Jane Austen Made Me Do It

Jane Austen Made Me Do It. Edited By Laurel Ann Nattress. 2011. Random House. 464 pages. Featuring stories by Lauren Willig • Adriana Trigiani • Jo Beverley • Alexandra Potter • Laurie Viera Rigler • Frank Delaney & Diane Meier • Syrie James • Stephanie Barron • Amanda Grange • Pamela Aidan • Elizabeth Aston • Carrie Bebris • Diana Birchall • Monica Fairview • Janet Mullany • Jane Odiwe • Beth Pattillo • Myretta Robens • Jane Rubino and Caitlen Rubino-Bradway • Maya Slater • Margaret C. Sullivan • and Brenna Aubrey, the winner of a story contest hosted by the Republic of Pemberley

Jane Austen Made Me Do It is a great, great short story collection!!! While I didn't LOVE each and every story in this one--some I merely liked--there were so many good stories in it, that it is definitely worth reading!!! This isn't one of those short story collections with one or two or even three good stories worth your time. No, this collection has MANY good stories to offer Austen fans. Granted, your favorites may not be my favorites, and my favorites may not be your favorites. There's just enough diversity in these stories to please everyone.

The collection begins strong with Syrie James' Jane Austen's Nightmare. In this story, Jane awakes from a nightmare. She shares it, of course, with her dearest companion. In her dream almost all of her characters were confronting her, challenging her. None of her characters were happy with how they'd been presented. Of course, not all of her characters were complaining--Jane, Elizabeth, Darcy, and Bingley have more than enough reason to thank their creator. But for readers who dare to question the text, this story is playful and fun. Was Jane Austen 'too mean' to some of her characters? Should some of her bad boys have been reformed? Were some of her heroines too good to be true? Did any of her characters deserve different fates?

"Waiting," "Heard of You," and "Love Letter" relate to Persuasion, my favorite Austen novel. "Waiting" by Jane Odiwe stars Anne and Captain Wentworth. "Heard of You" by Margaret C. Sullivan imagines the love story of Wentworth's sister, Sophy, and Admiral Croft. And "Love Letter" by Brenna Aubrey uses a page ripped from a novel--the novel--to reunite a couple after years apart.

"Nothing Less Than Fairy-land"  by Monica Fairview imagines just how tricky a happy marriage might prove to be for Emma and Mr. Knightley. How her father won't be the easiest person in the world to live with, and how their happily ever after will have to be fought for day by day, not that it's not possible to love someone, to stay in love with someone. But that it takes work, it isn't effortless by any stretch of the imagination.

"Jane Austen and the Mistletoe Kiss" by Jo Beverley is a nice addition to this collection because for once it is the mother (the widow with grown daughters) who wins the guy...

"Mr. Bennet Meets His Match" by Amanda Grange imagines the courtship of Mr. and Mrs. Bennet.

"Jane Austen's Cat" by Diana Birchall is a quirky story, it's true, it may not be for everyone, but it's fun for cat lovers.

But my favorite story, my FAVORITE, FAVORITE, FAVORITE story from the collection is "Intolerable Stupidity" by Laurie Viera Rigler. This story is amazing, witty, clever, joyful. It is a true must read!!! Every page of has sparkle, has wit. It just begs to be read aloud so the giggles can be shared. In this story, the authors who have dared to touch the Creator's works have been put on trial. For any author who has dared to adapt, retell, modify, etc. This includes those who have filmed adaptations--the wet Mr. Darcy scene, for example. This includes those who have dared to add vampires, zombies, mummies, and sea monsters. To those who have dared enter the bedroom... This is very much a trial--and it features many characters from the novels! Including Mr. and Mrs. Darcy, of course. And Lady Catherine!!! Anyway, it's a true delight!!!! I just LOVED it.

© 2012 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Tuesdays at The Castle (MG)

Tuesdays at the Castle. Jessica Day George. 2011. Bloomsbury. 254 pages.

Whenever Castle Glower became bored, it would grow a new room or two. It usually happened on Tuesdays, when King Glower was hearing petitions, so it was the duty of the guards at the front gates to tell petitioners the only two rules the Castle seemed to follow. Rule One: the Throne Room was always to the east. No matter where you were in the castle, if you kept heading east you would find the Throne Room eventually. The only trick to this was figuring out which way east was, especially if you found yourself in a windowless corridor. Or the dungeon. This was the reason that most guests stuck with Rule Two: if you turned left three times and climbed through the next window, you'd end up in the kitchens, and one of the staff could lead you to the Throne Room, or wherever you needed to go. Celie only used Rule Two when she wanted to steal a treat from the kitchens, and Rule One when she wanted to watch her father at work. Her father was King Glower the Seventy-Ninth, and like him, Celie always knew which way was east.

I liked Tuesdays at the Castle. I really liked it. It definitely reads like a fairy-tale inspired fantasy novel. Celie, our heroine, is the fourth child of the King and Queen. And she is the one the Castle loves best of all, perhaps. Though the Castle has also chosen preference to the second son, Rolf. The Castle has indicated that Rolf will be the next King.

The novel opens with the children awaiting the return of their parents and oldest brother. Instead of a happy reunion, however, they receive some shocking news. There was an ambush. Their parents are dead. Their brother is dead. Many of the escorts are dead. True their bodies were not found. But it's just a matter of finding them now.

Celie is one of the people who refuses to believe the news and continues to hope. She feels that if her parents were truly dead the Castle itself would know it--and show it. Her parents rooms would have changed, and her brother's room would have changed too.

The Castle DOES want to show her something, but acting on what she's learned will be risky...

Read Tuesdays In The Castle

• If you're a fan of Jessica Day George's previous novels (Dragon Slippers, Dragon Flight, Dragon Spear, Princess of the Midnight Ball, Princess of Glass, Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow).
• If you're a fan of Shannon Hale, Gail Carson Levine, or Diana Wynne Jones
• If you're a fan of fantasy novels for children

© 2012 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

The Mistress of Nothing

The Mistress of Nothing. Kate Pullinger. 2011. Simon & Schuster. 272 pages.

The truth is that, to her, I was not fully human.

I found The Mistress of Nothing to be a fascinating historical novel. The narrator, a 'spinster' named Sally, serves as lady's maid to Lady Duff Gordon. Lady Duff is dying, but the doctors feel a change in climate might postpone the end a few years at least. So Lady Duff separates herself from her family, her friends, her society--she LOVES to be the center of it all--and heads to Egypt with her maid, Sally Naldrett.

Set, for the most part, in Egypt during Victoria's reign (1860s), this novel is so very, very fascinating. It tells the story of how two English women adapted to Egypt--to a new culture, society, way of life. One of the first things they do is hire a dragoman, Omar. These three become very, very close. But even in their 'close' moments, there is a very real distinction between servant and mistress. Lady Duff may act friendly, but she is above them both. They are her paid servants. They owe their loyalty to her. They almost belong to her--as far as she sees it. Sally forgets this for a time. But she'll have months--if not years--to see the truth of the matter.

So, this novel is about what happens when these two 'servants' fall in love with each other. One a seemingly proper English woman, the other an Egyptian man...

This novel was such a good, quick read. I'm not sure I loved it. But I sure found it hard to put down!

Read The Mistress of Nothing

• If you love historical fiction
• If you love novels based on true people and events
• If you have an interest in Egypt--past or present
• If you enjoy novels set during the Victorian time period
• If you enjoy bittersweet romance

© 2012 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

The Sunday Salon: Watching Pride and Prejudice

Recently I watched the 1940 adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. Though adaptation may not be quite the best word for it! This is the second time I've seen this black and white film, and my impressions have changed a bit since the first time. For the better, I think.

I think I'll start with what I didn't like first. The biggest issue I have with this film is the costuming. Elizabeth Bennet and her sisters should not be dressed like Scarlett O'Hara. Pride and Prejudice was published in the Regency period, and it's only natural to imagine Jane, Elizabeth, Mary, Kitty, Lydia, etc. dressing from that time period. (Though I could see if film-makers wanted to set it in the previous decade of the 1790s).The costumes used in this film are lovely--if the film was set a couple of decades later. But these costumes are just 'generic' nineteenth-century.

The music is lovely. The sets are great. The dialogue works, for the most part. While I did notice that this abridgment takes away many, many, many scenes from the book. ( A few of things missing from this adaptation are the visit to Pemberley, Elizabeth meeting with Georgiana, and the letter from Darcy to Elizabeth confessing all.) It adds more than a few new scenes to the story. Like Darcy and Elizabeth doing archery together. Like Darcy's conversation with Lady Catherine. And these scenes, while not original, add something charming to the story. ESPECIALLY Darcy's conversation with his aunt!!!

The pacing. This is a very fast-paced movie! I think it's a purposeful rushing. Take the opening scene where Mrs. Bennet and her daughters are in town shopping when they hear the news that there's a new bachelor in town. The way they all RUSH through their errand and RACE home--actually RACE home in order to get Mr. Bennet to go visiting their new neighbor is just hilarious. I mean, you can see why the Bennet women might be known as being so very, very silly. There are other scenes in the movie that make this more a COMEDY than a drama. The romance is still there--the romance between Elizabeth and Darcy gets ALL the attention. (Jane appears to be only slightly more sensible than her sisters. Then again, Charles Bingley doesn't come across all that sensible either!) There is something to be said for this one as a comedy. I mean that is definitely ONE way the novel could be interpreted. There are some naturally silly things in it.

The characters. Did I like this Elizabeth? Yes, I did. I liked her very much. Did I like this Darcy? Yes! He didn't seem all that moody in this one. His interest was practically evident after their first meeting. And it does look like he purposefully visited his aunt just so he could see Elizabeth again. The romance between these two is evident--in a good way! I mean these two make a great couple together on screen. And so it was enjoyable to see their scenes together.

Now, there are two characters that I just LOVE AND ADORE from this version. One is Mary Bennet. The other is Lady Catherine. Both of these shine and sparkle in this film!!! This version of Mary has to be my absolute favorite Mary ever. And the same goes with Lady Catherine. I just love, love, love her scenes!!! Especially the changes made to her character. Especially her final scene with Darcy!

She is tolerable
Darcy and Elizabeth have some flirting time together before her family's silliness gets in the way
The archery scene
See how tender Darcy is with her, how kind
Darcy's first proposal
Lady Catherine visits Elizabeth

Have you seen this movie? What did you think? Did you like the changes they made to the story and the characters? Or do you think that Austen needs no improving?

© 2012 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Crow (MG/YA)

Crow. Barbara Wright. 2012. Random House. 304 pages.

The buzzard knew. He gave the first warning. I was playing in the backyard while my grandmother stirred the iron wash pot over the fire. She had gray hair and a bent back. Standing, she looked like the left-hand side of a Y. If she'd been able to straighten her back, she would have been taller than me, but since she couldn't, we were the same height. I called her Boo Nanny. She joked that I should call her Bent Granny. 

Crow by Barbara Wright is a book that I could gush on and on and on about. Because it is just that wonderful. Because the characterization was amazing. Because the narrative voice was so strong. Because the story was incredibly compelling. Because the drama was so intense. Because it is a story that NEEDS to be told. Because it is so heartbreaking. I mean this book just keeps tugging and tugging and tugging at your heart.

Set in 1898 in Wilmington, North Carolina, Crow is a dramatic story of the events leading up to Wilmington Massacre of 1898. (Had you heard of it before? I sure hadn't.) It is narrated by an eleven year old boy, Moses Thomas. He is close to his family--especially his grandmother, Boo Nanny, and his father, whom he admires. (His father is one of four black aldermen in Wilmington; there are ten aldermen all together. His father also works for the Wilmington Daily Record, "the only Negro daily in the South.") Family dynamics feature prominently in this novel. The Thomas family is not presented as perfect--far from it--the tensions between family members, especially between the father and Boo Nanny (his mother-in-law) are fierce. But never for a second, did I doubt how strong and resilient and loving this family could be. Their kindness for one another, their concern for one another, their joy of being together, well, it was something I loved seeing.

So Crow is a novel about race relations, racial tensions between the black and white communities in Wilmington, North Carolina. It is about MORE than that. It is a novel with depth, substance. It is a meaning-of-life kind of novel, I thought. But the subject matter can't be ignored.

One of the big issues of the book is how the editor of the Wilmington Daily Record wrote an editorial in response to something he'd read. A woman who was calling for action, encouraging men to lynch those blacks who dared (or allegedly dared) to be "too forward" with white women. He dared to look at the other side of the issue. What about those white men who forced themselves on black women? What about all the slave owners who became involved with their slaves--with or without consent. What about all the white men that fathered children with their slaves? If interracial involvement was wrong, immoral, dangerous, something to be avoided at any and all costs, shouldn't it work both ways? Much more about this can be found on this website, 1898 Wilmington Debunking the Myths. His editorial made him no friends--only enemies on both sides. For his editorial made the white community angry and aggressive and ready to attack. And the black community did not want to fight this battle--did not want to be the target.

Of course, that isn't the only factor in the novel. It isn't that simple. It's also about Republicans and Democrats. The constitution. The right to vote in elections. It's about justice and equality. Or should that be injustice and inequality? Crow is set during an election year, and politics is VERY important.

Crow isn't just an issue book though. I know it may sound like an "important" book, an "issue" book. But it's also a good book if you're looking for a compelling story with a strong narrative. If you enjoy coming of age stories. If you can appreciate good writing, good characterization, then you'll find something special in Crow.

"There is not one Constitution for white folks and a separate one for black folks. There is one Constitution for all Americans, no matter what the color of their skin, and it promises us the right to vote. This is what we are guaranteed, and we will settle for nothing less." (220) 

Read Crow

• If you're looking for a great book; strong narrative voice, amazing characterization, memorable characters, great storytelling, great writing.
• If you're looking for a book set in the American South from an African-American perspective
• If you're looking for historical fiction set during this time period, 1890s
• If you're looking for a book with heart and soul, depth and substance
• If you're looking for historical fiction based on real events (though the Thomas family is fictional, a handful of characters were based on real people, Wright even used their own words.)

© 2012 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews