Wordcandy.net is having a giveaway–basically the same one we had last week, with five winners of a Jane Austen-related Sourcebooks title. So if you weren’t one of the winners in our drawing, check it out!

And there is still time to enter the current AustenBlog giveaway of a copy of the new paperback edition of Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict by Laurie Viera Rigler.

To celebrate the paperback publication of Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict by Laurie Viera Rigler, we are giving away a copy of the new paperback edition of the novel. To be entered in the drawing, send your full name and mailing address and your Jane Austen Addict confession to austenblog AT gmail DOT com. How have you embarrassed yourself for Jane Austen? (And yes, this is open to readers outside the U.S.) ETA: entries due by Saturday, May 10, at 10 p.m. U.S. Eastern time.

Congratulations to the winners of last week’s Spring Book Giveaway contest: Rebecca W. won a copy of The Darcys Give a Ball by Elizabeth Newark; Vicki R. (aka Baja Janeite) won a copy of Emma and Knightley by Rachel Billington; Marybeth won a copy of The Watsons and Emma Watson by Joan Aiken; Mariflor won a copy of Old Friends and New Fancies by Sybil Brinton; and Vicki K. won a copy of The Pemberley Chronicles by Rebecca Ann Collins. The winners all will receive notification e-mails shortly.

You might not be able to afford the inscribed edition of Emma described below, but you can be one of five lucky winners of one of the latest Jane Austen-related publications from Sourcebooks. They are giving five AustenBlog readers the opportunity to win their choice of the following books:

Old Friends and New Fancies by Sybil Brinton

Letters from Pemberley and More Letters from Pemberley by Jane Dawkins
(Note: These are two separate books–please only request one of them.)

The Darcys Give a Ball by Elizabeth Newark

The Pemberley Chronicles and Women of Pemberley by Rebecca Ann Collins
(Note: These are two separate books. Please only request one of them.)

The Watsons and Emma Watson by Jane Austen and finished by Joan Aiken

Emma and Knightley by Rachel Billington

Mrs. Darcy’s Dilemma by Diana Birchall

To be entered in a drawing to win one of these books, send an e-mail to austenblog AT gmail DOT com with your name, mailing address, and the title of the book you would like to receive, by 10 p.m. Eastern time, Friday, May 2, 2008.

ETA: For the Jane Dawkins and Rebecca Collins books, each author has two separate books. Please only request one title. Apologies for the confusion. For those who have requested both, we’ll put you down for the first one–they are a series–unless you e-mail us and tell us differently.)

Alert Janeite Laurie let us know that Book Club Girl is sponsoring a contest to win several Jane Austen paraliterature titles and a DVD of one of the film adaptations, determined by a reader poll. P&P seems to be winning at the moment.

Speaking of plays (which we are below, if you read this from the top down), Ms. Place wrote to tell us that she is giving away a CD from “Pride and Prejudice, the Musical” on the Jane Austen Today blog. Pick your dream cast for a musical P&P and win a chance at the CD.

Miss Bennet is giving away a copy of her book, Lydia Bennet’s Story, and a set of seven Effusions of Fancy greeting cards at the Jane Austen Sequels blog. There’s a little challenge, and entries are due by January 20, so make haste!

Norm Geras at Normblog is holding a Jane Austen-themed Boxing Day Quiz with some nice prizes. (So don’t post answers here or there!) Answers due to Professor Norm by midday GMT, December 31, so make haste!

We received a copy of the JASNA Wisconsin Region’s “A Year with Jane Austen” wall calendar, and we have to say it is an amazing piece of work. Not only does it feature a full-color illustration by Henry or Charles Brock with accompanying quotations from the novels for each month, nearly every day of the calendar has a notation of an event either from Jane Austen’s life or from one of her novels. For instance, June 8 lists Robert Martin’s Birthday (!) and the birth of Henry Austen in 1771 (how interesting that Jane gave Henry’s birthday to Robert Martin! And her own as Charles and Mary Musgrove’s wedding anniversary!). 20 out of 30 days for the month have at least one entry, many have two, and there are four general entries for the month when no particular date is available; for instance, the death of Captain Benwick’s fiancée, Miss Harville. The other eleven months are similarly populated. It’s practically a dissertation in itself!

Liz Philosophos Cooper, Wisconsin’s regional coordinator, sent a note stating that her mother, the late Joan Philosophos, began the calendar project in 2001, which must have been quite a labor-intensive project. The calendars have been on hold for a few years, but they are back now and with color illustrations for the first time. The calendar is $15 plus S&H and can be ordered from the JASNA website–just print out and mail the page with a check or money order.

While you’re at the JASNA site, check out some of the other lovely merchandise available from JASNA regions. It’s a little late for Christmas, but once you get all your shopping done, treat yourself!

In the spirit of the holidays, AustenBlog is giving away a copy of the calendar AND a package of Jane Austen’s Lace Notecards to an AustenBlog reader. To be entered in the drawing, send an e-mail to austenblog@gmail.com and let us know how you’re celebrating the season with Jane Austen by 10 p.m. Eastern time, Sunday, December 23, 2007.

Congratulations to the winners of this week’s giveaways: Ian, who won the Insight Edition of Pride and Prejudice, courtesy of Bethany House; Alina, who won a copy of Just Jane by Nancy Moser, also courtesy of Bethany House; and Merry, Amanda, and Laurie, who won copies of The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen by Syrie James, courtesy of Avon. (Winners should have received an e-mail from us, for those who have the same name and might be wondering!)

EDIT: The Editrix is a complete moron who doesn’t know what day it is. We know the contests for Lost Memoirs and Just Jane were supposed to run through tomorrow…but we are confused. (Call it eagerness to start a loooooong vacation!) Sorry about that! Obviously, the contests are closed.

Two new Jane Austen biofics each offer a peek into Jane Austen’s innermost thoughts before Sense and Sensibility was published:

Just Jane by Nancy Moser is a contemplative, diary-like exploration of Jane Austen’s thoughts on life, love, and writing. The narrative begins with Jane’s brief romance with Tom Lefroy, spends the majority of the book covering the time before any of her novels were published, then very quickly celebrates the success of Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, and Mansfield Park, concluding with Emma’s publication. As Jane observes life around her she tries to find a place to call her own in her own family. She also strives to create meaning for her life through her writing, though she struggles with writer’s block and the uncertainty of whether her novels are any good.

Passages from Jane Austen’s letters are interwoven with new explorations of Jane’s inner feelings, frustrations, and personal triumphs. I found the difference in tone between the two a little uneven – there is a certain wit and sparkle to Jane Austen’s letters which is missing from this interpretation of her private thoughts – but overall the book steadily maintains the pursuit of what it means to be “just Jane”. Fans of A Walk with Jane Austen will appreciate Just Jane’s similar thoughtful pace and tone.

The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen by Syrie James is inspired by the anecdotal story of Jane’s mysterious “suitor by the sea”. This romance is a fast, easy read; as the cover promises, I couldn’t put it down. I also think readers will eat this one up with a spoon due in no small part to the hero, who bears a strong resemblance to Richard Armitage. Jane meets him on a visit to Lyme: while walking up Granny’s Teeth on the Cobb, she slips and falls, but is safely caught in the manly embrace of Mr. Armitage Ashford. (Take that, “Butterfingers” Wentworth!) Mr. Ashford seems to be the perfect match for Jane, but will a secret destroy her chance for happiness?

Lost Memoirs is packed full of references to characters and scenes from Jane Austen’s novels. Many readers will enjoy recognizing Mrs. Jennings, Mr. Collins, and other favorites from the people Jane encounters in this story. Even the romance with Mr. Ashford moves along thanks to plot elements from several of Jane Austen’s novels. And unfortunately here is where I must be crabby: to me, a scene from Persuasion, followed by a scene from Sense and Sensibility, followed by a scene from Pride and Prejudice (and so on) make an entertaining YouTube video, but not a memorable novel in its own right. So many people Jane meets and so much of the action of Lost Memoirs will be directly reproduced in her novels that one wonders if Jane can be believed when she tells a friend that her aim in writing is to create, not reproduce. I would have liked to have seen more original characters and plot in Lost Memoirs instead of such heavy reliance on those Jane created.

But even with this criticism, The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen kept my interest and was a pleasant way to pass an afternoon. Less picky readers will adore Mr. Ashford, love the tastefully done romance scenes, and have fun spotting all the references (and there are some obscure ones). Finally: if Jane Austen doesn’t deserve a good snog in a rowboat by Richard Armitage … well, I don’t know who does.

AustenBlog is giving away a copy of Just Jane by Nancy Moser. To enter the drawing, send an e-mail with your full name and mailing address to editor@austenblog.com by 10 p.m. Eastern time, Wednesday, November 21, 2007. (The contest is closed early, because the Editrix is a moron.)

Review by Laurel Ann

Author Syrie James’s personal and professional accomplishments serve her well in her reverent presentation of The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen. Her website brims with such a diversity of talents that one does not question why she is qualified to write about such a sensitive subject, but rather why she waited so long! Even Jane Austen’s discerning character Mr. Darcy might consider her one of the 12 most accomplished women of his acquaintance.

Breaching the hollowed halls of Jane Austen paraliterature is a daunting task for none but the stout-of-heart and thick-of-skin writer. Mrs. James wears her Austen-armor well and delivers a sincere and honest love story that will engage and delight most Jane Austen devotees, and raise an inquisitive eyebrow of the Austen purists. Her Jane is real and approachable, flesh and bone, human and fallible; — not the stour judgmental old maid envisioned in the 19th-century portraits. We feel her troubles, her joy, her pain, understand her life decisions, and appreciate her all the more for it.

It is not often that this discerning reader can offer unqualified praise, so I will not break my streak. Five Austen stars!

AustenBlog is giving away three copies of The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen by Syrie James. This drawing is for U.S. residents only. To be entered in the drawing, please send your full name and mailing address to editor@austenblog.com by 10 p.m. Eastern time, Wednesday, November 21, 2007. (The contest is closed early, because the Editrix is an idiot who doesn’t know what day it is.)

We forgot to mention that we’re giving away a copy of the Insight Edition of P&P that Cub Reporter Heather L. reviewed below. To be entered in the drawing, send your full name and mailing address to editor@austenblog.com by 10 p.m. Eastern time, Friday, November 16, 2007. If you like, include an insight into P&P; if your name is drawn, we’ll share your insight with AustenBlog readers.

Congratulations to Melanie, who won the sampler CD from Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, A Musical. She thinks Hugh Laurie should have a role in the production…we have long thought he would be a great Mr. Bennet someday!

Everyone who attended the JASNA AGM received a ticket to redeem for a copy of a sampler CD of songs from Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, A Musical, including “Lizzy’s Song,” “Not Romantic,” and “Fine Eyes,” as well as a conversation with the writers. Since we already have a CD that the producer kindly sent to us, we decided to redeem our ticket for a CD to give away on the blog. We also purchased a special handmade CD cover and had it signed by the composers, Lindsay Warren Baker and Amanda Jacobs. If you would like to be placed in a drawing to win the CD, send an e-mail with your full name and mailing address to editor@austenblog.com by 10 p.m. ET on Tuesday, October 23, 2007, and also tell us who you would like to see in the cast of the Broadway play! Also check out the composers’ MySpace page, which is linked above, for some other songs from the play.

It is always amusing when one’s life turns into a Jane Austen novel. Currently we have the distinct pleasure of having Mr. and Mrs. George Wickham as upstairs neighbors. This is especially edifying and entertaining because the fabulous high-tech AustenBlog World Headquarters is contained within a rather old structure and we can hear all of their arguments. It’s better than anything on television.

For instance, one Saturday night, Mr. W. wanted to go to the pub and Mrs. W., apparently, did not. Begging and pleading did no good; bratty whining did no good; finally Mr. W. was driven to an extreme. He stood at the foot of the stairs (right where the plaster is cracked so the acoustics are especially good) and screamed up the stairs, “Fine! I’m going! And I’m going to find another girl and I’m going to f*** her and make sure you know about it!”

(Shockingly, Mrs. W. let him back IN when he returned a few hours later. She is a more forgiving woman than the Editrix; had Mr. W. belonged to us, he would have been sleeping on the lawn with the feral cats, surrounded by his belongings.)

This past Sunday, apparently Mr. W. had transgressed in some way, and she thought he should have brought her flowers. Mr. W. whined, “I would have BOUGHT you flowers if I had a CAR!” She opined that he could have walked around the corner to the produce place. He said he didn’t know the neighborhood well enough yet to go walking around somewhere he had never been. She whined that Mr. Denny would have bought her flowers. He countered that if he had money coming out his *** like Denny, he would have gone to college, and then he might have a car and could earn money; a rather circular argument that made us dizzy.

It is quite amusing to us that anyone could argue that Jane Austen had to “live” the experiences in her books; all she had to do was pay attention. People are so amusing; they are just like a book!

In other Austen-related book news, Alert Janeite Moe found a website with news about an upcoming Jane Austen-related book by Clare Harman, author of several biographies (including one of Fanny Burney that we have on our shelf).

My work-in-progress is Jane’s Fame: How Jane Austen Conquered the World for Canongate Books (UK) and Henry Holt (US). It’s a history of Austen’s fame, the changing status of her work and what it has stood for, or been made to stand for, in English culture in the two hundred years since her death. Starting with Austen’s own experience as a beginning author, her difficulties getting published and her determination to succeed, I explore the history of how her estate was handled by her brother, sister, nieces and nephews, the eruption of public interest in Austen in the last two decades of the nineteenth century, the making of her into a classic English author in the twentieth century, the critical wars that erupted as a result and, lastly, her powerful influence on contemporary phenomena such as chick-lit, romantic comedy, the heritage industry and film. Part biography, part cultural history, it’s a fascinating story, full of odd anecdotes and some new insights too.

It sounds great, and we look forward to reading it!

Lastly, congratulations to Laura G., whose name we drew to win a copy of Mr. Knightley’s Diary by Amanda Grange. Stay tuned for more swag from the AustenBlog Swag Trunk!

That’s it for Friday Bookblogging for this week, and always remember, Gentle Readers: Books Are Nice!

This review was originally posted on September 28, 2006, in reference to the hardback UK edition of the novel. It is now being published in trade paperback in North America. The cover at left is the proper one, NOT the odd-looking thing on Amazon.

The Editrix’s affection for the Rev. Mr. Henry Tilney is well-documented, but we must confess to an occasional fling with Mr. Knightley of Donwell Abbey (and have been known to sit adoringly at Captain Wentworth’s knee whilst he tells sea-stories, but that is neither here nor there). Conceive our delight, then, when we were informed that Amanda Grange has followed up Darcy’s Diary with Mr. Knightley’s Diary. Such anticipation for Austen paraliterature titles has been dashed in the past, but we are happy to report that in this case, our anticipation was not excited in vain.

The squire of Donwell Abbey is fond of his country life: looking after his estate with the assistance of the redoubtable William Larkins, attending his whist club, dining at every house in the neighborhood, teaching his nephews to ride their first pony; and his fondest enjoyment is visiting his neighbor Mr. Woodhouse and his daughter, Emma. For a crusty old bachelor, Mr. Knightley spends an awful lot of time thinking about marriage, and an awful lot of time thinking about Miss Woodhouse. With so many concerns to distract him, a generous public must forgive that it takes him half the book (and the intercession of a dispassionate friend) to realize that this is not a coincidence. (more…)

Congratulations to Karen C., who has won a copy of Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict by Laurie Viera Rigler, courtesy of Dutton.

In answer to our quiz question, Karen wrote, “I would love to visit Jane Austen’s time, but I am not sure I want to live there permanently.” We think she speaks for many of us!

Still lots of goodies in the AustenBlog swag box, and we brought some home from Vancouver, too, so stay tuned. Look for another giveaway tomorrow.

Review by MJ Ryan

The following might be the most rhetorical questions ever posted on a blog dedicated to Jane Austen:

Raise your hand if you’ve fantasized about living in Regency England. Dreamt about meandering down the streets of Bath? Imagined meeting Herself in the flesh? Of course you have! It would be difficult to read any of Austen’s novels and not want to be there, such a great job she does of painting an appealing picture of her world. So imagine the surprise and pleasure of Courtney Stone, the heroine in Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict by Laurie Viera Rigler, when her fantasy comes true and she wakes up in Regency England in the body of a young woman named Jane Mansfield. Her first vision is of a servant coming to wait on her. Nice! Her second is not so pleasurable as Jane’s domineering mother enters the room. The third is downright terrifying as a doctor arrives to bleed her. (more…)

The winners’ names have been drawn in our The Jane Austen Book Club movie poster contest.

Congratulations to April, who won the grand prize of a poster and a copy of the film tie-in edition of the novel and a signed copy of The Jane Austen Handbook: A Sensible Yet Elegant Guide to Her World, and also Liane, Robin, Maisy, Ann, Kate, Jenna, Rebecca, Patrizia, and Brenda, who won posters. Thanks to all who entered!

Sony Pictures Classics will give posters from The Jane Austen Book Club to ten AustenBlog readers. If you would like to be added to the drawing, send your full name and mailing address to editor@austenblog.com by 10 p.m. Eastern time on Thursday, September 27, 2007. If you like, tell us about “your private Austen.”

Nine winners will receive a copy of the poster; one grand prize winner will receive a poster, a copy of the movie tie-in edition of the novel, and a copy of The Jane Austen Handbook, A Sensible Yet Elegant Guide to Her World signed by the Editrix, which we are including because we are so happy to end our drought of Jane Austen-related films that we didn’t like! (If you would like to be in the drawing for the poster only, just let us know in your e-mail.)

To see a larger version of the poster, click on the smaller version at left.