Forum Activity for @merry-chase

Opening the Miramare and Petrópolis

Communty News & Events

What were the dates these were built? I'm particularly intrigued by the grand palaces and cathedrals of the New World. 

Ultra-rare Jane Austen £5 note found in Christmas card in Scottish Borders

General Discussion

Jane herself wrote, "Money is the best recipe for happiness." It seems her fans don't agree, since they would rather keep the notes than sell them for far more money than their face value. 

'Victoria' Is About To Become Your Biggest Non-Guilty Pleasure

History

Not only Dr Who--look downstairs and you find Torchwood. As for Lord M, he reminds me of Gabriel Byrne and that is not a bad thing. 

I'm pleased they found a way to incorporate some below-stairs stories. As always, I'm more into the commoners than the royals. The machinations for getting ones "perks" delightfully echo the political intrigues upstairs. 

A good start, and I look forward to seeing characters develop. Thanks for the heads-up!

Outlander

Book Lovers

I see that novel #9 is on its way...someday...publication date still unknown. From its title I'm wondering if it's going to be the last. Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone. 

Foray Literary Society notes and plans

Communty News & Events

Today, we had our third meeting. And it was our first big Quarterly Meeting! The turnout was a little lower than at our first two meetings, perhaps because of holidays, but we did have one or two new members join us, and many returning members, and the conversation was lively.

So many excellent questions and observations! To me, the hour-or-so went by very quickly.  We talked about the relationships between characters in Pride and Prejudice. For example, the dynamic between the sisters, or the marriage of Mr and Mrs Bennet and the prospects for happiness in the Darcys' marriage. We talked about plot twists like the catalyst of Lydia's elopement and that of Lady Catherine's censure. We touched on Austen's view of women's place in society, and speculated as to whether she might have been familiar with some early feminist authors. And we touched on some tantalizing spinoffs, from Pride and Prejudice, written more recently. 


So, for our next big Quarterly Meeting, we plan to pursue further, the topic of spinoffs. So...

For Discussion Next:  


Longbourn by Jo Baker, 2013. A look at Pride and Prejudice's world from the point of view of "downstairs." The servants to the Bennet, Bingley. and Darcy families are seen to have lives -- and story lines! -- of their own, as authentic and perhaps even more moving than those of their employers. While providing us with these new characters, Baker also sheds new light on the motivations of Austen's beloved ensemble. 



Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith, 2009. In this parody, the familiar story unfolds with a twist. Zombies are terrorizing dear England, and accomplished young ladies like Miss Elizabeth Bennet must wield their swords to combat the foe.  Blood, guts, mayhem, and much merriment ensue! 

Death Comes to Pemberley by P. D. James, 2011 . Back in a more traditional setting (no zombies) we return to the cast of Pride and Prejudice and to their familiar haunts, but James takes us beyond the years covered by Austen, plus unveils a dastardly murder mystery. Enjoy the whodunnit while taking in fascinating details of how life unfolded for Austen's cast of characters after the happily-ever-after of the original book. 


Upcoming meetings:

 
Sunday 1 January -- enjoy a New Year's gathering for casual discussion of books and the Regency era! Catch up a little on our reading... did you read or revisit Pride and Prejudice recently? Started reading the spinoffs? 

Sunday 5 February -- discuss Regency era life and literature in general, and Pride and Prejudice in particular.  Knowing the original will help us appreciate the spinoffs.

In February's meeting we launch a fun game: Regency Personals! It's a writing game. Write a short blurb of a few lines, in the style you think one of our favorite Regency characters might use in a dating profile. How would Elizabeth Bennet or Mr Darcy describe themselves on OK Cupid? What would Captain Jack Aubrey or Diana Villiers put themselves out there on Tinder? Or maybe you'll come up with a Chance Encounters listing? Bring your short writings in to share at the 5 February meeting of Foray...in time for St. Valentine's Day!


Sunday 5 March -- our big Quarterly Meeting, when we'll discuss the three spinoffs listed above, plus we'll decide what to read together next. Don't miss it! 


All are welcome to lounge in our reading room and borrow from its shelves. That's also where we hold our meetings. You'll find it here -> http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Antiquity%20Argyle/69/95/31


Please freely share our meeting plans with friends and groups. All are welcome! Attire, casual. Regency attire welcome but OOC is fine, so long as you're decent. 

updated by @merry-chase: 17 Jan 2017 11:20:16AM

Foray Literary Society notes and plans

Communty News & Events

A link to your blog post on Austen, please!

Outlander

Book Lovers

Yes, Claire's disregard for clothing is general, and not limited to fichus. It seems to me not very realistic to be so unmaterialistic in the 18th century, when she knows damn well how hard one had to work to create those material goods. But perhaps the Enlightened mind is able to be more philosophical about wasting hours of sewing and perfectly good fabric. 

And then, Outlander's not the only 18th c series guilty of a cavalier attitude toward wardrobe. Another great love of mine is Poldark. I first read some of those in the late 70s, when my mom picked them up while traveling in Cornwall and passed them along to me. The latest TV adaptation frequently has me wringing my hands over mistreated clothing. Recently both Demelza and Ross were standing in Nampara Cove with the waves lapping up to about midcalf, the saltwater ruining petticoats, skirts, stockings, breeches, and yes, they were even wearing their shoes. But so strong were their emotions, we were to understand, that they were completely oblivious to the action of saltwater on their clothes and skin. 

Maybe I should be able to embrace all this as art, a part of the storyteller's craft. It's not supposed to be real, right? It's a story! But still, if it's a historical novel, I want it as real as possible, including attitudes toward material possessions. 

Foray Literary Society notes and plans

Communty News & Events

I read Longbourne in a day. Now I'm listening to Longbourne. I love Longbourne! What an excellent job Jo Baker did of entering the world of the workers in another era. The wonderfully sweeping story arc, and the perfectly placed details along the way, make this an excellent read, whatever the subject matter. And to me, the stories of poor and working-class people are always more interesting and accessible than court intrigues.  

Outlander

Book Lovers

Outlander is a guilty pleasure. I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with it. 

I'm delighted with the concept, and how well the time travel is handled. It's fun and fascinating to see the family flit between eras and cope with the challenges of their multiple times. Historic detail is deftly handled, for the most part, and there's just enough interaction with actual historic figures---not so much that credulity is strained. 

Every now and then, however, some small thing occurs that yanks me out of my happy suspension of disbelief and makes me yell at the page, screen, or audiobook narrator. (Yes, I've indulged my guilty pleasure in all three forms.) 

The only example that comes immediately to mind, is what I think of as the fichu fiasco.  The horror of it drove details from my mind!

I'm sorry I don't recall the exact circumstances, or even in which tome this occurs, but a woman takes off her fichu and uses it as a rag. Someone had a sweaty brow, or was bleeding, or muddy. And Claire or some other woman whipped off her fichu to wipe it up. 

She wasn't a woman of substance, with a plethora of neatly laundered fichus waiting for her at home, nor was she such a light woman that she would really have been oblivious to the shocking scandal of taking off her fichu in public and going without it for the rest of the day. It was, given the laundering realities of the day, even less likely than for me to take off my blouse and bra on main street  to wipe someone's blood or mud away. 

I wouldn't do it. I would wipe the blood or mud up but I'd find something else to do it with. 

So when this scene first presented itself to me, what I do remember clearly, is that I yelled out loud, "She did NOT!" 

As distressing as such out-of-character, out-of-time moments are, they are not the worst. Of greater concern than the fichu or the famous spanking scene you mentioned, Tatiana, is the rape culture. I suppose it's realistic, that such a large proportion of people in the books were raped. In that time, or in this, rape happens, way too much, and doesn't get written about enough. So it's not just the fact of rapes that troubles me. 

I appreciate a lot of how Gabaldon handles the rapes, too. Victims suffer realistically from PTSD. There are broad consequences and deep scars to go with the rapes, for the most part. I find I can't write more than that without a bit of spoiling, so, -> Spoiler Alert <- 


I couldn't forgive her rapist along with Brianna. I know he got his in the end, fine, but the scene where she visits him in jail just doesn't ring true for me. She should want him to die slowly and painfully, then and there. 

And then there's Fergus. Child rape, shrugged off with savoir faire, just isn't realistic, when we know that victims of childhood rape tend to grow up to either commit child rapes themselves or be victims in abusive relationships later in life, especially without counseling. Sure, Fergus grown up isn't the easiest mate, he has his shortcomings, but he just doesn't seem to be as haunted by having been repeatedly violated as a child, as I would think probable. 

So, sometimes the Outlander books make me squirm. But sometimes I find them thrilling. And the thrill is not only from compelling storytelling of fascinating adventures. There are moments of depth, poignancy, that raise the whole thing above the level of confection, and clear up to art. Gabaldon uses her wild, centuries-hopping tale to reach real truths about the human heart and soul, and then, of course, I have to forgive her for everything---even the fichu fiasco. 

RIP Admiral Joawny Trebuchett

Social Announcements & Introductions

I had only met Jo a couple of times, but his sweetie, Cara Cali, is a dear friend, and such a contributor to in so many ways, in SL. I told her I'd pass along the word to spare her from having to.