133. Jane Austen Society by Natalie Jenner

listened to library borrow on Libby
narrated by Richard Armitage
Unabridged audio (9:55)
2020
309 pgs.
Adult Historical Fiction
Finished  10/10/2020
Goodreads rating: 3.80 - 16,129 ratings
My rating: 4.5
Setting: Post WWII Hampshire, England

First line/s: "He lay back on the low stone wall, knees pulled up, and stretched out his spine against the rock."

What I posted on Goodreads:  A lovely historical fiction set in a tiny village in Hampshire, England, in the winter of 1946, where eight people, all lovers of Jane Austen novels, come together to form a society to preserve the little village where she wrote her last three books.  Full of bittersweet joy and sadness, it was entertaining and delightful to follow the actions and thought of these eight people who had great insight into the mind of Jane Austen and her many characters.

Goodreads synopsis:  Just after the Second World War, in the small English village of Chawton, an unusual but like-minded group of people band together to attempt something remarkable.    
          One hundred and fifty years ago, Chawton was the final home of Jane Austen, one of England's finest novelists. Now it's home to a few distant relatives and their diminishing estate. With the last bit of Austen's legacy threatened, a group of disparate individuals come together to preserve both Jane Austen's home and her legacy. These people—a laborer, a young widow, the local doctor, and a movie star, among others—could not be more different and yet they are united in their love for the works and words of Austen. As each of them endures their own quiet struggle with loss and trauma, some from the recent war, others from more distant tragedies, they rally together to create the Jane Austen Society. 

PICTURE BOOK - Ordinary, Extraordinary Jane Austen by Deborah Hopkinson

Illustrated by Qin Leng

2018. Balzer & Bray (Harper Collins)

HC $17.99

40 pgs.

Goodreads rating:  4.38 - 210 ratings

My rating: 4.5

Endpapers: Pink, solid, pale

for elementary grades, 8-12
with timeline of Austen's Life, and brief quotes and summaries of her six books

1^st line/s: 
"It is a truth universally acknowledged
that Jane Austen is one of our greatest writers.
But it might surprise you to know that
Jane lived a simple life.
She wasn't rich
or even very famous in her time."

My comments:   Another great biography to add the the children's literature genre.  Leng's illustrations show a gentle, quiet-ish Jane, and portray the picture that Hopkinson is drawing with her words. Lovely book.

Goodreads:  It is a truth universally acknowledged that Jane Austen is one of our greatest writers.
          But before that, she was just an ordinary girl.
          In fact, young Jane was a bit quiet and shy; if you had met her back then, you might not have noticed her at all. But she would have noticed you. Jane watched and listened to all the things people around her did and said and locked those observations away for safekeeping.
          Jane also loved to read. She devoured everything in her father’s massive library, and before long she began creating her own stories. In her time, the most popular books were grand adventures and romances, but Jane wanted to go her own way . . . and went on to invent an entirely new kind of novel.
          Deborah Hopkinson and Qin Leng have collaborated on a gorgeous tribute to an independent thinker who turned ordinary life into extraordinary stories and created a body of work that has delighted and inspired readers for generations.

MOVIE - Love and Friendship

PG (1:34)

Limited release 5/13/16

Viewed summer of 2016 - I think at the Majestic in Gettysburg

RT Critic: 98   Audience:  60
Critic's Consensus:  Love & Friendship finds director Whit Stillman bringing his talents to bear on a Jane Austen adaptation -- with a thoroughly delightful period drama as the result.

Cag:  3 Like it okay

Directed by Whit Stillman

Westerly Films

Based on the book of the same name by Jane Austen

Kate Beckinsale, Chloe Sevigny

My comments:   Unfortunately, I didn't write down my review when watching it, and this is being written over 100 movies later.  I remember being annoyed by one of the actresses, I think it was Chloe Sevigny, but I can't remember why.  Shoot, I had lots of reasons for rating it a 3 at the time...

RT/ IMDb Summary:   Beautiful young widow Lady Susan Vernon visits to the estate of her in-laws to wait out the colorful rumors about her dalliances circulating through polite society. Whilst ensconced there, she decides to secure a husband for herself and a future for her eligible but reluctant daughter, Frederica. In doing so she attracts the simultaneous attentions of the young, handsome Reginald DeCourcy, the rich and silly Sir James Martin and the divinely handsome, but married, Lord Manwaring, complicating matters severely.

30. Eligible by Curtis Sitterfeld

#4 in a series of Jane Austen's works that have been contemporized (my own word) - they do NOT have to be read in any order, they are all STANDALONES
Library book from TPPL
2016 Random House
 492 pgs.
Adult CRF
Finished 5/21/16
Goodreads rating: 3.74
My rating: 4.5
Setting: Contemporary Cincinnati, OH

First line/s:  "Well before his arrival in Cincinnati, everyone knew that Chip Bingley was looking for a wife.  Two years earlier, Chip -- graduate of Dartmouth College and Harvard Medical School, scion of the Pennsylvania Bingleys, who in the twentieth century had made their fortune in plumbing fixtures - had, ostensibly with some reluctance, appeared on the juggernaut reality-television show Eligible."

My comments:   I wasn't expecting to enjoy this book as much as I did, and there's only one word I can use to describe it.  Delightful.  It was really a blast to read.  It wasn't stupid...well...not really.....  And if you're a fan of Jane Austen, or know the story of Pride and Prejudice, it's all the more fun. I wonder how it would read if one had NO knowledge of Pride and Prejudice?  I had so much to do this weekend, but would sneak away for half hours at a time to read a little more.  It was written in oodles of short (2 - 4) page chapters, which I quite liked, in this case.  The whole "package" was one I very much enjoyed.  Think I'll try one of Sittenfeld's previous works, though the summary/reviews of them don't look exactly like my cuppa tea.

Goodreads synopsis:  A Modern Retelling of Pride and Prejudice
          This version of the Bennet family—and Mr. Darcy—is one that you have and haven’t met before: Liz is a magazine writer in her late thirties who, like her yoga instructor older sister, Jane, lives in New York City. When their father has a health scare, they return to their childhood home in Cincinnati to help—and discover that the sprawling Tudor they grew up in is crumbling and the family is in disarray.
          Youngest sisters Kitty and Lydia are too busy with their CrossFit workouts and Paleo diets to get jobs. Mary, the middle sister, is earning her third online master’s degree and barely leaves her room, except for those mysterious Tuesday-night outings she won’t discuss. And Mrs. Bennet has one thing on her mind: how to marry off her daughters, especially as Jane’s fortieth birthday fast approaches.
          Enter Chip Bingley, a handsome new-in-town doctor who recently appeared on the juggernaut reality TV dating show Eligible. At a Fourth of July barbecue, Chip takes an immediate interest in Jane, but Chip’s friend neurosurgeon Fitzwilliam Darcy reveals himself to Liz to be much less charming. . . .
          And yet, first impressions can be deceiving.

MOVIE - Austenland

PG-13 (1:37)

Limited release 8/16/2013

Viewed 11/14/2013

RT Critic 32: Audience: 71

Cag: 3/Liked it a lot more than I thought I would

Directed by Jerusha Hess

Sony Pictures Classics

Keri Russell

My commentsThis was the very last day this was playing .... forever ... on the big screen, so I decided to go see it, even if it did look stupid AND I'd not liked the book at all.  Pleasant surprise.  I liked the movie!  Although I knew the major "stuff," it didn't matter, it was a just-plain-fun movie.  Keri Russell was fun to watch after seeing her play an entirely different role all last season on The Americans.  Lots of places to guffaw.  (However, it didn't add to my dislike of Jane Seymour....)

Rotten Tomatoes summary: Twilight author Stephanie Meyer makes her first foray into film producing with this romantic comedy about a 30-something woman whose lifelong obsession with all things Jane Austen lead her to an eccentric theme park based on the author's writings, and into the company of a handsome young suitor. For as long as she can remember, Jane Hayes (Keri Russell) has treasured the writings of the author behind such literary classics as Emma, and Pride & Prejudice. For years, Jane had been stashing away funds in hopes that someday she would be able to afford a trip to Austenland - a place where the die-hard fan can be completely immersed in the elegant world of the beloved author. When Jane finally manages to save up enough, she excitedly packs her bags and books a room. Upon arriving, Jane quickly discovers that Austenland is everything she had ever imagined. Every detail is exquisite, save for one small exception: Jane's limited funds mean that she can't enjoy the same luxury experience as the other, wealthier bachelorettes who currently populate Austenland, but she decides to make the most of her trip regardless. Later, when Jane falls into a romance with a dashing young servant, a lifetime of dreams suddenly begin to come true.

Jane Austen

Jane Austen. I've seen many, many movies. I went to Bath and spent one of my three days following a trail that recalled some of Austen's life and future settings for her writings. I followed her ghost, so to speak. I feel I know her work - I've watched Sense and Sensibility at least three times and drooled over Colin Furth in Pride and Prejudice at least six times. I've watched the Jane Austen Book Club film, seen all the recent works about the books PLUS Becoming Jane. So why have I never actually READ her writing? Bits and pieces, yes, but other than that, no full work. Perhaps it's time.... but which one should I start with???
Jane Austen Today seems to be an interesting blogsite. And Jane Austen. org seems to cover everything Jane Austen - and more. And there's even a website where you can answer 60 questions and find out which Austen character you're the most like. I came out closest to Elizabeth Bennett - now that's a compliment as far as I'm concerned!

Feb. 21, 2010 - I've purchased a copy of Pride and Prejudice and will begin it this evening.

Tonight (a rainy, gray Saturday in a usually sunny February day) I watched all five hours of the Masterpiece Theater Classics' 2009 version of Emma. It was quite wonderful. I noticed it because Jonny Lee Miller was starring...but once I saw that it was Jane Austen I dvr'd it. I knit ... grinned ... giggled ... totally and completely enjoyed every second. I've seen the version with Gwyneth Paltrow, I've seen Clueless, enjoyed them both, but this was particularly dreamy. Great casting, great sets - it was filmed in the village of Chilham in Kent. Road trip?


Persuasion
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Masterpiece Theater presented this 2007 made-for-tv Encore Presentation tonight. Compared to 5 hours production of Emma, this hour and a half seemed very short. I'm imagining a lot might have been left out. The scenes from Bath were great, since I've been there. The two thwarted lovers had great chemistry, and as usual the English countryside was amazing. (oh....it just hit me who played Anne Eliot - it was the same gal who starred in Happy-Go-Lucky, Sally Hawkins)

64. Jane Austen Ruined My Life - Beth Pattillo

Guideposts, 2009
274 pgs.
For: adults
Rating: 2

I knew right from the beginnng that this book was going to disappoint, and unfortunately it did. I couldn't stand the protagonist/heroine. I didn't agree with anything she did, felt, or said. The plot was totally unbelievable. The setting was wonderful....the descriptions of London and the surrounding area was detailed and interesting. The facts about Jane Austen were great. It's my own fault. When you know right from the first page that the heroine is a dolt, you should read something else.

Emma had caught her stuffy, boring professor husband cheating on her with his TA. He had helped the TA discredit his wife, and Emma was fired as a professor and left with her tail between her legs. A mysterious woman had written to her from London and tempted her with the possibilites of long-lost Jane Austen letters. This interesting Mrs. Parrot sent her on a series of six tasks, places to from Jane Austen's life, where she was given a photocopy of one of the forbidden/lost letters to peruse. Two handsome professors enter her life, one brand new, one from her past. It's silly, it's not romantic at all. At first I thought that Jane Austen would be peeved, but then I realized that Emma is amazingly like the Emma of Miss Austen's own hand.... I think it's the total and complete ability to be self-centered that makes this book a real two-thumbs down.

(I sure hope that Adam gets on with his life, sans Emma. Please! He's been such a schmuck.)

30. Austenland - Shannon Hale

Read by Katherine Kellgren (mediocre)
BBC Audiobooks America
5 discs, (6:20)
2007
Rating: 2

Okay, I was superbly disappointed. The author of Princess Academy, a Newbury Honor, writing an adult book about taking a three-week vacation at an English Manor, that pretends to be Jane Austen's England? The young NYC graphic designer has a crush on Colin Firth? (ahem, I know a little about that feeling....) Actors pretending to be regency gentlemen, corsets and manners and.....well you get the idea.

It turned out to be an ultra-wordy romance novel, without any s-x. I'm not even sure why I finished it, I just thought it might get better. No matter how much you love Pride and Prejudice, this one's a yawner. I'm sorry, Shannon Hale. I really enjoy your YA writing, But as much as I love Austen (AND Mr. Darcy), this story was B O R I N G and could have been easily told in half the words.