The Secret Dreamworld of a Jane Austen Fan

Bright Star… the movie that came out last year, based on the three-year romance between the poet John Keats and Fanny Brawne.

I saw the trailer for this film for the first time some months ago, and my interest was caught immediately, first of all by the costumes. Regency costumes! Apart from the Jane Austen adaptations it isn’t that often that you come across Regency costumes in movies. So that alone seemed like a good enough reason to watch it! And then I did actually think the story seemed pretty good too.

So ever since I saw that trailer I have wanted to watch it. And I finally got around to doing so, yesterday. Found it online.

I am not usually such a big fan of sad movies, and this one is very sad. But I liked it anyway. I was already prepared for it being sad, knew it probably wasn’t going to having a very happy ending, so I wasn’t taken by surprise by that. But even so I was almost crying there…
That’s one of the problems with movies based on true stories I think, it’s not always that things end the way you’d have liked them to.

But it was good. It was beautiful and touching, and oh so romantic! I have the idea that Marianne Dashwood would probably have liked this film.

Obviously as John Keats was a poet there is quite a bit of poetry in it. And as Fanny Brawne was a very good seamstress and a designer, there is also quite a bit of focus on the costumes! Hooray! A few of her creations were, what shall I say.., a bit extreme for my taste. The collars and bonnets at least. But there were also some truly beautiful outfits! A couple of the dresses were simply gorgeous, some lovely chemisettes (or were they some kind of blouse/shirt?Hmm…?) and there was this pelisse that was just stunning! Unfortunately I have not found any pictures of that one…

It wasn’t a feel-good movie, but it was, like I said, very beautiful! And so I really did enjoy it.

Here is a youtube trailer, for those who haven’t seen it but might like to. Definitely worth watching in my opinion!

Bright Star

Bright star, would I were steadfast as thou art —
Not in lone splendour hung aloft the night
And watching, with eternal lids apart,
Like Nature’s patient, sleepless Eremite,
The moving waters at their priestlike task
Of pure ablution round earth’s human shores,
Or gazing on the new soft-fallen mask
Of snow upon the mountains and the moors —
No — yet still stedfast, still unchangeable,
Pillow’d upon my fair love’s ripening breast,
To feel for ever its soft fall and swell,
Awake for ever in a sweet unrest,
Still, still to hear her tender-taken breath,
And so live ever — or else swoon to death

~John Keats

“I see what you think of me,’ said he gravely – ‘I shall make but a poor figure in your journal tomorrow.’
‘My journal!’
‘Yes, I know exactly what you will say: Friday, went to the Lower Rooms; wore my sprigged muslin robe with blue trimmings – plain black shoes – appeared to much advantage, but was strangely harassed by a queer, half-witted man, who would make me dance with him, and distressed me by his nonsense,’
‘Indeed I shall say no such thing.’
‘Shall I tell you what you ought to say?’
‘If you please.’
‘I danced with a very agreeable young man, introduced to me by Mr King; had a great deal of conversation with him – seems a most extraordinary genius – hope I may know more of him. That, madam, is what I wish you to say.’
‘But, perhaps, I keep no journal.’
‘Perhaps you are not sitting in this room, and I am not sitting by you. These are points in which a doubt is equally possible. Not keep a journal! How are your absent cousins to understand the tenor of your life in Bath without one? How are the civilities and compliments of every day to be related as they ought to be, unless noted down every evening in a journal? How are your various dresses to be remembered, and the particular state of your complexion, and the curl of your hair to be described in all their diversities, without having constant recourse to a journal? – My dear madam, I am not so ignorant of young ladies’ ways as you wish to believe me; it is this delightful habit of journalising which largely contributes to form the easy style of writing for which ladies are so generally celebrated. Everybody allows that the talent of writing agreeable letters is peculiarly female. Nature may have done something, but I am sure it must be essentially assisted by the practice of keeping a journal.”

I love this dialog between Henry Tilney and Catherin Morland in the very beginning of Northanger Abbey! It’s so sweet and charming and funny! And I think it’s interesting how they discuss journals. It isn’t that often that you encounter any mentions of journal writing in books like these I think. Letters are plentiful, but not journals in the same way. And yet, the way Henry talks about it in the quote above it sounds like keeping a journal was something most ladies did. And so why is it we never hear of them? And if that was the case, where have they all gone to? I wonder if Jane Austen herself kept a journal… Just imagine reading that! But if she did, I suspect it probably shared the fate of all those letters Cassandra got rid off…

There is something very special about reading journals I find. I just finished reading Anne Frank’s diary, or “The Diary of a Young Girl”. It’s a book I have been meaning to read for a very long time, and finally I got around to doing it. It was fascinating and touching to read. Because it was a journal you got to see so much of what she thought and felt, saw her secret hopes, dreams and fears. That’s what makes reading journals special I think. They way it opens up the door into another persons life. And often I get the feeling that those people, are really not that different from me.
I haven’t read many “real” journals, a few, but many fictional ones. In those of course not every little detail is true, but it still gives a much more personal feeling to the book, and often I find I like that.

I keep a journal myself. Have done so for three years now. Before then I had often tried to do it. Because I wanted to keep a journal. But… it never worked…. The reason for that I think was that I compared myself and my writing to my dear sister Viktoria’s. You see, she kept journals (I say journals, because she had several!) for many years. And she was so good at it! She wrote many times every day and filled book after book in no time at all! And I couldn’t do that. It didn’t work for me. So every time I gave it a try I would give up after a day or two. Until at last I decided that I would write, but only when I wanted to. So not every day (unless I wanted to of course) and not about everything, only when I felt like it. And then finally it worked! I was delighted! And it has been working very well now for, like I said, three years. I write now and then. Sometimes a couple of times a day, if I feel like it, and sometimes not for several weeks. But I confess, when I haven’t written anything at all for about two weeks I get a bit of a bad conscience…

I really want to show you some pictures of the journal I write in now, because it’s so pretty! A good friend sent it to me (thank you Sarah!) last year. She said she’d seen it and thought of me instantly, and just had to buy it! I was very surprised to get it, and fell in love with it at first sight!

From the front.

Back.

And close up of the text on the back. On the front it also says Charlotte Brontë, and then the other writing is a part from Jane Eyre!

Isn’t it gorgeous?! I think so! I am dreading the day when I shall have finished it!
For me it is important that the book I write in is pretty, it makes the whole thing much more fun! The one I had before this one was one I liked very much too…

The pages in this book were beautiful, and the first page had a Shakespeare quote on it!

I’m really curious to know, how many of you keep journals? And if you do, how do you go about writing in them? Do you write every day, sometimes, about everything or only about certain specific things? I’m just curious to hear what others do, if you are willing to share!

And then I’ll just have to finish this off with another fantastic quote about journals/diaries. From Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest.

I never travel without my diary. One should always have something sensational to read on the train.

I ran into this on another Jane Austen blog, thought it was pretty funny. And very well made!

This Friday, two days ago, there was the first meeting of what shall hopefully develop into Sweden’s first 19th century society (or something along those lines). We were four who decided to meet at the big sewing expo (I believe that’s what it’s called) in Stockholm, in costume.

During the night between the Thursday and the Friday there was a blizzard. Which meant that traveling by train the next morning wasn’t the most convenient thing. At first my train was half an hour late, which wasn’t actually that bad considering, due to the breaks being frozen or something. And when we arrived in Stockholm we got stuck in the tiniest little uphill slope, because they weren’t using all the engines and the train wasn’t strong enough to get up! I had never even noticed that slope before! After a long time we managed to get up anyway and were on our way again.

When I arrived at the expo the others were already there waiting. “The others” were three ladies; Ahnna, Kristina and her daughter Madeleine. As soon as I got there we headed to this big bathroom we had been told about where we could get changed. It was fun seeing everyones shocked expressions as they came into the bathroom and saw us standing there in corsets and bustles!

Once done we headed out into the big hall. And there we wandered around for hours and hours. Looking at things, and being looked at in return! I can tell you we drew a lot of attention to ourselves! We got so many nice comments, had to pose for countless pictures, and found several people interested in joining our society to be. So that was fun! The expo in itself was a bit of a disappointment to me though. I had expected fabrics, patterns, more fabrics and all those kind of things. And to be sure, they had some fabrics, but the biggest part was yarn and knitting stuff it seemed like.

I took some pictures, but most turned out all fuzzy for some reason. Here is one though.

And then we decided to have a little photo shoot. We found this “jungle wall” to pose against, so here we are, first one by one.

Kristina

Ahnna

Madeleine

And me. And here you can see my new chemisette by the way. I made this a little while ago, as I thought wearing my dress at this time of the year would be a little cold. I’m very pleased with the result!

And then all four of us together.

The other three ladies wore bustle gowns, and very pretty ones, and I wore my Regency outfit again. I considered making something new, but there wasn’t enough time. Another time.

It was a very pleasant day. It was fun to wear costume again, together with other people. We discussed what we shall do next, and the idea now is to arrange a picnic in May-June sometime in the Stockholm – Uppsala area. Anyone interested in joining in is very welcome to do so!

My journey back was a slightly frustrating one. My train was canceled, and then the train that I would get to go on instead kept being delayed longer and longer. I did however reach home in the end, some hours after I was supposed to…

This interview is with Alyssa over at Days to Remember. Alyssa too I have come to know largely through the blogging world, and through Sense and Sensibility and Facebook (the wonders of internet!).

1. What was your first encounter with Jane Austen? What made you decide to read her work?

I remember hearing about her a little here and there when I was younger, but it wasn’t until we moved to where we live now, 7 years ago, that I stared hearing about her a lot more. Friends here would often mention watching films made from her books and/or reading her books. But for some reason I/we were skeptical… Finally a friend borrowed us the film Sense and Sensibility (1995) and told us to just give it a try! When we finally watched it we loved it!! I think Colonel Brandon’s character was our favorite. After watching the film I read the book, and then started reading more of her books, which led to watching the other movies based off her books. J I also like to listen to her books on CD while sewing.

2. Do you have a favorite of her novels? And if so why that one?

I would say Emma. I love the conversations between Emma and Mr. Knightly, and also Miss Bates’ ramblings (which are great fun to read aloud by the way!). Emma learns she is not as smart as she thinks she is… and Mr. Knightly is a good example of a true friend who loved Emma enough to tell her the truth and warn her about her behavior. I’ve always loved that about him.

3. Out of her characters, is there a particular one/ones that you like more than the rest? And which character would you say you resemble most yourself?

I really like Ann in Persuasion, because she is so sweet and selfless. Mr. Knightly and Colonel Brandon are my favorite gentlemen. Then there is Mary Musgrove and Mrs. Bennett who are always imagining themselves ill-used and/or infirm – I like them for their funny ways!

I am probably most like Elizabeth Bennett and Marianne Dashwood…rather an odd combination I know!

4. Do you ever watch any of the screen adaptations? Do you have a favorite of them?

Oh yes, we’ve watched several! 4 different versions of Pride and Prejudice, 3 of Persuasion, 3 of Emma, 2 of Sense and Sensibility, and one each of Mansfield Park and Northanger Abby, both of which are the newest versions. (We did not care for Northanger Abby at all and I don’t like the new version of Pride and Prejudice either.)

As for a favorite… I think I would have to say that I like the two newer versions of both Persuasion and Sense and Sensibility the best. Emma is a close second – I actually like the book the best, but the films are good too. The most recent one follows the book very well, except that the “badly done Emma” part and the proposal scene were rather a disappointment. I so wish they had followed the book a little better when writing those parts!

5. What do you think it is about Jane Austen’s books that makes them so immortal? Why have they stood the test of time so well and are now more popular than ever?

I think it is because her stories are about right wining out over wrong in a domestic tale with a little romance, plenty of conversations, interesting (and sometimes odd!) characters, wit, and a happy ending. Delightful!

Probably all the movie adaptations have made people more aware of her writings. And then they love the books for the great literary works they are and for the reasons I said above. J

6. Has “discovering” Jane Austen lead to anything else in your life?

Well, I joined the Sense and Sensibility message board and took Mrs. Chancey’s Regency Gown class which I enjoyed very much! Later on I took her costuming class, where we analyzed the costumes in different Jane Austen movie adaptations. I was able to meet Mrs. Chancey at a wedding last winter, which was a treat! I’ve enjoyed getting to “know” a few girls through the forum too. J

Alyssa’s notes from the costuming class. I took this class too, but my notes were nowhere close to this nice!

7. If you had the chance to meet with Jane Austen and talk to her, what would you discuss or ask about?

I would ask her to write more books. Please.J

And I would ask her which movie version of her books she likes the most, and what she thinks about all the sequels and spin-offs to her books that other people are coming up with.

I also sometimes wonder how she went about writing her books. Did she make a basic outline, or just plunge in and start right in on chapter 1? How did she come up with the stories….. things like that.

8. Do you have a favorite Jane Austen quote? Or just one that you really like?

“There is one thing, Emma, which a man can always do, if he chooses, and that is, his duty; not by maneuvering and finessing, but by vigor and resolution.” ~ Mr. Knightly

“The older a person grows, Harriet, the more important it is that their manners should not be bad – the more glaring and disgusting any loudness, or coarseness, or awkwardness becomes. What is passable in youth is detestable in later age.” ~ Emma Woodhouse

“What dreadful Hot weather we have! – It keeps one in a continual state of Inelegance.” ~Jane Austen

9. And lastly, what other authors and books do you like?

Besides Jane Austen and her books here are a few other books and authors I like:

Books:

Mother (Kathleen Norris),

Aunt Jane’s Hero (Elizabeth Prentiss),

Little Dorrit (Dickens),

North and South (Elizabeth Gaskell),

The Lamplighter (Maria F. Cummins),

The Lost Clue (O.F.Walton),

To Have and to Hold (Mary Johnson – edited by Josh and Sarah Wean),

Glory Duty and the Gold Dome (Nathaniel Darnell),

Self Raised and Ishmael (EDEN Southworth)

So Much More (Anna Sofia and Elizabeth Botkin),

Just Do Something (Kevin DeYoung),

Do Hard Things (Alex and Brett Harris),

God’s Smuggler (Brother Andrew),

L’Abri (Edith Schaeffer),

The Tapestry (Edith Schaeffer),

Authors:

Beside the authors mentioned above I like: G.A. Henty, Ralph Connor, Charles Spurgeon, Eleanor H. Porter, and Isabella Alden.

Thank you so much!

Here in Sweden today is a day we call “Semmeldagen”, or offcially “Fettisdagen”. And on this day it is tradition to eat what we call “Semlor”. Instead of pancakes like I believe a lot of other places do. A Semla is a bun filled with marzipan (or it’s not quite marzipan, it’s slightly different, but I don’t know what that is called in English…) and topped with whipped cream. Very healthy I know. But oh so good!

As tradition has it you should only eat them on this day. But nowadays they start selling them right after Christmas! So I have already eaten several this year..

And of course we had to have some today! I have no pictures of those ones, but here is a picture of the Semlas Viktoria baked and made a little while ago. They were delicious!

Happy Valentine’s Day everybody! I hope that your day has been a lovely one! Here the sun has been shining all day and it has felt so wonderfully nice to be outside! It felt like spring in the air, even though I know that spring is probably still some way off…

This past week that has been I have started with something new that I am pretty excited about. I have begun “studying” sewing. Let me explain to you what I mean by that.

I have mentioned joining the local choir recently (we did a performance with them this morning by the way) and on one occasion I mentioned to the choir leader that I do some sewing. When she heard that she said “oh then you must talk to Elisabeth (who is also in the choir)! Sewing is what she works with!”

When I next met Elisabeth, before I had the chance to bring the subject up, she brought it up. She had been told by Agneta (our choir leader) and was very excited to meet someone else who sews! Apparently that is not very common! It turns out she has been sewing pretty much all her life. In the 60s and 70s she worked as a designer for a large clothing factory and big companies like H&M bought her designs. And now since 25 years she has been sewing custom made clerical clothing/clothing for priests (I am unsure of what it is called in English) and apparently she is the biggest at that in Scandinavia!

Her husband is recently retired but he used to work at a high school, advising and helping people choose what and how to study. And he offered to arrange an education for me if I wanted to where I would come and study with her. And so that is what I am doing at the present moment.

It is in many ways a perfect opportunity for me! Here I get free one-on-one lessons on a subject I love from someone who is incredibly good at it and who happens to live only 10 minutes away! When the roads are clearer I’ll be able to take my bike there. Which will be great

So far I have only been there a few times, but already I have been able to pick up some good techniques and little tricks I have never known before. Her sewing room is amazing! She has three sewing machines, two of which are factory ones, so really strong and fast, a huge cutting table (I can tell you, it is very different to cut out fabrics on that compared to doing it on the floor like I am used to!) an ironing board with heating in and that sucks the fabric down while you iron, just to mention a few of the things. And the fabrics! The amazing fabrics! Now most of what she sews is in black, that being the color mostly used by priests, but it is a beautiful wool fabric! And she works with some other fabrics too, all of which are so beautiful and such good quality!
The last time I was there she showed me some of her fabric stash. Some wonderful wools, linens silks etc that she doesn’t really use any more, and you know what she said?! That if I had some project that I want to do and any of those fabrics would be suitable, I am welcome to use them!!! And another time she gave me her whole collection of silk samples from this silk fabric company she orders from sometimes! The pieces are very small of course, but I am sure I can find ways to use them anyway. And if not they are lovely to just look at! You know I have a weakness for silk!

The plan is that I will go there at least till the summer. The education I am doing is actually three terms, but I have not made any decisions as to what I will be doing come autumn and so. So I don’t know yet how long I will do this, I’ll take it as it comes.

Yes that is right, the answer to my little guessing-game is a bonnet.

I wanted to make another bonnet, but I didn’t have anything to make it out of, or so I thought… I searched through the house to see if I could find anything that could possibly work, and I did.

I found this old place mat that I showed you, and the idea struck me that maybe I could use that. So I gave it a try. (I’m sorry these pictures are not very good, I snapped them all while I was working with this and didn’t have a lot of patience for arranging nicer pictures. But I wanted something to illustrate with to better be able to explain.)

First I cut it in half.

Then I pulled out some plastic boning that I had and cut a piece of that long enough to go around my head.

I rounded off two of the corners on the place mat like this.

And stapled the two pieces together.

Doesn’t it look pretty?! ;P

Next I cut out some fabric. For this I just used a plain brown cotton, as it was mostly an experiment and I didn’t want to use some expensive or special fabric, in case it wouldn’t work

I took the round piece and pinned it on to the ring around the back.

And stitched it in place.

Then I took the other fabric piece and covered the brim,

making little pleats all along the way. One pleat…

…and another one in to meet it…

…continuing all the way.

This is what it looks like at this stage.

I then lined the brim.

And once that was done there was basically only the decoration part left. I took some velvet (the same as is in my Spencer) and some brown lace to decorate with.

And lastly I added a wide brown ribbon to tie it with.

Finished result!

And then some pictures with me modeling it. Front.

Back.

And side.

As I said, this was very much an experiment, so I had no idea how it would turn out really. And considering that, I am actually rather pleased with the result. I probably could have made it better, and I know things I would change slightly if I were to do it again. But yes, I am rather pleased with it. And I especially like how well it matches my Spencer!

The bonnet I used as my inspiration was this one below, the red one Elizabeth wears in the 1995 Pride and Prejudice. I like that one.

Thanks for looking!

I’ve got another little guessing-game. I have taken this (an old place mat), and turned it into something else. Can you guess what?

I promised I’d write down the answers to which books I quoted in my previous post. So here they are.

1. Jane Eyre (Charlotte Brontë)

2. David Copperfield (Charles Dickens)

3. Little Women (Louisa May Alcott)

4. Middlemarch (George Eliot)

5. North and South (Elizabeth Gaskell)

6. A Tale of Two Cities (Charles Dickens)

7. Anne of Green Gables (L.M. Montgomery)

8. The Three Musketeers (Alexandre Dumas)

9. A Room With a View (E.M. Forster)

10. Vanity Fair (William Makepeace Thackeray)

11. Little House in the Big Woods (Laura Ingalls Wilder)

12. Wuthering Heights (Emily Brontë)

Well done you all who commented! Great job, I’m impressed!