April 24, 2019
Jane Austen News - Issue 163
What's the Jane Austen News this week?
The second annual Jane Austen Tea & Faire, will being taking place this weekend (27th-28th April) in Aurora, Oregon.
There will be four tea seatings, over twenty Faire vendors, various demonstrations of Regency skills, displays, readings and a period-appropriate photo booth.
The two-day event will end with a Regency Ball in support of the Jane Austen Literacy Foundation. The advice is to attend dressed in your best period costume, although you can also just admire others in their costumes. However, for the ball historical or contemporary formal attire is mandatory.
Timings
The ball will begin at 5:30pm on the Saturday night, and will include a Regency buffet, period card games and other entertainment. Tickets are $40. The Faire will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Admission is $3, while children aged 12 and younger can attend for free. The Regency Tea seatings will be held at 11am and 1pm each day at the Legion Hall. Tickets for this are $28 each.
If you, like us, love reading about the authors behind some of our favourite novels, then you may find a few gems on this list of recommended literary biographies.
We came across a great list compiled by Sarah Ullery on BookRiot, and these are the biographies that really stood out to us (and perhaps to you too).
The Peabody Sisters: Three Women Who Ignited American Romanticismby Megan Marshall
Dubbed the “American Brontës” by some, the three Peabody sisters were one influence on the thinking of writers like Thoreau and Hawthorne. In fact, the youngest sister, Sophia, married Nathaniel Hawthorne.
The Silent Woman: Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes by Janet Malcolm
This is a biography of the biographies that have been written about Sylvia Plath. It tries to correct the myth surrounding Plath and Ted Hughes.
Romantic Outlaws: The Extraordinary Lives of Mary Wollstonecraft and her Daughter Mary Shelley by Charlotte Gordon
Mary Wollstonecraft died a week after giving birth to Mary Shelley, but in many ways, despite not knowing each other, their lives were very alike. A wonderful book about the mother who wrote A Vindication of the Rights of Women and the daughter who wrote Frankenstein.
Vera (Mrs Vladmir Nabokov) by Stacy Schiff
What was it like to be married to the author of Lolita? The story of Vera and Vladimir Nabokov was a love story that spanned 52 years. Stacy Schiff, if you’ve never read any of her other biographies, is a master.
The Invention of Angela Carter: A Biography by Edmund Gordon
The Peabody Sisters: Three Women Who Ignited American Romanticismby Megan Marshall
Dubbed the “American Brontës” by some, the three Peabody sisters were one influence on the thinking of writers like Thoreau and Hawthorne. In fact, the youngest sister, Sophia, married Nathaniel Hawthorne.
A biography about the author of the morbid and gothic fairytales like The Bloody Chamber and gothic novels like The Magic Toyshop.
The full article, with even more suggestions, can be found here. The reading list for those of us at the Jane Austen News has certainly grown considerably having found this list!
So Much Judi, So Little Time
We loved reading the article in The Guardian this week which listed all of the films which Judi Dench has starred in, and which attempted to rank them in order of brilliance (for any film with Judi Dench in must surely be at least a little brilliant simply because she is in it).
These were the Judi Dench top ten films:
1. Notes on a Scandal (2006)
2. Philomena (2013)
3. Mrs Brown (1997)
4. Iris (2001)
5. Skyfall (2012)
6. Shakespeare in Love (1998)
7. Four in the Morning (1965)
8. A Handful of Dust (1988)
9. A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1968)
10. Nothing Like a Dame (2018)
Shockingly, her role as Lady Catherine de Bourgh in the 2005 film of Pride and Prejudice only came in at number 23! Although the article did add that it was:
The supporting role that she was born to play: the well-born Lady Catherine de Bourgh in the Jane Austen classic, upon whose approval and patronage so much depends. Dench puts pep and sinew into the part.
What do you think? Do you agree or disagree with the top ten? It's a tough ranking to make!
Cyphers Theatre Company, whose previous productions include Three Musketeers and Great Expectations, began their 2019 spring tour at the Diss Corn Hall on April 20 with an Austen classic - Northanger Abbey.
Their fun and quirky adaptation of Austen’s novel about growing up and making mistakes sees the cast playing multiple roles and revelling in fast-paced action.
Abigail Morgan, who plays the role of Catherine Morland, said: “There is not some extravagant set and we have people playing multiple roles, men playing ladies. I’m not sure you would necessarily expect that if you were coming to see Jane Austen.”
Howard Horner, whose multiple roles include General Tilney and James Morland, as well as switching genders to play Mrs Morland and Mrs Thorpe, added: “It is fun — a lot more fun than I think people will expect.”
Northanger Abbey began its 2019 tour at Diss Corn Hall in Norfolk on April 20th. Other upcoming tour venues will include Tunbridge Wells, Bedford, Poole, Thames Ditton, and Dorchester.
Cyphers Theatre Company, whose previous productions include Three Musketeers and Great Expectations, began their 2019 spring tour at the Diss Corn Hall on April 20 with an Austen classic - Northanger Abbey.
Their fun and quirky adaptation of Austen’s novel about growing up and making mistakes sees the cast playing multiple roles and revelling in fast-paced action.
Abigail Morgan, who plays the role of Catherine Morland, said: “There is not some extravagant set and we have people playing multiple roles, men playing ladies. I’m not sure you would necessarily expect that if you were coming to see Jane Austen.”
Howard Horner, whose multiple roles include General Tilney and James Morland, as well as switching genders to play Mrs Morland and Mrs Thorpe, added: “It is fun — a lot more fun than I think people will expect.”
Northanger Abbey began its 2019 tour at Diss Corn Hall in Norfolk on April 20th. Other upcoming tour venues will include Tunbridge Wells, Bedford, Poole, Thames Ditton, and Dorchester.
Jane Austen News is our weekly compilation of stories about or related to Austen. Here we will feature a variety of items, including craft tutorials, reviews, news stories, articles and photos from around the world. If you’d like to include your story, please contact us with a press release or summary, along with a link. You can also submit unique articles for publication in our Online Magazine.
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Posted in: biographies, cyphers, jane austen news, Judi Dench, Northanger Abbey tour, recommended read
2 comments
Re: Best of Dench
How could we miss her brilliant performance in The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel?
tulugaq
July 26, 2020
[…] issue 163 of the Jane Austen News we looked at a list of the top Dame Judi Dench films. Well this week we were once again intrigued by a list ranking the best films by one of our […]
Jane Austen News - Issue 166
July 26, 2020