I am in possession of a few extra, precious, For Darkness Shows the Stars ARCs. So I’m giving one away this week.
This book isn’t coming out until June, but people are saying it’s my best yet.
Well, by “people” I mostly mean my mom, and I suspect she’s a little biased, seeing as how it’s dedicated to her.
Anyway, not out until June, but you could read it early if you win this lovely, lovely ARC. I’ll even sign it.
I’ll definitely put a killer unicorn bookmark inside, owing to the fact that I haven’t made For Darkness bookmarks yet.
(In passing, so there’s this video game called “The Darkness II” that I don’t know anything about, but I keep seeing advertisements for whenever I watch Hulu+, since I watch on a Playstation and it’s a Playstation game, so now whenever I call my new book “For Darkness”, which I do a lot, I get this little ping in my head of “We’ve come for the Darkness, Jackie,” which is the line of dialogue from the commercial. I doubt highly that these two things have anything in common with each other aside from the word “Darkness” though, since the video game appears to be about a hitman who can wield demonic forces.)
My new manuscript I usually call PIMP, which is a concept thing, like PAP; Carrie usually calls Poppy, which is a character thing; and my editor calls something else entirely based on its working title, which I totally love and hope I get to keep and not going to tell you. How’s that for being secretive?
Back to the ARC giveaway. To enter, leave a comment on this post telling us one of the following things:
1. What is your favorite “Jane Austen” moment? It does not have to be from the books proper. For instance, my first favorite Jane Austen moment is Captain Wentworth’s letter. My second favorite Jane Austen moment is the look Colin Firth’s Mr. Darcy gives to Jennifer Ehle’s Lizzie when she helps Georgiana play after Caroline Bingley makes a crack about Wickham at Pemberley. My third favorite Jane Austen moment is when Paul Rudd and Alicia Silverstone sit on the steps of her house. My fourth favorite is the scene in Emma when Mr Knightley almost, but does not quite, kiss Emma’s hand. My fifth is Alan Rickman as Colonel Brandon, full stop. (I could go on. A lot. I shall spare you, though.)
2. If you do not have a favorite Jane Austen moment, explain yourself PLEASE.
Contest runs through Friday. Yes, international is eligible.
February 13th, 2012 at 10:32 am
Definitely love the one you mentioned with Paul Rudd and Alicia Silverstone. Oh man, I haven’t seen that movie in ages. I think it is time.
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Diana replies:
February 13th, 2012 at 10:43 am
So what’s your fave moment?
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Jennifer Howell replies:
February 13th, 2012 at 11:34 am
I really enjoy the scene of Darcy meeting Elizabeth at Pemberley in P&P. I suppose because its where you begin to feel hopeful again for them.
Also in ‘Emma’ when Knightley has ridden from London in the rain and his rather rambling proposal.
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Diana replies:
February 13th, 2012 at 12:10 pm
Oh, yeah, I love those! Especially how bad Knightley is at proposing. Shows why he’s a bachelor so late in life!
February 13th, 2012 at 10:36 am
Okay wow my favorite Jane Austen moment? Is that even possible. I’m going to go and say it out loud: I don’t have a favourite Jane Austen moment. Cause all my moments with Jane Austen are awesome. Where to start? The books, all beautiful, amzing, wonderful, six of them. Then the movies. I always tell myself when I watch one: this is going to be my favourite adaptation. And I do consider it my favorite adaptation. Until the BBC or a producer decides to do a new one starring an amazing cast that I love. Of course, each time I’m blown away. Plus, not only do they make movies about her book, but they make movies about her too. I mean who can possibly resist James McAvoy and Anne Hathaway. Seriously? What about the litterature linked to Jane Ausen. Let’s start with Austenland by Shannon Hale (Which is going to be made into a movie: I sense that I’m going to have a new favourite soon).Great story. And your making one too!!! Not to mention the light mentions of Bridget Jones to Mr.Darcy. For me, everything is Jane Austen related. Because she is amazing.
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Diana replies:
February 13th, 2012 at 12:11 pm
Camille, sometimes I feel in my life everything is Jane Austen-related, too. And i gt embarrassed when I liken something to Jane Austen, and then I’m reminded that not EVERYONE knows everything about those books.
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February 13th, 2012 at 10:37 am
My favorite Jane Austin moment has to be from Sense and Sensibility (the movie).. The part where Marianne is in the field in the pouring rain staring down at Williby’s house! (please excuse the spelling)I could totally FEEL her pain!!! OMG I love that movie!
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Diana replies:
February 13th, 2012 at 12:12 pm
Poor Marianne. It’s such an excellent adaptation. So lush!
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February 13th, 2012 at 10:39 am
My favorite JA moment is when Louisa takes a dive off the wall. I don’t really know why… Probably because it’s a catalyst for the happy ending.
Enna Isilee
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Diana replies:
February 13th, 2012 at 12:12 pm
Enna, I think I love you.
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Enna Isilee replies:
February 13th, 2012 at 12:19 pm
Aw. I love you too!
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Tiff replies:
February 13th, 2012 at 4:26 pm
Ok, I’m not kidding, that’s the first thing I thought of when you asked about fave moments. It’s not happy, but come. ON.
February 13th, 2012 at 11:07 am
I seriously cannot just pick one favorite Jane Austen moment! I’m such a huge fan of everything she did. Ok, I love it when Captain Wentworth first sees Anne for the first time after all the years. I love James McCoy and Anne Hathaway love declaration in the garden, when he gives himself to her so fully. I love the scene with from Kiera Knightley’s Pride & Prejudice when Mr. Darcy comes to her in the rain. Oh man, I can go on and on!
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Diana replies:
February 13th, 2012 at 12:20 pm
Definitely some love for Becoming Jane Austen. I am not a purist, and i really can’t resist James McAvoy…. in anything, from Mr. Tumnus on down.
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February 13th, 2012 at 11:26 am
My favorite Jane Austen moment is when Cher (Alicia Silverstone) has her epiphany moment about her relationship with Josh and the fountains shoot up behind her… so love that moment.
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Diana replies:
February 13th, 2012 at 12:22 pm
I also love the fountains. I really love that movie — it’s so perfect for the time period, and it’s also really respectful of the source material. I thought about Clueless al ot, when trying to strike the same balance for FDSTS.
(Spam word: Amy, like Amy Heckerling.)
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February 13th, 2012 at 11:33 am
While I love Wentworth’s letter too, my favorite part is when Anne finds him after she reads it and they take that ‘walk of revelations’ and talk about how much they love each other. It’s just such a happy moment. ^_^
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Diana replies:
February 13th, 2012 at 12:23 pm
Shalena, you’re right, that is such a great moment, especially since it reveals how much they’ve grown that they can admit that maybe it’s best things worked out as they did.
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February 13th, 2012 at 11:44 am
My favorite moment is when Cher has her moment on the steps thinking about her relationship with Josh. So adorable!!
Vivien
deadtossedwaves at gmail dot com
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Diana replies:
February 13th, 2012 at 12:24 pm
Judging from the comments, that’s a really popular one. I love it when characters stop being obtuse. Plus: how could you not love Paul Rudd? Such a cutie!
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Vivien replies:
February 13th, 2012 at 12:26 pm
He is adorable! The ‘coming to terms’ for Cher was the highlight of that movie. Where is Paul Rudd at now?
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Diana replies:
February 13th, 2012 at 12:28 pm
Wait, are you really asking? Because he’s been having quite the career Renaissance lately. He got involved in that whole Judd Apatow crew, and has done a ton of movies (Knocked Up, 40 Year Old Virgin, Getting Over Sarah Marshall, I Love You Man, Our Idiot Brother, etc.). Also, he’s on Parks and Rec right now, as a lovably moronic candidate running against Leslie. He’s hilarious.
February 13th, 2012 at 11:49 am
I know everyone loves the wet shirt for the wet shirt but I just love how his curls lay on his forehead and how they are both so completely caught of guard. Also after when he changes, that outfit he is wearing, I don’t think any of the other actors pull of those tight britches like Colin.
Why Wentworth’s letter does not get more love is beyond me, it is the best!
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Diana replies:
February 13th, 2012 at 12:26 pm
Connie, so true. Darcy does have great hair. And speaking of his pants (please let us speak more of his pants!), I also love the scene in that adaptation where he’s oh-so-carefully picking out his outfit to go call on Lizzie when she’s at the inn. You KNOW he’s going to propose again, and then — oops, she gets the letter about Lydia and everything is a disaster.
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February 13th, 2012 at 11:58 am
My favorite Jane Austen moment is in the new Pride and Prejudice movie, when Darcy and Elizabeth fight in the rain. And they totally think about kissing, but they don’t.
CV
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Diana replies:
February 13th, 2012 at 12:29 pm
Yeah, those two did a lot of almost-making-out in that movie. I was like “DARCY! Control yourself!”
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Charlee Vale replies:
February 13th, 2012 at 1:28 pm
In high school, my BF and I were on the speech team, and we did P&P for our duo. That moment was in our script. He wasn’t as resistant as Darcy.
CV
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Diana replies:
February 13th, 2012 at 1:37 pm
!!!!
February 13th, 2012 at 11:59 am
I love the moment when Mark Darcy surprises Bridget Jones at her house and she’s trying to cook but is completely hopeless in the kitchen and he stays to help her. And he politely eats blue soup and marmalade. To this day I can’t make anything with leeks without thinking of Mark Darcy and the blue soup.
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Diana replies:
February 13th, 2012 at 12:31 pm
I think about it whenever I use capers! How funny. I need to watch that film again soon. It’s so charming, and such perfect casting. I don’t know if it would have worked if they HADN’T gotten Firth, since it was so obviously meant to be him. And Grant as cad Daniel is such a revelation.
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February 13th, 2012 at 11:59 am
Oh, that quiet moment in Persuasion when Captain Wentworth hands Anne up into his sister’s carriage after the long walk and then looks away. Sigh.
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Diana replies:
February 13th, 2012 at 12:37 pm
Double sigh!
(It’s funny whenever anyone names a Persuasion reference because i find myself doing a mental checklist about whether I “got it in.”)
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February 13th, 2012 at 12:01 pm
My favorite Jane Austen moment is when Mr. Darcy proposes to Lizzie. Thanks for the giveaway!
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Diana replies:
February 13th, 2012 at 12:55 pm
Oh yes! I fell off the couch when I read that scene for the first time, at 16.
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February 13th, 2012 at 12:05 pm
I don’t know that it’s my FAVORITE, but I really need to show some Henry Tilney love here. He knows his muslin and he always makes me laugh.
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Diana replies:
February 13th, 2012 at 1:03 pm
Emily, it’s so good to have some Northanger Abbey support in here. I will shamefully admit i haven’t read that one in YEARS!
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February 13th, 2012 at 12:11 pm
I love both of the botched proposals in P&P. The Mr. Collins one is one of the funniest scenes ever written. And then the first Mr. Darcy one is just so painful and heartbreaking.
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Diana replies:
February 13th, 2012 at 1:08 pm
Oh, it’s truly hilarious. We mustn’t forget all the non-romantic parts of Austen that are just so brilliant!
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February 13th, 2012 at 12:13 pm
Sadly don’t have a favorite Jane Austen moment. I have a tough time motivating myself to read classics, I’m not entirely sure why, possibly the lack of killer unicorns…. Either way I know that I really should start reading more classics, the only problem is there are so many new books coming out that I want to read instead. I’m hoping your book will change that though. Thanks for the give-away!
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Diana replies:
February 13th, 2012 at 1:13 pm
The lack of killer unicorns is definitely a flaw of Austen’s! LOL
I may be flayed by the purists for saying so, but I think the movies, adaptations, and retellings ARE a great gateway drug. Watch Clueless, be inspired to read Emma, and so forth. I hope there are people who will look into Persuasion if they liked FDSTS.
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February 13th, 2012 at 1:08 pm
My favorite Jane Austen moment is from Bride & Prejudice, when they’re in the theater and both sisters end up slapping Wickham. Though, pretty much any of the dance scenes in that film make my heart happy.
(And potentially not a real JA moment, but at the end of Clueless when Paul Rudd says “I’m bugging too” when Murray says he’s bugging about the wedding planning. I can’t imagine Austen writing it, but it’s still tickles me.)
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Diana replies:
February 13th, 2012 at 1:36 pm
Bride & Prejudice is such a great take. I always get that song the sisters sing about “Mr Collie” stuck in my head!
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February 13th, 2012 at 1:14 pm
I second the need to show some Henry Tilney (and Northanger Abbey) love. I always find myself laughing through Northanger Abbey… especially when Catherine starts making up fantastical ideas about every piece of furniture/room in the abbey.
I think my favorite favorite scene is when Hugh Grant walks into the room and tells Emma Thompson that Lucy Steele married his brother so he’s free to marry her. “My heart is, and always will be, yours.” *swoons*
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Diana replies:
February 13th, 2012 at 1:46 pm
That settles it. I need to revisit my NA.
Oh yeah, and then Emma Thompson loses it! Did you hear she just signed on to do Kami Garcia and Margie Stohl’s book, Beautiful Creatures?
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Virginia replies:
February 13th, 2012 at 3:15 pm
Has she really? I guess I need to dig that out of my TBR pile and put it closer to the top!
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February 13th, 2012 at 1:40 pm
My favorite Austen Moment has to be from Persuasion, during the poetry discussion, when (augh I am terrible at names) says that all books and poetry speak of the inconstancy of women, and Anne LAYS THE SMACKDOWN. Politely and awesomely.
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Diana replies:
February 13th, 2012 at 1:47 pm
Anne is so fantastic. She’s a way better person than I would have been.
That would be Captain Harville. And it’s good he did, since it’s what inspired Frederick to write that letter to Anne.
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February 13th, 2012 at 3:27 pm
Okay, Northanger Abbey is probably the less loved Austen novel, but it’s totally my favorite one! (If I had to choose the one that I like the least, it’s definitely Mansfield Park, haha). Anyway, I LOVE this quote:
Let us leave it to the reviewers to abuse such effusions of fancy at their leisure, and over every new novel to talk in threadbare strains of the trash with which the press now groans. Let us not desert one another; we are an injured body. Although our productions have afforded more extensive and unaffected pleasure than those of any other literary corporation in the world, no species of composition has been so much decried. From pride, ignorance, or fashion, our foes are almost as many as our readers. And while the abilities of the nine-hundredth abridger of the History of England, or of the man who collects and publishes in a volume some dozen lines of Milton, Pope, and Prior, with a paper from the Spectator, and a chapter from Sterne, are eulogized by a thousand pens — there seems almost a general wish of decrying the capacity and undervaluing the labour of the novelist, and of slighting the performances which have only genius, wit, and taste to recommend them. “I am no novel-reader — I seldom look into novels — Do not imagine that I often read novels — It is really very well for a novel.” Such is the common cant. “And what are you reading, Miss — ?” “Oh! It is only a novel!” replies the young lady, while she lays down her book with affected indifference, or momentary shame. “It is only Cecilia, or Camilla, or Belinda”; or, in short, only some work in which the greatest powers of the mind are displayed, in which the most thorough knowledge of human nature, the happiest delineation of its varieties, the liveliest effusions of wit and humour, are conveyed to the world in the best-chosen language.
I know it’s not exactly a moment, and there are conversations between Mr. Tilney and Catherine that I really enjoy, but this is my favorite Austen quote.
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Diana replies:
February 13th, 2012 at 4:04 pm
AND SUCH A WORTHY ONE!
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February 13th, 2012 at 3:33 pm
Ahhhhhhh the excitement!
My fave moment is Wentworth’s letter, too. But there are all sorts of delicious little moments through Persuasion (yes, it’s my favourite Austen), including the torturous ones (eg, Anne hearing through Mary that Wentworth said he wouldn’t have known her).
Can’t WAIT to read this one Diana.
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Diana replies:
February 13th, 2012 at 4:27 pm
Anna, we both have the shame of secretly LOVING all the torture poor Anne undergoes when Wentworth is getting his revenge in. Like the scene where he talks smack about her to Louisa! He treats her terribly, and I perversely love it. Why? What’s wrong with me? Should I talk to a therapist? I don’t know…
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February 13th, 2012 at 3:36 pm
Gee, I have so many favourite Jane Austen moments… But certainly Cap. Wentworth’s letter is the best one. Persuasion is my favourite Austen book and that part about piercing souls and half agony half hope is TONS OF AWESOME (and a little bit goth, if you think about it in the lighst of 21st century).
I also really love Mr. Darcy in the 2005 Movie, despite all the hate I see around there directed to him. Of course Mr. Firth’s Darcy is wonderful, but I just love the shy, collected way of MacFayden’s Darcy.
And I just ABSOLUTELY LOVE when Daniel Cleaver and Mark Darcy take a swim on the pond while fighting in Bridget Jones 2! I am never tired of watching this movie, really.
(Oh, and may I be excused to love Billie Piper as Fanny Price on Mansfield Park??)
Other Jane Austen thing I love: how much I hate Emma. And how much I am just like Elinor, from Sense and Sensibility and my sis is just like Marianne.
Ok, I got a bit carried away, but I cannot control myself when it comes to Jane Austen! :O
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Diana replies:
February 13th, 2012 at 5:57 pm
There is no need to control oneself on this blog when it comes to Jane Austen!
And no need to excuse oneself over Billie Piper, ever. She might have made Fanny palatable to me, even. Though I never will get into Edmund.
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February 13th, 2012 at 3:59 pm
Gah, are you kidding? How can I decide?
My favorite Jane Austen moment…would have to be the group of scenes after Darcy and Elizabeth meet at Pemberley in the 1995 BBC adaptation of P&P. Not the dripping first meeting, but the part afterwards – all the way from when Darcy gets dressed in a hurry (“No, the green one!”) with his gorgeous wet hair, and then runs out to catch Elizabeth and the Gardiners. Then he totally flummoxes them with his manners. And then he rushes to make sure they stay a little longer so he can walk with Elizabeth. Sigh. That was the true hopeful moment for me. My second favorite is the whole of Chapter 60 of P&P where Elizabeth teases Darcy (I almost typed “teazes”) after they get together. SO. CUTE. My third favorite is when Elinor and Edward get together in the 1995 S&S adaptation. I’ve never forgotten the words “My heart is, and always will be, yours.” My fourth favorite is THE LETTER from Persuasion. I’ve never lost it over a letter before then. LOVE.
Can’t wait for FDSTS! Also, PIMP! =)
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Diana replies:
February 13th, 2012 at 6:00 pm
Oh Tiff! You get so many points for knowing what color pants Darcy wears!
And then…. you lose them again because the green pants are the ones he puts on when he goes to meet her in the inn, when she gets the letter about Lydia. Whop whop. I know. I’m obsessed, right? It’s a sickness.
But both scenes are utterly adorable. And you get even more points for “teazes.” So it’s all good.
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Tiff replies:
February 13th, 2012 at 9:53 pm
Ack! You’re right. You just Austen’d me! But, in my defense, it’s not his pants he’s talking about, but the jacket. The pants are khaki. =)
Also, is it just me, or is that courtyard where he runs down the stairs to meet Lizzie (after changing) divine? I love the steps going down either side.
Also, my favorite scene in college was “I shall conquer this. I shall!” I think I felt that way about my papers. =p
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February 13th, 2012 at 5:37 pm
My favorite Jane Austen moment is when, in the Veronica Mars episode “The Rapes of Graff”, Veronica claims to have thrown a beer in someone’s face because he “dissed Pride and Prejudice”.
Girl has her priorities straight.
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Diana replies:
February 13th, 2012 at 6:01 pm
A Veronica Mars/Jane Austen moment should probably be worthy of double entries.
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February 13th, 2012 at 6:09 pm
Okay, favorite moment from Jane Austen. Geez, Jane AUSTEN?????? I’m not a Jane Austen person! I only own the newest Pride & Prejudice movie with Keira Knightley!
Anyway, favorite moment is when Elizabeth and Charlotte are under the “bleachers” (I will call them bleachers) and they overhear MR. Bingley and Mr. Darcy talk about her (to which Mr. Darcy calls her “disagreeable,” poor Elizabeth), and Elizabeth retorts to Charlotte by saying, “I wouldn’t dance with him for all of Derbyshire, let alone the miserable half.” (at least, that’s how I remember it.) I found it rather funny.
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February 13th, 2012 at 6:33 pm
Okay, I haven’t read all of her novels yet, but I’ve read several and for me personally, NOTHING can beat Mr. Colins. He has got to be one of the funniest characters – especially the way he’s played in the movie. I love his proposal in Pride and Prejudice. I just find it endlessly entertaining. And duly horrifying. But mostly ridiculously entertaining.
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February 13th, 2012 at 6:47 pm
Other than thoroughly enjoying the movie CLUELESS, I suppose the closest thing I have to a Jane Austen moment came a little over two years ago. Now, my brother and sister-in-law have this thing where every year, each selects a book for the other to read that they might not normally read. A couple of years ago, my sister-in-law chose PRIDE AND PREJUDICE for my brother to read.
When he finally finished reading P&P, my brother made note of it on his Facebook page, along with an explanation of why he was reading it. Now, this was close enough to Christmas (August, I think) that I was looking around for ideas for Christmas presents, and this gave me the idea of giving them PRIDE AND PREJUDICE AND ZOMBIES and SENSE AND SENSIBILITY AND SEA MONSTERS. I literally wrapped the books in identical boxes, and put tags on them at random. (I think my brother got S&S&SM.)
Last year (that is, Christmas 2010), I gave my sister-in-law JANE BITES BACK, which has Jane Austen as a vampire, alive (well, undead) and well and running a bookstore in the 21st Century.
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February 13th, 2012 at 7:34 pm
Ha, I couldn’t resist answering this question. My favorite moment was when Mr. Darcy proposed. I remember the first time I read it. I was SHOCKED. SHOCKED!!!
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Diana replies:
February 14th, 2012 at 8:18 pm
Me too! I fell off the couch, actually. I’ll never forget it.
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February 13th, 2012 at 7:35 pm
I am very much like Elinor, and my favorite Jane Austen moment is when Elinor breaks down to her sister after Marianne finds out that Lucy and Edward are engaged.
Also, Emma Thompson performed beautifully in that scene.
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February 13th, 2012 at 8:22 pm
I’m a total Northanger Abbey fan too. Everything in the first half of the book is too hilarious. Catherine and her obsession with Gothic novels is just too much. Austen lets her wit just fly in that one.
I also love Emma with Gwyneth Paltrow. I love the scene where she shoots off her bow and arrow while arguing with Mr Knightley. I’m not a fan of Paltrow in general, but I love her as Emma.
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February 13th, 2012 at 8:52 pm
Wow thank you so so much for this amazing giveaway! It would mean the world to me to win that ARC, and also best of luck to all who enter!
In answer to your question, I don’t have one single favorite Jane Austin moment, only because I have so many! Jane Austin is one of my favorite classic writers, and my favorite book of hers is Mansfield Park. In all her books, however, my favorite moments would have to be the balls/parties she writes about. They are so clearly depicted and so lovely to read about, I feel like I’m there every time.
Thank you again for the contest, and I can’t wait to find out the winner!
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February 13th, 2012 at 10:16 pm
My favourite Jane Austen moment is from the Kiera Knightley adaptation of PRIDE & PREJUDICE, towards the end when Darcy walks up through the mist and confesses his love for Lizzie the final time. “You have bewitched me, body and soul, and I love…I love…I love you” Matthew Macfadyen slays me with that scene, how he portrays Darcy all choked up. Every time I watch that movie, I rewind and watch just that scene another 2 or 3 times. I want a guy to say something like that, and in that way, to me one day. *dreamy sigh*
Thanks for this giveaway! My fingers are crossed!!
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February 13th, 2012 at 10:41 pm
My favorite is Darcy’s letter and Elizabeth’s reaction to it.
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February 13th, 2012 at 11:25 pm
Okay, so I didn’t have a Jane Austen moment until kind of now. I had NO IDEA that Clueless was based off of Jane Austen. I love that movie! So this is kinda my moment??
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February 14th, 2012 at 1:37 am
EEEEEKKKK!!!! I saw “Jane Austen,” “Diana Peterfreund,” and “giveaway” and I was immediately IN!
I love Austen. I wish my grad program would teach a whole seminar on her. It’d be one of my favorite classes, ever. But nevermind that.
Favorite Austen moment…. there’s so many to choose from, but I am going to say that I loved the point where Mr. Darcy gives Lizzie the *worst* proposal EVER. Just awful. And she turns around, flat out denies him and passionately (and rightly) defends herself. Both of these characters are (beautifully) flawed, and never more than in this scene where they are both wrong and both clouded by their conceptions of the other. I love it because it’s the turning point, where things after this cannot be the same and each character goes on a journey wherein they discover more about themselves, each other, and how they are actually well-suited for one another.
Sighhh… Makes me want to pull out my BBC copy right this very minute… but alas, graduate school books call out to me. Thank you for letting me relive this moment, though, Diana!
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February 14th, 2012 at 9:24 am
My favourite Austen moment? Well, I’ve got too.
There is a TV show called Lost in Austen, based on Pride and Prejudice where a young woman is taken into the world of the books and swaps places with Elizabeth Bennet. It is just… amazing because it is as if you are there with the characters and it is really funny – and there are some twists in the interpretation of the book. So, I’d say that the whole of that show.
But for ‘proper’ Austen I think I would have to say the part when Lydia elopes with Whickham, I just loved that bit.
“My dearest sister, now be serious. I want to talk very seriously. Let me know every thing that I am to know, without delay. Will you tell me how long you have loved him?”
Darcy? I’ve loved Darcy since I read the book!
*Ok, I know I must seem seriously mental, taking a quote from the book and adapting it like that – but it is seriously amazing*
Thanks for the giveaway *fingers crossed haha*
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February 14th, 2012 at 1:07 pm
My favorite book is Pride and Prejudice and I could choose something from that book, but I’m going to pick something different, something more visual. I remember watching the TV movie Mansfield Park with Billie Piper as Fanny. I love the scene towards the end of the movie where Edmund realizes he is in love with Fanny after she tells Edmund’s mom that the purple thread would be better in the stitching!
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February 14th, 2012 at 7:44 pm
I actually don’t have a favorite Jane Austen moment because I haven’t read or seen any of her work. I know, shame on me.
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February 14th, 2012 at 8:13 pm
Does “Colin Firth” count as a favorite Jane Austen moment? No? Okay, then my favorite moment is this:
“My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you.”
Also, my friend and I fought over who got to be Mistress of Pemberley.
(Although Alan Rickman is also one of my favorite Jane Austen moments. Where did we land on the whole British-actors-counting-as-moments thing?)
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Diana replies:
February 14th, 2012 at 8:19 pm
We wholeheartedly approve.
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February 14th, 2012 at 9:04 pm
I also have many favorite Jane Austen moments… many, many… But one of my most memorable ones was the very first time I ever stepped foot in the Strand Bookstore in NYC. That day I found one of those tiny Everyman editions of Emma with gorgeous gold scrolling on the spine for only $5… it was like a beacon on the shelf calling out to me. I think I read it that night from cover-to-cover… and many times since.
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February 14th, 2012 at 10:18 pm
I would also have to say Alan Rickman as Colonel Brandon in Sense and Sensibility (no seamonsters). Especially as Angsty!Colonel Brandon, and then as Happy!Colonel Brandon.
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February 14th, 2012 at 10:20 pm
This is kind of a cop-out, but I just love all the re-tellings of Austen, especially ones of P&P, like Bride & Prejudice… so much fun! And Lost in Austen — adore it! I’m ridiculously ashamed to say I haven’t even read any Austen, yet I love all the re-tellings. Weird, I know. I’ve never been a fan of the classics I *had* to read, but I really want to make it a priority to read at least ONE Austen this year.
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February 15th, 2012 at 12:21 am
This is so hard to choose but definitely Mr. Dracy meeting Elizabeth in Pride and Prejudice!!!!!! That scene is just so… hopeful! you know? Love it<3
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February 15th, 2012 at 5:09 am
i remember reading P&P as a precocious fourth grader and thinking it was boring. but i picked up S&S after, and for some reason, i *got* it. maybe it was the relationship between elinor and marianne, since i have three younger sisters, but there was something absolutely magical about understanding a book someone told me i would never like or “get”. granted, i “get” it a lot more now, but still. austen made me realize that books are written for everyone and anyone.
my initial boredom with P&P aside, i reread it in high school and for our english lit AP test, the final literature question asked us to write about a novel in which some sort of mystery/confusion was central to the plot. (it was a while ago.) we had also read “bleak house” that year, which fit the prompt perfectly, but my friend summer wrote about P&P and darcy’s letter. i don’t know why i remember that so clearly, because i wrote about something entirely different, but summer and i both scored 5’s and perhaps that’s why.
(but to be fair, lizzie turning down darcy is one of my favorite formative feminist literature moments ever. rock on, lizzie bennett!)
also, pride, prejudice and zombies! sense, sensibility and sea monsters! hah!
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February 15th, 2012 at 8:49 am
This is tough, but I think I’m going to have to go with the frisson I got when I read, “pictures of perfection make me sick and wicked,” which is from one of Austen’s letters to Clarissa that wasn’t posthumously censored (I think I ran into it in Halperin’s “Jane Austen the Woman,”). I was not in a great place at the time and those words hit me like a ton of bricks (and became my .sig for a while thereafter). Runner up: “Persuasion.” All of it.
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February 15th, 2012 at 9:41 am
Just one? Impossible! I love the new adaptation of P&P, even though I didn’t watch it for ages because who could be as good as Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth? The scene in the rain between Keira Knightley and Matthew MacFadyen through is mesmerizing, I think I may have screamed kiss already at the TV! Also I loved Mr and Mrs Bennet in that adaptation, and Mr Collins was perfect too. Oh and Judy Dench as Lady Catherine De Burgh, storming around the Bennet house in the middle of the night – brilliant! And the thousand times yes scene with Jane and Mr B. Gosh that was a good adaptation.
Then there is the classic wet shirt Darcy moment, which I still remember everyone going wild about the next day at school.
And I also deeply love the scene between Emma Thompson and Hugh Grant when he tells her he isn’t married “um, yes. . . my brother . .. Mr Robert Ferris” and she bursts into tears. So lovely.
Oooh and last one – I absolutely adore the moment in Bridget Jones when the lift opens and Hugh Grant walks out – his expression and the music and the walk are all perfection!
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February 16th, 2012 at 6:57 am
I am a horrible person and do not have one. When I was in 7th grade my English Teacher and mother got together and got this great idea that instead of this science fiction crap I was reading I should read the classics. I read Little Women, Gone With the Wind, and a bit of Pride and Prejudice before I was just sick of not being able to read what I loved.
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February 16th, 2012 at 5:04 pm
I replied and goodreads and thought OMG i’m the only one who replied i have to win then i looked here and its like Ohhh >sad facelooks around sheepishly
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Diana replies:
February 16th, 2012 at 7:30 pm
Oh no! I didn’t know anyone could reply on goodreads. How is that possible? there’s a giveaway happening on goodreads right now, but my publisher set that up. I don’t know how that works.
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Ally replies:
February 17th, 2012 at 10:32 am
I’m not sure, i get ure updates on there like if u blog and stuff..yh im just gonna stop because i dont know… But i was loving the feeling of being the only one Lool
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February 16th, 2012 at 8:44 pm
My favorite Jane Austen moment is the letter from Persuasion. I used to have the line “You piece my soul. I am half agony, half hope,” follow me around. I think it’s still on facebook as one of my favorite quotes. I also love the scene in the 1995 version where Anne is at the window in Bath where she delivers the line about women loving the longest without hope. Ang Lee’s Sense and Sensibility is full of great scenes, but I love the part where Eleanor finds out Edward isn’t married and abruptly starts to cry–it’s so real feeling. Also, I love the attention to details in the 2005 PP, the hand extension after helping her into the carriage, the quick sour look on Kiera’s face hearing Darcy’s insult, the shared glances with the sisters, the dirt on her skirt, messy/wind blown hair, and the slight hesitation in Darcy’s confession.
Anxiously awaiting your book, as Persuasion is my favorite.
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February 17th, 2012 at 9:08 am
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February 17th, 2012 at 11:02 am
I love P&P’s chapter 58 where Lizzy and Darcy debrief one another. Especially Darcy saying
“Did it,” said he, “did it soon make you think better of me?” He’s come so far from Mr. Grumpypants at the Netherfield ball.
I just watched the Emma Thompson/Ang Lee Sense and Sensibility, and I loved the part when Edward finally visits and tells them he isn’t married and Emma Thompson has Elinor cry in real honking sobs that end with her smiling.
That script is full of clever well done things. The way that Margaret so often says things that Elinor cannot.
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February 17th, 2012 at 1:28 pm
So. Many. Moments. I must make a list!
1) Sense and Sensibility (the Ang Lee movie): when Emma Thompson (Elinor) realizes that Hugh Grant (Edward) isn’t married and burst into tears.
2) when Marianne is ill. Emma Thompson’s crippling grief and the look on Alan Rickman’s face when he begs Elinor to give him something to do or he will run mad. *sob*
3) Northanger Abbey: I love how Catherine is sooo disappointed when instead of romantic or shocking letters she finds someone’s old laundry bill in the wardrobe! LOL, such a fun book!
4) The letter in Persuasion (Best. Moment. Ever.)
5) Knightly’s proposal (*sigh*)
6) Darcy and Elizabeth’s conversation over the piano at Lady Catherine’s (The wit. And the flirting!) Actually I love all of their flirty conversations. Books should have more verbal sparring!
7) the way Darcy is so worried when Elizabeth doesn’t come to dinner that he rushes over to the parsonage to check on her. And just as abruptly leaves. And she has NO CLUE.
(I’d should stop there. This could go on a while.)
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February 17th, 2012 at 2:15 pm
My favorite moment is when Elizabeth realizes what Darcy has done in convincing Wickham to marry her sister – because he did it even despite her mistreatment of him previously, and with no guarantee of being thanked for his efforts.
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February 17th, 2012 at 9:24 pm
If we are talking Jane Austen Movies, my favorite moments would have to be when Cpt. Wentworth comes in to ask Anne’s dad if he can marry her, and Elizabeth and their dad are like, “Anne? Why would you want to marry Anne?” And Wentworth and Harville are both trying to keep their smiles on. I also love the look that Fanny gives Crawford after they both go back to Mansfield after Tom is sick.
For the books, I love the courtship poem in Emma. I love Darcy’s letter in P&P – how did she not see that coming? I love just about any scene with Mr. Collins and Mr. Bennet at the same time. I love when Anne advises Cpt. Benwick that he should read more prose. I could go on and on…
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February 18th, 2012 at 12:42 am
I’ll be completely honest and admit I have never read a Jane Austen novel. I’ve heard so many great things about and I realize how significant they are in the literary world but for some reason unbeknownst to me, I just haven’t read them.
I think part of me is intimidated at the fact of reading them. I don’t want to be disappointed. But after reading some of these comments… I think I’ll be okay.
They will be read soon. Promise!
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February 19th, 2012 at 12:29 pm
One of my favourite monment is when Louisa falls and hits her head.Then,Wentworth insists on Anne remaining with Louisa because she’s the most capable.
Also,I liked the letter moment.I felt so happy for them and hopeful.
Good luck with your further writing!
P.S. Perhaps something similar with P&P?
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February 20th, 2012 at 5:22 am
My favourite moment is from Mansfield Park when Fanny Price first arrives at Mansfield Park and is sad and scared and Edmund comforts her in her time of need. Haha this has always been my favourite Austen read!
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February 23rd, 2012 at 12:35 pm
I love the bit in Persuasion where Wentworth sends Anne off in his sister’s carriage because he notices that she’s tired from the walk. Anne thinks he’s trying to get rid of her, but in reality, he’s actually looking out for her.
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February 25th, 2012 at 5:29 pm
I love the Pride & Prejudice (movie version with Kiera Knightly) where Darcy declares his live for Lizzy the first time. Of course, she rejects him right after but I love the moment anyway!
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March 6th, 2012 at 11:36 pm
My favorite Jane Austen moment was when Mr. Darcy confessed his true feelings to Elizabeth in Pride and Prejudice. I know that this is a very common book to refer Jane Austen as, but this book displayed the pinnacle of her work describing the power of women. What really stood out was how Elizabeth doesn’t stereotypically fall into Mr. Darcy’s arms, which really shows how independent women can be, and that just because someone proposed to you, it doesn’t mean you lose you’re sense of mind and say “YES” on the whim. Not only did Mr. Darcy confess in Chapter 34, but he finally had the guts to give into love, which was a really girly moment for me. Having Elizabeth, in a way, reject him, the story becomes more twisty, interesting, and emotional. The mixed emotions and confusing love makes this one of my favorite books that didn’t make me dislike the dainty aspects of being a girl.
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