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Monthly Archives: January 2006

Jane Austen Evening

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On Saturday, I went to the annual JANE AUSTEN EVENING, which is sponsored by the Lively Arts History Association. (More info about them at http://lahacal.org/)

First was a lovely tea, followed by a performance by Herr Beethoven. Then supper, and then several hours of dancing to live period music. The dances were mostly country dances, ranging from easy (such as Child Grove) through intermediate and on to advanced (anything with a hey, apparently!) I was delighted to be able to dance several of the advanced dances this year. There were hundreds of people there, most in some sort of costume, and the whole thing was quite splendid.

Some, like me, were in simple handmade empire gowns…nothing fancy, but at least the right feeling. (That’s me, grinning away! And please keep in mind that empire gowns add thirty pounds, easily!) 🙂 Some, like my husband, were in fake-it-and-make-it-look-vaguely-period costume. But many were in the most detailed, intricate, amazing costumes ever. (Yes, I mean real corsets and everything!) 🙂

This is the third Jane Austen Evening I’ve attended, and each has been better than the last. I danced until my feet could take no more. And I danced three maggots — Dick’s Maggot, Jack’s Maggot, and Mr. Beveridge’s Maggot (easily the most famous, having featured in the BBC/A&E Pride and Prejudice.)

These photos are courtesy of my delightful friend Jean — she’s the one on the right in the final photo, in the red and gold gown. Jean and her handsome husband Jack are graceful and energetic dancers (beware Jack’s energy when he takes his Trip to Paris!) who have been dancing for a long time.

There don’t seem to be any English country dancing groups very near where I live (I’m iffy about driving twenty or thirty miles to one) but I can always hope! I danced with local groups when I lived in Santa Barbara and in Pittsburgh, and it’s great exercise as well as educational social fun. (That’s pretty much everything one could ever want rolled into one, if you add a little chocolate.)

All in all, I had a wonderful time (could you guess?) at the Jane Austen Evening, and can hardly wait until next year!

Cara
Cara King, www.caraking.com
MY LADY GAMESTER — from Signet Regency, on sale now!!!!

Posted in Jane Austen, Regency | Tagged , , | 13 Replies

Ask Lady Cordelia

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Good evening! May I offer you some tea? Perhaps some seed cake? (I am always polite, you see, even when deeply perplexed). When I went to my slumber last night, it was 1810 and I was visiting my dear friends Lord and Lady Seaforth-Haigh-Smythe. I was most comfortably ensconced in their lovely Yellow Chamber (rumored to be haunted, by those inclined to romantic superstition), and when I awoke I found myself here. In the small (yet charming!) cottage of Lady Amanda, surrounded by almost as many pets as our own Duchess of York possesses and forced to sleep on something called a “sleeper sofa.” There is also this magical contraption, the come-puter, and its instant post.

I am confused by many things in this new abode (tea in bags? Horrors!), but I am sure good manners and proper behavior will see me through. In my own time, I am rather well known for my knowledge of etiquette. I even pen my own pamphlet, “Ask Lady Cordelia,” where many a bewildered soul faced with social conundrums has benefited from my advice. Perhaps I can be of assistance to some of you?

As I bide my time until I can return home, I am quite relieved to see that a house party has recently (and properly) concluded, and that these, er, “Riskies” at least possess some knowledge of proper attire and gentle pursuits such as music.

Farewell for now!

Lady Cordelia

Posted in Frivolity, Regency | Tagged | 8 Replies

Interview with Amanda McCabe, author of A TANGLED WEB!

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Amanda McCabe has written 11 books and a novella for Signet Regency. She’s been a finalist for the RITA, RT’s Reviewer’s Choice Award, the Daphne DuMaurier Award, Holt Medallion, and National Reader’s Choice Award. When not reading or writing romance, she loves doing needlework, taking dance lessons in ballet and flamenco, and digging through antique stores in search of new treasures. She lives in Oklahoma with two cats and a Pug dog. Learn more at ammandamccabe.tripod.com

Praise for A TANGLED WEB!
“McCabe does a terrific job with this simple story of love, rank and a bit of deceit in, quite possibly, the last of our traditional Regencies. ” Romantic Times, 4 1/2 Stars!

The Interview

Q. How did you think of writing this particular book? Did it start with a character, a setting, or some other element?

It actually started with the PBS show “Regency House Party”! I loved the interaction of the various “characters”, and what happens when you throw different types of people into close proximity for an extended period of time. So, A TANGLED WEB is sort of “Regency House Party” crossed with “Persuasion.”

Q. How long did it take? Was this an easy or difficult book to write?

It took about three weeks. And I will NEVER do a book so quickly again! The publisher needed the manuscript in a hurry to get it into production, so I worked much longer hours than I usually do on a book. The characters didn’t help me at all, either. Some of them refused to follow my careful house party matchmaking, and kept switching partners on me!

Q. Tell me more about your characters. What or who inspired them?

There are four couples altogether. The main one, the hero and heroine, are my “Persuasion” couple. Diana and Tom were in love when they were young, but as she was an earl’s daughter and he was a tenant’s son, they were kept apart by her ambitious family. He went off to Canada to seek his fortune, and she married and was widowed. But they never forgot each other. One couple is quite villainous, and the other two are young people in love (the ones who could not decide who they really love!). We have Diana’s shy younger sister, her beautiful and flamboyant best friend, the bookish duke’s son, and the handsome n’er do well. Who will end up with whom??? And then there is their hostess, Diana’s mischevious Aunt Mary, who is quite delighted by all the romantic turmoil she’s caused. It was so much fun to work with all of them, even when they were being stubborn!

Q. Did you run across anything new and unusual while researching this book?

I had to research the history of Canada (or British North America) in this period, something I hadn’t really looked at for any other project. Tom spent a great deal of time out in the wilderness and in small trading communities, where the amenities were rough. But his mother, who went to Canada with him (and now wants him to marry well, since he’s rich!), lived in Toronto, or York, and it was quite a comfortable and civilized place. I learned a great deal that I didn’t know before.

Q. What do you think is the greatest creative risk you’ve taken in this book? How do you feel about it?

Hmmm-this doesn’t seem like an especially “risky” story, since I had to get it done in such a hurry! But my hero isn’t a duke or earl, he has no title at all, and he made his own way in the world. I liked him so much, both for the fact that he built a fortune on his own wits and adventurous spirit, and for the fact that he loved Diana for so long and tried so hard to be “worthy” of her.

Q. Is there anything you wanted to include in the book that you (or your CPs or editor) felt was too controversial and left out?

Originally, in my mind, the villainous couple caused even more trouble, but in the end there just wasn’t enough room to include all their machinations! But hopefully they get what they deserve in their future lives.

Q. What are you working on now?

A historical fiction story set in Florence in the 1470s. The research has been fascinting! I also have an idea for a new romance series, titled “Villains, inc.” So, stay tuned!

Posted in Interviews, Risky Book Talk | Tagged , | 7 Replies

What’s Next?

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Thanks to everyone for joining our Risky Regencies Blog Party last week! It was a lot of fun to get to know all of you.

(Of course, now I’m lying on the couch with a big bag of ice on my forehead and there are empty teapots and scone crumbs scattered everywhere.)

This week, the romance review website All About Romance ran Robin Uncapher’s column on 2005’s Buried Treasures (books, that is). Janet’s and my books were mentioned as traditional Regencies that were Buried Treasures, which is cool. Here’s what they said:

Traditional Regency
One could easily argue that any traditional Regency is a buried treasure, but we offer these two as buried treasures.

Dedication by Janet Mullany
Blythe Barnhill liked this unusual, “hot rated” traditional Regency about a 37-year-old woman and a 43-year-old hero who is a grandfather.
A Singular Lady by Megan Frampton
I liked this witty trad about an impoverished but very resourceful young woman who decides to marry for money and accidentally falls in love with an earl whom she mistakenly believes is poor. The chemistry between leads is excellent. The author is fond of literary references and readers who get a kick out of reading about very smart people will like this book. Megan Frampton is a former AAR reviewer.

Given that the traditional Regency has died a traditional death at traditional
publishers, it’s great to know people are still reading them, and what’s more, liking them. The column is run in conjunction with AAR’s Annual Readers’ Poll. Likely this will be the last year to vote for the best traditional Regency, so if you’ve read any you’ve enjoyed–the six Riskies’, or someone else’s–head on over and vote. And thanks for the kudos, AAR!

We talked about the demise of the trad when the news first became official, and I know some of the Riskies talked about our next projects. But what about you? What genres would you like to see more of? Which would you like to see less of? What trends do you like in romance? And, of course, what trends are you not so fond of?

I’ll answer, too: I’d like to see more medievals and more hybrid genres (medieval Romantica? Western suspense (“someone’s been killin’ all the cowpokes!”). I’d like to see fewer paranormals, unless it’s a hybrid (the straight vamp’n’wolf thing is getting tired, to me at least). I like the trend of writers taking more risks with their characters–Janet’s is a perfect example, with a heroine who’s experienced and likes it. Laurie talked a bit about the ‘imperfect’ heroine, and I like that trend a lot. It’s more interesting to read about real people (and as we all know, real people ARE imperfect). The trends I don’t like are . . . hm. Probably characters who jump from A to (Thinking About) Bed in a matter of moments; even the most sexually-focused people have other thoughts that rattle around their brains. That’s a habitual complaint, however, so isn’t exclusive to this year.

What are your thoughts?

Megan
www.meganframpton.com

Posted in Reading | 5 Replies

She sat down when they laughed at the piano

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How I’d love to see that sentence in a regency. Since music was such a major part of Jane Austen’s life–and that of her heroines–I thought I’d blog about that today, as we recover from the rigors and excitement of our contest (congratulations, winners!). Some soothing piano music might help, too.

Jane Austen’s music books–copied by hand–are at her house in Chawton, Hants, as is her piano (left), made in 1810 by the composer Clementi, who owned one of the major piano manufacturers in London. One of Clementi’s rivals was the firm of John Broadwood & Sons, still in business, and serving as providers of pianos to royalty ever since George II’s time. The gorgeous instrument above was made by Zumpt & Buntebant of London and taken by Johann Christian Bach (son of the great J.S.) when he and the young Mozart visited France in 1778.

Jane’s favorites included Clementi, Haydn and lesser-known composers Pleyel, Eichner and Piccini. Here’s a recollection from her niece Caroline:

Aunt Jane began her day with music – for which I conclude she had a natural taste; as she thus kept it up – ‘tho she had no one to teach; was never induced (as I have heard) to play in company; and none of her family cared much for it. I suppose that she might not trouble them, she chose her practising time before breakfast – when she could have the room to herself – She practised regularly every morning – She played very pretty tunes, I thought – and I liked to stand by her and listen to them; but the music (for I knew the books well in after years) would now be thought disgracefully easy – Much that she played from was manuscript, copied out by herself – and so neatly and correctly, that it was as easy to read as print.

Jane’s piano is a square fortepiano–the term used for early pianos. The great technological breakthrough of the piano (or whatever you want to call it!) is that unlike its predecessor the harpsichord it offered dynamic control–hence it’s name, Italian for loud-soft, and used a hammer action, not a plucking action, on the strings. Fortepianos were first produced in the mid-eighteenth century and were built entirely of wood (modern pianos are held together with a large steel band to hold in the formidable tension of the strings), and have a more delicate, subtle sound than modern pianos. To hear the instrument go to this recording of Mozart and Schubert on amazon, where you can listen to excerpts. The artist is Melvyn Tan, who performed the fortepiano music heard on the movie Persuasion.


Here are a couple more recordings available from the Jane Austen Museum in Bath. A Very Innocent Diversion features selections from Jane Austen’s music collection while the other features music from Jane Austen’s time performed in Bath.

Would music–daily piano practice– feature in your Regency fantasy or nightmare? Or, like Mrs. Elton, would you gratefully become a talker (although not totally devoid of taste, of course) and not a practitioner once you succumbed to the rigors of married life? And as (Cara, I think?) said, it might be interesting to see how truly accomplished those young ladies were…hopefully none of us would be like Mary Bennett, plucked from the keyboard by her embarrassed papa. And do you think that if you were magically transported back to Regency times, you might miss being able to summon music at the push of a button, or do you think the comparative rarity of a live performance (a good one, that is) might heighten your appreciation?

Janet

Posted in Jane Austen, Music, Regency, Research | Tagged , , | 7 Replies