Tag Archives: Jane Austen

Jane Austen Temporary Tattoos

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Jane Austen Temporary Tattoos

Jane Austen Temporary Tattoos in a Tin

Jane Austen Temporary Tattoos in a Tin @ the Jane Austen Gift Shop

Jane Austen Cookie Cutter!

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 This is entirely unnecessary. No one in the world needs a Jane Austen cookie cutter. However, I give not one fig about practicality. I want one. I want one, like yesterday. Yes, please!

Curious? Go here to see it for yourself.

[Book Nerd Links] Links for a Rainy Monday

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[A Holiday Shopping Spree for the Bookworm] Second Stop: Jane Austen Gift Shop

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JANE AUSTEN GIFT SHOP

We all have at least one Pride and Prejudice disciple in our lives. Simplify your shopping list by visiting this enchanting site dedicated to a large and partially exclusive line of Jane Austen goodies. The online store is the retail arm of The Jane Austen Centre,  appropriately located in the English city of Bath (which means much to Jane addicts the world over). Let’s begin our shopping tour!

A FEW HIGHLIGHTS:

Jane Austen Places in Regency Bath Mug

Jane Austen Places in Regency Bath Mug. £10.00 GBP. Image from the Jane Austen Gift Shop.

Bookmark-Keep Calm and Read Jane Austen

Bookmark-Keep Calm and Read Jane Austen. £3.00 GBP. Image from the Jane Austen Gift Shop.

Initial Seal and Sealing Wax Set

Initial Seal and Sealing Wax Set. £7.99 GBP. Image from the Jane Austen Gift Shop.

DETAILS:

  • JANE AUSTEN GIFT SHOP: GO HERE
  • JANE AUSTEN WEBSITE: GO HERE
  • PREDICTED SHOPPING TIME: FOR AUSTEN FANS: 30 MINUTES/FOR NON-FANS: 10 MINUTES
  • BEST AWESOMELY UNEXPECTED ITEM: VARIOUS CLOTHESPIN DOLL KITS, INCLUDING THIS ONE
  • PRICE POINT: REASONABLE
  • BOOKWORM HAPPINESS SCORE (OUT OF A POSSIBLE 10): 8 FOR THE STORE/10+ FOR THE WEBSITE

 FIRST STOP: EDWARD GOREY HOUSE STORE

I’m Reading a Dirty Book (and, no, it’s not Fifty Shades of… Anything)

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I’m reading a dirty book and, no, it’s not Fifty Shades of…Anything. It’s worse. I picked it up last week at the dollar store. During check-out I hid it in the middle of a pile of cleaning supplies, but the cashier wasn’t fooled: she gave me side eye. Owning it makes me blush. I would never, ever be seen in public with it under my arm or nose. We’re friends, though, right? Right? Okay, good. I’m a bit shy about this sensitive subject, so I am going to divulge my secret in a photograph. Deep breath. Here it is: Continue reading →

A Year in Books/Day 146: A Memoir of Jane Austen

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  • Title: A Memoir of Jane Austen and Other Family Recollections
  • Author: J.E. Austen-Leigh
  • Year Published: 1870/This Edition: 2002 (Oxford University Press)
  • Year Purchased: 2002/2003
  • Source: Unknown
  • About: J.E. Austen-Leigh was Jane’s nephew, the son of her eldest brother. He was nineteen when his famous aunt died; his impressions of her were published 53 years later. Although there are more scrupulous works of scholarship available, this memoir is the closest we will ever get to the ‘real’ woman (other than her surviving letters and fiction). On the other hand, one can argue that a writer’s works are the best representative of their true self and that everything else-character, mannerisms, speech patterns, habits, loves, hates and proclivities-is the fiction. That is a bit deeper than I want to dive in this mini-review, so hold on to that thought if you’d like; I’m sure I will cover it here some other day. Where were we? Ah, yes! Jane as presented in the bosom of her family hearth and home, by her nephew. As biased as it obviously is, it is a really fantastic book. It is of key importance to Austen scholars and fans alike. This edition also includes reminiscences by her brother Henry and nieces Anna and Caroline, which is a touch that nicely rounds out the portrait of this truly compelling woman.
  • Motivation: I love Jane Austen. Pick your jaw up off of the floor, you must be shocked.
  • Times Read: 2
  • Random Excerpt/Page 1: “More than half a century has passed away since I, the youngest of the mourners, attended the funeral of my dear aunt Jane in Winchester Cathedral; and now, in my old age, I am asked whether my memory will serve to rescue from oblivion  any events of her life or any traits of her character to satisfy the enquiries of a generation of readers who have been born since she died.”
  • Happiness Scale: 10

A Year in Books/Day 133: The Wit and Wisdom of Jane Austen

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  • Title: The Wit and Wisdom of Jane Austen
  • Compiled by: Dominique Enright
  • Year Published: 2002/This Edition: 2005 (Barnes & Noble Books)
  • Year Purchased: 2005
  • Source: Barnes & Noble clearance rack
  • About: I own nearly two dozen Jane Austen-related books, so it comes as something of a surprise that this is the first one being featured in my P366. I’m not sure how I managed to overlook them for so long but, fear not! They will get their full, fair due in future. I think that this nifty compilation volume is a natural starting point: the great writer is presented at her wittiest and liveliest, with excerpts taken from both her novels and personal correspondence with her sister Cassandra. It’s a truthful approach, as we are not spared the waspishness or vanity of the private woman or, far worse, forced to endure the sugar-coated spinster trope prevalent in so many biographies. Set beside snippets from her fiction, we are given a double-barrel blast of the “real” Jane (so far as such a thing can be accomplished): a powerful, candid wielder of arrow-sharp words and wit, a master of language perfectly controlled and aimed.
  • Motivation: Acerbic, perceptive and highly literate, Jane Austen is one of my favourite muses and guiding lights. Shocking, I’m sure.
  • Times Read: A few
  • Random Excerpt/Page 110: “I do not like the Miss Blackstones; indeed, I was always determined not to like them, so there is the less merit in it.”
  • Happiness Scale: 10
    Jane Austen, Watercolour and pencil portrait b...

    Jane Austen, Watercolour and pencil portrait by her sister Cassandra, 1810 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)