Let’s begin with Jane Austen. Especially Pride & Prejudice. Those of us who love Austen will never forget the first time we read it, and how we were captivated by the lively Elizabeth Bennet and arrogant Mr. Darcy. Oh, how foolish they both were! But it worked out in the end. 🙂 And forgive me, […]
Quarreling Couples
Quarreling lovers. Or soon-to-be-lovers. Or once-upon-a-time were lovers. In any scenario, they’re definitely locking horns with each other in some way. My husband and I got into an argument on this subject. Well…not exactly an argument; more of a disagreement. We were watching the new HBO drama Newsroom, I think episode four. I’ve really […]
Characters and Emotion
Over at TheWildWriters last week, Claudia Cangilla Macadam wrote a blog post describing her method of getting into a character’s emotions. She acts them out! I can’t specifically recall ever having done that, but I’m planning to give it a try. A way that I frequently use to pick up ideas for describing a character’s […]
Pride and Prejudice Trivia
Someone in my JASNA group recommended The Annotated Pride and Prejudice, by David M. Shapard, a few years ago. I promptly ordered it, but apart from using it to check a fact every so often, it’s languished on a bookcase ever since. I decided to read it during my stay in Florida. So, for my […]
Science Looks at the Teen Brain
We all have our little rituals. This is one of mine. On Sunday morning, I always read the Sunday supplements while I’m eating breakfast. Because most of the contents of USA WEEKEND and PARADE relate to faux famous people, many of whom I’ve never heard of, it’s been rather pointless the last few years. Yesterday, […]
Still in Love with Shakespeare!
Do you remember the movie Shakespeare in Love? Won five Academy Awards? I happened to catch it on Encore recently. Having been so immersed in Shakespeare’s world the past few years as I worked on Kissing Shakespeare, I watched it with a new appreciation. I’d already seen it, of course, but this time, it meant […]
Wolf Hall
I savored Wolf Hall. I made it last as long as possible. Like nibbling on a brownie, or spooning tiny bites of ice cream. My strategy worked, too. I got it for Christmas, and here it is, Feb 6, and I just finished it. It’s the kind of book that allows you to savor it, […]
Lost in Austen
Have you seen Lost in Austen, the ITV satire of Pride and Prejudice? When shown on TV, I believe it was in episodes, but the DVD runs continuously as though it were a movie. After watching about 45 minutes of it, I was convinced I wouldn’t like it. The crux of the story is that […]