It was such an honor to be asked to guest blog on Stephanie’s Written Word today! Thank you for the invitation, Stephanie, and thanks to all of you for joining us.
When Stephanie and I were discussing the topic of this post, she suggested it involve Jane Austen in some way. After the initial rush of delight, I’ll admit to being momentarily worried. Not because of any resistance to Jane, of course. I LOVE Jane! My debut novel, According To Jane
No.
My difficulty arose merely in trying to narrow down my thoughts to just one post. Where could I possible begin? Well, as they always say, perhaps at the very beginning…
I was a 14-year-old high-school freshman when I first read Pride and Prejudice. It was required reading in an English class and, much like my heroine in According to Jane, I raced through the book *way* ahead of the teacher’s assignments. I quite literally couldn’t put the story down. (Raise your hand if you know what I mean.) I *had* to know what was going to happen between Elizabeth and Darcy, Jane and Bingley, even Lydia and Wickham. And, once I did finish, once I did know what happened, my curiosity turned toward the remaining novels and toward Jane herself. I read each of the other books, lamenting that there were only six in all. I watched every movie adaptation I could find. I read her letters, studied her biographies and longed to visit the England she knew.
Fast-forward a decade. I was a newly married elementary-school teacher in my twenties. My husband, a fellow teacher of both English lit and world history, came up with an inspired idea one spring day. He handed me an overseas study brochure that listed classes taught on a variety of subjects at cool universities around the world, and he said, “Hey, let’s each pick one!” His brainstorm was that, as teachers, we’d have summers free to take a class or two. If we each selected the course we were most interested in, we could do both classes together and have a fun learning and travel experience all rolled into one.
I loved the plan—even after I glanced at the price tag for one class and wondered how two people on public-school salaries could possibly afford it. But my determination to do it anyway was cemented when I saw one of the course offerings for the summer: “From Pride and Prejudice to Persuasion: The Novels of Jane Austen” taught at Oxford University. At last, I’d get to see Jane’s England!
To say that being married to someone who’d read Austen “just for fun” (and before we’d even met) added to the man’s other inducements…well, that would be an understatement. My husband didn’t bat an eyelash when I made my class selection. A few months later, we flew into London’s Heathrow and took a train to meet the rest of the class at Oxford.
Our college lodging was a student room overlooking a grassy quad, and our window had beautiful flower baskets brightening the view even more. In between lectures on the novels and dinnertime discussions with our teacher and the other students, my husband and I explored our surroundings. We had a chance to play crochet on the lawn, to go punting down the river and even to participate (comically and rather uncoordinatedly) in a pick-up cricket game at a nearby park. Then, with the class as a whole, we took a three-day “field trip” to Bath. We had tea in the famous Pump Room. We walked the Royal Crescent. And we visited a shop that displayed—and, yes, even sold!—rare editions of Austen’s novels.
Again, keeping in mind that this trip was already quite an extravagance for us, I had no intention of purchasing souvenirs beyond the occasional postcard or cute English knickknack. But my husband had a different idea. He led me to a table that had for sale an 1894 “Peacock edition” of Pride and Prejudice, and he said, “You have to have this. Who’d love it more?”
So, I got to bring that book home with me, a treasured memento of what became a life-changing journey shared with the man I love. A trip that was not only educational, but one that left an indelible imprint on my heart.
As for the book, I did love it—and my husband’s gesture—so much that I found a way to work that 1894 volume into my own novel. It can now forever exist in my little homage to Jane, and its placement there is also a small thank-you note to the man who is my very own Mr. Darcy.
Thank you Marilyn for writing such a great guest post! Marilyn has generously offered to giveaway three signed personalized copies of her just-released book According to Jane to three of you guys! Along with each book, she’ll be sending out one of those new one-serving sample packets of Starbucks VIA™ coffee. This giveaway is open to my international readers too!
All you have to do to win is leave a comment on this post answering Marilyn’s question:
For those of you who love Austen, too, when did you first read her work? What, for you, was the very beginning of *your* adventures with her novels?
For an additional chance to win, tweet about this giveaway(SWrittenWord has 3 SIGNED copies of M.Brant’s novel According to Jane 2 giveaway! http://tinyurl.com/ye694c2 #everythingausten) Enter to win by Sunday, October 11th @ 12 noon. Winners will be announced the following day. Good luck!
For more information about Marilyn and According to Jane, visit her website here! You can also find a review of According to Jane at the blog Moonlight, Lace and Mayhem.
An 1894 “Peacock edition” of Pride and Prejudice–WOW!
Please enter me in this fabulous giveaway. Thanks!
I first read Pride and Prejudice in a high school English class, the official beginning of my Austen adventure.
I actually have no recollection of when the first time was. It might have even been a movie! But there’s no denying that one gets hooked the first time, no matter how it happens!
nbmars AT yahoo DOT com
My mother had a 1950s edition of Pride and Prejudice in the bookcase. I think I found it at age 13 or 14 – just before high school. I blew through the rest of Austen (excepting Emma, which I still haven’t read), and have loved it ever since.
celialarsen(at)gmail(dot)com
Marilyn’s husband is definitely one great guy!
My first Austen was P&P (which remains my favorite), but when did I first read her? Argh, sometime between 7th and 9th grade in school. I read her for pleasure not for a class. I was hooked….
I tweeted: http://twitter.com/BethFishReads/statuses/4626189609
I saw this book a few weeks ago, and I’m dying to read it!! I would love to win this giveaway! My first experience with Jane Austen was in high school and then college. I admit that I wasn’t caught up in her like many girls. But recently, and with the help of Stephanie’s challenge, I’m reading and appreciating a lot more of Everything Jane!
I tweeted too: http://twitter.com/bookingmama/statuses/4626209169
bookingmama(at)gmail(dot)com
Wow, I’d see her husband is quite the keeper! No need to enter me.
I first read P&P in 9th grade-I was browsing in the school library and picked it up. I reread it a couple of times but it wasn’t until my first year of college that I finally read the rest of Jane’s work. I also love watching the film adaptations (any of them!) and am hoping to take a class on her work next year. So please enter me in the contest!
stephaniefleischer889[at]gmail[dot]com
Honestly, I was never a fan of Jane Austen until last year when I finally read one of her books. I never had to read them in school and so I never bothered to pick one up. Even in grad school I didn’t read Austen – I was more interested in contemporary literature. But suddenly I felt this need to read P&P, because I wanted to get what everyone was raving about. And so I picked it up and I couldn’t put it down. I absolutely loved the book! The characters and the storylines and just everything was just brilliant! And so I joined the Everything Austen reading challenge in order to push myself to read more Austenish items and I find myself enjoying them all. I love the films and the books and tv shows that are dedicated to Austen just so much fun to watch and read. I absolutely loved Lost in Austen. Anyhow, I digress. My point is that I started my adventures with Austen when I turned 30 and I’ve been enjoying them ever since. By the by, what a beautiful book and what a lovely husband! Cheers!! P/S I would love to be included in the giveaway!
I first read Pride and Prejudice in my sophomore English class on Victorian Literature. I have been enamored with Austen ever since!
I also tweeted: http://twitter.com/bookmonstrosity/status/4628374128
Please enter me! Thanks.
fitz12383(at)hotmail(dot)com
I don’t remember exactly when I first started readin Austen. Sometime during high school when I read my way through everything Georgette Heyer, Bronte and Plaidy that the local library had to offer.
I first read “Pride and Prejudice” as I was in the play in 10th grade (Miss Belinda, I had one line and was a “dancer” at Mr. Bingley’s ball!). LOVED IT. Thus began my love of all things Austen.
Please enter me in the giveaway. Thanks!
freshbrewedwriter (at ) gmail.com
What an interesting and informative post. I also enjoy the love story aspect of the post. I first reasd Pride and Prejudice in high school. I read that book many times and I knew that I was an Austen fan when each time I read her books, I would find something else to enjoy. Thanks for the chance to win a copy of this book!
WOW – what a fantastic post. How exciting to be able to go to Oxford and take a class on Austen! And even more exciting to be married to a man that loves and appreciates Austen! My husband loves to read, but gets glazed eyes when I talk about Austen:-)
My addiction to Austen started very similar to yours, except that sadly we did not read Austen in my high school. I actually was in high school and saw an ad in a magazine for the A&E version of P&P that was going to be on TV. It looked good, but I didn’t have cable so I had to get a friend to tape it for me. My sister and I watched the entire thing one Sunday and thought it was wonderful. My best friends also watched it and we all talked about Austen non-stop.
I then picked up a paperback copy of P&P in a bookstore in Houghton while I was checking out the college there with my Dad. I couldn’t put it down. I then read the rest of her writings, any biography I could find, and then any other book having anything to do with Jane or her writings. Luckily that period of the 1990’s had a lot of Austen adaptations on TV and film too so I also had plenty of Austen to watch.
When I got to college I took a British novel class and finally got to talk about Austen. I just wish I could have had more college classes on Austen, but as I was at an engineering school taking engineering classes, it was not to be. You’ve inspired me to think about taking a class (although mine will probably be more local) on Austen in the future when my sons get a bit older.
Your novel sounds fantastic. Thanks for the great blog and great giveaway!
I did not discover the world of Jane Austen until I took a British lit class in college. I was hooked. In the years since then I’ve managed to read all of her books, and a number of books inspired by Austen’s works as well.
Hi Everyone,
Wow!! I just love reading all of your comments! Thank you all so much for telling me about your first experiences with Austen… I hope to read more!
I’ve encountered authors for the first time as an adult that friends told me they *loved* as a teen, but I either hadn’t come across the author before or I wasn’t really ready for their work until later. Often, when I finally read those stories, I can see why they were so beloved, and I can imagine how that novel could really impact a high-schooler who was reading it at that impressionable age.
In some cases, though, I’ll admit there were also authors other friends *raved* about and either I wasn’t the right reader for their work or I just hadn’t had the life experiences needed to fully appreciate them… I always kind of want to hide when people start gushing about those stories.
I get those shocked looks and horrified squeals, followed by, “What do you MEAN you don’t like_____?!” (fill in the name of Very Famous Author) LOL!
So, I *try* not to do that to people with Austen, even though she’s my Favorite Author of All Time!
I have been reading such great things about According to Jane! Thanks for hosting a giveaway. ^__^
My travesty of an English education in high school never mandated a reading of an Austen novel, so I had to discover her on my own.
My adventures with Jane began after seeing Ang Lee’s Sense and Sensibility in 1995, and I have been a Jane fan ever since, devouring each of her novels and wanting to read them again and again (mostly Pride and Prejudice).
Ah this is on my Everything Austen reading list!
I can’t remember learning about Austen…just seems like one of those things that has always been there. I probably first watched the 1940 P&P bc I was in a classic movie phase in high school and watched lots of Laurence Olivier films. The first book I read was Sense & Sensibility for senior year English.
I prefer seeing her stories on screen…her wit is just illustrated so well visually.
You’re drawing a winner on my birthday, that’s a good sign right?
I read my first Austen for this challenge a few months ago. Listened to the audio of Sense & Sensibility and read Pride & Prejudice. I have Mansfield Park checked out of the library for my next Austen.
Thanks for the great post. What a wonderful Mr. Darcy you have
stacybooks at yahoo
Wow! What a great Austen experience. The book is beautiful and I’d bet taking the class was an experience she will never forget. Great post! I would love to be entered in this giveaway, and to answer the question, I have only begun to explore the books of Austen in the last five years or so. Until then I hadn’t really read much classic literature. I still haven’t read them all because I am trying to save them, since there obviously won’t be anymore new books. I guess you could say I’m rationing them.
zibilee(at)figearo(dot)net
Great post! I am a fellow Austen addict and love hearing of others with a similar condition.
I’d like to enter the giveaway too please.
My first exposure to Jane Austen was Pride and Prejudice from the high school library. I fell head over heels for her works. I decided to collect Austen after I met my husband and inherited his lovely old addition of P and P. Had to laugh at our similarity there Marilyn. His love of Austen had a profound effect on my heart! I have been collecting for a long time now and thanks to Stephanie’s ‘Everything Austen’ challenge, have expanded my collection significantly. However, I think I could swap it all for a treasure like your peacock edition.
My husband and I are very jealous of your opportunity to study her works in her native country. I have been to England by my husband hasn’t yet and I’m sure when we go we will be including as many Austen locations as possible.
What a great post!
The first Austen book I read was Northanger Abbey and lucky for me I happened to be in Bath when I read it. It was such a memorable experience as I was seeing so many of the sights mentioned in the book.
Thank you for the giveaway!
the first Austen book I read was in high school. it was Pride and Prejudice. the other Austen novels were an addiction for me…I just had to read them.
thanks for the opportunity to read this wonderful novel.
I first got into Austen during the summer between my junior and senior year of high school. I feel in love with her characters and witty dialogue and I haven’t gotten tired of her yet!
Thanks for the great giveaway!
So, I told my husband that he’d gotten a few thumbs up for being a good guy, and after his initial shock (Him: “Wait–you wrote about me? Online?” Me: “Yes, honey. I’m a writer, remember? I do stuff like that.” Him: “Oh, yeah.”), he said to say Thanks for the praise, so I’m passing that along.
I’m really enjoying everyone’s comments here, so thanks from me, too, for taking time to stop by!
I was about 13 and read Sense and Sensibility. I have been addicted ever since
Fabulous giveaway!
I fell in love with Pride & Prejudice at the age of 15, or more importantly I fell in love with Mr Darcy. I saw the BBC mini-series and just loved it. Since then I’ve read all her books and keep enjoying all the spin-off and sequels
I actually read my first Jane Austen “later in life” thanks to my daughter and cross stitch (long story). Anyway, after P&P with Colin Firth, I was hooked and immediately started reading “anything Jane.”
Look forward to reading your book. Thanks for the offer to win one.
I picked up a $2 Dover Thrift Edition at Barnes & Noble about 12 years ago. It’s long gone from wear. Probably the only thing keeping me from having to buy a third book is having it on Kindle and Stanza on my iPod Touch.
Congratulations on your publication!
DA
I picked up a $2 Dover Thrift Edition of P&P at Barnes & Noble about 12 years ago. It’s long gone from wear. Probably the only thing keeping me from having to buy a third book is having it on Kindle and Stanza on my iPod Touch.
Congratulations on your publication!
DA
It began more than 10 years ago when I saw in my mum’s posession an abridged edition of Pride & Prejudice. It was only many years later after watching Pride & Prejudice 2005 that my exciting adventures started to kick-off with reading Jane Austen sequels.
Congrats on the publication of your first work.
At last an Austen book which is open for international viewers!!!! Thank you.
Started reading Austen when I was eleven years
old as it was a prescribed text for English
Literature. Fell in love then and still am.I
still have my original book with all the notations and explanations written in.
Mystica
Thank you for sharing that wonderful anecdote about your trip and also about your sweet husband. It’s only fitting that a person with such a beautiful spirit should find her real life Darcy. I bet Austen is so proud of you and ACCORDING TO JANE!
I love that “peacock” edition cover! Gorgeous.
When did I first read Austen, shortly after Wuthering Heights, I picked up P&P, and I think I was age 10-12. I loved the story and it was so different from Wuthering Heights. I was reading female writers from that period and loved both books so much that I continue to read them both again and again.
I also tweeted!
When I was about 15 or 16 I saw just one of the BBC Pride and Prejudice and then I read the book. I wasn’t a good reader but after that book I discovered a lot of classics and loved them but P&P is still my favorite.
It is great to see in a lot of comments that you read Jane Austen at school, we usually don’t read any of her works in high school here in Argentina. So I must say that I’m very happy to have found her wonderful stories by myself.
Oh, I would like to see more pics or scans of your Peacock edition, it looks beautiful.
That is an absolutely gorgeous edition of Pride and Prejudice! What a blessing, I can only imagine how thrilled you were/are!
P&P was my mom’s favorite book growing up and I remember an attempt to read it out loud as a family sometime in junior high or high school. I clearly remember the first chapter (because of its description of Mrs. Bennet), but I know we didn’t make it very far in that reading. I think I read it for the first time as a junior in high school. And I didn’t read it just once, I read it at least twice, if not three times. Now this will date me, but shortly thereafter, the Colin Firth P&P came out on A&E and I was sunk. For all of my mom and her trying to get me to read/like Austen, it was that movie adaptation that caught me. But then I had to read all of Austen and it just started the obsession.
[...] Win According to Jane by Marilyn Brant at Stephanie’s Written Word – open [...]
I began my love affair with all things Austen only three years ago – I have a problem with people telling me I “have to” read certain books. I am slowly learning, however, that they’re usually right and they are must-reads. I quickly devoured all of Austen’s completed works, and am looking forward to reading The Watsons, one of her uncompleted novels, for the 24 Hour Read-a-thon.
Thanks for the great giveaway!
nnjmom at yahoo dot com
I first read Jane Austen in high school and then again in university english classes but I have to say that my true adventures with her writing and stories did not begin until I was in my mid-20’s and I was free to read her books without the pressure of studying them – that’s when I fell in love! I only wish I could now go back to studying them again so that I could truly appreciate her genius!
I hope I’m still in time to enter this giveaway! The first book I read by Jane Austen was Pride and Prejudice. I was 13-14, I can’t remember well. I immediately fell in love with the book, and went on to read Sense and Sensibility. I identified with Elinor Dashwood very much, even though I would’ve wanted to be more like Elizabeth Bennett.
Thank you for this great giveaway!
Alessandra
outofblue1(at)gmail(dot)com
I started reading Austen when I was 12 because I had run out of children’s books to read. My first book was Pride and Prejudice. I got through it in about 3 days and had to go back and read it again because I didn’t understand some parts. After I had read it 4 or 5 times I had finally learned the Jane Austen lingo and could read other of her books, like Sense and Sensibility.
This was an excellent guest post and I do hope I win the book! Otherwise, being a poor college student, I will never be able to get it!
Do I actually have to publically confess that I only read my first Austen this year? *cringe*
I’m a great fan of Austen movies and mini-series from the BBC, but it was only this year that I decided that Austen wasn’t beyond my reading abilities (what on earth gave me that idea I wonder?) and I should just read. I devoured Pride and Prejudice in a day. Emma is my next book of choice, although when I found a copy of Northanger Abby at a second hand shop recently, it became book number three. I guess you could say that my love affair with Austen has only just begun…..