I’ve done it - I’ve become a proud subscriber of Regency World – a magazine produced by the Jane Austen Centre in Bath. I’ve been wanting to read this magazine for a long time now, and I’ve finally managed to get my act together and make an annual subscription. Now I can stay up-to-date with happenings in the world of Jane Austen.
Can’t wait to get my hands on my first issue!
Do any of you read the magazine and if so, would you recommend it?
At the weekend, I finally had the chance to see the long-awaited King’s Speech. Many blogs have been paying tribute to Colin Firth’s performance as King George VIth and, needless to say, having seen the film, I too feel that the Golden Globes and the Oscars were well deserved.
For a man who will always be remembered as Mr Darcy from Pride and Prejudice (1995) – and who will probably always remain my favourite version of Mr Darcy – Colin Firth fails to disappoint in each role that he undertakes, and this is one of his most powerful performances to date.
Seeing the film triggered off some intense discussions on monarchy between us. Although I am hardly what you would call a monarchist, what I did like about The King’s Speech was that it shows the human side of a a monarch and the heavy burden of responsibility inflicted on you as a member of the royal family, despite your will and your level of competence to do the job.
It’s great to see Colin Firth go from strength to strength and still now, 16 years after his most memorable performance as Mr Darcy, surprise us with his amazing talent and ability to assume a role so unlike his own in real life.
You can also spot two other actors from the 1995 Pride and Prejudice in this film: Jennifer Ehle (Elizabeth) as the King’s speech therapist, Lionel Logue’s wife, and David Bamber (Mr Collins) as a theatre director. A wonderful cast make a wonderful film!
As I visited the Paragon in Bath, where Jane Austen spent a few weeks in 1799 with her Uncle and Aunt Leigh-Perrot, I came across this quaint little chapel across the road from the Leigh-Perrots’ lodgings.
On the gate, it read “The Countess of Huntingdon’s Chapel”.
I became intrigued and was left wondering if this Countess of Huntingdon lived at the time when Jane Austen stayed in Bath, and whether Jane had anything to do with this undoubtedly formidable lady. I decided to find out what the story was behind the church.
Countess of Huntingdon. Image from Wikipedia at http://bit.ly/heuxFG.
I discovered that the chapel was an evangelical connection set up by Selina Hastings, Countess of Huntingdon, in the 18th Century. The Countess was born in 1707, became a born-again Christian at the age of 32 and, after she became a widow at the age of 39, she started to devote her time to religion. The Countess opened several private chapels like this for the public preaching of the gospel. After her death in 1891, there were local trusts running the chapels, and this small congregation is still active in Bath.
In Jane Austen’s times there was an evangelical revival, which would later have a great effect on the pious Victorians. The principle of the evangelicals was to express faith and to share the gospel actively and publicly. They were known for showing plenty of emotion in their worship and for singing hymns with fervour.
Is this why Jane Austen wrote in a letter to her sister Cassandra, on January 24, 1809 [66], "I do not like the Evangelicals", refusing to read a piece of religious fiction written by Hannah More, an evangelical reformer? Perhaps she first came across evangelicals during her first visit to Bath and, staying so close to the chapel, found them to be noisy and even vulgar?
Cover page for Hannah More’s “Calebs”, which Jane did not wish to read. Image from the Open Library: http://bit.ly/fkIy2b.
For Jane Austen, religion was a more private affair. Being brought up as a moderate 18th Century Anglican clergyman’s daughter, religion was a part of her daily life, but it was demonstrated in a discreet manner. While Jane was well versed in her scriptures and attended morning prayer without fail, in her public writing she preferred to steer away from these topics, perhaps feeling that it wasn’t her place to preach. She did compose several sermons and prayers, but was otherwise undemonstrative in her approach to religion. In the Austen family, religion was demonstrated through action rather than feeling – through acts of charity and through their responsibility to the parish. The public preaching by the chapel might have put Jane off Paragon for good. She vastly preferred the location of her next lodgings at Queen’s Square, and wrote that the view from the drawing room windows was ‘far more cheerful than Paragon’.
The Paragon as seen from the chapel.
It may be surprising, therefore, that five years later in 1814, Jane wrote in a letter to her niece, Fanny Knight, “I am by no means convinced that we ought not all to be Evangelicals, & am at least persuaded that they who are so from Reason & Feeling, must be happiest & safest.” This statement suggests that Jane may have become more religious as she grew older, perhaps growing up to see the permissive, indulgent Regency society, of whose monarch she despised. During the first two decades of the 19th Century, the evangelical movement did indeed become popular within the Anglican church, perhaps to counter the low morality of the time and to educate people of vice and virtue.
At the time when Jane Austen first stayed in Bath, she was still young and perhaps resisted restrictions on behaviour. Her later, more serious novels, such as Mansfield Park and Persuasion, reflect a less permissive approach. Fanny’s character in Mansfield Park, in particular, stands for morality and even saintliness, considering her forgiving and principled nature.
But do Jane Austen’s novels actually show religious influences? Surely her characters make moral choices without any reference to god or religion? The debate on Jane Austen’s religiousness vs. her ambivalence towards religion continues, but I think we can safely say that Jane Austen was a practising Anglican with religion in her heart, even if she preferred not to show it to the outside world.
Further reading:
Jane Austen’s Letters:
On the history of the Chapel of the Countess of Huntingdon:
Frequently cited work on Jane Austen’s religion:
I have just received a wonderful link from the Jane Austen Centre in Bath, for an extensive site for research on Jane Austen. Nancy Meyer has been collecting information on Jane Austen for years, and this information is free to access on her website:
Nancy Meyer – Regency Researcher
On her site, you can also ask her questions on a variety of topics that you would like to learn more about, such as:
Was it legal for an Earl to have a fox hunting party on his own estate in June?
How soon could a Regency widow remarry?
Did Mothers wear mourning clothes for stillborn infants?
Images from Wikipedia Commons.
It is interesting to know that the 18th Century author, Fanny Burney, introduced several new words into the English language through the literary form. Through Evelina, she is the first known person to use words which are still so commonplace now, such as a-shopping, seeing sights, break down and grumpy.
Have you ever wondered what inspired Jane Austen to use dialogue as a clever way to personify her characters? Was the romantic charlatan, Mr Willoughby, a product of Jane’s imagination or an imprint of her early reading? Read on!
In her novels and letters, Jane Austen made several references to her favourite authors, and amongst her favourites were always Frances (Fanny) Burney and Maria Edgeworth. Fanny Burney wrote Evelina in the 1770’s, when Jane Austen was still an infant, and Cecilia soon after, and Jane grew up reading these stories. As you read through her novels, it becomes evident that Jane Austen drew inspiration from them.
Image from: http://bit.ly/ephcyO
Evelina is a lengthy novel, which was originally written in 3 volumes, according to the custom of the time. Like Northanger Abbey, Evelina is a coming-of-age novel, with the apt subtitle “The History of the Young Lady’s Entrance Into the World”. The heroine is a girl of obscure birth who has been raised by her loving foster father, Mr Villars, in a comfortable home. Like Catherine, Evelina is set to ‘come out’ and enter the society to lure the attentions of eligible young men.
Evelina is chaperoned to London, where she visits the numerous theatres, operas and pleasure gardens frequented by fashionable society. As Evelina enters into society, she comes across one odious character after another and must defend her virtue against characters of low morals. Not unlike Catherine, Evelina is all innocence and youthfulness and is shocked to experience the realities of London society. She is repulsed by the lewd behaviour of men that she meets and soon wishes that she had never left Berry Hill, her home. In short, her trips are a journey from innocence to experience (to quote Blake).
Fanny Burney. Image from http://bit.ly/eiFQ4S.
Evelina is a satire of fashionable life. Like Jane Austen, Frances Burney is an excellent satirist and parodies characters through her excellent mimicry. It is in the dialogue that she really shows her ingenuity. In the preface of Evelina, Burney describes her style as follows:
“To draw characters from nature, though not from life, and to mark the manners of the times, is the attempted plan…”
As a key component of her style, Burney reveals personality through her use of language. Her highest-ranking characters (e.g. Lord Orville, Lady Louisa) use extremely formal register, as opposed to the lower-ranking, more vulgar characters (e.g. Captain Mirvan, Madame Duval), who Burney mimics endlessly.
The grotesque Captain Mirvan who enjoys abusing the would-be French woman, Madame Duval, uses crass language with plenty of nautical references.
“The old buck is safe – but we must sheer off directly, or we shall be all aground.”
On the other hand, Madame Duval’s bad grammar reveals her lack of breed and education.
“This is prettier than all the rest! I declare, in all my travels, I never see nothing eleganter.”
As Evelina meets her ‘vulgar’ cousins in London, the scene reminds me of Mansfield Park where Fanny meets her real family in Portsmouth after several years and feels out of place, having got used to the genteel, polished manners of a country house (Burney uses the word “low-bred” to describe Evelina’s relatives).
Like Austen’s novels, Evelina too is written in somewhat archaic 18th Century language with a preference for long, complex sentences – a style that Jane Austen certainly assumed. Thankfully, this Oxford edition has been carefully edited by Edward Bloom, with detailed notes on 18th Century vocabulary and manners.
As it was popular at the time, the novel is written in epistolary form – in letters. The epistolary form, which may not always seem realistic, does give the novel a lovely personal touch with its 1st person narration. Perhaps Jane Austen’s early style was much closer to Burney’s, as her early novels were also written in epistolary form, such as the first version of Sense and Sensibility (“Elinor and Marianne”) and Lady Susan. Only Lady Susan survives to this day, and it is a novel cleverly written. Lady Susan retains much of the certain mischievous flavour present in Austen’s early novels, which is lacking in her later work. Evelina reminds me not only of Lady Susan, but of Jane Austen’s juvenilia with the likes of “Love and Freindship” and “The Three Sisters”, with their profligate, even evil characters, speedy plot turnings and plenty of slapstick.
The scenes in Evelina do reveal much more of the period than Jane Austen does. While Jane Austen chooses to leave out details, which she felt were unnecessary or perhaps unpleasant to narrate, Evelina contains plenty of references to prostitution, rape, racism, and other things, which were certainly prevalent in the society of her time.
Did the frivolous seducer, Sir Clement Willoughby, inspire Jane Austen as she created the character of Mr Willoughby to seduce Marianne in Sense and Sensibility? Like Mr Willoughby, Sir Clement is a romantic character with no intention of marrying Evelina. Luckily, as a smart enough girl, Evelina is not lured by his charms, seeing through his false pretentions, and turns down his attentions (which were becoming a bit too much anyway!).
The initial scene with Evelina’s future husband, Lord Orville, reminds me of the first meeting between Elizabeth and Darcy at the ball in Meryton. In this scene, Elizabeth overhears Darcy describe her as ‘tolerable but not handsome enough to tempt me’. Similarly, at a ball, Evelina’s friend overhears Lord Orville put Evelina down as a “pretty modest looking girl…a silent one…a poor weak girl” and she recounts this to Evelina. As a result, Evelina is in awe of him and like Elizabeth, feels embarrassed of her obscure status and her “low-bred”, vulgar relations. Interestingly enough, the title for Pride and Prejudice was famously taken from the last chapter of Burney’s Cecilia, which I shall attempt to read next. It will be interesting to see if there is any further similarity between the two novels.
Frances Burney has certainly influenced Jane Austen in her creation of storylines and her literary style. The clever use of dialogue to personify the characters is something that Jane, like Burney, adopted from early on. During Jane’s lifetime, Burney was a far more popular writer - perhaps because Austen wrote more about everyday life and Burney was better versed with the fashions and amusements of the day – her novels would probably have made better popular literature.
However, it was Jane Austen who is considered the first great female writer and one of the pioneers of the novel. Her wit and depth in depicting the human character are beyond comparison. It is writers such as Fanny Burney who paved the way for Jane Austen and certainly contributed to her later success.
The other day I came across the first film adaptation of Sense and Sensibility on a DVD - what better way to celebrate the bicentenary of its publication!
The TV series from 1981, dramatised by Alexander Baron and directed by Rodney Bennett, is probably the least known of all the three notable adaptations. Like its contemporaries, it has a somewhat dated feel to it, with little background music and drab costumes, ill-fitting coats and hairstyles that are clearly an early 80’s representation of Regency fashion. The actors’ performances border the theatrical, with rolling r’s and such like. Nonetheless, as a Jane Austen fan I enjoy watching any adaptation of her work and this one, too, kept me engaged for hours on end.
What I liked about this version was that the theme of the novel was very clear from the very first scene. Marianne sits with her mother in a coach, on the way back from Mr Dashwood’s funeral. Both the ladies express their indignation at having to leave Norland, the family estate.
The sensible, less emotional Elinor who sits opposite, suggests finding another suitable place to live.
Marianne asks her, “Where are your feelings?”, to which Elinor replies, “I govern them”. The screenplay may not follow the original text faithfully, but stays well within the framework of the novel.
Marianne, played by Tracey Childs, is not that different from the later representations of the same character. Here, too, she is shown to be passionate and emotional and she always speaks her mind with fervour.
Marianne despairs at having to leave her beloved Norland.
Elinor, on the other hand, governs her feelings until the very end, but Irene Richard’s lack of expression and “toothy beauty” fail to convince me.
“Sense will always have its attractions for me.”
Enter Edward Ferrars. Bosco Hogan as Edward lacks the looks and the charming awkwardness that his character demands. We are rushed too quickly into the next scene to understand how their feelings develop into love.
On the other hand, Willoughby, played by Peter Woodward, compares to the later versions and has both the looks and the charm.
Attractive Willoughby rescues Marianne.
He also has a good singing voice to boost!
This rather bushy version of Colonel Brandon, played by Robert Swann, makes me miss Alan Rickman!
The series does have its advantages. We get to see a more thorough portrayal of the minor characters, such as the unbearable Lucy Steele, the motherly Mrs Jennings (less comic in this version) and the conniving Fanny Dashwood.
Lucy Steele tells Elinor that she has finally managed to get into the good books of Mrs Ferrars.
In this ludicrous scene, Fanny is in hysterics when she hears about Edward and Lucy’s engagement.
The scene where Edward proposes to Elinor is very governed, indeed (and it’s slightly distracting to see his hair styled like Mr Collins’).
As for Marianne, the series ends in an anti-climax when Colonel Brandon gives a chest full of books for Marianne to read. No proposal, and no wedding!
Well, it is hard to beat Ang Lee’s beautiful 1995 version of Sense and Sensibility, with Kate Winslet and Emma Thompson in the lead. I’ve grown up with it and seen it too many times to dissociate myself from it. The newer adaptation by Andrew Davies from 2008 comes as a close second, with excellent acting and a realistic touch to it.
Which is your favourite adaptation of Sense and Sensibility?
1981 (Baron/Bennett)
1995 (Ang Lee)
2008 (Andrew Davies)
Jane Austen was clearly proud of her creation of Elizabeth in Pride and Prejudice, saying famously that Elizabeth was “as delightful a creature to have ever appeared in print”.
I have always liked Elizabeth and have created a page for her in one of my scrapbooks.
Do you remember playing with paper dolls as a child? I found this beautiful paper doll with its clothes and accessories on the Internet, painted them, and stuck them with blu-tack on the page with a sketch of Longbourn as a backdrop.
You can print these dolls here.
The site seems to have started to charge for printing, but it’s very inviting as there are so many familiar characters from Jane Austen’s books as well as other classic heroes and heroines.
Perhaps Mr Darcy will get his page next…?!
I have just finished watching the Regency House Party. The 4-part series was broadcast on Channel 4 in 2004, and is available to watch on You Tube in 36 parts.
The Regency House Party is a reality TV show, bringing together five gentlemen from the modern world and five ladies with their chaperones to spend a summer (9 weeks) is a Regency country house. Brought back to the year 1811, the idea is to pair off the amiable bachelors with their beautiful counterparts, with match-making efforts made by the ladies’ chaperones.
Guests arriving at Kentchurch Court.
Staff welcoming the guests.
The Regency House Party is a very well-designed production with plenty of period detail down to chamber pots and a Regency-style shower. The costumes are fantastic, some of which have been recycled from earlier period dramas. The men in the show, in particular, look stunning in their long coats, breeches, cravats and top hats. The country house, Kentchurch Court, which is located in Herefordshire, has been decorated in 19th Century style and really brings the Regency period into life.
Miss Braund and her chaperone inspecting their bedroom.
Guests at dinner - the highlight of the Regency day.
The highest-ranking gentlemen leading the way to church.
We follow the ladies and gentlemen, as they get used to living according to the Regency decorum and etiquette, with various degrees of success. The series shows that life was fun-filled for the idle gentlemen, who get to drink all day long, take snuff, splay sports etc. while the women are obliged to sit indoors with their books and needlework.
Ladies feeling bored while the men are allowed to play.
Miss Hopkins struggling to come to terms with her Regency identity.
Initially, the women struggle living within the confines of the Regency etiquette and throw fits at their chaperones, finding the environment oppressive. Perhaps, it would be difficult for a modern woman to lead a Regency life for as long as 2 months; few of us are as ‘accomplished’ as the Regency ladies, who could easily switch between needlework, French and Italian literature and playing the harp. Personally, I would love to have some time out to attend an experiment like this. Instead of sitting around and moaning, I could imagine spending my time perfecting my skills at the piano, writing or painting, not having enough time to hone my skills given the hectic modern struggle of work/life balance.
Ladies in muslin.
The ladies and men have been assigned particular roles, matching their real-life personas to roles they might have had within the Regency society. The casting has been carefully done and most of the people seem very well suited to their roles, coming from privileged backgrounds themselves, with posh accents to match. A real-life industrial heiress, Victoria Hopkins, plays a newly rich heiress Miss Hopkins. Countess Griaznov is a countess in real life, with limited powers. One the other hand, the musician, James Carrington, has the role of a Regency charmer, with plenty of sex appeal and little money.
Mr Gorell-Barnes writing a letter. Image from Channel 4.
The men are certainly very well adjusted to their roles from the very beginning of the show (apart from a hairdresser turned army officer who leaves early). The Mr Darcy of the show, Mr Gorell Barnes, is a very good host, and so like Mr Darcy in his manners that he rarely smiles or shows emotion. Captain Glover is a charming Regency gentleman, with manners and personality to boost. The handsome Mr Carrington with his dimples makes a great Wickham/Willoughby, with plenty of charm but few prospects on his side.
Captain Glover in his naval uniform.
I found Miss Hopkins quite crass for a Regency lady, but incidentally she turns out to be very popular with the men who are obviously used to strong-minded, independent modern ladies. Some of the personalities in the show can be quite annoying, and they have probably been cast on purpose to bring out some drama in the show.
The series does have its moments; seeing the men in breeches ride their horses, bombing French miniature ships to celebrate the victory against Napoleon’s army, Captain Glover making a life-size ‘be happy’ sign of hay and flower petals as a love token to Miss Braund, the ladies wondering whether Mr Everett is ‘good in the sack’ as he participates in a sack-race…
…let alone the wet-shirt scene with Mr Gorell Barnes, our true Mr Darcy!
The series does have its flaws, with some factual mistakes here and there, but is certainly fun to watch. I would love to enter an experiment like this, but perhaps attending the Jane Austen Festival would be more realistic to start with. Would you like to go on a show like this?
Have you seen the Regency House Party and did you enjoy it?
To watch the series on You Tube, click here.
To read an interview of Mark Foxsmith and Lady Devenport on their experiences at the Regency House, click here.
