Finding Mr Darcy by Amanda Hooton

I went to many events at the recent Sydney Writers Festival, but my favourite was the Pride and Prejudice lovefest on Sunday morning.

One of the guest speakers was Amanda Hooton who has written a modern day woman's dating guide to finding her own (modern-day) Mr Darcy.

Finding Mr Darcy is fun from start to finish. And it is also, quite surprisingly, very apt and practical advice for the modern single woman.

Hooton uses quotes and examples from all of Austen's novels to highlight her points and she explores the pro's and con's of all the main heroes and heroines.

Below is a little teaser of Hooton's four main points that the modern dating women should cultivate!

Be Nice: "For Jane, it's what you're like on the inside that matters....Jane's heroines are genuinely nice people. Even when they're occasionally excrutiatingly annoying (ahem, Emma Woodhouse, Marianne Dashwood, Fanny Price), you like them, because they're honest, kind and have a sense of humour."

Be Humorous: "All Jane's most beloved female characters manifestly possess what the personal ads coyly refer to as a GSOH. In fact, their SOH is not merely G, but E....Humour...helps us behave like adults....To employ humour - not to mention dignity, decorum, discretion, and other adjectives beginning with 'd' - in our daily dealings with the world."

Be Clever: "Jane Austen's heroines are rescued by men - mostly from fates as spinsters, governesses or parental wranglers. But they never, never hide their intelligence in order to provoke such rescue. All of them operate, at all times, to their full mental capacity."

Be Beautiful: "Jane is a realist. She understands that though it's not essential, beauty - at least as much of it as we're capable of - does matter. It's important to look nice and carefully groomed as we can, because it helps us put our best foot forward in society."


It's hard to argue with such obviously sensible advice.

Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

I have to confess that until 2 months ago I had never heard of Their Eyes Were Watching God or Zora Neale Hurston. But the love gushing forth on the Classics Club page plus other on-line forums had me intrigued. So I decided to join in the sync reading experience to see what all the fuss was about.

Firstly, I was fortunate to discover that I could get a gorgeous edition of the book thanks to the Virago Modern Classics designer collection.

Secondly, this edition came with a heartfelt introduction from Zadie Smith.

And, finally, the story just rolled through my heart, grabbed my attention and demanded to be read, enjoyed and savoured as quickly and as soulfully as possible.

Zadie mentions in the Introduction that she usually dislikes books that use "accurately rendered folk speech". I don't usually have a problem with this device, in fact, I have a lot of love for some books famous for it (i.e. Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer, The Colour Purple). Zadie also changed her mind whilst reading this book.
 

From the start, Janie's voice is inside you. It has character, depth and personality. It's like peeling an onion in reverse; Janie's flesh and blood life is built up layer by layer through her voice. She grows on you from the inside out.
Hurston is the master of turning a phrase that stops you in your tracks. And I suspect each time you read this story, the various phrases will work their magic differently.

For me, this time around, I loved,
"Her hair is not what you might call straight. It's negro hair, but it's got a kind of white flavour. Like the piece of string out of a ham. It's not ham at all, but it's been around ham and got the flavour." (I loved this because I could picture exactly what her hair looked like even as I had a hammy taste in my mouth!)

"He looked like the love thoughts of women."

"He kin take most any lil thing and make summertime out of it when times is dull." (This is one of the qualities I love about my husband. I instantly felt kinship with Janie for loving and appreciating such a good man. Even though many of Tea Cake's other qualities did not seem so lovable to me.)

"They seemed to be staring at the dark, but their eyes were watching God." (the whole way through the book I was trying to work out the title. It was a lovely ah-ha moment.)

Zora Neale Hurston by Berto Ortega

I could gush so much more about this book, but I like to keep my reviews short and sweet.

Simply put - if you loved To Kill A Mockingbird, The Colour Purple, Mark Twain or Jane Austen you should get yourself a copy of this book right now!

Jane Austen

When I first read this month's meme question for the Classics Club I felt that it was almost too obvious to bother to answer.

"Do you love Jane Austen or want to “dig her up and beat her over the skull with her own shin-bone”? (Phrase borrowed from Mark Twain).

1. Why? (for either answer)?
2. Favourite and/or least favourite Austen novel?"

I love Jane Austen, always have, and probably always will (the link will take you to my earlier CC post that featured my Austen-love).

Therefore, not much else to say that would be of interest or relevant really. Short post. March meme answered!

However, over the past couple of weeks we have been close to overwhelmed by family drama's.

Each night I lay in bed trying to sleep, but found myself exhausted from endless discussions, decisions and heightened emotions. My usual recourse during times of trouble is reading. I can always count on books to keep me sane, to provide a respite from the day and to calm my mind so I can sleep well enough most nights.

But last week nothing worked.

As per usual, I had several books on the go.
I had a couple of non-fiction choices, a teen read, a meditation book and book 3 of 1Q84 to tempt me. But there was simply too much going on. I couldn't focus on any of them. The words swam in front of my eyes. Nothing sank in. Nothing could make a dent on the day's dramas.

By the third night I was beginning to feel desperate. I needed solace. I needed comfort. I needed the literary equivalent of chicken soup, sweetened tea and grandma's crocheted blanket.

I needed Jane and I needed her quick!

And not just any Jane, only Pride and Prejudice would do.

Pride and Prejudice has been my constant companion since I was 16. I've read it and watched the 1980's BBC production so many times I am almost word perfect.

From the opening lines..."It is a truth universally acknowledged..." I knew I had chosen wisely. Calm washed over me. A smile found its way to my lips and by the time my husband came to bed I was happily quoting sections out loud for his amusement and my gratification.

Jane had worked her magic on both us.

Rereading such a favourite allows me the pleasure of anticipation. I know what is coming and I revel in the set-up. Each word is so carefully placed and considered by Austen, it's a delight to see her craftmenship. Each comment and scene is arranged to perfection.

Every rereading allows me to relish the story anew.

I particularly love Darcy's letter to Lizzy in the middle of the book and how Austen uses it turn everything that has gone before on its head.

I love the fuss and bother of Elizabeth's return to Longbourn with Jane. Lydia's noisy carriage trip, the drama of the militia leaving for Brighton, Lizzy finally have the time to tell Jane of Darcy's proposal and the truth about Wickham. Lots of long sentences and paragraphs, full of hustle and bustle, until Lizzy finally finds the time to observe how Jane is really doing....and.... "Jane was not happy".

Those four short, simple words after so much kerfluffle just stopped me in my tracks.

Every time I reread P & P I see something with new eyes or something speaks to me about my own situation. "Jane was not happy" was the gut-wrenching truth from this rereading.

Knowing that a happy ending was coming Jane's way, made this truth bearable.

Like Jane, we all go through the bad times, tough times, sad times, difficult times. They do not last forever and happiness can be just around the corner if we wait and have the right disposition to grab it wholeheartedly when it eventually arrives.

Jane Austen is like my best friend, a big sister.

If Jane were alive today, I would hug her.

What is My Favourite Classic

The Classics Club will be hosting a monthly meme alongside it's 5 year challenge to read 50+ classics!

Personally, I'm excited!

I'm also a little stressed about how I'm going to fit all this extra reading and blogging into my already crazy life!

The first Classic Club meme is 'What is your favourite classic? Why?'

Easy peasy....
Or so I thought!

Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice came to mind straight away.
I read it for the first time when I was 17 studying for my HSC.
Twenty seven years later I can fairly safely say that I have now read Pride and Prejudice about 27 times!!

Yes, you read that correctly! 27 times!

I haven't read it every single year since my HSC, but I did read it 5 times during the HSC period.

During my teaching years, P & P became my comfort read at the end of the summer holidays just as I was feeling melancholy about going back to work. P & P invariably cheered me up or at least made me forget about hot, smelly classrooms for a little bit longer!

But the more I thought about it, the more I realised that P and P is not actually at the top of my favourite classic list.'

P and P is my comfort read. I love it for it's familiarity, it's humour, and it's delightfully constructed drama.

However Mr Darcy is not my favourite Austen hero and Elizabeth is not my all-time favourite Austen heroine. Lizzie is not a "kindred spirit" (to borrow from one of my favourite children's classics Anne of Green Gables).

That honour goes to Elinor Dashwood. 

Like me, Elinor would have spent her life spelling her name for others! Like me she was accused of being unfeeling because she chose to keep her feelings private. Like me she avoided dramas and drama queens, but was too polite to tell them to bugger off. Like me she was searching for a man of honour and loyalty. Elinor is a "kindred spirit".

But Sense and Sensibility is not my all-time favourite classic either.

My favourite Austen hero is Mr Knightley.

He's funny, intelligent, forgiving and patient.

And as I write these words, I realise that I am the luckiest woman in the world...because I did, in fact, marry my very own modern day Mr Knightley :-)

But I digress...

Emma is not my all-time favourite classic either and Emma is definitely not a "kindred spirit".

My all-time favourite classic read is....(drum roll please.............) Persuasion.

I've probably re-read Persuasion 5 or 6 times. 

I adore the long-lost love scenario (even before I had my own real life long-lost love scenario).

Although Anne Elliot can be a bit submissive at the beginning, I enjoy watching her character emerge as she matures and becomes more confident about her own abilities.

Persuasion also has one of the best lines ever about history and books being written by men...

Men have had every advantage of us in telling their own story. . . the pen has been in their hands," Anne tells Captain Harville. "I will not allow books to prove anything.

Given that many people thought that women from that era were meek and mild, Austen (a woman from that era) has her heroine (another woman from that era) using such powerful, intelligent words to show us how wrong that kind of thinking really is.

Anne is also a "kindred spirit" of mine and with her appalling family, she needs as many kindred spirits as she can get!

My only wish is that Austen had more time to develop the ending before she died.

I found both possible endings unsatisfactory (except for the obvious part where Anne and Wentworth get together). And I can't but help think that Austen would have reworked this a lot more if she had had a chance.

Maybe that is another reason why I love Persuasion so much. As a reader you can see the writer at work. You can appreciate Austen's craft by seeing the unfinished ending in the rough. I've always enjoy imagining how Austen would have polished the ending further.

Anne and Captain Wentworth are the most perfectly matched, well-suited, deserving lovers in history!

And I wish them all happiness together.