Scandalous Women around the Blogosphere

Just a quick round up of some links relating to various Scandalous Women.

Historian Tracy Borman, whose new book Matilda: Queen of the Conqueror, was published by Jonathan Cape on 1 September, has a great podcast over at BBC History Magazine about Matilda. Borman is one of the History Chicks, along with Alison Weir, Kate Williams, and Sarah Gristwood, who lecture in the UK.  How I long to be included in that group!

At History Today, there is a great article about Louis XV's mistress Madame de Pompadour, entitled Madame de Pompadour: The Other Cheek, detailing some of the obscene and irreverent 18th-century drawings targetting the royal mistress.  Thanks to Kathrynn Dennis of The History Hoydens for finding the article.  I would love to read a historical fiction novel from the POV of Madame de Pompadour.

Robert K. Massie, whose new biography of Catherine the Great, just came out this month has an interesting article over at The Wall Street Journal entitled: Catherine the Great's Lessons for Despots.

Speaking of women in power, TIME magazine had a nice cover story on Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Was Jane Austen murdered? That's what crime novelist Lindsay Ashford wants to know.

Another fascinating article on the Bronte Sisters.  Why has no one filmed a miniseries or a film about the sisters? I had heard rumors that Michelle Williams was involved in a project but there's nothing on Internet Movie Database.  I, personally, think that James McAvoy would make an interesting Branwell Bronte, and I would definitely cast Cary Mulligan as either Charlotte or Anne. Given the interest in remaking Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights ad nauseum, you would think a film about the sisters would be a slam dunk.

Happy Birthday Jane Austen and Giveaway!

Dearest Cousin Jane
by Jill Pitkeathly
Harper Collins, March 2010

From the back cover: In Dearest Cousin Jane, an enchanting new novel that draws on historical fact, Jill Pitkeathley paints a luminous portrait of the true-life cousin of a literary legend—from her flirtatious younger years to her profound influence on one of the world's most beloved authors.

Free-spirited and seductive—outrageous, precocious, and a well-known flirt—Countess Eliza de Feuillide has an unquenchable thirst for life and a glamorous air that captivates everyone around her. Rumored to have been born of a mad love affair between her mother and the great Warren Hastings of the East India Company, Eliza sees the world as her playground—filled with grand galas, theater, and romance—and she will let nothing hold her down. Even tragedy cannot dim her enthusiasm. Losing her only child at an early age and widowed when her husband—the dashing French count Jean de Feuillide—is claimed by Madame la Guillotine during the dark days of the Reign of Terror, Eliza is determined to remain indomitable, unpredictable, and unfettered. And it is this passionate spirit that she brings to a simple English country parsonage to influence the life, the work, and the world of her unsuspecting cousin . . . a quiet and unassuming young writer named Jane Austen.

Today is Jane Austen's 235th birthday, so one lucky winner will get a copy of Jill Pitkeathly's novel about Jane's cousin Eliza Feuillide Dearest Cousin Jane as well as a copy of Janet Mullany's paranormal novel Jane of the Damned. I have read both novels so I can assert that both are extremely enjoyable for different reasons. Dearest Cousin Jane, although it's ostensibly about Jane's cousin, is really more about the Austen family itself.  The book is told from multiple first person point of view including Eliza, Henry Austen her future husband and Jane's brother, James Austen, Jane's older brother, Cassandra, Mr. & Mrs. Austen, Eliza's mother Philadelphia Hancock and Jane's cousin Philadelphia Walters.  They all have their own take on Eliza which is fascinating but Eliza remained elusive to me. By the time the book ended, I felt I knew less about her than I did before.  Pitkeathly's assertion is that Eliza was the model for certain of Jane's characters, most notably Mary Crawford in Mansfield Park although Jane herself said that her books were not drawn from life.  However, reading this book, I could see elements of Mary Musgrove and Fanny Dashwood in Mary Austen, James's second wife, and also hints of Mrs. Bennett in Mrs. Austen.


Here are the rules for the giveaway. Sorry, this is only for Canadian and American readers! The contest runs from today through Monday, December 20th.



1. Leave your name and email in the comments. Email is very important so that I can contact you for your address.
2. If you are not a follower and become one, you get an extra entry
3. If you tweet about the giveaway, you get an extra entry.
Good luck

Happy Birthday Jane Austen

Happy 224th birthday to Jane Austen! Even after all these years Jane is still relevant and selling books. Jane isn't strictly Scandalous (her cousin Eliza de Feuillide might qualify for that title), but she wrote a few women who would qualify like Mary Crawford in Mansfield Park. Although she only wrote 6 complete novels during her lifetime, there has been an explosion of sequels and prequels to many of her books, particularly in the last ten years. There's even a mystery series featuring both Jane Austen, as well as Elizabeth and Darcy.

If you want to read a review of Jane Austen as a Vampire, check out Reading the Past's review here. And don't forget Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, which Natalie Portman will produce and star in.

In honor of Miss Austen's birthday, the Risky Regencies are hosting a week lost celebration here. Leave a comment on any post and be entered to win some groovy prizes.

Also, there is a currently an exhibition on Jane Austen in NYC at the Morgan Library called "A Woman's Wit: Jane Austen's Life and Legacy." You can see an online exhibition here. You can also read a review of the exhibition over at The Duchess of Devonshire's Gossip Guide to the 18th century here.

Syrie James has written an excellent book called The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen which I highly recommend. You can read the first chapter of the book here.

Also Masterpiece Classics will be showing the new version of Austen's Emma starring Jonny Lee Miller and Romola Garai in January. You can check it out here on PBS's website here. Not a huge Jonny Lee Miller fan but I do adore Romola Garai so it should be interesting to watch.

If you have teenagers and younger children you want to introduce to Austen, pick up a copy of Marvel's graphic novel of Pride and Prejudice at Amazon.com or Barnes and Noble.com.

For everything Jane, don't forget to check out Jane Austen's World here or the Austen Blog here.

And there's always Netflix for films like Becoming Jane and Miss Austen Regrets.