Book review: Old Friends and New Fancies

The subtitle of this book really says it all: 'An imaginary sequel to the novels of Jane Austen'. And not just any sequel, one of the dozens which are released every year, no, this is the first published Austen sequel, from 1913. In Old Friends and New Fancies (love the title BTW!), Brinton intertwines the lives of characters from each of Austen's six major novels. The main characters are three ladies left unmarried at the end of their 'own' novels: Georgiana Darcy, Kitty Bennet and Mary Crawford. All three will fall in love and will feel the pangs of being kept apart by social or economical tensions.

Book review: The secret of Pembrooke Park

Abigail Foster and her family face financial ruin when a family investment goes wrong. Abigail, always the practical one, takes it upon herself to find a new, affordable home for the family and makes sure her younger sister can still have a Season. Then, a mysterious offer arrives: the family can live in Pembrooke Park, a manor from distant relatives which has been abandoned for 18 years. Abigail, not seeing a better alternative, takes the offer and moves to the village of Easton. She enjoys living in the large old house and makes friends with the local curate William Chapman and his sister Leah. But there are many rumours about the previous inhabitants of Pembrooke Park and a possible hidden treasure. Then,letters without sender reach Abigail and she becomes more involved than she bargained for.

Janeite tag!

Joanna from The Squirrel´s Diary tagged me a while (aka a month...) ago in the Janeite Tag. Thanks Joanna, I hope I´m still ´in time´ with my answers ;-)

The rules:
- Thank and link back to the person who tagged you.
- Tell us how you were introduced to Jane Austen and share one fun fact about your Janeite life (this fun fact can be anything from "I stayed up all night reading Emma" to "I visited Chawton and met Anna Chancellor.").
- Answer the tagger's questions.
- Write seven questions of your own.
- Tag as few as one or as many as seven other Janeites and let them know you've tagged them.

How I was introduced to Jane Austen:
I don't remember exactly when I heard about Jane Austen for the first time. I do know I watched Pride and Prejudice '95 on Dutch television when I was around 16 or so. I really loved it and we then also bought the VHS (!) of Sense and Sensibility '95. Sense and Sensibility was the first Austen I read, I read it for a book report for my English class in secondary school. It was also the first full-length novel I read in English! I remember having some nice discussions about the book with my English teacher and got a good grade ;-) I then tried to find all the other adaptations and slowly read the rest of Jane's works in the coming years.

Book review: Jane Austen's first love

At 15 years of age, young Jane Austen has big dreams of seeing the world and writing great novels, but has hardly traveled beyond her own village. Then, her family is invited to celebrate the engagement of her eldest brother Edward and spent a month in Kent. Jane makes many new young acquaintances, among whom young heir Edward Taylor. She is fascinated by his adventure-loving character and even though Jane knows a match between them is unlikely, she starts to fall in love with Edward. When the young people decide to set up a play as the ending of their festive summer, Jane tries to play matchmaker for some of her new friends. But not all her efforts turn out as expected and both for others and herself, Jane must learn not to rely on first impressions.

Book review: A heart's rebellion

Jessamine Barry, dutiful daughter of a country vicar, is tired of being 'the good girl'. After all, it has not earned her the heart of her longtime friend Rees Philips, who married a French woman, nonetheless! During her first London season, Jessamine decides to be a little more daring. She caught the eye of the friendly young vicar Lancelot Marfleet and although she finds him pleasant to talk though, she doesn't want to consider him a suitor. Instead, she befriends the fashionable crowd and especially the handsome Mr. St Leger. Then, things get out of hand for Jessamine. Who can she trust?

Television review: Death comes to Pemberley

Everytime an Austen novel is adapted or another program related to 'dear Jane' is being made, all over the world Austen fans let themselves be heard with two distinct responses: joy over 'a new Austen' and trepidation because 'will it do the book/Jane justice'. Last summer the BBC announced it was going to adapt the Pride and Prejudice sequel Death comes to Pemberley by well-known British crime writer P.D. James. The responses from Janeites where mainly trepidation in this case: will this be true to the spirit of P&P? Will the actors be good enough to portray the beloved characters?

Book review: Blackmoore

Kate Worthington is trying to prove to the world that she's not like her flirtatious mother and sister. She even goes as far as vowing she's never going to marry. In stead, she has other dreams: visiting India with her spinster aunt. Her mother promises to let her go when she has received and declined three proposals of marriage. A visit to Blackmoore, the family mansion of her childhood friend Henry Delafield seems like the perfect opportunity to secure these proposals. But as she reconnects with her old friend, Kate has to face all the things which which she kept secret over the years and also face that there is one wish even more dear to her than a trip to India.