Saturday, December 24, 2011

12 Days of a Jane Austen Christmas

Winners of Misconceptions by Doris Nieves:
- LĂșthien84
-Laura Hartness

Winner of Fitzwilliam Darcy, Rock Star by Heather Lynn Rigaud:
- Lauren

Please send your mailing address to:
newroyalreviews at yahoo dot com

Jane Austen and tea go hand-in-hand so for today’s giveaway we have a tea giveaway, actually.

The kind people at Bingley’s Teas has generously donated two boxes of loose tea. As they kindly sent me samples of the two teas, I can say that they are delicious.

This giveaway includes:

knightley

-1 box of Mr. Knightley's Reserve  55 grams of loose tea
Best Seller. An Earl Grey that is true and balanced. The Bergamot is smooth and steady. A tea to depend on and love more with each passing cup!

emma

-1 box of Emma’s Perfect Match 50 grams of loose tea
Is green naive? Our green tea blend with strawberries from Mr. Knightley's garden and rose petals to encourage romantic matches just might cause you to fall in love.

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-1 Copy of Emma Penguin Classic Deluxe Edition

 

About the Jane Austen Tea Series:

Ms. Jane Austen, well known authoress during the Regency period of timeless favorites such as Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, Mansfield Park, Emma, Northanger Abbey and Persuasion has held a longstanding place our hearts.

Our own company name is drawn from one of her characters, who was quick to approve of everyone he met and always approachable in his manner. This inspiration spilled over into our Jane Austen Tea Series. Characters from our beloved author's novels have been specifically paired with very particular premium teas and tea blends. Each was carefully chosen to reflect that character's personality and well known traits. We hope you will enjoy, what we find a natural combination of Jane Austen novels and Tea!

With Tea Names such as:
Mr. Darcy
Miss Elizabeth or Darcy’s Distraction
Sweet Jane
Wicked Wickham
Compassion for Mrs. Bennet’s Nerves
The Patience of Miss Price
The Captain
Marianne’s Wild Abandoned
Treasures from the Colonel
Longbourn Wedding Tea
Bingley’s Blend
Longbourn Wedding Tea
Mr. Collin’s

These Teas are the perfect companions to Jane Austen’s novels.
If you would like to find out more about the Jane Austen Tea Series, or Bingley’s Teas you may do so HERE

Today’s Rules:

1. Leave a comment with your name and an answer to the question:

Who is your favorite Jane Austen Character?

2. Giveaway is Worldwide .

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

12 Days of a Jane Austen Christmas

 

We have Winners!

Winner of the book set is: Max

Winner of the Mrs. Darcy Mug is: Michelle @ The True Book Addict

Please email your mailing address to:
Newroyalreviews at yahoo dot com

Many of you may know that Pride & Prejudice is my absolute favorite Jane Austen novel. There is something about Lizzy, Darcy, and even wicked Wickham that calls out me making me want to read the novel over and over again. I  constantly find myself randomly quoting bits from the novel and I eagerly devour adaptations, spin-offs, add-ons, and retellings.

Although surprisingly Pride & Prejudice is not my favorite novel, Jane Eyre is. When comparing the two I constantly refer to Newton’s Law: Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. In the case of Pride & Prejudice vs. Jane Eyre it seems that Mr. Rochester is Mr. Darcy’s opposite reaction. Which leads me to wonder what P&P would have been like if Mr. Rochester would have been the leading man.

So, I ask you Dear Readers, what would have happened in Pride & Prejudice if Mr. Edward Rochester replaced Mr. Darcy? 

To feed your Pride & Prejudice craving I have three books to giveaway. 2 Copies of Misconceptions by Doris Nieves and 1 copy of Fitzwilliam Darcy, Rock Star by Heather Lynn Rigaud.

I have two more giveaways today!

First Giveaway is

Misconceptions by Doris Nieves

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Thanks to the generosity of Doris Nieves, I have two copies to giveaway. One copy is Worldwide & the other is US only, so please mark your comment accordingly.

Love and marriage abound as we revisit the delightful world of Pride and Prejudice. Become enchanted once again with familiar beloved characters brought back to life through this lighthearted version of a classic tale. Misconceptions begins where Jane Austen left off, with the undaunted Mrs. Bennet continuing her search to find rich and
refined husbands for her unmarried daughters, Kitty and Mary. Meanwhile, Lady Catherine renews her duty to find a husband for Miss Anne de Bourgh. Will the girls cooperate with their mother’s plans or will their hearts lead them elsewhere?

Second Giveaway:

Fitzwilliam Darcy, Rock Star by Heather Lynn Rigaud.

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Mr. Darcy is skin-tight leather pants and no shirt…YES PLEASE!!!!!

Fast music, powerful beats and wild reputations on stage and off have made Slurry the band of the year--and the media's newest bad boys. Described as temperamental by their kindest critics, they've just lost their latest opening act and their red-hot summer tour is on the fast track to disaster.

Fitzwilliam Darcy, Slurry's tall, dark, and enigmatic virtuoso guitarist, knows that this is no time to be picky, but he never expected what was waiting when he, Charles Bingley and Richard Fitzwilliam crashed the Meryton Public House.

Elizabeth Bennet, the fiercely independent and talented lead singer of Long Borne Suffering has serious reservations about joining such a trouble laden tour with the bad boys of Rock and Roll, but the opportunity is just too good to pass up!

On the Slurry tour, the music's hot, but backstage is an inferno.

I would also like to thank Heather for donating this copy!

Monday, December 19, 2011

12 Days of a Jane Austen Christmas Giveaway.

Ok, I got a bit behind in posting the giveaways due to some unforeseen events. Thankfully as has been taken care of and the giveaways will continue.

I am giving away  two different prizes today to two different!

The winner of  A Darcy Christmas was Max. Please email your shipping address to:
newroyalreviews at yahoo dot com.

The novel’s of Jane Austen are classics they are printed worldwide in just about every language imaginable. You can even download them for free to your computer or e-reader, yet when I passed around a questionnaire at the local library I volunteer at, I was alarmed by the number of people who did not know who she was. Out of 400 plus people, only 153 could name all 6 of her novels. 172 people didn’t know who she was and the majority of the 18 and under group could only name Pride & Prejudice because, in their words, it had that girl from the Pirate Movies in it.

Sadly classic literature is falling by the wayside as novels like the Twilight  saga take the lead. According to the statistics in my local libraries database, books in the Twilight saga are the primary books checked out by those from the age of 13 to 35. In fact they have had such a demand for the saga that the library has ordered 6 sets of books just to be able to meet the demand.

Yet, when doing the inventory, I noticed that the library has only one Jane Austen novel and that happens to be Pride & Prejudice, which has not been checkout in over a year. When I was discussing this with a friend of mine who is a High School English teacher, she said that only 2 of her students knew who Jane Austen was. I ask her if they teach the classics anymore and she said that schools curriculum only requires one week of classical novels and they rarely go beyond Shakespeare.

I think that it’s a shame that classic literature is dwindling. So as this is the season for giving a friend of mine has generously donated 2 sets of The Barnes & Noble Jane Austen Collection. You will receive one set to keep and another to gift to a friend!

As I mentioned before there will be 2 winners the second prize is a Mrs. Darcy’s Mug shipped straight from the wonderful people at BBC Shop America.

Today’s giveaways  are:

 

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(These are my copies & mug you will receive your own I just could not get the other pictures to load)

 

2 Sets of Barnes & Noble Jane Austen Collection

1 Mrs. Darcy Mug.

Today’s Rules:

1. Leave a comment with your name and an answer to the question:
What is your favorite Classic novel?

2. Giveaway is Worldwide.
3. You do not need to leave your email address as the winner will be announced the next day. The winner will also be announced on the right side of the blog under the Winners banner. You have until the 23rd to respond with your shipping address. You may want to
subscribe via feed burner which is located on the right side of the blog.

4. Followers will receive an extra entry, so make sure you let us know if you follow us. You will also receive an extra entry if you help spread the word about this giveaway.

Thursday, December 15, 2011

12 Days of a Jane Austen Christmas Day 2

Day 2

A Darcy Christmas

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Day 1 winner is Sophia Rose, please send your shipping address to:
newroyalreviews at yahoo dot com.

A few years ago we had horrible ice storm that covered most of Southern Ohio. It came on quickly and without warning. It was nice and warm, 50 degrees when I headed to church for play practice, by the time practice was over a freezing rain had coated the streets. That night tree limbs were coated with ice so thick they were snapping off the trees. Power lines were down, the whole town was a block of ice. It just so happened that this storm arrived four days before Christmas.

Luckily I live within a block from the hospital, which meant that my house would be among the first to have the power back on. Friends and family piled in, luckily my house was large enough to accommodate them. The power did come on rather quickly, unfortunately it didn’t stay on for very long and we were without power for Christmas. I had the fireplace going, a few dozen candles lit, and a constant supply hot tea and cocoa filling almost every teapot I owned.

It was a very different Christmas, and we constantly refer to it as “Our Jane Austen Christmas”. While it was bit chilly, we were reminded of the simple things in life. My younger cousins were able to experience something more than cell phones, video game and television, they learned to sew and to draw silhouettes. They wrote and preformed their own plays. They used their own imagination! They experienced the joy of being with family.

Although we were without power for 7 days, it is still my favorite Christmas and I will always cherish being able to spend that time with my Great-Grandfather.

*****

Today’s giveaway is a novella collection entitled:

A Darcy Christmas: A Holliday Tribute to Jane Austen 
By Amanda Grange, Sharon Lathan, and Carolyn Eberhart  

Today’s Rules:
1. Leave a comment with your name and an answer to the question:

What is your favorite Christmas memory?

2. Giveaway is Worldwide.

3. You do not need to leave your email address as the winner will be announced the next day. The winner will also be announced on the right side of the blog under the Winners banner. You have until the 23rd to respond with your shipping address. You may want to
subscribe via feed burner which is located on the right side of the blog.

4. Followers will receive an extra entry, so make sure you let us know if you follow us. You will also receive an extra entry if you help spread the word about this giveaway.

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

12 Days of a Jane Austen Christmas Giveaway Day 1




Day One

For me, Christmas and Jane Austen go hand-in-hand. My Great-Grandmother had a first edition of Pride & Prejudice and she would read it to my older cousins on Christmas Eve after baking cookies. I would curl up on the chair drinking my tea in what I referred to as a big girls cup and saucer, (I was five at the time so an English china cup and saucer was a special treat, especially since the older girls had one) and listen to the tale of Lizzy and Darcy.

  Then I received my first Jane Austen book, Pride & Prejudice for young readers as a Christmas gift two years later.  I simply couldn’t get enough of this book. I loved it. I read it so many times the pages fell out. As I grew older I started reading the original editions of Jane Austen. Now I am an avid Janeite. I read any and everything Jane Austen related.

Every Christmas I pull out my copy of Pride & Prejudice, fix me a cuppa tea  and remember my first introduction to this amazing author.

Today’s giveaway is :

Captain Wentworth Home from the Sea - A Persuasion Novella by Mary Lydon Simonsen

In 1806, Frederick Wentworth returned to the sea in hopes of leaving behind memories of his lost love, Anne Elliot of Kellynch Hall. After eight years serving as the captain of the Laconia, he had failed to jettison recollections of the only woman he could ever love, that is, until a shipboard accident robbed him of his memory. When he is once again thrown into Anne's company, he knows nothing of their previous engagement. With the slate wiped clean, will Anne Elliot be able to secure the love of Captain Frederick Wentworth or will all opportunities to reclaim a lost love be denied her?

If you would like to know more about Mary Lydon Simonsen or her Jane Austen-inspired novels, please visit her website:
Austen Inspired Fan Fiction by Mary Lydon Simonsen
http://marysimonsenfanfiction.blogspot.com/

I would like to thank Mary Lydon Simonsen for her donation as well as allowing this giveaway to be worldwide.

Today’s Rules:

1. Leave a comment with your name and an answer to the question:

What is your favorite Jane Austen novel?

2. Giveaway is open worldwide.

3. You do not need to leave your email address as the winner will be announced the next day. The winner will also be announced on the right side of the blog under the Winners banner. You have until the 23rd to respond with your shipping address. You may want to
subscribe via feed burner which is located on the right side of the blog.

4. Followers will receive an extra entry, so make sure you let us know if you follow us. You will also receive an extra entry if you help spread the word about this giveaway.

Sunday, December 11, 2011

12 Days of a Jane Austen Christmas Giveaway

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Hello Dear Readers,

To celebrate Christmas this year we are hosting The 12 Days of a Jane Austen Christmas.

That means 12 days of Jane Austen themed giveaways.

To enter the rules are simple:

1. Leave a comment with your name, and if there is a prompt question please answer it.

2. Winners will be only eligible for one prize. You may enter as many giveaways as you wish, but if you have won on the 12 gifts your name will be removed from the drawing.

3. You do not need to leave your email address as the winner will be announced the next day. The winner will also be announced on the right side of the blog under the  Winners banner. You have until the 23rd to respond with your shipping address. You may want to subscribe via feed burner which is located on the right side of the blog.

4. Followers will receive an extra point, so make sure you let us know if you follow us.

Lastly, have fun and remember to spread the word!

Friday, November 18, 2011

Giveaway!

As part of Royal Reviews Black Friday Giveaway Special, We are giving away two copies of Miss Darcy Falls In Love.

To enter for a chance to win click the link below and also enjoy the lovely guest post from Sharon Lathan.

Giveaway & Guest post

miss darcy falls in love Synopsis of Miss Darcy Falls in Love-

Noble young ladies were expected to play an instrument, by Georgiana Darcy us an accomplished musician who hungers to pursue her talents. She embarks upon a tour of Europe, ending in Paris where two very different men will ignite her heart in entirely different ways and begin a bitter rivalry to win her. But only one holds the key to her happiness.

Set in post-Napoleonic Empire France, Miss Darcy Falls in Love is a riveting love story that enters a world of passion where her gentlemen know exactly how to please and a young woman learns to direct her destiny and understand her heart.

Thursday, November 17, 2011

Jane Austen & Arsenic?

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“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.”
That line from Pride & Prejudice has become the most recognized line Jane Austen ever wrote. Yet, it seems that a single sentence from a letter Austen wrote only a few months before her death is quickly usurping her famous line.
“I am considerably better now and am recovering my looks a little better, which have been bad enough, black and white and every wrong colour.”

Those 25 words have created quite a stir thanks to crime novelist, Lindsay Ashford.

According to an interview with UK’s Guardian, it all started three years ago when Ashford moved to the village of Chawton and began writing her new crime novel in the library of Austen’s brother Edward’s former home, Chawton House. It was there Ashford began reading through Jane Austen’s personal correspondences. Having researched poisons for her crime novels, Ashford immediately recognized the symptoms Austen described in that sentence were alarmingly similar to that of arsenic poisoning.
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Ashford then met with the former president of the Jane Austen Society of North America who informed her that a lock of Austen’s hair had been tested for arsenic by the now deceased American couple who purchased the hair through an auction at Sotheby’s in 1948, tested positive.
It seemed that everything started to click into place for Ashford and her diagnosis was simple and for some thoroughly startling-Jane Austen died of arsenic poisoning.
Now, the question remains-was it accidental/medicinal exposure to the poison or was it something more sinister, say murder?
Lindsay Ashford, like any good crime novelist, saw an opportunity to explore the path not taken by turning these facts into a murder mystery in her newest novel, The Mysterious Death of Miss Austen. Although being intentionally poisoned was not the only way to die of arsenic poisoning.

In Regency England, exposure to arsenic was a rather common occurrence-an occurrence that was often unintentional. In addition, this accidental exposure came in the innocent looking form of green paint, or rather what was known as Emerald or Paris Green.
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In 1814, two men, Russ & Sattler, tired to improve Scheele’s Green paint, a paint that was made with copper arsenite. Their “improvement” resulted in a toxic pigment called ‘Emerald Green”. This bright green colour made with arsenic and verdigris became a big hit with dyers, painters, wallpaper designers, and cloth makers. Not only were the drawing rooms throughout England being plastered with this toxic colour, the ton were dressing themselves up in it as well as consuming it in the form of green-colored confectionaries.
Although Emerald/Paris Green was not the only source of accidental arsenic exposure to be found in Regency England. The poison was often found in the most simplest and accessible of products such as candles, glass products, leather, wallpaper, fabric, sheep dip, soaps, and in pharmaceuticals as a supposed treatment for rheumatism, which Austen suffered from.
While accidental exposure would be minimal, for someone with an underlying illness, minimal exposure could exacerbate the illness and even cause death. If it were arsenic poisoning through unintentional means or through medicinal use, an underlying illness would explain the reason why neither her mother nor sister succumbed to the effects.
Yet, we can neither prove nor disprove the theory of arsenic poisoning based on a hair sample and a line from a letter. Although the possibility does make for a good crime novel and Lindsay Ashford is seeking to use it just for that.
On the author’s website, she describes her novel, The Mysterious Death of Miss Austen, as “the product of all that I have learned and imagined in the three years since I came to live in Chawton. It’s a work of fiction inspired by facts and I hope that those who read it will be both intrigued and fascinated by a possibility which had been overlooked until now…”
I for one can certainly see the basis of the novel as a potential truth, and I’m sure if you put yourself in the shoes of Jane Austen’s friend and protagonist of the novel, Anne Sharp, you too could believe the situation plausible.

In the time in which Anne Sharp lived, she would have heard and read about the arsenic related deaths that were occurring throughout England at the time. And since the Marsh Test was developed in 1836, she would have had access to that as well as seeing the symptoms Jane Austen suffered from. Curiosity is a part of human nature and I am sure that an inquiring mind would have put two and two together.

Let me reiterate the fact that Lindsay Ashford is not claiming that Jane Austen was murdered. She has expressed through numerous outlets that based on her research the arsenic found in Jane Austen’s hair was there by accidental exposure or more likely medicinal usage. In her novel, The Mysterious Death of Miss Austen, Lindsay Ashford is exploring the what ifs. And I for one am glad that she has decided to explore this avenue.

I would love to hear your thoughts and comments regarding this matter.
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Until We Meet Again,
Best Wishes & Happy Reading,
Angela Renee

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Jane Austen Sequels…to read or not to read?

 
My good opinion once lost, is lost forever.”
-Mr. Darcy
Although Mr. Darcy was speaking of his faults, the same could be said in regards to a bad experience with a Jane Austen spin-off.
For a true Janeite who is venturing into the uncharted waters of spin-offs, add-ons, sequels, and retellings for the first time, a bad experience has the ability to make the reader shun these types of books.
 
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The Sacred Six
As a lover of the “Sacred Six*”, I too was a bit skeptical of these books when I first spotted them in the book shop and I must admit that on occasion I have wanted to chuck certain books against the wall whilst screaming, ’How could you do that to these beloved characters?”. Yet, I keep reading, reminding myself that this is only one author’s take on the timeless novels Miss Austen created.
While some books certainly make me question the publisher’s decision to print them others make me fall in love with Jane Austen’s novels all over again. It is those authors, the ones who have the ability to breathe new life into the characters that are nestled in our hearts and minds while staying true to Miss Austen’s original characters that makes me yearn for more.
After finishing a novel I come down with a serious condition called the “then whats?” as well as the “what ifs…”, and when I read a Jane Austen novel the condition gets worse, especially after reading Pride & Prejudice.
The last chapter of the novel holds a wealth of possibilities waiting to be explored, especially the bit where it says that Elizabeth and Jane lived within twenty miles of each other. The fact that Pride & Prejudice closes the way it does leads me to wonder if she intended to revisit certain novels.
It is the possibilities, the unanswered questions, the what ifs, that make these spin-offs, add-ons, retellings, and sequels so appealing. They allow the reader to see the novel through the eyes of other characters, such as Mr. Darcy. Even if Jane had produced a companion to Pride & Prejudice, we would never have been able to view it from Darcy’s perspective because Jane Austen stated that she could not write from a male perspective because she did not know what men spoke of when they were left alone.
If these new additions hold true to the characters and worlds Jane Austen created, then I see them as a way to reconnect with the characters I adore. If not, I go back and reread the original novel knowing that nothing can change my opinion of Jane Austen’s novels.
I know that some diehard Janeites believe that NO ONE, under any circumstances, should meddle with the “Sacred Six”. They say that no one can improve her novels; I will admit that that is true. Adaptations are not an improvement; they are simply an enhancement to your Jane Austen experience.
Still not convinced? Let me ask you a question: Have you watched the movie versions of Pride & Prejudice, Emma, Northanger Abbey, Sense & Sensibility, Persuasion, and Mansfield Park?
If your answer was yes, then you have watched an adaptation of her novels. Each movie is the director’s interpretation of her works, speeding parts up, adding or deleting bits of the plot to improve the flow, even on a few occasions characters have been omitted to suit the director’s vision.
Even though the pieces have moved around, the core of the movie remains the same. It remains the same with novel adaptations occasionally plots are changed yet the core of the story remains the same. Just like with the movie adaptations, you must take the good with the bad. Although you should not let one poorly done novel ruin your experience.
  Even Darcy got a second chance.

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A few of my favorite variations:
1. The Darcy Saga by Sharon Lathan
2. The Darcy Cousins by Monica Fairview
3. Mr. Darcy’s Diary by Amanda Grange
4. Wickham’s Diary by Amanda Grange
5.  Edmund Bertram’s Diary by Amanda Grange
6. Darcy’s Voyage by Kara Louise
7. Pemberley Ranch by Jack Caldwell



I want to say thank you to Jennifer Lopushok @ The Beauty of Eclecticism for inviting me to share my thoughts regarding Jane Austen spin-offs. Please check out her post and share your thoughts.
 
*I have noticed that Janeites often use the phrase “The Sacred Six” when referring to Jane Austen’s six novels.

Until We Meet Again,
Best Wishes & Happy Reading,

Angela Renee
 

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Longbourn Lavender-Vanilla Scones






I had visited my local tearoom about a month ago and found that they were serving Lavender Tea Scones. I jumped at the chance to try one. Normally I am a fan of lavender infused foods, although I found the scones to have a bitter processed taste and there appeared to be no actual lavender in them. When I asked the owner what she had used, she said that it was imitation lavender extract as well as lavender flavored black tea. That explained the bitter processed taste.

On my way home from the tearoom, I stopped by a local lavender farm picked up a package of fresh culinary lavender, went home and headed straight to the kitchen to create my own Lavender Tea Scones.
I opted out of using the black tea as occasionally this can make the scones bitter. I also decided to add vanilla as it compliments the lavender perfectly.

After trying a few recipes out to find the right amount of lavender to use, I finally debuted them a tea my friend was hosting. The theme for the tea happened to have been Pride & Prejudice, which led us to the discussion of Mrs. Bennet and her nerves. After trying these scones my friend replied that these should have been a staple in the Bennet household as lavender is said to be calming. Thus these scones were named Longbourn Lavender-Vanilla Scones, or as my friend called them “How To Deal With Mrs. Bennet’s Nerves“.

I can just imagine the Bennet girls as well as their father with a plate of these scones and a nice cuppa of chamomile tea hiding from Mrs. Bennet and her nerves.


The following are a list of teas that taste lovely with the scones:

Harney & Sons Yellow & Blue
Twinings of London Lady Grey Tea







Longbourn Lavender-Vanilla Scones
Preheat oven to 425 F.
Ingredients:

2 Cups of Self-Rising Flour*
1 ¼ teaspoons of Baking Powder
1 ½ Sticks of Butter, cold cut into chunks
⅓ Cup of Sugar
2 Large Eggs
½ Cup Milk
2 Tablespoons of Culinary Lavender (do not crush the lavender it makes it bitter)
2 ½ Teaspoons of Vanilla Extract





*If you do not have self-rising flour you can make your own.
-For every 1 cup of Flour add 1 ½ teaspoons of Baking Powder and a pinch of salt.

Sift together Flour and Baking Powder in a large mixing bowl.
Add in Sugar and chunks of Butter. (Cold butter will mix better).







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Cut in butter with a pastry blender until mixture resembles bread crumbs.

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In a separate bowl, add two large eggs and milk.





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Whisk together until frothy.

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Pour Egg-Milk mixture into the Flour mixture.
Stir together with a wooden spoon until the mixture is slightly blended.

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Place mixture upon a floured surface and kneed, about 1-2 minutes, until it resembles dough. DO NOT OVER KNEED, this will make the dough tough.






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Place your dough into a clean mixing bowl.
Add in Lavender and Vanilla.











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Mix together with hands.
Place on floured surface, kneed 2-3 times to ensure Lavender is evenly blended.






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Roll dough out to ½ an inch in thickness and cut with a medium sized biscuit cutter.
(If you prefer wedges, roll dough into an 9 inch circle (½ an inch in thickness), and cut into 6-8 wedges.)
Place on ungreased baking sheet for 15 minutes at 425 degrees.
Remove and place on a wire cooling rack then either serve or store.*



*If you are planning on serving these fresh from the oven brush tops with milk and sprinkle with sugar before placing them into the oven.

*If you are planning to store, make sure that they are cooled completely before placing in an airtight container.









Until We Meet Again,


Monday, August 22, 2011

Dreaming of Darcy Post and Giveaway




It seems that Mr. Darcy is the perfect embodiment of the Romantic Hero.
What is it that makes Mr. Darcy a lasting literary icon? Could it be his transformation from snob to suitor? His dashing good looks? The fact that he owns a sizable estate in Derbyshire? His large fortune, (£10, 000 a year), that certainly turned Mrs. Bennet’s head.

While one cannot pinpoint the exact cause of his legendary status we do know that Fitzwilliam Darcy is the most recognized hero that Jane Austen created; he also happens to be the character most authors choose to write about, whether it is historical, contemporary, or something in-between. Many of us find ourselves fascinated by this figment of Miss Austen’s imagination and I will admit I am just as fascinated as the rest of you.

I have read so many spin-offs, add-on, and rewrites where Mr. Darcy is front and center. With books ranging from the paranormal, Mr. Darcy’s Bite by Mary Lydon Simonsen (Sourcebooks Landmark, October 2011), and Vampire Darcy’s Desire by Regina Jeffers (Ulysses Press, out now) to contemporary. Want to read about Darcy channeling his inner guitar god complete with skin-tight black leather pants? (Yes, Please!!!!) Then I know the perfect book for you, Fitzwilliam Darcy, Rock Star by Heather Lynn Rigaud (Sourcebooks Landmark, September 2011). It’s guaranteed to rock your world!

We have read about the “Trouble With Mr. Darcy” in Sharon Lathan’s fifth novel in her Darcy Saga. We have seen him take a wife (Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife by Mary Berdoll, A Wife for Mr. Darcy by Mary Simonsen). Kara Louise told us “Only Mr. Darcy Will Do”. Abigail Reynolds posed the question, “What Would Mr. Darcy Do?’ and PO Dixon tells us “What He Would Not Do”.

We have read about his passionate side (In the Arms of Mr. Darcy by Sharon Lathan) as well as his dark side (Mr. Darcy, Vampyre by Amanda Grange). We have learned his secrets of becoming a gentleman thanks to Maria Hamilton (Mr. Darcy and the Secrets of Becoming a Gentleman) while Susan Adriani brings “The Truth About Mr. Darcy” to light. We have shamelessly thumbed through his private diaries; admit it you know you have. Yet, we still yearn for more.

No matter how he is portrayed: paranormal, historic, or contemporary at his core he is still the same iconic literary figure that was created nearly two hundred years ago. Talk about staying power.

I find myself constantly asking people “Who is your Mr. Darcy?”. Some may say Colin Firth’s portrayal stole their breath away. While others, myself included, absolutely adored Matthew Macfadyen’s poignant portrayal. On a few occasions, to my surprise, people have told me that it was Elliot Cowan’s performance as Mr. Darcy in Lost In Austen that captured their Darcy.







No matter the outcome of the “Firth-Macfadyen’ debate, I believe that everyone, once they have read Pride & Prejudice, creates their own Mr. Darcy.





That leaves me one question: Who is your Mr. Darcy?







I would be remiss to go on blathering about these wonderful titles without offering you the chance to claim some of them as your own.

Dreaming of Darcy Giveaway Includes:



Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen (to see how it all began)
Mr. Darcy and the Secrets of Becoming a Gentleman by Maria Hamilton
Only Mr. Darcy Will Do by Kara Louise
A Wife for Mr. Darcy by Mary Simonsen
What Would Mr. Darcy Do? By Abigail Reynolds


1 Tin of Twinings of London Loose English Breakfast tea
1 Box of Twinings of London English Breakfast tea

1 Mrs. Darcy Mug






To enter please answer the question: Who is your Mr. Darcy?
Please leave your name & a valid email address.
Giveaway is open Internationally
Ends September 16th, 2011




Until We Meet Again,





Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Mr. Darcy’s Pemberley Pomegranate Scones

Over the weekend, I was planning to host a tea for a few close friends who also happen to be fellow Jane Austen Addicts. I wanted to come up a new scone recipe as I had grown tired of the normal ones and wanted something a bit different.

Unfortunately, I was stumped and seeing that the tea was only a few days away, I resigned myself to making my old tried-and-true Scottish Gingerbread Scones. So, with my scone dilemma remedied, I fixed me a cuppa tea in my Mrs. Darcy mug and set to rereading, “Two Become One”, the first book in Sharon Lathan’s Darcy Saga.

After reading the first few chapters, I started wondering what kind of scones Mr. Darcy would have ordered to be made. (I say ordered to be made because I just do not see Fitzwilliam Darcy rummaging around in the kitchens whisk in hand wearing a Regency-style “Kiss the Cook” apron.) Thus, Mr. Darcy’s Pemberley Pomegranate Scones were born! I am fairly sure that Lady Catherine would be highly envious of the delicious delights!

Of course, if you are having Darcy-inspired scones, you will have to have a tea worthy of the owner of Pemberley thus I recommend Twinings of London’s Darjeeling Tea. Known as the “Champagne of Teas”, it is described as a ‘delicate Indian tea with a unique character that is liked to the Muscatel grape’. I believe that Mr. Darcy would approve.

I hope you enjoy the scones & tea!






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Mr. Darcy’s Pemberley Pomegranate Scones

Preheat oven to 425 F.
Ingredients:

2 Cups of Self-Rising Flour*
1 ¼ teaspoons of Baking Powder
1 ½ Sticks of Butter, cold cut into chunks
⅓ Cup of Sugar
2 Large Eggs
½ Cup Milk
½ Cup of Dried Pomegranates
½ Teaspoon of Nutmeg
¼ Teaspoon of Cloves
1 Teaspoon of Cinnamon


*If you do not have self-rising flour you can make your own.
-For every 1 cup of Flour add 1 ½ teaspoons of Baking Powder and a pinch of salt.

Sift together Flour and Baking Powder in a large mixing bowl.
Add in Sugar and chunks of Butter. (Cold butter will mix better).













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Cut in butter with a pastry blender until mixture resembles bread crumbs.

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In a separate bowl, add two large eggs and milk.
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Whisk together until frothy.

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Pour Egg-Milk mixture into the Flour mixture.
Stir together with a wooden spoon until the mixture is slightly blended.

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Place mixture upon a floured surface and kneed, about 1-2 minutes, until it resembles dough. DO NOT OVER KNEED, this will make the dough tough.

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Place your dough into a clean mixing bowl.
Add in dried Pomegranates, nutmeg, cloves, and cinnamon.


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Mix together with hands.
Place on floured surface, kneed 2-3 times to ensure Pomegranates are evenly blended.



Roll dough out to ½ an inch in thickness and cut with a medium sized biscuit cutter.

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(If you prefer wedges, roll dough into an 9 inch circle (½ an inch in thickness), and cut into 6-8 wedges.)
Place on ungreased baking sheet for 15 minutes at 425 degrees.
Remove and place on a wire cooling rack then either serve or store.*



*If you are planning on serving these fresh from the oven brush tops with milk and sprinkle with sugar before placing them into the oven.

*If you are planning to store, make sure that they are cooled completely before placing in an airtight container.







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Until We Meet Again,


Wednesday, May 11, 2011

The History of England by Jane Austen


The History of England by Jane Austen

Jane Austen wrote her History of England in 1791 at the age of 15. Comprising of just 34 pages accompanied by 13 watercolor miniatures of English monarchs that were painted by her sister, Cassandra, History of England is a fascinating piece of early literature. Being a piece of juvenilia it was wrote mainly as entertainment for her family circle when they gathered in the parlor of her father’s rectory.

A work of witty satire, this History offers more parody than actual history and draws attention to the way a girl of her age would have felt about their education. Filled with mocking satire, devoid of actual dates and vital information, Miss Austen’s portrayal of the monarchs was more for sheer amusement rather than educational purposes.

The History of England showcases Miss Austen’s wildly vivid imagination, as well as her ability to produce social comedies.

A few years after writing The History of England, Jane Austen compiled this composition as well as 28 other pieces of her juvenilia into three notebooks, which she entitled “Volume the First”, “Volume the Second”, and “Volume the Third”. It is in “Volume the Second” that The History of England is contained, and upon Miss Austen’s death, this volume passed to Cassandra. Upon Cassandra’s death in 1845 “Volume the Second” passed to Francis Austen, and remained in her family until 1977 when it was sold to the British Library.


In 1922, the granddaughter of Francis Austen and owner of “Volume the Second” allowed Chatto and Windus to publish the entire notebook under the name Love and Friendship. Since its first publication in 1922, The History of England continues to be published.


In addition, the British Library has recently uploaded the original “The History of England” on-line for readers to enjoy. If you would like to view the original, you can do so here. http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/ttp/austen/accessible/introduction.html


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The History England opens with the following:

The History of England
from the reign of
Henry the 4th
to the death of
Charles the 1st.

By a partial, prejudiced, & ignorant Historian.
__________________________________

To Miss Austen eldest daughter of the Revd George
Austen, this book is inscribed with all due respect by
The Author

N.B. There will be very few Dates in this History.






The copy that I possess is a newer edition published in 2006 by Icon Books Ltd… It contains a forward by David Starkey as well as an excerpt of Charles Dickens’ A Child’s History of England. I do like this version, although I wished that it would have contained the miniatures that Cassandra painted. Other than that, this version remains true to the original manuscript. It offers a witty account of the monarchs through the eyes of a 15 year old. I liked the little quips and conclusions that Miss Austen makes throughout the book. She deems that Richard III was a respectable man because he was a York. Henry VIII’s only merit was that he was not quite so bad as his daughter Elizabeth. Also, that it was her (Jane’s) Duty to declare that this amiable woman, Anna Bullen (Anne Boleyn), was entirely innocent of the Crimes with which she was accused, of which her Beauty, her Elegance, & her Sprightliness were sufficient proofs…

This is a book that all Janites should take a look at. I found it highly amusing I hope you do as well.


I HAVE 1 COPY TO GIVEAWAY. CONTEST IS INTENTIONAL. PLEASE LEAVE YOUR NAME AND A VALID EMAIL ADDRESS. CONTEST ENDS 26TH OF MAY.

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Winners!

Robert Burns once wrote, "The best laid schemes o' Mice and Men gang aft aglee", or as we would say it “The best laid plans of Mice and Men often go awry.” I have to say that statement seems to be holding true when it came it getting this site up and running.

A few of the technical problems are still playing up, such as some of the pages are refusing to display what is on them, although I have decided to go ahead and start the blog up! Fingers crossed the whole site will be up and running within the next few days!





Ok first things first, we have winners for our first contest!

The first prize winner of The Addicted to Jane Austen Pride & Prejudice Survival kit is TRACEY RHOADES.

The second place winner who will be receiving a copy of The Trouble With Mr. Darcy by Sharon Lathan is SUSIEBOOKWORM.

I will be emailing you both shortly.


I would like to thank everyone who entered. If you did not win please try again next time. Also I would like to thank everyone for the lovely comments about the blog!

All winners are chosen at random by Random Number Generator.

Don’t forget to cast your vote for your favorite Jane Austen novel.

Tomorrow we will be taking a look at Jane Austen’s The History of England!