Sean’s Comments (group member since May 04, 2014)

Sean’s comments from the Miss Jane Austen's Bookshelf group.

Episode Seven:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0076h1r

This article is about Tom Bertram in "Mansfield Park" and how his character is reflected in George Colman's 1797 comedy "The Heir at Law," a play that Tom Bertram repeatedly advocates for production at Mansfield Park:

http://www.jstor.org/stable/518238

This is an article by Anna Lott about the theatricals at "Mansfield Park" and how they affect the lives of the participants:

http://www.jstor.org/stable/29533765

Episode Six:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0076h16

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0076gzw

Not forgotten, of course, are the Sheridan plays--"The Rivals" and "The School for Scandal," still performed today and still funny.

Here is some information on the plays considered by the Mansfield Park group, before they decide on "Lovers' Vows." Of course, the Shakespeare plays were as well known then as they are now, but the other titles are now forgotten, but would have been well known to Regency-era readers.

"Douglas" is a blank verse tragedy by John Home (1756).

https://archive.org/details/douglastr...

"The Gamester" is a tragedy by Edward Moore (1753).

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/16267/...

"The Wheel of Fortune" is a comedy by Richard Cumberland (1795).

https://archive.org/details/wheelfort...

"The Heir at Law" is a comedy by George Colman (1797).

https://archive.org/details/heiratlaw...

I HIGHLY recommend reading "Lovers' Vows" if you are going to read "Mansfield Park." It will make sense of all the maneuvering for parts, the emotions and jealousies that come out of the preparations for the amateur theatricals.

I am so much enjoying this adaptation. There is a goof, though, in this episode.

The young people at Mansfield Park are preparing to put on the play "Lovers' Vows." The part of Agatha (the wronged mother) is to be taken by Maria Bertram and the part of Frederick (Agatha's illegitimate son) is to be taken by Henry Crawford. The narrator states, several times, that the characters of Agatha and Frederick are lovers, not mother and son. In the novel, Austen knows the play and doesn't make that mistake. Obviously, the writer of this radio adaptation figures that most listeners won't know the play and, by turning Agatha and Frederick into lovers, the drama of who is cast in the part of Agatha is heightened (both Maria and Julia Bertram want to play opposite the charming Henry Crawford, which causes jealousy between the two sisters).

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0076gzc

In "Mansfield Park," the group at Mansfield Park decides to put on a play, and that play is Elizabeth Inchbald's "Lovers' Vows."

Here's a site that has the complete play, along with a synopsis:

http://www.austen.com/mans/vows/

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0076gyv

Episode Two:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0076gyd

To mark the 200-year anniversary of the publication of "Mansfield Park," BBC Radio will broadcast its 2003 radio adaptation.

Episode One starts today. The complete adaptation is in ten, 15-minute long, episodes, playing through this week and all of next. This link will take you directly to the broadcast of Episode One:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0076gxs

BBC Radio 4 Extra allows you to listen to a broadcast for up to seven days, so you can listen to it at your leisure.

This adaptation was directed by Sally Avens. Here's the cast:

Felicity Jones - Fanny Price
Tim Pigott-Smith - Sir Thomas Bertram
Liza Sadovy - Lady Bertram
David Tennant - Tom
Benedict Cumberbatch - Edmund
Kate Fleetwood - Maria
Julia McKenzie - Mrs. Norris
Toby Jones - Rushworth
James Callis - Henry
Susan Lynch - Mary

Enjoy!

Here's an interesting blog site dedicated to Jane Austen and her world. This post is about the popular music of the era that Austen would have performed and enjoyed:

http://janeaustensworld.wordpress.com...

I have been reading Samuel Richardson's epistolary novel "Sir Charles Grandison," published 1753-54, and the favorite novel of Jane Austen. I'm almost up to the half-way mark with this book, so I thought I'd share some thoughts with all of you.

Austen learned her own style of domestic social comedy of manners from this novel, which she had practically memorized, its characters "were as well remembered as if they had been living friends" (James Edward Austen-Leigh, Memoir of Jane Austen (1871)).

Here's what Henry Austen wrote about his sister and "Sir Charles Grandison," in the "Biographical Notice" he wrote for the first publications of "Northanger Abbey" and "Persuasion":

"It is difficult to say at what age she was not intimately acquainted with the merits and defects of the best essays and novels in the English language. Richardson's power of creating, and preserving the consistency of his characters, as particularly exemplified in "Sir Charles Grandison," gratified the natural discrimation of her mind, whilst her taste secured her from the errors of his prolix style and tedious narrative."

Just so you won't need to read the darn book (1600 pages long), here is a description and appreciation of it, with illustrations (1778) by Isaac Taylor:

http://freepages.family.rootsweb.ance...

Jane Austen allegedly wrote a five-act play based on "Sir Charles Grandison," to be performed by her family and friends. The exact date of the play's composition is difficult to determine, but modern scholars tend to consider it as part of Austen's juvenilia. The authorship of this play is controversial, since the Austen family always claimed it was written by Anna Austen, Jane Austen's niece, and was transcribed by her aunt--the manuscript, which survives, is in Jane Austen's hand. Modern scholarship tends to favor Jane Austen's authorship of the play. The play, which is no masterpiece and is certain to be a disappointment to those who know the great Austen novels, is basically a summary of key scenes from Richardson's novel, with the occasional witty line thrown in--the best lines are those taken from or inspired by Richardson.

Thought these might come in handy, to give some visuals to Jane Austen's world:

http://www.pemberley.com/janeinfo/rgn...