Jane Austen music? You might think I mean music of the 1800′s. But, no, there is a new blues song inspired by a Jane Austen character.
I went on Youtube, on a whim of boredom, to see what was new in the world of Jane Austen. Sometimes students put up book reports, or there may be an announcement for a new movie. What I found was even more fun. A singer-songwriter from Brooklyn has created a blues song dedicated to Elizabeth Bennet’s plain and bookish sister, Mary. “Oh, oh, oh, Mary Bennet…” This is a fun way to celebrate Pride and Prejudice.
Update: December 2011: Mixed news on the disposition of the “new” Charlotte Bronte manuscript. At auction, it was won by a museum, so it will still be available to the public. Though, instead of the Bronte Parsonage Museum in England, it went to a literary museum in France. Story at “The National”: here.
KW writes: For all of us Jane Eyre and Charlotte Bronte fans, this tiny book is a rare find! Written when Bronte was only 14 years old, it is a brilliant piece of satire. Bronte created this tiny work in the format of a men’s magazine. It includes a witty ad (see below), which observes economics and social justice in her usually insightful, though aloof, manner. It’s a kind of Mad Magazine for the 19th century. And, it contains a hint into her future sociological writing, such as her reflections on charity schools in Jane Eyre, and her novel, Shirley.
Bronte manuscript. Image from: i.dailymail.co.uk
(excerpt from) The Telegraph & Argus [Brontë] Parsonage Museum in Haworth [England] is eager to ensure ‘national treasure’ is not lost to the public
UK/November 14, 2011
An appeal has been launched to help fund the purchase of a rare Charlotte Brontë manuscript.
The Brontë Parsonage Museum is appealing for financial support from the public and funding bodies.
It needs to raise up to £300,000 to cover the expected cost of buying the work at an auction next month.
The unpublished manuscript contains three works written by Charlotte – author of Jane Eyre – when she was 14.
Charlotte’s Young Men’s Magazine Number 2 contains 4,000 words set in a fictional world created by the famous literary siblings.
The book, until now in private ownership, is believed to have never before been seen by scholars. Continue Reading »
This blog is devoted to Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, and other ideas related to women’s empowerment and women in history. So, there have been some Jane Eyre/Charlotte Bronte threads, and some Jane Austen threads.
Overall, I am not a great fan of the monarchy and royalty. I enjoy meditating on more democratic, egalitarian, and feminist ways to shape society. Though, I felt like the news about Jane Austen and Kate Middleton gave me entree to post a few pieces of royal watching interest. See more below the Jezebel story…
Ancestry.com has discovered that Kate Middleton, Duchess Of Cambridge…and Jane Austen are are eleventh cousins, six times removed… “Finding this connection between the Duchess of Cambridge and Jane Austen is very exciting since, in many ways, Catherine is the modern Jane Austen heroine: a middle-class girl marrying the future King of England.”
More Royal Watching News:
My husband and I have started a new project. It is a website called Peace Couple. The first project on Peace Couple is a royal tour by The Duke and Duchess of Peace. Their tour of America happens to coincide with the North American tour of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince William and Duchess Catherine. The Duke and Duchess of Peace have very different ideas of what it means to be royal.
More Royal Watching (and a Georgiana mention):
With all that dismissing of royalty aside, I have to confess something. I love Princess Diana. And, while I was Princess Diana watching, I became interested in the life of Sarah, Duchess of York (Sarah Ferguson). And, Sarah Ferguson is related to Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire — Sarah Ferguson is a descendent of Georgiana’s love child, Eliza.
So, my mom asked me to take her to meet Sarah Ferguson at a local book signing, and I couldn’t say no. Below are some fun photos of Sarah, Duchess of York, who was on Long Island yesterday, June 28th:
Princess Beatrice’s Famous Royal Wedding Hat
(see video at bottom of this post)
If you are a fan of Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire — born 1757, died 1806, glorified in the movie “The Duchess” — then you probably know that Sarah Ferguson and her daughters are descendents of Georgiana. Their family tree extends from Eliza, the love child of Georgiana and Sir Charles Grey.
Georgiana was known for known for her trend-setting fashions, and also, for her ability to use fashion to send a message and garnish attention. So, it is not surprising that Princess Beatrice’s daring wedding hat has inspired a FaceBook page which is at 115,000 hits (As of Sunday evening, 5/1/2011) and climbing. Georgiana’s hat choices were often shocking or problematic. So, it is not out of the family tradition for Princess Beatrice’s hat’s most popular page to be a critique. In fact, it is called, “Princess-Beatrices-Ridiculous-Royal-Wedding-Hat FaceBook Page”.
KW writes: The wedding is over. The vows are made. The world is reviewing the hoopla and eye-candy. I, personally, have many concerns with the purpose of royalty. I was waiting to dive in with analysis and critique while two real-live people were contemplating such an important step. But, now that Kate and Will have taken their leap of faith, maybe it is time to reflect on what monarchy (and empire) mean?
One of my friends has dived in on FaceBook. She noted (quite emphactically) that a lot of England’s wealth and tradition are related to colonizing and exploiting other parts of the world. And, having lots of wars. Seeing all the military uniforms as part of a religious ceremony was one of the things that didn’t sit well with me. Also, the fact that so many people are distracted by the hoopla, when they have their own lives, responsibilities, and countries to take care of.
Hope you might make your own comments — good and bad — in the comments. And, here is a poem I had written reflecting on Princess Diana’s wedding. It was written after she died…
A couple of weeks ago, I had the chance to attend a Jane Austen tea in nearby Port Jefferson. It was a lot of fun. And, I met another local Jane Austen fan who does media and blogging projects. Her name is Erin Coughlin, and her article is excerpted and linked below. I was late to the event. Though, I was in time for the slideshow and tea. I enjoyed hearing Barbara Hellering, give her list of favorite “Mr. Darcies” and speak about the importance of irony in Jane Eyre. My Flicrk photos are: here.
(excerpt from) The Patch Library Hosts Literary Tea Party To Celebrate Favorite Author Barbara Hellering of the Jane Austen Society of North America delights fans at The Port Jefferson Library
Erin Coughlin 4/21/2011
On April 14, the Port Jefferson Library hosted it’s highly successful, Annual Jane Austen Tea Party to celebrate National Library Week.
Emma, Lady Hamilton, was a contemporary of Georgiana, The Duchess of Devonshire. Georgiana knew and liked Lady Hamilton.
If you like Lady Hamilton, or want to learn more about her, there is currently an exhibit at a book club in New York city. More info about “The Enchantress: Emma, Lady Hamilton”, at the Grolier Club until April 30, 2011, can be found at their link, and at the “read more” below.
I have become fascinated with Lady Hamilton party because of the movie “That Hamilton Woman”, with Vivien Leigh as Lady Hamilton, and with Leigh’s then husband, Laurence Olivier, as Lord Horatio Nelson. The movie is exquisite.
My favorite part of the movie is the way it explores the relationships between men and women, caught in a sexist society, where divorce is more of a shame than affairs, courtesans, or cruelty. And, I love the line uttered by the character of Lord Nelson, “That’s the way people look at these things. They do not believe in a friendship between a man and a woman.” I think that the tension that occurs — partly by nature, partly by a skeptical, sexist society — when a man and a woman try to be friends or colleagues is a large part of the energy that keeps women from succeeding in business, or fairly taking part in governing.
Since I enjoy Jane Eyre in all forms, so much, I have an e-mail news alert for “Jane Eyre”. Found this interesting article on a blog devoted to discussion among Jewish women. The full post is: here.
(excerpt from) The Jewish Daily Forward/the sisterhood Esther vs. Vashti, Austen vs. Brontës
By Sarah Seltzer
As I prepared for the beginning of the perennial Purim question of “Esther vs. Vashti” at the same time as I delved into Jane Eyre-mania, I began to think about how women are always pushed into dichotomies. I wondered cynically how soon someone would write about the new Brontë films by declaring Jane Austen passé…
It always seems to me that when it comes to women who take different paths there’s a meme out there that there’s only room for one. Virgin or whore, Esther or Vashti, Austen or Brontë. Yes, the two most famous Brontë sisters, Charlotte and Emily, and Jane Austen took divergent approaches to writing about the “woman question.” Austen was sort of an Esther, using her brilliant wit to dazzle readers but containing steely critique of the system under her perfect prose, while the Brontës, Vashti-like , seethe with rage at women’s unfortunate lot and churn with a desperate desire for escape…
Photos and report back from my trip into NYC to see the premier of Jane Eyre. Video Review by Stephanie and me: here.
Note! The Jane Eyre movie is coming out in select theaters. More to follow over the next few weeks. See list: here.
While author Jane Austen, and the character Jane Eyre, both lived after the time of Georgiana the Duchess of Devonshire, Georgiana Circle readers may know I love works by Jane Austen, and works based on Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte’s character) very much. My favorite Jane Eyre so far has been the 2006 BBC miniseries. And, I am so excited to hear that the new movie, with Mia Wasikowska as Jane Eyre, is coming to American theaters in March 2011. And, the movie trailer has just come out…
The banner image is a crop of a painting by the artist Angelica Kauffmann, 1774. (l) is Lady Georgiana Spencer (shortly before she became Duchess of Devonshire) and (r) is her sister Lady Henrietta-Frances (Harriet) Spencer.
