Showing posts with label Everything Austen Challenge. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Everything Austen Challenge. Show all posts

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew

by Daniel Pool

This ended up being a very informative book. It gives the reader a whole bunch of valuable information about the time period of Austen, Dickens and Bronte. Everything from currency to clothing to social rituals. A much needed book for those who are ever perplexed by certain aspects of the books we love to read.

Saturday, August 22, 2009

The Second Mrs. Darcy by Elizabeth Aston

As you can see I am very happy with reading books by Mrs. Aston. She has a great way of bringing her characters to life while not traveling far from the Darcy’s. This was my third book in the Everything Austen Challenge.

Octavia Darcy was Mr. Darcy’s second wife – Christopher Darcy – a cousin of The Darcy’s. Upon his death she decides to head back to London to live with her step-family until her financial fate is deci

ded. In India she received some news of an unknown relative’s death and an inheritance that would solve all of her financial worries, for life.

Just when it seems her future is looking up, a snag in her hopes becomes known. We are revisited by the spiteful George Warren (From the Exploits and Adventures of Miss Alethea Darcy), who is out to make Octavia’s life miserable while increasing his fortune. Luckily she has a very important man on her side, Lord Rutherford. Though they met on some very unreasonable and not so nice terms, he helps her through this match with Warren.

Again, the ending was expected but the twists and turns made it well worth the read. I was very satisfied with this book and would love to make it part of my home collection.

The Darcy Connection by Elizabeth Aston

This was my second book in the Everything Austen challenge. In Pride and Prejudice, Elizabeth’s best friend marries a bishop and moves away. This book is about the two daughters that came from that marriage – Charlotte and Eliza.

Charlotte is invited to spend the season in London with her godmother, in hopes that she will find a suitable husband. Eliza is content to stay at her home, with her family, until an event happens that forces her

to accompany her sister to London.

As with most of the novels I have read my Mrs. Aston, the endings are very nearly the same but it’s the meat of the book that makes it so interesting. I knew what would happen but there are always some twists and turns that keep you guessing if it really WILL happen or if you will be left startled that something else did.

I was very happy with the ending if this book and looked forward to reading the next one on my list for this challenge.

Sunday, July 12, 2009

The Exploits and Adventures of Miss Alethea Darcy by Elizabeth Ashton

This was my first book in the Everything Austen Challenge. It was a great book! I had previously read Elizabeth Ashton's book "Mr. Darcy's Daughters" and loved it. Though I found that one to be a bit difficult to get into, this one hooked me with page one. I had found Alethea to be rather vibrant and appealing in the first novel and was eager to read all about her in a book dedicated entirely to herself.

Alethea Darcy, or Mrs. Napier as she is now known in the novel, is fleeing from a very brutal and unhealthy marriage. She travels through Europe disguised as a gentleman with her maid, Figgins, disguised as a man-servant. She encounters one Titus Manningtree who is both annoyingly charming and annoyingly angry with the world. He immediately recognizes Alethea for who she really is but does not give her away. Alethea solicits the help of her sister Georgina but is dismissed and told to go back to her husband as a good wife does. She decides to head to Venice to seek help from Camilla.

All along the way to Venice, Alethea and Figgins have some wonderful adventures that only men could have the pleasure of enjoying in 17th century Europe. Alethea tastes the freedom that being a man allows and falls in love with it.

My favorite quote from the book is when Lady Hermione is speaking with Alethea towards the end... "Life doesn't turn out as we expect it to. When we come out into the world, our futures seem as smooth and unmarred as virgin snow. It is an illusion, of course, and soon we weave a web of mistakes and failures as much as achievements and triumphs, and become used to walking on broken pavements rather than on paths of gold. It is what makes life so interesting; one quickly learns that one never knows what is going to happen next".

The book has a very happy and very interesting ending. One that I was not expecting...or at least not entirely. I had a feeling it would happen I just wasn't sure how the author was going to get us to that point. I was very happy with the book and would read it again in a heart beat!

Monday, June 29, 2009

Challenges

I decided to take on a few challenges to end out the 2009 year. Luckily one begins on July 1st so I won't miss it but the other began on January 1st so I am little far behind. However, I had already decided to read a few Civil War novels so I won't be struggling to look for any. I added the buttons to the side that link to the challenge blogs.

Let's start with the Everything Austen Challenge.

This runs from July 1, 2009 - December 31, 2009.
You must choose 6 Austen themed things to finish by the date. Austen themed means movies based on her novels (Pride and Prejudice) or books written by her or that are sequels of her novels. Again, luckily I have 3 books to read on my list already.

So the 6 books I am choosing to read are:

  1. The Exploits and Adventures of Miss Alethea Darcy by Elizabeth Aston
  2. The Darcy Connection by Elizabeth Aston
  3. Mr Darcy Presents His Bride by Helen Halstead
  4. Mr Darcy Takes a Wife by Linda Berdoll
  5. The Darcys and The Bingleys by Marsha Altman
  6. The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen by Syrie James

The second challenge I have opted for is the American Civil War Challenge!

Again you must read 12 books in the given time period. This one is from January 1, 2009 - December 31, 2009. So I am 6 months behind. Since I am starting 6 months behind I am modifying this and only reading 6. Sure it isn't the exact challenge but it works for now. Reading through the list of possible books made me laugh. Quite a few of them I have read on my own or for research I did for my Civil War paper in College. I will not use them, nor will I re-read any of the ones I have already read.

So here are the 6 books I am going to read:
  1. Battly Cry of Freedom by James McPherson
  2. Memoirs of a Soldier, Spy and Nurse by Sarah Emma Edmond
  3. The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane
  4. My Dearest Cecilia: A Novel of the Southern Belle Who Stole General Sherman’s Heart by Diane Haeger
  5. Faded Coat of Blue by Owen Parry
  6. Shadows of Glory by Owen Parry