Jane Austen News - Issue 46

What's the Jane Austen News this week?  

Jane Austen's Mother Not a Fan of All Her Work...      Mansfield Park is probably Jane's least popular novel, and it appears that readers of today are not the only ones to hold that opinion. From January 2017 the British Library will put on display Austen’s handwritten notes of what friends, family and correspondents thought of the novel. They're not all complimentary. Of the documents on display is one which shows that Jane Austen’s mother Cassandra, thought that Mansfield Park was not as good as Pride & Prejudice and found the heroine, Fanny Price, “insipid”. On the upside, Jane's sister Cassandra was “fond of Fanny” and “delighted much in Mr Rushworth’s stupidity”. That's not the worst review of Mansfield Park on display though. Other writings of Austen's show that she recorded the thoughts of a lady called Augusta Bramstone, who thought Sense & Sensibility and Pride & Prejudice “nonsense … but [she] expected to like M.P. better, & having finished the 1st vol. – flattered herself she had got through the worst”. Poor Jane! We can't help but feel at the Jane Austen News that it's a little ironic, given these reviews, that Mansfield Park was the novel which made her the most money within her lifetime!

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 Jane Austen Could Make You £20,000    There was a lot of buzz around the first batch of the Winston Churchill £5 notes which were released back in September, but they're out now so it would make sense that the next batch of notes to be released wouldn't have the same level of excitement surrounding them. However, we at the Jane Austen News are looking forward to the new release of notes more than the last one, because four of the new plastic £5 notes which have just been released into circulation carry a tiny engraving which could make the note worth as much as £20,000. That engraving is of Jane Austen. World famous “micro engraver” Graham Short, from Birmingham, was commissioned to etch a microscopic image onto four of the polymer notes, and he has carved tiny portraits of Jane Austen onto the special notes, next to the images of Sir Winston Churchill and Big Ben. On some of the notes will also be classic quotes from Emma, Pride and Prejudice, and Mansfield Park. We hope we'll get to see one or two at least; so if you happen to find one do take a photo and show us!  

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A Kind of Jane Austen Panto   It's definitely panto season, and the production from LipService which is currently touring sounds like a great Jane Austen version of a panto. A good one to watch over the next month or two if the opportunity arises.

Mr Darcy Loses the Plot has been reviewed to be a “quirky, side-splitting comedy”, which tells the (alternative) story of Jane writing Pride and Prejudice. Jane is writing but then she hears someone approaching, so she hides her work and goes to see who has come. Now Mr Darcy sees his chance and rewrites his storyline....and it's rather different from the one Jane had in mind.

Maggie Fox and Sue Ryding of LipService have gained a number of plaudits over the years since their first performance together in 1985. They are now one of the most firmly established touring companies in the UK, and will be visiting Manchester, Lancaster, Leeds and Keswick with Mr Darcy Loses the Plot over the coming weeks.

When celebrities come to the city to perform at Bath's Theatre Royal, they sometimes use some of their time in Bath to come and visit us at the Jane Austen Centre. This week we had the pleasure of welcoming the comedian and TV personality Ricky Gervais, and his partner, writer and producer Jane Fallon, to the centre. Ricky was in Bath for a one-night only performance of Ricky Gervais and Guests - Work in Progress. Here's Jane meeting our Lizzy Bennet:

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Jane Austen News is our weekly compilation of stories about or related to Jane 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 Jane Austen Online Magazine. Don’t miss our latest news – become a Jane Austen Member and receive a digest of stories, articles and news every week. You will also be able to access our online Magazine with over 1000 articles, test your knowledge with our weekly quiz and get offers on our Online Giftshop. Plus new members get an exclusive 10% off voucher to use in the Online Giftshop.