Phylly's favourite Austen

I very much enjoy the works of Jane Austen, and have read most of them more than once.  But my favourite is the most popular of her novels, none other than Pride and Prejudice. This year is the 200th anniversary of its publication.  Because of that, many Jane Austen fans (and fans of the novel) have banded together on a Blog Hop, hosted by Alyssa Goodnight and Stiletto Storytime.

My way of participating is to relate the story of how I came to be an admirer of Austen's works, and in particular - the novel we are celebrating now.  It's certainly not the usual way one might fall in love with an author, but then Jane Austen is not your usual author!

The first Austen novel that I encountered was given to me as a present by my best friend, when we were in our early teens.  I doubt that my friend had ever read it - she was into horror novels like Stephen King's.  She must have thought I would like it because of my love of "romantic fiction".  It was Emma (certainly not your typical type of romantic fiction), and although I tried to get to know our heroine, you must admit, she isn't really all that "likeable" at first.  Several times throughout my teen years, I attempted to plough through it, but I would get bogged down by all the gossip and tea times and long walks.  I couldn't really see the point of it all, and as I wasn't fond of the main character, there was nothing to keep me going.  Fast forward to me in college.  I was taking a course called a Survey of English Literature (or something like that).  It was just a simple introduction to a huge range of classic literature taught by a not unhandsome man of a certain age with a dreamy English accent!  I am not so sure I would have had such a perfect attendance record for those 8:00 am classes had they been taught by someone else!  So when he posted a list of authors we had to pick from to do a book review and I noticed Austen's name there, I figured it was a good opportunity to finally read Emma from cover to cover!

My favourite adaptation of Emma

So at last I finished it, and lo and behold, I liked it!  Once I got past the reason for all the gossip, I could see that the plot was as tight as any Agatha Christie mystery!  I must admit I was pleased when Emma got her comeuppance delivered most nobley by the heroic Mr. Knightly. That was probably the turning point for me, after that scene I was truly hooked.

The perfect P&P pairing

Years later when I saw the wonderful miniseries with Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle on television I knew I had to read Pride and Prejudice. Not long after, we decided to purchase our first home computer.  I had heard of the Gutenberg project so I looked up what books were available to read online.  I probably tried to read a couple of books that way, but it was rather uncomfortable to sit too long at the computer, so I didn't get very far.  Then I saw Pride and Prejudice listed and noted that the chapter lengths were rather short.  So I thought that it would be a good idea to read just a couple of chapters in a sitting, then get up and do something else, and return to it later.  Turns out, it was so engrossing that I had no trouble reading more than a couple of chapters at one sitting.

The story enthralled, entertained and enchanted me from beginning to end.  I think that had Miss Austen written none other than this one book, she would still be as famous as she is today.  It is a perfect jewel of a book, polished to perfection.  Each word is well chosen and serves its purpose perfectly.  After that experience I headed to our local public library and was overjoyed to find that their collection contained most of Austen's works.  I discovered that even though I truly enjoyed Sense and Sensibility, followed closely by Persuasion -- it was still Pride and Prejudice that I returned to over and over again.  Perhaps it was because I came from an all-girl family with a long suffering father that I related to it so well?

Whatever the reason, I am very glad I finally did succumb to the pleasures of Jane Austen's universe. If I could sum up my reading experience with Miss Austen I would have to say...

“In vain have I struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you.” Jane Austen, Pride And Prejudice

This isn't the first time I've written about my interest in Jane Austen's works. 
See this previous post about my trip to Bath, UK, where I seek out 
the Jane Austen Center despite all odds!

Austensibly* in Bath!

OR Phylly's Bath time (part 2).  *Title explanation.

On a previous post (which I began in September!), I reported that I had taken a bus tour in July 2010 and visited the Roman Baths Museum in Bath, UK.  However, there is another reason why visiting Bath is so interesting, especially if you are a fan of the novels of Jane Austen, as I am.  Jane Austen lived for a time in Bath and also used the location as a setting in her novels, particularly Persuasion.

Bath is a very picturesque small city, situated in the Avon Valley. The steep streets rise from the river up to the Cotswald Hills. It is a place I hope to return to because I certainly didn't have enough time to take in all the beauty of its vistas, its architecture and its historical sites. 

My Bus Tour Guide

Our bus trip was to visit the Roman Baths Museum.  When we arrived at our stop beside Bath Abbey, with the Museum right around the corner, our guide explained that our guided tour would begin in a half an hour.  So we had that much time to explore the area on foot before the tour started.  My goal was to find the Jane Austen Centre.  Luckily there were well labelled street signs everywhere but I had no idea how far away it would be.  I gave myself 15 minutes to find it so that I knew I could get back on time.  I started in the direction the street sign gave me.  The street inclined steadily upward so it was a bit of a workout but I was in  better walking shape from my previous jaunts than I had been since I arrived on England's shores.

After 15 minutes of hiking uphill following the signs I still hadn't reached my goal.  I stopped to consider my options.  I decided it couldn't be very far off (this was complete optimistic conjecture), but as the way back was all downhill it would be a quicker return trip.  The clincher was I was in dire need of a toilet!  Less than five minutes later I reached my goal!

I was met at the entrance by a life-sized statue of a lady in Regency costume whom I assumed was supposed to represent the authoress, or at least one of her characters!   After nodding respectfully at my greeter I crossed the threshold.  The first room to the right of the door was a Book shop and while my brain was clamouring to examine that space, my bladder was much more insistent.  A sign on the stairway in front of me beckoned to the basement where I was able to find relief in the usual offices.  In that  room I was amused to find a little shrine to Colin Firth's Darcy on the wall.

Powder Room Portrait

After quickly perusing the gift store for any easily portable Austen memorabilia, I realized that books were the only items for sale.  Normally a book would be the perfect thing, but because of luggage weight restrictions I knew I should restrain myself.
Down the hall from the entrance was a roped off section which appeared to be the museum.  It looked very intriguing and as no one was around, I pondered stepping over the rope to have a better look at what I would be missing. However, my manners and morality forbade me doing so and also I should admit, my fear of being caught!
The top of the stairs had a waiting room where some people were watching an introductory video before the next museum tour started.  Down the hall there was a little Tea Room which I deeply regretted not being able to visit, but it was absolutely time to be getting back!

I had less than 10 minutes to hoof it back to the Roman Bath Museum but I am proud to say I made it back precisely on time. Good thing, or I would have been in trouble with my husband!  I had to let him have a few choices in our tours as I had dragged him off to every literary tour I could find!  The Roman Baths were really a very worthwhile place to visit.  It satisfied both my historical and my husband's technological interests.

After our very interesting tour we had a few more minutes to spare before boarding the bus back to London.  I couldn't leave without having a peek at the Pump Room which was right next door to the Baths.  It was a large room full of many tables glittering with fancy place settings and the lively chatter of many customers enjoying their afternoon tea.  Right by the entrance to the room was the actual "Pump" where we were encouraged to sample the water which was free for the asking.  So I did have a sample which was tepid and mineral tasting, but not as bad as I might have thought.  I have also drunk the water from a Glacier in the ice fields of the Canadian Rocky Mountains so it was interesting to have that comparison.  The young lady who gave me the drink kindly consented to having her picture taken.  She seemed surprised that I was interested, but I knew it would be a good picture.

As the bus climbed the hills on its way out of town our guide pointed out a row of houses, one of which was where Jane Austen had lived with her parents when her father retired from the clergy in 1800.  I almost missed it, but I think this was the right photo. Some day I must return to Bath to enjoy the place in a more leisurely manner!

And what does Jane Austen have to do with Richard Armitage?  Just that I am not the only fan of both that author and that actor. Many Austen fans yearn to see Richard Armitage chosen to star in a remake of Persuasion.  Here is a mashup trailer with Richard's character of John Thornton in  a movie with Kate Winslet.

Richard Armitage stars in Persuasion / by Elizzybrigth

Austen's most cherished hero was Darcy from Pride and Prejudice.  So here is another fan's creative way to make Mr. Armitage into Mr. Darcy.

Pride and Prejudice Trailer / by beccybubb

Last but not least, feast your eyes on this graphic artist's

portrayal of Mr. Darcy.

Don't we wish it were true!