Margaret C. Sullivan's Blog, page 4

All of Heyer: The Black Moth

Published:1921

“The drawing room was tacitly regarded as our private domain and there we acted play after play…all dialogue completely impromptu, of course, but the plots always produced by Georgette…I can still recognize some of the plots in her books, particularly Beauvallet and The Masqueraders and The Black Moth!” – Jane Aiken Hodge, quoting a childhood friend of Georgette Heyer

Georgette Heyer published her first book, The Black Moth, when she was 19 years old,as she said, “First crack out...

An Ambitious Project

“I have indulged myself, for the purposes of this book, in reading her entire output in chronological order, and it has proved a rewarding experience as well as a delightful one.” – Joan Aiken Hodge, The Private World of Georgette Heyer

I’m embarking on a reading (and writing) project that I’ve been thinking about for a while:reading all of Georgette Heyer’s novels in order of publication, including the “suppressed” novels and the mysteries and the historicals and the anthologies and, well, al...

The Adventures of Jane and Thorin, Part the Third

Jane Austen Finger Puppet: Hey, baby. Thorin: …are you speaking to me, madam? Finger Puppet: You so fine, baby. Thorin: I beg your pardon? Jane: Oh, dear. Your majesty, I apologize most profusely for my cousin’s bad manners. Thorin: Oh, this is your cousin! I see the family resemblance. Jane: …do you really? Thorin: No, […]

Happy Birthday, Jane Austen!

“By-the-bye, as I must leave off being young, I find many douceurs in being a sort of chaperon, for I am put on the sofa near the fire, and can drink as much wine as I like.” – Letter from Jane Austen to Cassandra, November 6, 1813 Dearest Jane, may you be enjoying a warm […]

Jane Austen Centre at Bath Unveils Wax Figure of Jane Austen

It’s probably safe to say that all Janeites have had at least one moment of curiosity about what Jane Austen looked like. We don’t have much to go on–a dashed-off, incomplete, badly faded watercolor by Cassandra Austen is the only authenticated image of Jane Austen’s face, which has both frustrated Austen fans as well as […]

Never Assume

Never Assume– that person messing with his or her mobile might be reading a book.

The first ebook I read in its entirety was Fanny Burney’s Cecilia, which I read on the tiny screen of my Palm Treo 680. We were reading it for my book group* and I tried to order it on Amazon, searching for “Fanny Burney.” It didn’t come up (I should have searched for “Frances Burney,” la-de-dah, Amazon), and I stupidly assumed (not all assumptions are stupid, but an awful lot of them are) that the book was out o...

The Adventures of Jane and Thorin, Part the Second

Thorin: Miss Austen! Jane: Yes, your majesty? Thorin: Perhaps it has escaped your notice, madam, but you are at present under threat of a troll attack. Troll: HELLO! I AM TROLL! Jane: Oh…yes, I see. Thorin: It would be my honour to defend you against this abominable creature, madam. Jane: I hardly think that necessary, […]

Casting News for Love and Friendship Movie

Exciting news! Apparently things are forward enough with Whit Stillman’s adaptation of Lady Susan (weirdly called Jane Austen’s Love and Friendship, but in Whit we trust) that Sienna Miller has been cast as Lady Susan Vernon. Chloe Sevigny has also been cast as “her close friend,” we suppose meaning Mrs. Johnson. Stillman told Screen: “The […]

Your Sunday Austen Meditation

This week’s lesson comes from Emma, Vol. II, Chap. XIV: When the visit was returned, Emma made up her mind. She could then see more and judge better. From Harriet’s happening not to be at Hartfield, and her father’s being present to engage Mr. Elton, she had a quarter of an hour of the lady’s […]

Your Sunday Austen Meditation

This week’s lesson is taken from Northanger Abbey, Volume I, Chapter XIV. They determined on walking round Beechen Cliff, that noble hill whose beautiful verdure and hanging coppice render it so striking an object from almost every opening in Bath. “I never look at it,” said Catherine, as they walked along the side of the […]