We have a copy of The Jane Austen Handbook by Margaret Sullivan, editrix of Austenblog to give away, so if you want a chance of winning, leave a comment saying what it is that attracts you to the Regency period. Is it the clothes, the houses, the way of life, or something else?The Jane Austen Handbook is packed with all sorts of interesting information about the period. Have you ever wondered what kind of dance a cotillion is? Or how to make a filigree basket? Or what exactly a footman did? Or the order of precedence at dinner? You'll find the answers to these and more questions, including brief biographies of Jane Austen's family, notes on her novels, a useful glossary and more.
The competition closes on June 21st.
14 comments:
It's the clothes for me, I just love those long dresses.
Add me too! :) LOL
I'm not all that entirely sure what the heck it is that has me so fascinated. When I was younger I had more exposure to Victorian England through Sherlock Holmes and a lot of A Christmas Carol. It wasn't until I started reading romances and saw there were historicals and did some digging that I even heard of a Regency period. And I'm sure all I ever heard of Jane Austen was her name before then. :)
But I can tell you that I love the look, I love the differences - in that I mean, there are no obvious modern items that we know of as there is later (photography, trains, no talk just yet of horseless carriages). The clothes definitely look more comfy. . . and there is Jane Austen and Mr. Darcy. :)
Lois
This is a tough one. What do I love about the Regency? I love the way people have so much leisure time and the elegant way of doing things. Everything today is done in a hurry.
Mr Darcy, plain and simple :-)
It's the whole escape to another world that's different to ours. I like that you can't watch TV there or do any of the ordinary things, it's completely different.
I think it's the men. There's something about men in breeches!
I started out admiring the Romantic period in art, then fell in love with Shelley and Byron. It was a natural progression to Jane Austen and then traditional Regencies...and I haven't looked back since. Men in breeches sure makes it easier to enjoy. *G*
Since I discovered Jane Austen and Georgette Heyer, I have been hooked. I think it is a mindset of the period I admire. Just as we are in the early days of a century, so were they, and they had open minds about what progress was happening and what might occur. Just as I did not "miss" the conveniences we did not yet have when I was young, neither did they. The challenge was to work with what they had. They did it with grace and elegance.
I personally love the pastoral feeling, whether there's anything other than a mild flirtation or excitement over new male flesh in the neighborhood. :-) I don't necessarily have to have one single titled peer, or a requisite visit to Bath. It's more the flavor of the time, the gentility and leisurely pace, as set down by Jane Austen, that I enjoy.
The trend toward Regency-set historicals is disturbing. They seem to be taking that gentle era and sensationalizing it, and that's rather scandalous to me. :-)
It's the wit. As soon as I first picked up Pride and Prejudice, aged 12 or so, I fell in love with Jane Austen's understated humour (I also fell in love with both Elizabeth and Darcy, but that's beside the point). That instant bonding has stayed with me. I discovered Georgette Heyer not long after which reinforced the impression that this whole age was a time of elegant wit, role-model heroines and heroes not to be sniffed at.
To me there is an elegance about that period that does not appear before or after that time. It is a time when there is concern for each other even with the formality of the social conventions. In actuality I think that life was very difficult in that time for rich and poor alike, but they managed to keep the distress hidden.
Ah! I would just die if I won! This is one book I would read cover to cover and refer to over and over again. For me, I'd like to really BE Jane Austen, or one of her characters---feel as if I am there--! I'm interested in this time period because I am English and am fascinated with the Regency and Victorian periods. I'm a writer as well. My writings tend to have a royal element. But, I have searched and searched for a book that would really explain the every day things, their manners, how a young woman in that day would signal her interest to a man, the proposal---and those dinner parties! I'd love to really understand the behavior expected at parties and when they made calls to visit. There's so much we just don't know and there is a real need for a book like this! Margaret Sullivan has tackled an interesting subject and an interesting time period--and I think we'll all profit from her hard work. For me, it would be great summer reading and I'd love to place it near my other classics... SUE M.
I'd love to win this! For me, its so much. The clothing, the foods, the teas (I would love to be part of their afternoon teas). Too I love learning about the rules then in Regency of what was acceptable and what wasn't. I think this is why I so enjoy historicals. So rich with so much fastinating that I continue to learn as I read along!
Cathie
What attracts me to the Regency period? Basically everything ... the clothes, the houses, the way of life, the society, the methods of transport, the language (especially this!) ... it's all so different to what I experience today and it seems so much more elegant and interesting than the way things are today. The main disadvantage, from a female point of view, is that marriage was virtually the main option ... and, with my looks and personality, I would have had a difficult time, I think, unless I had a fortune to recommend myself! ... I'd probably have ended up as a scullery maid! But I love to immerse myself in this period, and reading Jane Austen's novels, or watching the film versions (where we get to actually see the clothes and the carriages etc), is such an immense pleasure for me!
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