What’s in a name?

That which we call a rose  by any other name would smell as sweet. William Shakespeare, Romeo & Juliet
Is this true? I’m not sure. I think names are very much part of who we are. I cannot imagine myself with a name other than my own. I would not be myself had my mother named me [...]

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The Janeite Test & Becoming Jane

Someone at my favorite discussion boards posted a link to the Janeite Test. It’s a well-written quiz, difficult enough to make it interesting. I like the question about the male-only scenes, because it shows the author of the quiz knows her stuff. The answer is ‘false’, by the way.
I got 96 per cent book knowledge, and 94 per [...]

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In Love with Dickens

I just finished reading The Chimes, and I loved it. I felt a thrill of excitement every time I picked up the book and with every word I read I became conscious of how much I liked the story.
I cared about the characters, and I put myself in their place. I thought about people in [...]

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Mansfield Park

“She sat in a blaze of oppressive heat, in a cloud of moving dust, and her eyes could only wander from the walls, marked by her father’s head, to the table cut and notched by her brothers, where stood the tea-board never thoroughly cleaned, the cups and saucers wiped in streaks, the milk a mixture [...]

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Every feeling revolts!

Someone has made a movie about Jane Austen’s life. It is called “Becoming Jane”, and it stars Anne Hathaway in the title role.
Anyone less suited to play Jane Austen I am hard pressed to find. I don’t know whose idea it was, but I find it insulting that they would give the part to such [...]

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