My Love for Jane Austen

Yesterday officially marks the ending of The Pride & Prejudice bicentenary challenge 2013 hosted by Laurel Ann Nattress on her wonderful blog, Austenprose . Although I began the challenge on a high with three books in two months, I fail to complete my mission of reading six Pride and Prejudice -themed books. Nevertheless I am a disciple with five books read and reviewed. Epic Fail by Claire LaZebnik Darcy Goes to War by Mary Lydon Simonsen Celebrating Pride and Prejudice: 200 Years of Jane Austen's Darling Child by Hazel Jones and Maggie Lane Me and Mr Darcy by Alexandra Potter Mr Darcy's Guide to Courtship: The Secrets of Seduction from Jane Austen's Most Eligible Bachelor by Fitzwilliam Darcy My initial list was slightly different than the one shown above. I guess other novels have caught my interest along the way. In addition my reading habit has slowed down considerably where I take a longer time to finish a book, what with real-life getting in the ...

Rating: ★★★★★/★★★★★ It is a truth universally acknowledged that in the bi-centenary year of Pride and Prejudice 's first publication, readers just can't get enough of Jane Austen's most popular couple and their love story. To satisfy our request and pay homage to Jane Austen's greatest masterpiece, authors take the opportunity to release their Austenesque titles and at the same time cash in on Miss Austen's success. Mr Darcy's Guide to Courtship: The Secrets of Seduction from Jane Austen's Most Eligible Bachelor is one such book catering to this demand. Dictated by the gentleman himself to Miss Emily Brand and supposedly published in 1812 with a second print run as the first edition was sold out, this is his manual for Regency gentleman on how to woo ladies and make one of them their wife. This tongue-in-cheek reference should be taken with a pinch of salt because the man has yet to meet Elizabeth Bennet, one that will question his methods and ideas o...

Rating: ★★★★½/★★★★★ First of all, I have a confession to make. I have always wanted to read Me and Mr Darcy by Alexandra Potter after I bought the novel with the cute UK cover and the word Mr Darcy emblazoned on it. Mr Fitzwilliam Darcy is one of my all-time favourite hero because he is willing to change for the better due to his love for Elizabeth Bennet. With a captivating title like this, I do not really know why I find it difficult to continue reading about halfway through the novel. Perhaps I found it hard to relate to the heroine or my expectations of the novel has changed. Nevertheless I am glad that I found time to revisit this book for The Pride & Prejudice bicentenary challenge 2013 . The story revolves around Emily Albright, a twenty-nine-year-old manager of a New York independent bookstore named Mckenzie's. Narrated from her point-of-view, all she hopes for is to find the one man who will sweep her off her feet and act honourably and chivalrously like Mr Dar...

Rating: ★★★★★/★★★★★ As the world rejoices and commemorates the bi-centenary publication of Jane Austen's beloved second novel not too long ago, there are two books in the market that I know of which specifically celebrates the phenomena that is Pride and Prejudice . One such example is Celebrating Pride and Prejudice: 200 Years of Jane Austen's Darling Child written by prominent Austen scholars Hazel Jones and Maggie Lane. Published in UK last September, I am delighted to receive this book as a Christmas present from my dear parents. The initial chapter covers the popularity of Pride and Prejudice where it consistently top polls conducted in recent times around the world. This can be traced back to the BBC televised adaptation in 1995 where millions of viewers tuned in to watch Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle waltzed into our hearts. UK readers voted this book the nation could not do without. Blogs, websites and merchandises are created to celebrate the uniqueness of the ...

Rating: ★★★★½/★★★★★ After having read Mary Lydon Simonsen's historical tale inspired by Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice in Searching for Pemberley , I am in awe of her story-telling skills. Her knowledge of past events such as the post World War II times are extensive that I long to read other novels written by her. My wish is granted when I pick up her latest work titled Darcy Goes to War . In this invective re-imagining of Pride and Prejudice , the main characters are transported right in the middle of World War II era where England is at war with Germany. As a result there is a shortage of men in the workforce as able-bodied men are required to enlisted to fight the war. Thus we find Elizabeth Bennet as a lorry driver delivering farm produce to a pub on the outskirts of Meryton before heading back home to Longbourn. In the same pub, she met Flight Lieutenant William Darcy of the Royal Air Force (RAF) who indirectly slighted her by remarking that there is little be...

Rating: ★★★★★/★★★★★ After enjoying Prom & Prejudice , a contemporary young adult novel based on the Jane Austen's classic work, Pride and Prejudice , I am ready to dive into this type of book. Thus I have selected Epic Fail as my next read as I came to know the novel through a review on Austenprose . The Benton clan made up of four school-going girls has recently moved from the East Coast to the glittering city of Los Angeles after their parents accepted a job there. Coral Tree Prep, an exclusive high school popular with wealthy kids, is where the three eldest sisters will be studying. On the first day at their new school, Elise (Elizabeth) and Julianna (Jane) encounter a different kind of world from their upbringing where students here dress to kill and drive fancy cars. Being from Amherst, a small town in Massachusetts, Elise certainly feels out of place. However elder sister Juliana has no such problems as she befriends Chase Baldwin (Bingley) who really likes her....

After successfully hosting The Sense and Sensibility Bicentenary Challenge 2011 to great acclaim, Austenprose 's Laurel Ann Nattress is again planning another Jane Austen challenge to mark the most important milestone in the life of a Janeite. Yes, I am referring to the 200th anniversary of the most celebrated Jane Austen's masterpiece — Pride & Prejudice . Indeed I remember spending many hours of enjoyment reading my first Jane Austen novel and getting acquainted with intelligent and witty Elizabeth Bennet, proud and haughty Mr Darcy, sweet Jane Bennet, the always amiable Mr Bingley, pompous Mr Collins, devilish George Wickham, etc. Therefore The Pride & Prejudice bicentenary challenge 2013 is the perfect time to indulge in some of the great Pride & Prejudice materials it has to offer. Janeites, historical fiction enthusiasts, costume drama lovers or casual admirers can participate in this challenge by re-reading the original text, watching the movies and te...

Forgive my tardiness in updating my blog because lately I have been quite busy since last month. Anyway for my annual round-up, here's a look at the challenges that I have committed to participate ending on 31 December 2011. Both of the two challenges are hosted by the amazing and talented Austenite blogger who runs Austenprose and editor of Jane Austen Made Me Do It short story anthology, Laurel Ann Nattress. These are the tasks that I have successfully completed and my review follows: Being a Jane Austen Mystery Reading Challenge 2011 Jane and the Unpleasantness at Scargrave Manor by Stephanie Barron The Sense and Sensibility Bicentenary Challenge 2011 From Prada to Nada (2011) The Three Weissmanns of Westport by Cathleen Schine The Dashwood Sisters Tell All by Beth Pattillo Although the list is slightly different from my initial plan, sad to say that I failed to achieve my goal of completing two books for the first challenge and I still have one more task ...

Rating: ★★★★★/★★★★★ The Dashwood Sisters Tell All is Austenesque author Beth Pattillo's third novel which I was a little apprehensive to read as I don't quite enjoy the previous novel, Mr. Darcy Broke My Heart but I love the original concept of her Austenesque debut novel, Jane Austen Ruined My Life . Buoyed by positive reviews at Austenprose and Austenesque Reviews , I decided to venture into Ms Pattillo's novel. Similar to the earlier two works, this story is set in England featuring American women as the heroines. Two estranged sisters embark on a walking tour to follow the footsteps of Jane Austen's Hampshire located in England in order to fulfill their mother's dying wish. The Dodge sisters have not always been close as both have very different personalities and are geographically separated by three states. Ellen, the elder sister in her late thirties, is rational and sensible, while Mimi is the romantic and emotional type. Their mother, Caroline Dodg...

Rating: ★★★★★/★★★★★ Most Janeites know that Cassandra, Jane Austen's beloved sister destroyed or censored her letters and correspondence written by Jane to their family, relatives and friends that are deemed too inappropriate or impertinent for anyone to know how she feels about something or someone. In addition, no diaries and journals were known to survive until now. What would happened if less than two hundred years since her death, her personal journals were discovered and the contents are in the process of restoration? That is the premise of Stephanie Barron's mystery series, Being a Jane Austen Mystery , which revolves around our favourite authoress, with her keen sense of observation and sharp wit, try to solve some puzzling and mysterious deaths à la Agatha Christie's Miss Marple and Nancy Drew, girl detective. The first novel in this series occurred after Jane turned down the proposal of Harris Bigg-Wither and needed a temporary home to escape the scoldings o...

Rating: ★★★★½/★★★★★ I always have a love for historical events that happened in the past such as World War I and II but so far I have never attempted to read any books about this important piece of history until now. Although this is not a factual account per se, the research poured into this story is believable which left me in no doubt about the horrors and sufferings of victims and survivors of these two great wars. Based on the title alone, you might not expect the plot too be complicated but as it turns out, the novel has 3-in-1 stories that somehow link the main characters of each story together. The premise of the story goes like this: What if Jane Austen was inspired to write her first draft of her work titled First Impressions , which evolved to become Pride and Prejudice , after hearing the romance of two lovers from different social class with contrasting personalities from her relatives? What if Pemberley, the stately home of Fitzwilliam Darcy was real? I'm sure J...

This film was released in US theatres earlier this year in January and is now available in DVD format. The story is inspired by Jane Austen's novel, Sense and Sensibility with a Latino twist and sets in the metropolitan city of Los Angeles. As this year marks the 200th year since the release of Austen's first published novel, it is a fitting tribute to watch and review any movies and mini-series based on her works. This is a feel-good romantic comedy movie that I enjoyed watching. It managed to capture the important elements of love, romance, family and financial aspects that are prevalent in the novel. This film first came to my notice when AustenBlog first spread the news several years ago about a modern adaptation of Austen's work with a working title Sense and Sensibilidad . You can read all past news on the long journey from script, casting to the release of the film at this link . The Plot Mary (left) and Nora (right) with their father (centre) Directed ...

Rating: ★★★★/★★★★★ My Jane Austen Summer is debut author Cindy Jones' labour of love which I got to know through Austen Authors blog as she is a regular blogger there. I have been following her publication journey several months back and I am thrilled to be finally able to read her first novel after ten years of hard work, rejections and revisions. The story is about Lily Berry, a twenty-six-year-old Texas woman who is on a downhill following the death of her mother due to illness, the sacking from her job as human resource personnel because her boss caught her reading Northanger Abbey and getting dumped by her boyfriend, Martin. On top of that, her life is turned upside down soon after her mother's funeral when Sue, her father's new and younger girlfriend, decided to move in to live with her father. She endured all the grief, suffering and anguish alone without getting the required professional help advised by her older sister, Karen by reading all of Jane Austen...

Rating: ★★★★★/★★★★★ According to Jane is a coming-of-age story of a woman on a quest for finding her one true love and in the process, gets a better understanding of herself. This self-reflective novel is told in a series of flashbacks beginning with the protagonist's sophomore year. Ellie Barnett, a fifteen-year-old bookish student is in English class when Sam Blaine, who is sitting directly behind, mercilessly teases and disturbs her. Sam, her childhood friend since kindergarten may be good-looking, popular, smart and athletic but he also brings his fair share of trouble. Ellie is very much annoyed at Sam's antics and vows to ignore him. Later when she opened her copy of Pride & Prejudice for her next assignment, she heard a soft 'tsk' of displeasure and suspects Sam is at it again. It actually turned out to be Jane Austen who is speaking directly in her mind. Little did Ellie know that her life would change forever as Jane continues to diligently whisper wo...

Rating: ★★★★★/★★★★★ As readers of this blog, I'm sure you are familiar that most of the time I would begin my review by mentioning how I came across this gem in my search for good Austenesque novels to read. This is no different compared to previous reviews. You may also know that I have been a long time fan of any Jane Austen-themed novels and would not hesitate to pick it up and put it on my list for books that I am going to read. Although it was available at my bookstore last year, I am only able to read it now. Barbara Cornthwaite, the author of this novel is a member of Crownhill Writers Guild , an independent publishing house specialising in Jane Austen retellings. With the likes of Pamela Aidan ( Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman ), Susan Kaye ( Frederick Wentworth, Captain ) and Laura Hile ( Mercy's Embrace ) which write some of the best Austen-themed novels, George Knightley, Esquire lives up to my expectation of a classic masterpiece worthy of Emma in which it is bas...