Questionnaire on Jane Austen Week

I'd like to know what you all thought about Jane Austen Week so I can plan for upcoming events. If you have a few moments, please fill out these questions and comment the answers. Make sure your comments are constructive so I can work on improving the blog events. Thanks!

1. How would you rate the difficulty of the Movie Scene game on a scale from 1 to 10?


2. What kind of other event games would you be interested in instead of the movie scene game? If I had a trivia game for future events, what kinds of questions should I include?


3. Which Jane Austen Week posts did you like the best? Which ones were not as much of a favorite?


4. Did you like the Jane Austen Advice Column game? Would you be interested in another similar game/event?


5. What did you think about the blog questions? Too many questions? Too short? Would an opportunity for other blogger's suggestions be a good idea?


6. What other things could I include to get other bloggers to join in the fun of an event/blog party?


7. For the buttons, were they too big? Should I offer a variety of button sizes next time?


8. Overall, did you have fun with Jane Austen Week?

Thanks for filling out the questions. I really appreciate it!


God Bless,
 

Jane Austen Week - Friday: So many dresses!

So, for Friday's post for Jane Austen week... Dresses! Have you ever watched a Jane Austen movie (or another Regency movie) and thought "That dress looks familiar..."? Well, a lot of times with period dramas, costumes are reused over and over again. Here are some of the dresses that you might have noticed!

The source for all of these is Recycled Movie Costumes. There are so many other dresses there: if you have time, take a look at their website! I've only got ten of the dresses listed here. Note: Some of the pictures that Recycled Movie Costumes for the dresses weren't as detailed as I would have liked them to be, so there are some different pictures than what Recycled Movie Costumes has.

Dress #1

Elinor Dashwood's plaid dress from Sense and Sensibility (1995). 

You may also have seen Elinor's dress in Mansfield Park (2007) on Fanny Price or on Henrietta Musgrove in Persuasion (2007)

Dress #2

This brown dress was both in Sense and Sensibility (2008) on Marianne Dashwood and in Pride and Prejudice (2005) on Elizabeth Bennet. The waistline on this dress is low for the Regency era, however.

Dress #3

This dress was seen on Elizabeth Bennet in Pride and Prejudice (1995) and on Lady Bertram in Mansfield Park (1999)
Note: I have not seen this version of Mansfield Park, but I have heard that there are some mature things that go on in that version (I'm not going to get into the details of what I've heard). I have no interest in seeing that version nor would I recommend it.

Dress #4

Miss Bingley's dress from Pride and Prejudice (1995)

You may also have seen this dress in Lost in Austen on Lady Catherine de Bourgh or in Emma (2009) on the new Mrs. Elton.

Dress #5

Okay, not a dress, but the same spencer was on Kitty Bennet in Pride and Prejudice (1995) and on Anne Elliot in Persuasion (2007)

Dress #6

Caroline Bingley from Pride and Prejudice (1995) and Elizabeth Elliot from Persuasion (2007) both wore the same dress.

Dress #7

Mrs. Dashwood's dress from Sense and Sensibility (1995)

You may also have seen this dress on Lady Ludlow (Cranford (2007)

Or on Lady Bertram in Mansfield Park (2007). Sorry about this, but while I was making the images, I made an error and put in the wrong picture. This is the correct one.

Dress #8

In two different versions of Emma (1996, 2009), this dress was on both Jane Fairfaxes in, I believe, the same scene.

Dress #9

You may have seen this dress on Mrs. Gardiner in Pride and Prejudice (1995)...

...or in Emma (1996) on Mrs. Weston...

...or on Miss Browning (Wives and Daughters) or on Pet Meagles (Little Dorrit)

Dress #10

This dress was seen both on Mrs. Weston (Emma (2009)) and on Fanny Dashwood (Sense and Sensibility (2008))

What did you think of this post? Were there any dresses that you've seen and liked and never realized they were in another period drama? Have you've noticed this in period dramas?

God Bless,
 



My Jane Austen Week Questions: Part 3

Here's the conclusion of my Jane Austen Week Questions. I'm going to start looking out for quotes from your questions to put into my final blog post of Jane Austen Week, so keep an eye out for comments from me!

8. Jane Austen Sequels... Do you like them or not?

I've personally never read one all the way through (The closest that I've come to reading one was that I've flipped through one a little -- I forgot what it was called, but it was a Pride and Prejudice continuation written in letters). Personally, I'm not a big fan of sequels. If it was Jane Austen that wrote a sequel to one of her books, I would take an interest since it would be an official continuation, but obviously she never wrote a sequel to any of her books. I guess I wouldn't want to make a commitment into reading a sequel that I would be disappointed in because it doesn't live up to the original novel. But then again, I never read a Jane Austen sequel so all this is merely my speculation.

9. Do you have a favorite spot to keep all your Jane Austen "stuff"?

I have one shelf by my computer that has all my Jane Austen books (I have all the major novels except for Mansfield Park); my copies of Sense and Sensibility, Emma, Northanger Abbey, and Persuasion are all the Everyman's Library editions, while my Pride and Prejudice is the Modern Library edition (It has both Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle on it!). I also have my Jane Austen comics (which are actually interesting), and my copy of Jane Austen for Dummies also on my shelf. My Jane Austen DVDs I have around, not specifically in one spot (especially since I like to play them). I also have my Jane Austen action figure by my computer, providing inspiration for blog posts, no doubt ;-).  Here are some pictures!

My book shelf

My Jane Austen Books.

My copy of Jane Austen for Dummies and a very old book on Jane Austen. A couple years ago at school, the librarians were giving away old library books; one of them remembered that I was a fan of Jane Austen and said that there was a Jane Austen book in the pile somewhere. I looked and there it was! And it was free! (Can't beat that!)

My Jane Austen comics. My brother gave me the Pride and Prejudice one for Christmas a couple of years ago. The Sense and Sensibility one I found at Borders (which is going out of business :'( I'm going to miss it....).

I found the Jane Austen Illustrated Treasury book at Barnes and Noble: it has some neat little things that you can take out (like copies of her letters, miniature pictures of the portraits that Cassandra Austen painted of Jane, etc.). My only problem with it is that it says little stuff that is kind of mature (and unnecessary to mention too), but there is some interesting stuff in there. The Pride and Prejudice paper dolls I found at a museum and absolutely had to buy them!

Ahhh! It turned out too dark! Oh well... This is my Jane Austen action figure.

10. Which Jane Austen character do you think you're most like?

I'm probably most like Elizabeth Bennet. We both have a very similar sense of humor, have very strong opinions, and aren't afraid to stand up for what we believe. One of the reasons that I like Pride and Prejudice so much is that I could easily relate to Lizzy: I never related to a character in a book so much before I read Pride and Prejudice. I usually end up as Lizzy for quizzes.

11. What was your introduction to Jane Austen?

My mom actually introduced me to Jane Austen. She had seen the 1995 miniseries to Pride and Prejudice so when I mentioned to her that I was supposed to read it for English eventually for school (I actually ended up reading it a year before I had to), she started to tell me about it. It sounded interesting, so one day I got to watch part of it. Things got a little busy (like things usually do), so it was awhile before I finally got to watch the whole thing. We happened to see it was on Masterpiece Theater, so for a couple of week, we watched the whole thing... and I've been hooked ever since!

God Bless,  

Jane Austen Week - Thursday: My Favorite Dance Scenes

One of the great things about Jane Austen films is the dance scenes! Here I've included my favorites!

Pride and Prejudice (1995): Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy Dance

Love this scene! It's probably one of my favorite scenes from Pride and Prejudice. It's very brilliantly done. You have a dance (which looks complex) and while that's going on, you have Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy verbally sparring. It's very interesting to watch.

Pride and Prejudice (1995): The Mr. Collins Dance

3:15 - 5:00  Another Pride and Prejudice Dance that I love. I love that it's so bouncy and happy... Plus Mr. Collins dancing is just funny!

Sense and Sensibility (1995): London Ball Dance


Starts at 6:00. Sure, this scene isn't accurate to the book (if I remember correctly, Robert Ferrars wasn't at the ball, and Elinor didn't dance with Willoughby), but I still like it. The song that plays is one of my favorites in the Sense and Sensibility Soundtrack.

Emma: The Town Square and The Ship's Cook

Love these songs and dances! Probably The Ship's Cook is my favorite (which starts at 3:15), but I also love The Town Square. They're both such light-hearted songs and I could listen to them for a really long time! Plus, this is also a really good scene from Emma. I love the part when Mr. Knightley "saves" Harriet.

Northanger Abbey: First Dance

Ends at 2:40. This is the dance after Catherine first meets Mr. Tilney. I kind of like the music and the dance, but it is a little different from the book (at least to my memory). Both J.J. Field and Felicity Jones acted wonderfully in this dance scene!

Those are my favorite dance numbers. Which ones are you favorites? Are there any that you would have included in here? Leave a comment!

 God Bless,
 

Jane Austen Week - Wednesday: What did Jane Look Like?

No one knows for sure what Jane Austen looked like. The only two pictures that we certainly have of her were painted by her sister, Cassandra.

This is the unfinished portrait that Cassandra drew of Jane; family claimed that it looked unlike her.

There are also other portraits that are thought to be Jane Austen, but there is still some controversy to them.

The Rice Portrait by Ozias Humphry. Some believe that it is Jane Austen, however, there are also some that say that the portrait depicts a young girl wearing fashions from 1805 when Jane Austen was thirty.

"Clarke watercolor" painting that is thought to be Jane Austen

Two Silhouettes that may be Jane Austen

Some have tried to come up with modern portraits of Jane Austen. Though probably not like her, they are very nice!

For more information, take a look at this article at The Jane Austen Center.


What do you think? Which pictures are your favorites? Which ones do you think could be Jane Austen? Do you think the modern pictures give a closer look to what she may have looked like?




God Bless,
 

My Jane Austen Week Questions: Part 2

Here's Part 2 of my Jane Austen Week Questions. Part 1 is here!


 4. Who are your top three favorite Jane Austen Heroes and why?

Mr. Darcy (Pride and Prejudice) -- At first, I didn't like Mr. Darcy very much, but as Pride and Prejudice goes on, I grew to like him. At first, he is arrogant and proud, but under that arrogance and pride is a caring brother and a great husband for Elizabeth. He also did a great thing for the Bennets when he found Lydia and Wickham and brought about their wedding and saved the Bennets from disgrace. He's an honorable hero.


Let's face it, Colin Firth just is Mr. Darcy. 'Nuff said.

Colonel Brandon (Sense and Sensibility) -- I felt so bad for Colonel Brandon: he loves Marianne, but she likes Willoughby (who's very undeserving) and his past is a sad one. But he was still an honorable hero and he doesn't complain about his past.


I did like David Morrissey's Colonel Brandon, but there seemed to be something missing. I think Alan Rickman got Colonel Brandon's melancholy appearance well.

Mr. Knightley (Emma) -- We all know that Emma should have probably listened to Mr. Knightley on multiple occasions. Even though it can be difficult to get Emma to listen, Mr. Knightley still persists in trying to tell Emma when she is wrong when nobody else will. Plus, he's a caring neighbor (he helps out Mrs. and Miss Bates), and he's an honorable hero.

5. Any honorable mentions for 3 and 4? (Keep it under five)

Mr. Henry Tilney (Northanger Abbey) -- Mr. Tilney can be a bit odd at times, but at the same time he's funny. The way he makes little jokes is entertaining (gotta love the "nice" conversation). He's also a caring brother to Eleanor and spends time with her.

Marianne Dashwood (Sense and Sensibility) -- While Marianne valued sensibility over sense (and found the downsides of it after awhile), she comes to realize her errors and becomes determined to mend her ways.

Emma Woodhouse (Emma) -- Emma annoyed me at first, but I grew to like her. Yes, she is a bit manipulative and sticks her nose into everyone's business, but at the same time you know that she means well and only wants to help out her neighbors. She does come to realize her errors and eventually mends them.


6. Top three Jane Austen Adaptations and why?

Pride and Prejudice (1995) -- This was my first Jane Austen movie. I absolutely love this miniseries! The costuming is wonderful, the acting is brilliant, and I could watch this movie over and over again! I love that it takes five hours to tell the story. The downfall to movies is that they have to move the story quickly enough to fit into a 90 minute to two hour time frame. With this miniseries, they take their time to completely tell the story and accurately portray the characters so that you get to really know everyone. And, let's face it, Colin Firth just is Mr. Darcy; end of story! ;-)

Sense and Sensibility (1995) - My second Jane Austen movie. I really fell in love with this movie: sure, some of the actor's/actresses were older than they should have been and characters were left out, but the costumes were excellent, the scenery was great, and it told a great story. The only problem I have with the movie is that it differs in a lot of way from the original novel plotwise. But I think that this version of Sense and Sensibility really captured the correct tone of the novel, something that the 2008 version didn't do as well of a job (don't get me wrong, I still liked the 2008 version, but it had it's problems too).

Emma (2009) - Emma wasn't my favorite Jane Austen novel when I started to read it, but by the end I liked it. I think this is the best version of Emma that I've seen: the 1996 version (Gwyneth Paltrow) got the tone right, but things in the story were changed and some things were modernized; the 1997 version was okay, but Mark Strong's Mr. Knightley was scary and the overall tone was darker than it should have been. In this version, while some of the language is modernized, had the tone of the novel right and had most of the characters right (although some didn't like this Jane Fairfax, but I didn't mind her... and Mrs. Elton could have been a little older).



7. Top Three Jane Austen characters that "take delight in vexing" you?

Wickham (Pride and Prejudice) -- Uggh! Wickham, a liar with bad past. He nearly completely ruined the Bennet girls' chance of getting any husband and then he's welcomed at Longbourn open-heartedly by Mrs. Bennet? Wickham is an example of a guy who can go and do something horrible and yet be spoken nicely.

Willoughby (Sense and Sensibility) -- Is there any redeeming quality to him? I know during his confession scene at the end of Sense and Sensibility, you are supposed to feel a little sorry that he's married to a woman he doesn't love, but I can't feel sorry for him. After all he did with breaking hearts, I can't feel sorry for him.

Mrs. Elton (Emma) -- Me, me, me, me, me... and my sister and brother Mr. Suckling in Maple Grove! This pretty much sums up Mrs. Elton. Everything constantly has to be about her! Someone will be talking about something that happened, and Mrs. Elton always manages to bring the focus back to her! I know, she's not nearly as bad as Wickham and Willoughby, but she's still very vexing. Poor Jane Fairfax!



Stay tuned for Part 3!


God Bless,