Ch.3
Gentle Reader, Tilney has been spotted! He is funny and a little silly poking fun at "accepted conversation". I should find myself very charmed by a Mr. Tilney and his amusing nonsense. Not to mention, he knows his muslins!
With Tilney around, Catherine's second ball in Bath is much more fun than the first - and she gets to dance!
#Pemberlittens
#JaneAustenThenandNow
#TalkTilneyToMe
Thank you @dabbe for the #ThreeListThursday #TLT tag! 🤗 As usual I am late to the party but here goes: 52/100 is not bad considering I haven‘t read any Terry Pratchett (or Jacqueline Wilson for that matter).
My Top 5 (can‘t pick 3) are:
1. Pride and Prejudice
2. Persuasion
3. Jane Eyre
4. Little Women
5. The Stand
Giving a bonus shout out to The Great Gatsby which I hated in high school but loved when I reread it in March. Personal Growth!🎉
Days go by and still Catherine and the Allens don't actually meet or speak with anyone at all. And then at last, a Master of Ceremonies takes pity on Catherine and introduces her to, not just Some Man, but THE Man. The witty, kind, utterly divine stone-cold fox (well, "near handsome", anyway) Mr. Henry Tilney. He is funny and charming and oozes respect for the ladies and damn if I wouldn't let him distress me with his nonsense any day of the week!
One of my classmates sent me a gift card to @bookshop_org for all the help that I provided to her during our capstone project this final semester.
I used it to get to this Pride and Prejudice board game.
Absolutely nothing exciting happens as Catherine and the Allens make their way to Bath, and then absolutely nothing happens when they arrive, save for Mrs. A's 4-day search for the perfect gown. Finally, finally, they make their way to the Upper Rooms and it's...not great. They suffer through a long, hot, and utterly boring evening until Catherine happens to overhear the mildest compliment ever. And suddenly the whole night has been a success!
I'm listening to the Amazon Classics version of Northanger Abbey this month. This will be my second time reading this novel. Last time I realized belatedly that the edition I listened to was abridged, so while it was delightful I'm looking forward to getting the full experience this time around.
#JaneAustenThenandNow @Crinoline_Laphroaig
Ch.2
Mrs. Allen, Catherine's chaperone in Bath, is determined to be in fashion, so Catherine looks her best when she attends her first ball at the Upper Rooms (above). Mrs. Allen is significantly less diligent when it comes to making introductions that might allow Catherine to dance (or even speak to someone), so she is a bit bored and uncomfortable until she overhears 2 young men call her pretty. At which point the evening is redeemed.
And we're off! I've been so excited to read this book again, and found myself laughing out loud as we got the full backstory on our heroine. Meet Catherine Morland: her dad's not a tyrant and her mom isn't dead; she's never nursed a dormouse and she can't play piano; she's never been in love and her neighborhood is boring as shit. But - but! - she loves books (brava!) and she's about to have an adventure. Look out, Bath, here comes our girl!
I've decided to celebrate the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen's birth (which is in December) by reading all of her works in order of publication. After that, I will read her other lesser known works as well. And then I have some other books about her. If I finish all of those, I have some P&P reimaginations on my shelves too. I'm lucky to have a set of these beautiful Chiltern Austen books. They even have attached ribbon bookmarks. Wish me luck!
