Tea at Trianon: A Jane Austen Education

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

A Jane Austen Education

Here is my BlogHer Book Club review of A Jane Austen Education by William Deresiewicz. To quote:

While Austen’s novels were the very last books in the world that Deresiewicz wanted to read, he discovered that not only do they supersede stereotypical romance novels for deep characterizations and complex and unexpected plot twists, but in each book we are forced to confront unpleasant aspects not only of human nature in general but of our own psyches in particular. (Read entire review.)

Anonymous said...: Very good review, EMV. I have never been much of an Austen fan myself, of course I only read her books after I was in my 40s, so they seemed like very stale and predictable stories. I do realize I likely only feel that way because I was exposed to the lesser "romance stories" first, and surely hers must have seemed fresh in their day. After all, romance stories have had nearly 200 years to copy, build upon, twist and turn since Austen's day. (Charlotte Bronte, on the other hand, is timeless!)

Even so, I appreciate the points you make, particularly this one: "So often in her stories the hero, that is, the eventual spouse of the heroine, is not the handsome, dashing and gallant youth but his quieter, wiser and more prudent counterpart."
This is true in life, as well, and certainly true in your lovely novel, _A Night's Dark Shade_.

In fact, your novel is more to my taste than any Austen one, as I think what you say here applies more to "Night's" than it does to Austen, at least in my way of thinking: "...there is much about life and love to be absorbed by osmosis, just by reading and enjoying the stories. It is possible to learn without realizing one is being taught and the better the storyteller, the more subtle the lesson, the more lasting the impact."; June 7, 2011 at 6:10:00 PM EDT
elena maria vidal said...: Gette, honey, you've just made my day.; June 7, 2011 at 6:19:00 PM EDT