Laurie Viera Rigler's Blog: Jane Austen Addict, page 5

Are Jane Austen’s Heroines Ideal Women?

A wonderfully insightful piece on Austen’s heroines and whether they would measure up to what constituted an “ideal woman” in Regency England, 

by Jenni Waugh of The Jane Austen Centre:

I recently replied to an email enquiry from a student who was looking for an opinion on the question “To what extent does Jane Austen present her heroines as ideal women within their social contexts?” My reply ended up being fairly lengthy and is below. Let me know what you think!

Personally, I’d say that ver...

Make this summer an Austen summer

After all, this summer will mark the 200th anniversary of the great author’s death, and thus the perfect time to celebrate her life. Here’s an idea that sounds to us like Jane Austen heaven: 200 Years of Persuasion: The Jane Austen Summer Program at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, from June 15-18, 2017. You don’t have to be a scholar or even a student in order to attend; all are welcome. According to the program’s site, it is open to “anyone with a passion for all things Austen...

A gift of love: Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand

If you’ve ever thought that love passed you by, or you’re just feeling blue, do something nice for yourself: read Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand. In the Austenian tradition of “three or four families in a country village,” author Helen Simonson takes a keen-eyed look at the flaws and glories of human nature and the never-ending quest for love.

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Major Pettigrew is a relic of polite gentility in a brash world, a lonely widower getting by with what passes for friendships in his little Sussex villa...

Thinking Ahead: Sing Street is my Valentine’s Day movie pick

Whether you’re going it alone this V-Day, cozying up with a friend, or have a significant other, consider setting the perfect mood with Sing Street. This wonderful film set in 1985 Ireland is a touching, funny, and utterly romantic coming-of-age story that’s all about the transformational power of music and having the courage to follow your heart in life and in art, whether that means telling the girl/boy of your dreams he/she is everything to you or standing up to the bullies of the world. I...

It’s Jane Austen’s birthday. And we are grateful.

It’s Jane Austen birthday. And we are grateful.

The Cate Morland Chronicles: a web series

Just watched the first episode of The Cate Morland Chronicles, and looking forward to more. It’s a reimagining of Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey with a Catherine Morland as the ultimate fangirl. Sweet.

What I’m Reading: On Writing by Stephen King

I loved every pageof this book, which I listened to on audiobook. Stephen King generously (those darn adverbs!) shares his insights about and faith in the magic of storytelling, the nuts and boltsof the writer’s toolbox, his own creative process, and the life events that shaped the writer he is today. He does all of this with the combination of compassion, encouragement, and straight dealing from the b.s.-free zone that I adore aboutthis master wordsmith. A thoroughly enjoyable and illuminati...

A perfect moment

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via GIPHY

This is from what is perhaps the greatest Austen adaptation of all, Sense and Sensibility, with screenplay by Emma Thompson (her book that includes the screenplay and her diaries isa must-read), direction by the brilliant Ang Lee, and stellar acting by Emma Thompson, Kate Winslet, Hugh Grant, Alan Rickman, and many more.

May fortune smile upon you as it did upon Edward and Elinor.

May fortune smile upon you. E via GIPHY This is from what...

May fortune smile upon you.

E

via GIPHY

This is from what is perhaps the greatest Austen adaptation of all, Sense and Sensibility, with screenplay by Emma Thompson (her book that includes the screenplay and her diaries isa must-read), direction by the brilliant Ang Lee, and stellar acting by Emma Thompson, Kate Winslet, Hugh Grant, Alan Rickman, and many more.