I have noticed I'm not
the only one who hasn't been a diligent blogger. It seems that a lot
of the blogs I've looked at in the past week have posts about
getting back into the swing of correspondence. It's almost like the
spring thaw when the hibernating animals come out of their sleepy
dens and get back to business; all us letter writers start to break
out of the winter doldrums and find pleasure in putting pen to paper
again. Over the holidays things get so frantic and rushed, that I don't have the leisure time to sit and compose for my blog and it just keeps getting put off. My mind is usually full of things to do and deadlines to meet during the festive period so it's nice to have those quiet moments again to focus on something I love.
I have some
difficulties with my hands and the cold doesn't help so I've been
reading more than I've been writing the past few months. It is easier to grab a moment to read and enjoy something rather than getting continually interrupted whilst trying to write. I find it so frustrating and lose my train of thought and my correspondence suffers for it. But reading is something I can enjoy in little bits so I tend to embrace that pleasure for a while. Being a
self-confessed Janeite I have been reading about her life and the
Regency Era which both fascinate me. Some of the books I have on my bedside table are The Mysterious Death of Miss Austen by Lindsay
Ashford, Jane Austen's World by Maggie Lane, A Portrait
of Jane Austen by David Cecil and Jane Austen's
Letters collected and edited by R. W. Chapman.
All are vastly
interesting books. The first is a work of fiction which interweaves
bits of Jane Austen's real life gleaned from her letters that perhaps
show intent for her untimely demise. It was the bits of her life I
was more interested in, however, and not a plot for murder. The
author does put forth a very interesting case that Jane may have been
poisoned. I had heard an interview on the radio with Lindsay Ashford and and I was curious about it so I wanted to get a copy to
read. I lucked out and saw it on a shelf in a charity shop and
snapped it right up. I thought it was a good book, and though I'm
not convinced Jane was "done in," it was compelling to read
an account that centered around her daily life.
The other books I'm
reading are non-fiction and give a great deal of background into Jane
Austen's personal life, her family and her writing, which I find
especially interesting. A Portrait of Jane Austen by
David Cecil is very well written and cautions readers not to view
Miss Austen's life with 21st century eyes but to see her
as she lived in the Regency Era so you can truly appreciate the happiness and hardship she faced. There are lovely paintings from the
family scattered throughout and it is a good representation of Jane's
life.
Jane Austen's World
by Maggie Lane gives bite-sized chunks of the life of Miss Austen and
her books. I particularly liked the pages devoted to letter writing.
The “crossed letters” she wrote (that some of us have also
exchanged in homage) were referred to as “chequer work” which I
never knew.
I'm still reading bits
of some of the books and wading through the letters. I have come to
believe Jane Austen was a charming lady of great wit and incredible
imagination with a bit of impishness for good measure and it's been a
pleasure to get to know more about her and her world.
