes to Jane Austen I believe that there is a lot more than a romantic theme running through her books or else they wouldn't be what they are.  What I first think of are the witty lines and overall great writing.  Everything about how Austen writes is amazing (almost inconceivable)! With her words she paints such incredible characters that you will come to love, hate, or there are sometimes those characters that you really aren't sure about your feelings toward them (Mrs. Bennett, Mrs. Jennings, Miss Bates and Lady Bertram come to mind).  I guess that sentence kind of transcended into my next thought about the great characters in Austen's novels. Some of my favorite literary characters come from Austen's novels: Elizabeth Bennett, Mr. Knightley, Henry Tilney, Anne Elliot, Fanny Price, Colonel Brandon, Mr. Darcy and then moving on to secondary characters that I also love: Mr. Bennett (despite his failings), Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner, Eleanor Tilney, Anne Taylor and even though I don't like him he will forever crack me up- Mr. Collins. When it comes to Austen there is also the morals that she brings into every story. Her heroes and heroines are not perfect and spotless; they struggled with the same things you and I do. They have flaws they must work on: prejudiceness, micro-managing, naiveness, ect. Her "good" minor characters all interesting in that while there some of them that just aren't your favorite you still somewhat like them because of their uniqueness.  Here again I am thinking of Mrs. Bennett, Mrs. Jennings, Miss Bates and Lady Bertram.  It seems that Austen crafted each of her character with such precision. I think she must have had a lot of fun creating some of them (Mr. Collins).
I was talking to my mother about this and she made a great point that if Jane Austen's novels were just romance novels, they wouldn't have lasted this long and been remade into movies over and over and over again. There is a lot more to them than romance.

Did you catch my three movie/TV show references/quotes I made? Comment below and let me know!

Lois Johnson, avid writer, tea drinker, and reader but first and foremost, avid Christian.

All about Jane Austen- Her books, film adaptations, ect.

I have read and re-read Jane Austen's novels so many times its ridiculous... some of them far more than others (Pride and Prejudice).  Over Spring break and afterwards I went back and re-read them again. There were a lot of things I noticed this time through that I hadn't noticed before and a lot of thoughts I had on certain characters. Maybe I've matured more... that could always be a possibly. ;) So here are just a few thoughts on each of them. At the end of each I have included my movie recommendations or condemnations.

Pride and Prejudice

My all time favorite book. The characters and lines are some of the best that have ever been written.  For this book I didn't noticed quite as much that I hadn't ever seen before... probably because I've just read it so many more times. However there were a few things. Lizzy's Aunt Gardiner had to warn her to be careful not to show too much interest in Wickham as she knew quite well she could not marry him. I don't know why but I never noticed it before and somehow had autocorrected that.  I think it shows a lack of judgement in Lizzy's character that I maybe didn't expect in her and it makes me slightly disappointed in her. That also makes me love her Aunt Gardiner even more though.  The Gardiners are some of my favorite characters in the books.  They are so loving and kind, ready to assist in every way they can and Aunt Gardiner is wise and gives helpful advice to Lizzy several times.
Another thought I had was about Lizzy was that after she finds out about Lydia and realizes that at the moment when she really loves Mr. Darcy she knows that he will never have her now.  She contemplates that he really was the only man she could have married because he was someone she could respect and they complemented each other so well.  I don't know why but I don't remember reading that scene before, I don't remember it being in the movie but I could be mistaken.  I like that scene though because Lizzy thinking through her feelings and realizing that she loves Mr. Darcy but also the reasons why... it's not just all lovey dovey, but they would actually work well together.
Movie recommendations and condemnations: Pride and Prejudice (1995) is the BEST VERSION EVER!!! The 1940 version is also good but not incredibly true to the story line. My family still likes it though. You'll have to watch it to understand. DO NOT watch the 2005 version. Want to know why? Read my earlier post about it. I seriously think it will kill your brain cells. I recently watched via YouTube the 1980 version. It was tolerable I suppose but not amazing enough to tempt me. Meaning it was okay, I definitely liked it better than the 2005 version but still, there were certain things that just weren't right. I haven't written a full review which you can read here.

Sense and Sensibility

I had a lot of thoughts about this one.  One of my main complaints, having re-read the book is that the love stories of both Elinor and Marianne is not developed enough.  You are told, but you don't see it play out.  This is especially with Marianne.  The movie does that very well though and because of that I never really recognized that the book didn't. I was disappointed in that but it doesn't completely ruin the book for me. Another thought that entered my mind when reading this was that Marianne was about the same age as Lydia Bennett and in some ways (but obviously not all) she acts like her in her relationship with Willoughby. I just never really thought about that before. One doesn't normally draw parallels between those two but I think there is one that can be made.

Movie recommendations and condemnations: I love the 1995 movie version of this book with Emma Thompson. While of course it isn't as long as to give the book full justice, it is as good as it gets I think.  The only other version I have seen is the 2008 version, which is okay. I really like the Elinor and the Colonel Brandon was good as well, however  I think that even though it is roughly two and a half hours, it doesn't tell the story as well as the 1995 version.

Mansfield Park

I have heard that the heroine of this story was Jane Austen's favorites and one doesn't have to wonder why. Fanny Price is sweet and selfless, unasking of attention or thanks but always deserving them. One thought as I read this book was I was surprised that Edmund did not see through Henry Crawford.  I have always been disappointed he didn't see through Mary, though to a point he did, but Henry I felt like he more should have. In many ways Edmund is a dissatisfying hero because even though he know Mary has certain faults and does not see the clergy as she should he still falls in love with her. However, when you read the conversations he has with Fanny and sometimes with Mary you see that his mind and heart are in the right place, though he was lead astray by Mary.  His thoughts on the duties of a pastor are incredible and that is what forgives him in my mind.

Movie recommendations and condemnations: Because of Fanny Price being shy and reserved, I think she is a hard heroine for filmmakers to portray... which is why they end up butchering her I suppose. I have only seen one version of this movie and I didn't even get to finish it, it was that bad. seen two versions of Mansfield Park. The first version I saw was the 2007 version with Billie Piper in the lead roll, which is quite bad in my opinion. My full review is here.  The only decent version of Mansfield Park that I have seen is the 1983 version. You can read my full review here. 

Emma

This hasn't ever been my favorite to read but I have always loved watching the movie. So let's just cut to the movies shall we? :)
Movie Reccomendations and Condemnations: I grew up watching the Kate Beckinsdale 1996 version, which to me is thee version. I know others really love the 2009 version with Romolai Garai. I think it has its good points but there are several things that I dislike about the film. You can read my full review here. I probably was too harsh in that review but it is pretty much how I feel about it. I have also seen the Gwenyth Paltrow version that I thought was an enjoyable version. 

Northanger Abbey

I can't think of anything new I noticed reading it through again. I still loved it a lot. Mr. Tilney is so great and, as I have mentioned before, my mom has compared me to Catherine Morland, which I'm still not exactly sure how to take.
Movie Reccomendations and Condemnations: The only film version I have seen of this is the 2007 version. I have reviewed it before but here are a few brief thoughts on it but you should just go read my longer review here. I do like this movie version, however there are a couple scenes I don't appreciate. I think it captures pretty well the spirit of the novel and the casting is incredible! I recommend it, but cautiously 

Persuasion

Anne Elliot is just about my favorite heroine. In many ways she is like Fanny, only more outgoing. I really didn't think many new thoughts when reading this. I found Elizabeth Elliot annoying, as usual, but a character that I found more aggravating than normal was Mary Elliot. In some ways I dislike her more than Elizabeth, even though Elizabeth is worse.
Movie recommendations and condemnations: The 1995 version is good, though if you haven't read the book you might have trouble following it. I have also watched the 2007 version, which was good, though I disliked the ending. 

Lady Susan

Lady Susan is a novelette written in the form of letters that I did review more than a year ago. You can read the review here. It is really excellently written and I enjoyed reading it. It takes a little bit to get into the flow of it but once you're in, you're hooked!
Movie recommendations and condemnations: There have never been any film adaptations made of Lady Susan.

The Watsons

I just finished this one recently. It is one of Austen's two unfinished novels. To be short, I liked it a lot and I'm sorry that Austen didn't finish it. When I was reading it though, I did have the feeling that I had read it before, meaning it read very much like Austen's other books. I don't suppose I ever thought about all of her books sounding the same as I practically grew up with them. Several authors have completed it before, but I've never read any of those and I really couldn't say if they're good or not. If after reading it you want to know a rough idea of how Austen planned on it ending, just go look at the Wikipedia article. 

Movie recommendations and condemnations: There have never been any film adaptations made of The Watsons

Sandition

This is the other of Austen's unfinished novels. I didn't enjoy it as much as The Watsons. In this book, Austen delves into to some different aspects then she did in her other books. Probably that is why I didn't like it as much. It has been complete many time by various other authors as well. 

Movie recommendations and condemnations: There have never been any film adaptations made of Sandition

So I'm sorry that this post took me so long to complete. I have had it as a draft for a long time now and almost forgot that I hadn't already posted it. But here it is! 

Lois Johnson, avid writer, tea drinker, and reader but first and foremost, avid Christian.

Movie Review: Sense and Sensibility (2008)

There will be some spoilers in this review, fair warning. 

I grew up watching the 1995 version of Sense and Sensibility with Emma Thompson and have always loved it. Later on, when I was older, I read the book, and liked it too. Recently I heard about this film version and since we had it at the library I thought why not? So here are my thoughts.

My general overall opinion of this movie is that it is decent. It is in three 50 minute episodes but despite being a good bit longer than the 1995 version, I don't think the storytelling is nearly as good. There were some scenes that were included in this version that were not included in the 1995 version, namely when the meet Mrs. Ferras, Mr. Willoughby taking Marianne to see Allemand (which is only mentioned in the book) and Mr. Willoughby coming and explaining himself when Marianne is sick. Also they included Anne Steele in this version, who is not included in the 1995 version.

I thought the casting was well done. I really loved the Elinor, who was acted by Hattie Morahan. I think she did a very excellent job. Colonel Brandon was another character I really enjoyed. It took me a while to get used to him but then he really grew on me. The rest of the casting was alright. Something that surprised me was the casting of Mr. Weasly from Harry Potter as Sir John Middleton. However, he did do a good job, though I couldn't get the Mr. Weasly image out of my mind. The Willoughby I felt could have been done better... he seemed to look (and sometimes act) as if he could have a dark secret... but according to the book he is supposed to be so friendly and have such wonderful manners that one could never suspect ill of him. Also I thought the Marianne was a little too toned down.

A few things I disliked about this version besides them not telling the story as well are as follows:

1. There was a scene with Willoughby and Marianne kissing, which I do not think would have happened. 
2. In the scene were Elinor tells Edward about the living that Colonel Brandon has offered him after everyone knows about Edward and Lucy's engagement, Edward makes somewhat of an apology then about how he treated Elinor, which I don't think was right for him to talk about considering his engagement. Also, Elinor tells him that he didn't act at all badly, which I disagree with and in the book she thinks he did act wrongly in not removing himself from Norland on realizing he loved her.
3. Marianne being engaged to Colonel Brandon so quickly after she gets better... though I do think they showed the romance fairly well, though almost too much romance. Also, they have Marianne be engaged to Colonel Brandon before Elinor and Edward are engaged... which is NOT true to the book.
4. I thought the cottage looked too reduced for them to be living in. Yes it is supposed to be a cottage, but in the book you get the impression that it is still nice. 
5. The lines didn't seem to be taken from the book as much as they should have been. I am not asking for them to quote the book word for word, but there were very few lines that were from the book.
6. I think it was a little over romanticized.... maybe actually, though I hate to say this, oversexualized. See my last point for one of the main reasons I think it is oversexualized.
7. Above point in mind, I don't think they developed the romance between Willoughby and Marianne enough. 
8. This is a WARNING. The first scene is a sex scene between Willoughby and Eliza (Colonel Brandon's ward). It is not explicit... but I went ahead and fast forwarded through it. 

All in all, I did think it was an okay version and I would watch it again. The Elinor was, I repeat, great, and that alone makes me want to watch it again sometime. Have you seen it? What are you thoughts on it?

Lois Johnson, avid writer, tea drinker, and reader but first and foremost, avid Christian.

Why I Love Jane Austen's Novels: Favorite Characters, Favorite Lines, and Favorite Everything!

     Jane Austen is one of my favorite authors.  I could almost say she is my favorite but there are so many other great authors it seems wrong to.  She did write my favorite book though, Pride and Prejudice.  As she is one my favorite authors, I thought it only appropiate to dedicate a blog post to her.  First off, I don't look at Jane Austen's novels as romance novels.  Wanted to clear that up first.  I don't read romance novels, and if her novels were I wouldn't read them.  Jane Austen's novels have a lot more to them then romance.  They have wit and wisdom, good and evil, and important Christian values ingrained into them that make them so much more then romance novels. 

       With that in mind, I would like to add that Jane Austen's novels are not just for girls.  Boys can and do read Austen's novels.  Peter Leithart Ph.D. says in his book Minitures and Morals: The Christian Novels of Jane Austen, "Real men read Austen."  I have brothers who enjoy Austen, my dad enjoys Austen, and I know of other men who do as well, Peter Leithart Ph.D. being one of them.  "Real men read Austen."

       So let's talk a little about the characters of Austen's books.  Austen's novels have many well crafted characters, some good some evil, that will always be remembered.  It is so hard to select a favorite hero or heroine, Austen has created such unforgetable charecters in all her books.  I love all of her heros and heroines.  Heros that really stand out to me though would be Mr. Knightely from Emma, Colonel Brandon from Sense and Sensibility, and Henry Tilney from Northanger Abbey.   I think Jane Austen created her heros and heroines to complement each other, which I think is done perfectly in the examples of these three men.  Mr. Knightely's wisdom is just what Emma Woodhouse needed to curb her domineering and impulsive ways. Colonel Brandon's age and experience is just what Marianne Dashwood needed to complement her youth and inexperience.  Henry Tilney's discernment is exactly what naive Catherine Morland needed to guide her.  My ideal husband would be some combination of those three men, especially Mr. Knightley.  My favorite heroines are Elizabeth Bennett from Pride and Prejudice, Anne Elliot from Persuasion, Elinor Dashwood from Sense and Sensibility, and Fanny Price from Mansfield Park.  A combination of those women is what I would so want to be.  I want Elizabeth Bennett's wit, but not prejudiceness, Anne Elliot's patience and kindness, Elinor Dashwood's forebarance and patience, and Fanny Price's sweetness and kindness.

       There are a million and one favorite lines from Austen I have.  My family and I quote them incessently.  A lot of them happen to be from Pride and Prejudice, which is probably because we watch and read that one the most.  Let me note here that we watch the five hour BBC Pride and Prejudice  and would NEVER watch the newer two hour version because it makes a romance story out of it and you just CAN'T cram that long of a book into two hours and make a good movie.  One of my brother's favorite lines from Pride and Prejudice is when Elizabeth Bennett says, "I am happier even then Jane; She only only smiles, I laugh."  A favorite quote for my mother is when Mr. Bennett (Pride and Preujdice again) says, "I am going into my study and I'm not to be disturbed."  Wonder why that would be her favorite line. :)  My favorite quote from Jane Austen's novels is the opening line from Pride and Prejudice, "It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in a possesion of a large fortune must be in want of a wife."  Classic, enough said. 

       So that is why I love Jane Austen's novels.  Why do you?

Lois Johnson, avid writer, tea drinker, and reader but first and foremost, avid Christian.