Author: bdelleman
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Some Mansfield Park Memes
For my favourite Jane Austen novel that deserves more love Fanny Price: After Sir Thomas is angry with her Trying to convince Henry Crawford she doesn’t love him: Sir Thomas (Ch 47): Edmund Bertram: On Edmund taking Fanny to the avenue or stargazing Mrs. Norris, talking up Rushworth to anyone who will listen: Also Mrs.…
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What to Read After Austen?
Other than Jane Austen fan fiction… In the Meadow, Claude Monet 1876 It’s summer, which for me means sitting down outside with a good book. I’ve been exploring other, primarily female, British authors and if you’ve been asking the question, “Who has a similar style to Austen?” I may have an answer for you. If…
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The Timeline of the Affair and Elopement in Mansfield Park
Edmund Blair Leighton, Where There’s a Will The affair between Maria Rushworth (Bertram) and Henry Crawford in Mansfield Park is perhaps the most shocking event in Austen’s novels, rivaling Lydia’s elopment with Wickham. But how did it happen? Because it is presented in flashbacks and at several points during the final chapters, the timeline of…
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Jane Austen Graphed
Why not bring some fun graphs and data display to Jane Austen? Some of these are jokes and some are true data collection. Caveat: These images are hard to describe so unfortunately I don’t have descriptions for most of them. I have included links to larger images that can be zoomed in on. #1 Darcy’s…
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What’s Wrong with Putting on a Play in Mansfield Park?
Covent-Garden Theatre: This engraving was published as Plate 27 of Microcosm of London (1808) We know that Jane Austen wrote and acted in home theatre productions herself, so why is it so bad that Tom and Yates want to put on a play in Mansfield Park? I find it so strange when people argue that Austen had…
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How Jane Austen Uses Names
And which names are never given Mr. and Mrs. Bennet and Colonel Fitzwilliam are never named in the entirety of Pride & Prejudice. Fan fiction and adaptations have given them first names, but Austen never revealed names if a person would be addressed by a title instead. Mrs. Bennet is addressed as “mamma,” “sister,” and…
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Jane Austen’s Books Don’t Take Place over a Year and Other Myths
Three myths are repeated a lot in online Austen spaces and they don’t take very long to refute, so here they are 1. Austen’s novels span a year The only Austen novel where the main action spans a single year is Pride & Prejudice: Now one may quibble about the “main action” so I’ve done…
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Imagined First Kiss for Each Austen Couple
In Honour of Valentine’s Day The Kiss, Self-portrait of French painter Carolus-Duran with his wife as newlyweds. Fitzwilliam Darcy & Elizabeth Bennet: after they were married, when no one else was around. Mr. Darcy does not do Public Displays of Affection. Elizabeth tried to make a few hints earlier but they were all rebuffed. (Did…
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Did Mr. Darcy want his Friend Bingley to Marry His Sister?
The short answer is yes. One of the most heated arguments I’ve witnessed in my time participating in Jane Austen Fan Fiction and the wider Jane Austen fandom is whether or not Darcy really wanted Bingley to marry Georgiana. This is a discussion I’ve always found strange, since it’s affirmed directly by the narrator, who…
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Darcy Smiles a Lot Actually (even before Pemberley)
And it’s important to the plot (Darcy is almost always portrayed as very stern, even in illustrations) A friend of mine, Firawren, on Tumblr counted the smiles of every male lead in Austen, and the results may surprise you: Yes, Mr. Darcy actually smiles or expressess happiness quite a bit. Data for this graph: 8…