King Arthur Movie Tristan

title: Jane Austen: An Illustrated Treasury

author: Rebecca Dickson

published: 2008

pages: 157

first line: Millions of women lived in the English-speaking world of 1811, and a very few of them were famous, but not the author of a novel published that year called Sense and Sensibility.

rated:

4 out of 5 stars








My sister in law, a fellow Janeite herself, gave me this book for my birthday last year.
This is a wonderful book for any Austen fan to add to their collection.

There are six chapters, one for each Austen novel.
Each chapter discusses the specified novel as well as giving details about Austen herself and the time period she was living and writing in.
You can tell author Rebecca Dickson did plenty of research for this book.







This hardcover book has Regency era illustrations throughout as well as photos from film and tv adaptations.







With her insight into the human heart and the female mind, Jane Austen becomes a private best friend to many of her readers.




I love that this book features removable memorabilia for Janeites to savor, complete with replicas of Austen's private letters.










A stranger passing Miss Austen on the street would have no reason to believe he was looking at the woman who, some two hundred years later, would represent their era.









Overall, a fantastic collectible for any Austen fan.

title: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls

author: Steve Hockensmith

genre: fiction, humor

published: 2010

pages: 287

first line: Walking out in the middle of a funeral would be, of course, bad form.

rated: 3 1/2 out of 5 stars







What can I say about Dawn of the Dreadfuls? This was a fun, creepy and strange book and I enjoyed it. This book is a prequel to Pride and Prejudice and Zombies which I read back in January.



Author Steve Hockensmith does not take the storyline directly from Pride and Prejudice, he does however use Austen's characters and adds a few of his own, then mixes that with zombies. The zombies a.k.a. The Dreadfuls, long since thought to have all been slayed, have now returned to Longbourne. Mr. Bennet, who was once part of a secret order and a warrior himself, takes it upon himself to train his 5 daughters on how to slay the undead. It's either learn to fight or be disowned and eventually, most likely, eaten by zombies.

It was a cry that hadn't been heard in Hertfordshire for years, yet nearly everyone there knew what it was.


The zombie wail.

In the midst of all this, an annoying baron named Lord Lumpley pays a visit to the Bennet household and of course, sets his eye on the eldest sister, Jane. Soon after Mr. Bennet begins training his daughters, tall, dark and handsome, Geoffrey Hawksworth, arrives on the scene. He has been sent to train the girls himself. Not before long, Geoffrey, Master as he insists they call him, takes a special notice of Elizabeth.

When Elizabeth meets Dr. Bertram Keckilpenny, she is really interested in his unique ways of dealing with the undead. The two hit it off right away and before you know it, there's a minor love triangle involved in the story.



As if the zombies and would be suitors aren't enough, Elizabeth still has to prepare for her coming out ball. It doesn't help that most of the town is against the Bennet sisters' warrior training, they consider it unladylike behavior. The sisters soon become social pariahs and are avoided by most of the town.




I'm a sucker for these kinds of books. I know some die hard Austen fans don't care much for these types of spin-offs. Pride & Prejudice is my favorite Austen, so while reading this one, I knew that Elizabeth and Jane were not going to pick any suitors, but I still enjoyed seeing some new characters vie for their affections.



I liked the illustrations throughout the book. And how creepy is the cover on this one? I enjoyed the storyline, I liked the fighting and training scenes in particular and I liked the characters within the story. Steve Hockensmith creates plenty of quirky characters to keep the reader interested. He also takes Austen's beloved characters and keeps them true to their personalities. Elizabeth is strong willed and intelligent. Jane is still trying to find the good in everyone.


All in all, a fun book, I recommend it if you enjoy zombies and Austen spin offs.
The last part of the book actually reminded me a bit of Night of the Living Dead. I also liked the ending alot, it had a little unexpected twist that I enjoyed.

Within moments, there were zombies enough for all. Some ran from the shadows, some staggered, some crawled. Some were men, some women, some children. Some wore ragged shrouds, some bloody clothing, some absolutely nothing. Yet they all had one thing in common: They were headed toward the house.

This book has been read as part of R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril Challenge




Special thanks to FSB Associates for sending me a copy.

This book is a Quirk Classic

title: Dear Jane Austen: A Heroine's Guide to Life and Love

author: Patrice Hannon


pages: 156

published: 2005

first line: Who is there?


rated: 4 out of 5

Just between us-imagine that I am whispering to you now- a few of my letters escaped Cass's fire and scissors, and speak from the eighteenth century in proof of what I tell you. But to wear one's heart on one's sleeve is a fairly certain way to have it broken, you know.

Yours most faithfully,

Jane Austen

Dear Jane Austen: A Heroine's Guide to Life and Love is a fun little book that is written in the voice of Jane Austen giving advice on love and life to current day females. This book made me smile, it's a well written tribute to Jane Austen that I think most fans of hers would enjoy.



The book starts in 1816 where Jane Austen is finishing off the last sentence of Persuasion when her niece comes in with letters for her. Women write to Jane asking her for advice on life and love.


Jane gives some sound advice, while making references to her novels as well as to the people in her own life, such as her sister. There are also several Austen novel quotes throughout the book.



I finished this book in one sitting and really enjoyed it. I laughed out loud at a few of Jane's comments. Especially when Jane refers to gothic novels like Wuthering Heights:

Dear Jane Austen:

Help! I have reached the age where I won't tell my age and I will die if I don't land a husband soon. Why am I still single? I read every relationship book that comes down the pike, take every man-catching class offered in my town, watch all the dating experts on television....

Dear Jane, tell me before I give up on men completely and take the veil: how can I live happily ever after like Elizabeth Bennet?

-Wish I Were a Heroine



Yes, I have been studying your society for some time and am well acquainted with its absurdities. As as friend I would urge you to strive for some measure of self-command. Indeed, your hysterical raving would not be amiss in a Gothic novel, or something by one of those Brontes who, after all my labour to entertain women with sparkling comedies having only genius, wit, and taste to recommend them, set the poor creatures back hundreds of years with stories full of improbable circumstances and unnatural characters.

These novels are fine entertainment, not unlike the sort my Catherine adored, but it is not in them that human nature is to be found. Catherine discovered that General Tilney had neither poisoned his wife nor imprisoned her deep in the recesses of Northanger Abbey, and unless it is your custom to form attachments with men who do such things-or who walk the moors in the moonlight with the ghosts of lovers twenty years dead as Heathcliff does-you should not look to such books-or their present-day descendants, Hollywood romances-for pictures of real men and women.

I do think that the author catches Jane's voice well, and this book is a fun escape
for any Janeite looking for a quick and entertaining read.

By the bye, I have recently made a survey of your circulating library, where I was astonished to find volumes containing enough conduct guides to stretch, if laid end to end, from Bath to Southampton. It is evident that my Emma is not the only clueless female.

Author Patrice Hannon really does give some good advice through the voice of Jane.

The minds of men and women alike run too much upon the phenomenon I understand to be comprehended in the word "chemistry". The charm of personal attraction is intoxicating, but beware the dangers of an attachment formed solely or even primarily on such superficial grounds.

The questions are very specific and the answers are thought out and very well written. You can see how knowledgeable the author is concerning Jane Austen's work as well as her private life. She even refers to Austen's lesser known works such as Lady Susan and The Watsons. I recommend this book to any Jane Austen fan. It is a quick and sweet Austen fix.

title: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: The Classic Regency Romance - Now with Ultraviolent Zombie Mayhem!

author: Seth Grahame-Smith

genre: fiction/humor

published: 2009

pages: 319

first line: It is a truth universally acknowledged that a zombie in posession of brains must be in want of more brains.

rated: 4 out of 5








As soon as I heard about Pride and Prejudice and Zombies I knew I had to read it. I'm a Jane Austen fan and i'm picky with Austen related spinoffs, but this book definitely grabbed my attention.


This book starts off just like Pride & Prejudice, with the Bennet sisters living in a quaint little home with thier meddling mother trying to get them married off. However, in this version of the story, there are zombies...a.k.a....'unmentionables', roaming the Earth. Lizzy and her sisters are skilled in the fighting styles of the Kyoto masters in order to kill the undead. Lizzy uses her sword, the Katana, to slay zombies.


She meets the proud Mr.Darcy at a ball, and is turned off by his arrogance. She gets really upset when she overhears him say that she is not handsome enough to tempt him.

As Mr. Darcy walked off, Elizabeth felt her blood turn cold. She had never in her life been so insulted. The warrior code demanded she avenge her honour. Elizabeth reached down to her ankle, taking care not to draw attention. There, her hand met the dagger concealed beneath her dress. She meant to follow this proud Mr.Darcy outside and slid open his throat.

Soon enough Mr. Collins enters the scene and insists on courting Lizzy. Then of course Wickham makes his appearance with his false tales and trash talk about Darcy. And before you know it, the proud and handsome Mr. Darcy, (one of my favorite characters in literature), is saving the day. But not before Elizabeth drop kicks him when he proposes to her for the first time, 'against his better judgement'.



Pride and Prejudice and Zombies had me laughing from page one. Who knew that adding zombies to Pride & Prejudice could be fun? I really liked the illustrations throughout the book. The questions for discussion at the end of the book are a riot as well.



I recommend this one to anyone who enjoys a book with a funky twist. Pride & Prejudice is among my favorite classics, and as for myself I didn't mind the zombies added here just for fun. However, I can imagine it's all a matter of taste, some die hard Austen fans might not appreciate this one at all. Some of the scenes were actually really gory.




Here's a few of my favorite tidbits:

To her horror, she was instead met by the grasp of a zombie who had been trapped beneath the carriage. Her leg caught in its bony fingers, she screamed as the creatures's teeth broke her skin. She was able to free herself and continue to Longbourn, but Hell's dark business had been carried out.

"I don't have long Elizabeth. All I ask is that my final months be happy ones, and that I be permitted a husband who will see to my proper Christian beheading and burial."

"I beg your pardon, I will try again. I am a warrior, madam: survivor of the thirty six chambers of Shaolin, beholder of the scrolls of Gan Xian Tan. I do not seek love, and at present, I am not in love with Mr. Wickham; though, he is, beyond all comparison, the most agreeable man I ever saw-in form, character, and musketry."

title: Mr. Darcy, Vampyre


author: Amanda Grange


published: August 2009, ARC

genre: romance

pages: 308

first line: Elizabeth Bennet's wedding morning was one of soft mists and mellow sunshine.


rated: 4 out of 5

Amanda starts where Pride and Prejudice ends and introduces a dark family curse so perfectly that the result is a delightfully thrilling, spine-chilling, breathtaking read. A dark, poignant and visionary continuation of Austen’s beloved story, this tale is full of danger, darkness and immortal love.

Mr. Darcy, Vampyre starts off with Jane and Elizabeth Bennet getting ready for their double wedding. The two sisters are excited and nervous about the special day, and both are happy as can be.
Once the ceremony is over, Darcy and Elizabeth head on out on thier wedding tour.


As the days pass, Elizabeth is worried because Darcy has not visited her bedchamber at all. She wonders why he is acting so distant.

He sat with his face turned away from her and she watched him, examining his profile. It was strong, with handsome features, yet there was an air of something she could not quite place. He was the man she had married, yet different, more reserved, and she wondered if it was just because of the tiring nature of the journey or whether he was reverting to his former aloof ways.

First they go to France, where Lizzy meets Darcy's friends and family. They then travel to a remote castle in the Alps, where Darcy wants her to meet his uncle, Count Polidori. While inside the gloomy castle Elizabeth has a bad feeling and wants to leave. She knows the servants are whispering about susperstious things, there is a creepy tapestry hanging above her bed and the Count himself is a bit odd. The one request Lizzy has for her room is a mirror, which she is denied because for some reason there are no mirrors in the castle. Then one evening the Count has a dinner party in her honor, and a mysterious fortune teller shows up. She reads Lizzy's palm and warns her about grave danger.


The Darcy's continue on thier wedding tour and end up in Venice.

Strange tales began to come back to her, folk tales she had read in the library at Longbourn, stories of strange creatures that preyed on the living and haunted the forests of Europe, half men, half beasts, mesmeric and seductive but evil and dangerous, creatures who bit their victims, piercing thier skin and drinking thier blood; beasts which could be held at bay by garlic.

I really enjoyed Mr. Darcy, Vampyre . I'm a sucker for anything Pride & Prejudice related and I like vampires, and the two came together perfectly in this book. It was fun and interesting and the plot had me sucked in from page one. I like how Elizabeth keeps thinking back to her home in Meryton and her beloved sister Jane. She continues to write Jane letters while she is on her honeymoon.

Oh, Jane! If I could only tell you half the things that have happened to me since leaving Longbourn. There have been many difficult and frightening things in my life but there has been much of great beauty too; the dread and awful majesty of the Alps as Darcy and I rode over thier snow-capped heights; the peaceful tranquility of Piedmont; the great river Brenta with its weeping willows trailing thier branches in the water; Venice rising like a dream from the lagoon, basking in the morning sunlight, ageless and timeless and serene.

You can visit the author's blog here or website here.

You can read a book excerpt here over at the Austenprose blog.




Take a look at the UK cover:



Pretty cool eh? I don't know which cover I like best though. I think the U.S. one.


Special thanks to Danielle over at Sourcebooks for sending me a copy of this book!

Now onto the giveaway details:

To enter to win a copy of Mr. Darcy, Vampyre :

1. U.S. and Canada residents only please

2. for one entry to win, leave me a comment on this post, include your email adress

3. for an extra entry, blog about this contest and leave me the link.

4. I will draw a winning name on Monday August 17, good luck!

This contest is now closed, thanks!

movie title: Emma

release date: August 1996

genre: romantic comedy

rated: 4 out of 5




Emma Woodhouse lives comfortably with her father and thinks she has no need to marry. Instead she likes to play matchmaker with her friends and family. When Harriet Smith arrives in town, Emma makes decides she has to help Harriet make her way into polite society. She also takes it upon herself to find the perfect match for poor Harriet.






Emma has good intentions as a matchmaker, but she is a bit clueless.
After her matchmaking schemes begin to go wrong, she finally realizes that she herself is really in love. Mr. Knightly has been a lifelong friend and she holds him dear to her heart.





This movie version of Jane Austen's novel 'Emma' is my favorite one. It stays pretty true to the book and you can't help but laugh at the predicaments Emma gets herself into. I like the cast and it's a sweet film. Gwyneth Paltrow plays Emma and Jeremy Northam plays Mr. Knightly.

Ewan McGregor plays the charming Frank Churchill.

Dear Diary, Today I tried not to think about Mr. Knightly. I tried not to think about him when I discussed the menu with Cook... I tried not to think about him in the garden where I thrice plucked the petals off a daisy to acertain his feelings for Harriet. I don't think we should keep daisies in the garden, they really are a drab little flower. And I tried not to think about him when I went to bed, but something had to be done.

I rode through the rain! I'd - I'd ride through worse than that if I could just hear your voice telling me that I might, at least, have some chance to win you.

Quoted from the book:

"My dearest Emma," said he, "for dearest you will always be, whatever the event of this hour's conversation, my dearest, most beloved Emma—tell me at once. Say 'No,' if it is to be said."—She could really say nothing.—"You are silent," he cried, with great animation; "absolutely silent! at present I ask no more."



Emma was almost ready to sink under the agitation of this moment. The dread of being awakened from the happiest dream, was perhaps the most prominent feeling.



"I cannot make speeches, Emma:"—he soon resumed; and in a tone of such sincere, decided, intelligible tenderness as was tolerably convincing.—"If I loved you less, I might be able to talk about it more. But you know what I am.—You hear nothing but truth from me.—I have blamed you, and lectured you, and you have borne it as no other woman in England would have borne it.—Bear with the truths I would tell you now, dearest Emma, as well as you have borne with them. The manner, perhaps, may have as little to recommend them. God knows, I have been a very indifferent lover.—But you understand me.—Yes, you see, you understand my feelings—and will return them if you can. At present, I ask only to hear, once to hear your voice."

If you are looking for a more modern version of Austen's 'Emma', check out the film Clueless.