Letters from Pemberley (and sequel) by Jane Dawkins

Some time ago I finished reading Letters from Pemberley and More Letters from Pemberley by Jane Dawkins, and am finally getting around to writing about it. The thought of writing a summary for the book like I usually do sounded tiresome, I must admit, and I don't think this book really requires that anyways--so I've decided I'm just going to act more like I'm telling a friend about what I've been reading. (That's just more fun than trying to be formal. This is blogging, after all, not writing for a magazine.)

Letters from Pemberley is a continuation of Pride and Prejudice written in epistolary form; that is, it's all letters from Elizabeth to Jane. It lasts for the whole of 1813 (assuming Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy's wedding to have been in late 1812). Elizabeth tells about her experiences as the new mistress of Pemberley, recounting nerve-wracking parties where she meets Mr. Darcy's acquaintance, her occasional fear of inadequacy, her relationship with Georgiana... it's sort of less plot-ish and more just day-by-day real life, which I rather liked. It was lighthearted and remained faithful to Jane Austen's characters. Of course, nothing is as good as Pride and Prejudice itself, but let's just say I didn't get mad at this author and throw the book across the room. (I wouldn't have done that, anyways. I am very careful with library books.)

Overall, I found it quite delightful, and I would recommend it to someone who wants to read a P&P sequel. It's also rather short. Which, sad, slow reader than I am, pleases me. I like Mr. Darcy in it, but his portrayal isn't quite the thing--but nobody could write about him like Jane Austen could so wonderfully yet subtly do (quite subtle so that only some people will understand him, haha...) but it's better than, say, Mr. Darcy's Diary. Which didn't particularly impress me.

One of my favorite things about this book was the sort of secret references to other Jane Austen characters. You will find people just like Jane Austen characters (Anne Elliot, Lady Russel and Mrs. Elton are a few examples) but with different names, and it's fun to catch them. My favorites were Emma and Mr. Knightley. One night when I was reading the book, I suddenly figured out the meaning behind the last name, which is Daley. (Get it? Knightley, Daley? Night, day?) Also, the Daleys live at Weldon Abbey, which is Don-well switched around. I will say no more because I do not wish to give away any more secrets. *wink*

Anyways, I liked it so well that I decided to read the sequel, More Letters from Pemberley. This one, in short, I didn't like as well. It was rather darker (which, you must understand, is P&P sacrilege) and just didn't hold my interest as much. While the no-plot thing worked well for the first year, More Letters was from 1814-1819, and I found it a bit tiresome. I did finish it, but... eh. I didn't really dislike it, but I didn't like it, either. I rather expected more from it. However, if you really like Letters from Pemberley, you might like to give it a try.

Lines of Literature Paraphrase Challenge Winner!

And our winner of the Paraphrase Challenge is...
 Miss Elizabeth Bennet at Elegance of Fashion! 
"Bravo! An excellent satire on modern language."
-Henry Tilney, Northanger Abbey

 You can see the results of the last poll on the sidebar. It was actually a tie between two entries (with 7 votes each), but it turned out that both the entries were Miss Elizabeth's, so I guess that makes her even more of a winner! 
 Here are the winning entries by Miss Elizabeth: 

Original Quote: 

"You will think my question an odd one, I dare say," said Lucy to her one day, as they were walking together from the park to the cottage—"but pray, are you personally acquainted with your sister-in-law's mother, Mrs. Ferrars?"

- Lucy Steele, Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen

Paraphrase:

 “Hey, completely random question here: you know your brother’s wife’s mother?”

Original Quote:

"I am very much astonished, Mr. Elton. This to me! you forget yourself—you take me for my friend—any message to Miss Smith I shall be happy to deliver; but no more of this to me, if you please."
~Emma by Jane Austen

Satire:

"Hello, Harriet cannot come to the phone right now. Please leave your name, number, and a brief message and Harriet will be with your shortly." 

Congratulations, Miss Elizabeth! I loved the S&S one, it was definitely an excellent satire. And the Emma one was so creative! I'm sorry I didn't make a button or anything... I did try, but I'm afraid I lack the talent. Unlike your esteemed self. ;-) 

And, here are the other entries that made the top 10, as well as who wrote them.  Muwahaha, the secrets come out. Now, for the sake of space, I'm not going to put the original quotes, as most of you are already familiar with the entries anyways, but you can read them all here.

"So, to quote Tiny Tim, 'Let's all have a great and politically correct day, okay?'" 

- Miss Dashwood (Or, as she put it: "Miss Dashwood's Shamelessly Spoofed Great Lines Of Literature")

"Yeah," he said “and this is a cool day, and this is a cool walk, and you are two cool chicks!"

- Anne-girl

"Dude, we got hitched." 

- Miss Dashwood's "Irreverent Hashings and Smashings of Famous Bits of Literature"
(She also adds....)
"(Just for the record, I do not like the use of the word "dude" to refer to all and sundry, but I thought it rather amusing in this context. After all the point is to dumb it down, yes? :))"

“Ladies have big imaginations – they are sure that if you think a girl is cute, you love her; if you love her, you want to marry her. And all this imagining in only a second!”  

and

“Anyone who doesn’t love a good book is stupid."

- Charity U 

"Emma Woodhouse, gorgeous, smart and loaded with cash, with a great house and a happy-go-lucky attitude, had basically everything anybody could want and had gotten through almost 21 years without having any reason for a temper tantrum."

- Miss Dashwood

The Captain Wentworth's letter paraphrase that was in the top 10 was Stephanie's. To read it, click here.

"Then the guests could go, and since the important Barnacles were in a rush (because they had to send the mail that was going to its address to somewhere else and stop business that was getting done) they left." 

- Maria Elisabeth 

If you're all dying to know who wrote everything else, too, now that the comments are published, you can read them here and here.

Thank you so much, everyone! It was exciting to see how many people entries! You are all so clever. 


(Sorry about the troublesome spacing... Blogger is being mean to me. Again. I declare, anything run by Google has something against me! [Don't you agree, Miss Dashwood?])

Last Day to Vote on Paraphrase Challenge!

So far there are 14 votes on the final poll, and a tie! If you intend to vote and haven't done so yet, don't miss your chance!

Click here to see the entries. The poll is on the sidebar.

Click here for more information about the challenge.

If all goes according to plan, I will be posting the results (and winner/s) tomorrow.

Anne Week Tag: My Answers

If you haven't already joined in Miss Dashwood's Anne of Green Gables Week, be sure to head over there! Here's Miss Dashwood's tag (with my answers, of course). 


1. How many of the Anne books have you read, and how many of the films have you seen?
Can I skip the first part of the question? Heh. Well, I've read the first 3, about a fourth of Anne of Windy Poplars and listened to the very beginning of Rilla of Ingleside as a recorded book on a trip one time. Enough of it to be quoting "Yeth" for the rest of my days. One day--one day soon, I am determined--I shall have read them all.
As far as movies, I've seen Anne of Green Gables and The Sequel (my review here), and some of The Continuing Story. As far as the 4th movie goes, HA! Sullivan should have stopped while he was behind. Because, really? Anne 3 was already not accepted well... what does he thinks going to happen when you totally change the story? Um, sorry. One of my many pet peeves.
I have also seen BBC's Anne of Avonlea, and part of a black and white Anne of Windy Poplars. Which I did not like. Anyway, that was a good 7 years ago.

2. If someone yanked your hair and called you carrots, what would you do to him?
Well, firstly, yanking hair and simply holding it at arm's length (the movie vs. the book) are two different things. If someone yanked my hair, I would be quite displeased. If not, I might ask them why on earth they would call me carrots and for pity's sake, to let go of my braid. (Even if I DID have red hair... carrots aren't red.)
Haha, anyways. If I was in Anne's place, I wouldn't take immediate action. I have no wish to have "Melodie has a very bad temper. Melodie must learn to control her temper." written on the blackboard, thank you very much. I would probably dislike him ever after, though. Although if he apologized I'd probably forgive him sooner than Anne did. But then again, if I didn't crack a slate over his head it might not have the same effect.

 3. What would you do if Josie Pye dared you to walk the ridgepole of a roof?
I would stay on good firm ground and let her dare away. Such absurdity!
And I would probably pull an Elizabeth Bennet and smirk and laugh at her. Ha ha! Who does she think she is? Who does she think I am? Follies and nonsense! How diverting.

4. If you had the opportunity to play any AGG (I'm abbreviating from now on because I am a lazy typist) character in an AGG play, which role would you choose?
OOoohh. Well, Anne would be really, really fun, but I'm not sure I'm entirely suited to her. (Though I have been told I have a good nose.) Maybe Josie Pye, just because someone like her would be fun to play (and I would probably be good at it. Strictly melodrama, of course). Or maybe Ruby Gillis. It's reeeally fun to have fake hysterics. (Yes, I speak from experience.)
And if it wasn't just the first book, almost definitely Philippa Gordon. :D

5. If you were marooned on a desert island, which AGG character would you want to have as a companion? (Anne, Gilbert and Diana are not options.  Let's keep this thing interesting.  Not that they're not interesting.... oh, yay, now the disclaimer to this question is longer than the question itself.  Lovely lovely lovely.)
Hmmmmm.... it's been entirely too long since I read the books, and I can't remember all the characters very well. I suppose Philippa Gordon wouldn't do; she may be entertaining, but that doesn't help you survive. Unless, of course, she has as much knowledge of what to do when you're marooned on an island as she does about what to do with an unwanted cat.
Oh! Maybe Miss Stacy. I like her. But then, it might be nicer to have someone closer to one's own age...
I am so bad at answering these questions. And all this writing about desert islands makes me thirsty. I think I shall go make some lemonade. (Haha, that's for you, Mousie.)

6. If there was going to be a new adaptation of the Anne books and you could have any part in making the movie, what would you choose to do? (screenwriting, acting, casting, costume-making are a few possibilities)
I have always dreamed of acting in one of the kinds of movies I love to watch. I'm not exactly sure who I would play, though... again, maybe Josie Pye. ;-) Although Miss Dashwood said she would be in charge of casting, and I could be Miss Cornelia Bryant. I don't actually know who that is--shameful--but as Cornelia sounds a bit like Cordelia, I suppose she'll do.
However, I would looove to be involved in screenwriting (after I know the books inside-out, that is--and someday I will) or costuming. Because I'm a self-appointed expert on historical clothing. ;-) Just kidding. But I do find it a swellicious subject to study.

7. What are, in your opinion, the funniest AGG book/movie scenes? (choose one from the books and one from the movies)
What??? AGG is MOSTLY funny scenes, how am I supposed to answer that?
Uggh.
Um... I don't know if it's really the funniest, but I absolutely love the scene where Anne and Diana walk through the Haunted Forest.
"Oh, Anne, I'm scared!"
"So am I. Deliciously scared. --Mrs. Hammond said she once felt the ghost of a murdered child creep up behind her and lay its icy fingers on her hand."
And if we're talking about The Sequel, haha. Maybe the announcement that she won Rollings Reliable in the general store, with Alice Lawson practically jumping up and down, and, haha, when Anne sort of does these fake smiles back... and then Diana comes in and has noooo idea how Anne is feeling (ooh, that's not very kindred spirit-ish....)
Anyways. Don't get me started about funny scenes or I'll be talking (nonsensically) all day.

About the book--I can't answer that one any better. Though the other day I was giggling myself silly over the Carrots scene--or rather afterwards, after Gilbert apologizes...
"And Mr. Phillips spelled my name without an e, too. The iron has entered into my soul, Diana."
Diana hadn't the least idea what Anne meant but she understood it was something terrible.

 True, I haven't read a full Anne book in a while, but you will find me poking through them every so often.
Oh, and I was also laughing over the part where Anne accidentally puts liniment into a cake because it was in the vanilla bottle (that was more Marilla's fault, if you ask me) when Mrs. Allan comes to tea.
"Why, it's all just a funny mistake that anybody might make."
"Oh, no, it takes me to make such a mistake," said Anne forlornly.

 Oohh, and one of my mom's favorites (which I happen to find very amusing too), is when Philippa tries to chloroform the cat in Anne of the Island. (I would have been quite shocked at this if it had worked, however.) I also learned where my sister got her way of speaking to cats. "Him was a nice old pussins, him was."

 Please don't re-read any of that or you might figure out I mentioned more than two scenes.

8. What are, in your opinion, the saddest AGG book/movie scenes? (choose one of each again) 
Well, my favorite sad part would have to be when Anne finds out Gilbert is sick and passes the dreadful night of too-late realization (this is in Anne of the Island). Same with the movie, except add when she goes to visit him. (Because that doesn't happen in the book.) It's the touching, rather tragic kind of sad... but it all turns out well... and that's what I like.

And you might think I'm silly, but Anne and Diana's parting gets me every time. (Especially in the book.) Even though it's mixed with some amusing things.

9. Which AGG character would you most like to spend an afternoon with? (again, Anne and Gilbert and Diana are not options for this one--think secondary characters)
Anne and Diana and Gilbert are so neglected, poor dears.
Depends on what mood I'm in. If I want to be amused and hear all the gossip, perhaps Mrs. Rachel Lynde. I vaguely remember a Miss Lavender in Anne of Avonlea who might be a delightful spend-an-afternoon-with companion, though.
And I would say Philippa (like several other people, haha) but I've probably mentioned her enough for one tag! Hmm... maybe Christine Stuart, just so I could hear her side of the story and see what she's really like, not through Anne's eyes. (I mean the one in the book who was never, ever engaged to Gilbert. --Don't get me started on that.)

10.  What is your definition of a kindred spirit?
   This question has been answered so beautifully by everyone else that I hardly want to attempt it! But I shall. And it will be far too long.
   In my experience, there are different...say...degrees of kindred spirits. Most of us bloggers have figured out that there are more general kindred spirits out there than we could have imagined, and it's so much fun to find another one. Those who have such similar interests to you, you feel like you could have known them for a few years already. You think "wow... there are really other people who are that way, too?"
   Then there are those who not only have many common interests; you also experience an understanding that goes beyond just liking the same stuff. You'll want to get to know each other very well, can talk on and on about anything and nothing, and hope you'll be friends for a long, long time. They not only put up with all your silliness and nonsense, but they like it, and you like theirs, too.
   Then, there is what I think is an even scarcer kind. A one-in-a-million, never-met-anyone-like-you kind of thing. At first it seems almost ridiculous how much you have in common... not only the same interests, but the same un-interests, too. And then, of course, since nobody could be or should be exactly alike, you start finding the differences; but those differences complement each other and you find that though the other person doesn't think the same way you do in some things, they understand exactly what you mean anyways. It can be alarming how well (and quickly!) they really have you figured out... they know what you mean before you say it... you find out they've been thinking the exact same thing as you and then both go off into gales of laughter. You make a reference or a joke expecting to have to explain it, but before you even can, they already knew what you meant--AND were properly amused by it. You will both have a sense of humor that is appreciated by the other perhaps more than by anybody else. (Family members, after all, get tired of your jokes sometimes. ;-) ) They can practically say two words and make your day. When you're with other people, the kindred spirit will often come to mind as the only person who would "get" what you said, or what you would have said if they were there... You can be far apart from them and yet feel like you're close, because your kindred spirits bind you together. 
   It's hard, when I'm writing this, not to get confused between a kindred spirit and a bosom friend, because they are, after all, different. One can be a kindred spirit without ever being your bosom friend (which is unfortunate), and it is possible to have a bosom friend who isn't the highest degree of kindred spirit... though I'm inclined to think that wouldn't last quite as long.
    Anyways. This is far too long, so I'll pull a Mr. Micawber-- In short, a kindred spirit is someone whom you meet and think "We were just meant to be friends!" 


P.S. And a kindred spirit is someone who doesn't mind when I am nonsensically long-winded and ramble-ish? Hehe?

Paraphrase Challenge Voting: Round 2

Here is Part 3 of the "Lines of Literature Paraphrase Challenge"! If you have no idea what's going on, you can check out these posts:
The Challenge
The Entries & Round 1

The results of last week's polls...

And now, for the final poll--unless, of course, a tie-breaker will be required...

Speaking of which, there is a poll above that had a tie; I am simply putting both in the final poll.  

Here are the still-competing paraphrases...

1.
Original Quote:
"Emma Woodhouse, handsome, clever, and rich, with a comfortable home and happy disposition, seemed to unite some of the best blessings of existence; and had lived nearly twenty-one years in the world with very little to distress or vex her."
~Emma by Jane Austen
Satire:
"Emma Woodhouse, gorgeous, smart and loaded with cash, with a great house and a happy-go-lucky attitude, had basically everything anybody could want and had gotten through almost 21 years without having any reason for a temper tantrum."

 2.

Original Quote:

"A lady’s imagination is very rapid; it jumps from admiration to love, from love to matrimony in a moment."

~Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Paraphrase:

“Ladies have big imaginations – they are sure that if you think a girl is cute, you love her; if you love her, you want to marry her. And all this imagining in only a second!” 

3. 

Original Quote:

"And, as Tiny Tim observed, 'God bless us, every one!'"
~A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
Interpretation: 

"So, to quote Tiny Tim, 'Let's all have a great and politically correct day, okay?'"

4. 

Original Quote:

"The said company being now relieved from further attendance, and the chief Barnacles being rather hurried (for they had it in hand just then to send a mail or two which was in danger of going straight to its destination, beating about the seas like the Flying Dutchman, and to arrange with complexity for the stoppage of a good deal of important business otherwise in peril of being done), went their several ways."

- Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens

Interpretation:

"Then the guests could go, and since the important Barnacles were in a rush (because they had to send the mail that was going to its address to somewhere else and stop business that was getting done) they left."

 5.
Original Quote:"The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid." 

~Henry Tilney, Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
Paraphrase:
“Anyone who doesn’t love a good book is stupid.“ 

 6.

Original Quote: 

"You will think my question an odd one, I dare say," said Lucy to her one day, as they were walking together from the park to the cottage—"but pray, are you personally acquainted with your sister-in-law's mother, Mrs. Ferrars?"

- Lucy Steele, Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen

Paraphrase:

 “Hey, completely random question here: you know your brother’s wife’s mother?”

 7.
Original Quote:

"Very true," said Henry, "and this is a very nice day, and we are taking a very nice walk, and you are two very nice young ladies." 

Satire:

"Yeah," he said “and this is a cool day, and this is a cool walk, and you are two cool chicks!"

8.

Original Quote:

"Reader, I married him."
~Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

Paraphrase:

"Dude, we got hitched."

9.

Original:

"I can listen no longer in silence. I must speak to you by such means as are within my reach. You pierce my soul. I am half agony, half hope. Tell me not that I am too late, that such precious feelings are gone for ever. I offer myself to you again with a heart even more your own than when you almost broke it, eight years and a half ago. Dare not say that man forgets sooner than woman, that his love has an earlier death. I have loved none but you. Unjust I may have been, weak and resentful I have been, but never inconstant. You alone have brought me to Bath. For you alone I think and plan. Have you not seen this? Can you fail to have understood my wishes? I had not waited even these ten days, could I have read your feelings, as I think you must have penetrated mine. I can hardly write. I am every instant hearing something which overpowers me. You sink your voice, but I can distinguish the tones of that voice when they would be lost on others. Too good, too excellent creature! You do us justice, indeed. You do believe that there is true attachment and constancy among men. Believe it to be most fervent, most undeviating, in

F. W."
"I must go, uncertain of my fate; but I shall return hither, or follow your party, as soon as possible. A word, a look will be enough to decide whether I enter your father's house this evening or never."

- Captain Wentworth, Persuasion by Jane Austen

Paraphrase:

"I can't just sit here quietly any more! I have to talk to you the only way I can. My spirit is broken, half of me is depressed, the other half is in the clouds! Don't you dare tell me I spoke too late, that your love is erased forever.I'm proposing again! I belong to you now, more then I did years ago when you completely broke my heart.
  Don't you dare tell me that men forget sooner then women! Or that his love dies first! I've loved only you.  I might have been unfair, I was weak and held a grudge, but I never loved another.You're the reason I'm in Bath. You're the motivation when I think and plan my days. Haven't you noticed?
  I wouldn't have even stayed in town for these last ten days if I could read your heart, the way I believe you've read mine. I can barely write.This very second I hear you whisper something which overpowers me. You are quiet but I can hear your voice when others can't.
  You are too wonderful! You give us due credit. You do believe a man can really love and be attached faithfully! Believe that mine is very faithful to you!"
   F.W.
I have to leave now, but I'll come back, or follow you, ASAP. Just say yes or smile, and I'll talk to your dad soon. 

And to make it an even 10, I am adding one that got 6 votes (more than any others that didn't win a poll) from Poll 1.

 10.

Original Quote:

"I am very much astonished, Mr. Elton. This to me! you forget yourself—you take me for my friend—any message to Miss Smith I shall be happy to deliver; but no more of this to me, if you please."
~Emma by Jane Austen

Satire:

"Hello, Harriet cannot come to the phone right now. Please leave your name, number, and a brief message and Harriet will be with your shortly." 


The final poll will be on the sidebar (unlike last time), and will end one week from today.