August sees a month-long celebration of Jane Austen, organised by Meredith at Austenesque Reviews and I'm very happy to be a part of it. My contribution is a quiz about my heroes' diaries, which look at Jane Austen's novels from the heroes' points of view.
1) Which was the first diary to be published?
2) One of the diaries had its title changed for the paperback edition. Which one, and what were both titles (hardback and paperback)?
3) In Mr Knightley's diary, what happens to Miss Bates?
4) In what year does Captain Wentworth's Diary begin?
5) Which was the last diary to be published?
6) In Mr Darcy's Diary, Elizabeth hopes to meet . . . . at the Netherfield Ball.
7) In Colonel Brandon's Diary, why does he not marry his first love?
8) In Edmund Bertram's Diary, Fanny falls in love with . . .
9) Does Mr Darcy's Diary end before, at, or after Lizzy and Darcy's wedding?
10) There is a short story sequel to Mr Darcy's Diary in an anthology. Which anthology?
For the answers click here
And last but not least, Meredith is holding a mammoth giveaway, with 80 Austenesque books to be won! Simply leave a comment on any of the participating blogs and the winners will be selected at the end of the month. If you win, you will win a book at random, not necessarily a book by the author on whose blog you leave a comment. You can find full details of the giveaway at Austenesque Reviews
Good luck!
Amanda Grange
17 comments:
Just finished reading "Mr Knightley's Diary"--very nice! I love the Diary series. :)
This is a great way to meet new fans of Jane. I'm blogging on 21st if I can work out how to connect it to the main site.
I'm curious. What made you want to write the diaries of Jane's heroes?
read Wickham's Diary straight through in one sitting! held my attention as page after page revealed the causes and effects of this character we'd luv to wring out and hang to dry!
great read &, i thought, entirely plausible. thank you , AManda!
i'm now on the library wait list for Cptn Wentworth and Mr Darcy's diaries ") and looking for some sun time on the balcony to enjoy them "))
I haven't read the diaries yet, but I got a copy of Colonel Brandon's diary recently after a good friend of mine recommended the series to me. I think it'll be very interesting to read what makes these guys "tick", what they think, etc.
I'm also interested in what prompted the author to write this series..? I'm all for investigating the "what if's" especially being such a huge fan of Jane Austen's works. I think it would be fun to see all the different "takes" on those stories.
Hi Araminta, glad you like the diaries, I have absolutely loved writing them.
Hi Fenella, I agree, it's a great idea. Meredith will put in a link from her site if that's what you mean?
Hi Margay, the diaries came about by accident really. I've always loved Jane's books since I read Pride and Prejudice at about the age of thirteen, and I've read them many times since. I read a wide variety of books, but sometimes, only Jane Austen will do! Then one day I was reading P&P again and I thought, "This book is so modern it's no wonder it's still loved". About the only thing it didn't have that a modern book would have was any scenes from the hero's point of view. So I started to wonder what happened at the "off the page" scenes such as when Darcy went down to London after Wickham ran away with Lydia, and I started to write them - I was stuck on the Regency I was writing (Stormcrow Castle) and so I wanted something to do.
Then I just got hooked and wrote scene after scene from Darcy's point of view until I'd written a whole book.
From there on I couldn't stop. I found out such a lot about Jane's characters by doing it, even though I already thought I knew them well. Little details called out to me, things I had overlooked in my general reading, so that it was very satisfying.
Reader reaction has been terrific, which has helped to keep me going through a whole series. It's taken me eight years to write the set!
Hi Valerie, I hope you like Colonel Brandon's Diary. If I was pushed to choose a favourite, I think that would be it. Colonel Brandon doesn't get much space in Sense and Sensibility and yet, suddenly, we read his back story in a page or so.
I'd read it many times, but it was only when doing the preliminary work for the diary that I really thoought about it and fully realised what a tragic past he had.
My whole view of him changed. Instead of seeing him as dry and dull, I saw him as a man who was capable of loving deeply, an honourable, loyal, tragic figure who had suffered greatly in the past, but who had started to come back to life when he met Marianne.
My view of their whole relationship changed, as I saw them as two people who, despite superficial differences, were very alike deep down.
Thanks for being a part of Austenesque Extravaganza Amanda! Fun quiz! I got a 9/10 - must reread Mr. Knightley's Diary. Looking forward to Henry Tilney's Diary!
Ohhh! I need to check out your books, Amanda! They sound fantastic!!
I have read Mr Darcy's Diary and Mr Knightley's Diary, they both were wonderful. I can't wait to read more of the Diary series!!
So the Diaries are now finished. Does that mean you are all "Austened" out?
Or have you further evil plans for our favourite characters from Austen?
Like the diaries of secondary characters. Poor ole' Bingley for instance...
Hi Meredith, thanks for inviting me to take part, it's fun.
Hi Chelsea, I hope you like them. If you do, you have six books to look forward to!
Hi Kelly, glad you like them and hope you like the others.
Hm, am I Austened out, Michelle? I think for the moment I am. But what am I saying? I have some evil plans lined up for next year . . . *cackle*
I've read Captain Wentworth's Diary and very much enjoyed it. Hoping to get my hands on the rest of the series as well, especially Mr. Tilney's Diary.
I haven't read any of the diaries yet but hope to soon!
I have bought all the books in your Austen men diaries series including the bad boy we all love to hate, Wickham though I have not read this yet. Looking forward to the US release of Henry Tilney's Diary. When will it be out? Is it end of this year?
A great quiz! I've read all the Diary's, but I can't believe how much stuff I missed. Guess I have to read them all again.
Hi Luthien, Henry Tilney's Diary will be out in the US in December, just in time for Christmas :)
Post a Comment