Ah! realize your youth while you have it. Don't squander the gold of your days, listening to the tedious, trying to improve the hopeless failure, or giving away your life to the ignorant, the common, and the vulgar. These are the sickly aims, the false ideals, of our age. Live! Live the wonderful life that is in you! Let nothing be lost upon you. Be always searching for new sensations. Be afraid of nothing.
"Humanity takes itself too seriously. It is the world's original sin. If the cave-man had known how to laugh, History would have been different."
"When one is in love, one always begins by deceiving one's self, and one always ends by deceiving others. That is what the world calls a romance."
"The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it. Resist it, and your soul grows sick with longing for the things it has forbidden to itself, with desire for what its monstrous laws have made monstrous and unlawful."
"Romance lives by repetition, and repetition converts an appetite into an art. Besides, each time that one loves is the only time one has ever loved. Difference of object does not alter singleness of passion. It merely intensifies it. We can have in life but one great experience at best, and the secret of life is to reproduce that experience as often as possible."
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
12 Little Known Facts About Jane Austen
1. It has been estimated that at any one time around the world there are more than 600 Jane Austen adaptations being produced. China has increased its Jane Austen output by 400 per cent over the past five years, and looks set to be the world leader by 2012.
Next month alone sees the premieres of Northanger on Ice, starring Jayne Torvill as Catherine Morland, and BBC TV's new Mansfield Park, starring Jordan as Jayne Mansfield.
2 A previously unknown manuscript by Jane Austen has recently been discovered in a converted barn near Winchester, Hants - or so its owners claim. Nevertheless, many literary experts dispute its validity, arguing that the short novel A Sharp Punch Betwixt the Eyes lacks Austen's restraint. "This is without doubt the most important literary discovery for a century or more," states Michael Mansfield QC, acting for the defence.
3 Following the Panorama programme in which he investigated the most humane ways in which to execute a criminal, former Conservative MP Michael Portillo has now begun filming a new South Bank Show documentary Being Jane Austen, in which he dresses up as the novelist for two months, and lives the life she would have lived..
4 It has often been noted that Jane Austen makes no mention of the Napoleonic wars in any of her novels, even though they were being waged at the time of writing.
4 It has often been noted that Jane Austen makes no mention of the Napoleonic wars in any of her novels, even though they were being waged at the time of writing.
Yet Austen herself was a senior officer in the 4th Women's Battalion, King's Royal Hussars and saw active service at Ulm in 1805.
5 Lifelong fans of Jane Austen's work include Radio 1's Chris Moyles, celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay, Rick Parfitt of Status Quo and Big Brother star Jade Goody.
"To my mind, she has an exquisite understanding of the complexities and nuances of human relationships," argued Moyles on last week's Time for Austen slot of his popular breakfast show.
6 In autumn 2010, the Walt Disney corporation opens The Jane Austen Experience on a 50-acre site on the outskirts of Bath. Visitors are greeted by a 12ft high Jane Austen, dressed in period costume. Jane leads them into The Ballroom, where they can watch Jane dancing to a traditional Regency rhythm with a 15ft high Mr Darcy.
Other top exhibits in The Jane Austen Experience include Mansfield Safari Park and a fully automated camping area, Tents and Tentsability. The Austen Arena is proud to present the new musical Emmagination! five times a day, with exclusive lyrics by Sir Tim Rice. There is also a choice of six restaurants, including the award- winning Fried and Pre-Juiced Dishes.
7 A number of recent movies, such as Clueless (1995), have placed the plots of Jane Austen novels in contemporary settings. Martin Scorsese introduced an unexpected note of violence into his version of Mansfield Park, re-shot as Goodfellas (1990), but, as he pointed out in a talk at the National Film Theatre recently: "To me, there's an underlying violence in every word Austen wrote."
Experts have now begun to realise that the long-running series EastEnders is in fact an extended version of Sense and Sensibility, with Barbara Windsor as Mrs Dashwood and Phil Mitchell as John Willoughby.
8 Jane Austen has never been more popular in America. Candidates on both sides of the political divide are now vying with one another to quote her in their speeches. "And you know what?" Republican candidate Mitt Romney told a group of his supporters last Thursday. "Jane Austen loved Iowa every bit as much as I do".
On the Democrat side, Hillary Clinton is just one challenger who has shown herself eager to invoke Austen's name. "If Jane Austen can win the heart of Minnesota, then so - with your help - can I!" she told a gathering yesterday.
9 The first filmed adaptation of a Jane Austen novel came with Emma in 1937, starring the young Margaret Rutherford as Emma and Charles Laughton as Mr Knightley. This adaptation did not escape the censors: a 10-second sequence in which an incautious Harriet, attending a ball at Donwell Abbey, performs a suggestive lap dance for Robert Martin, has only recently been reinstated.
10 Up to 75 columnists a week introduce a note of erudition into their articles by beginning them with the phrase "It is a truth universally acknowledged that..."
Recent examples include, "It is a truth universally acknowledged that the new two-door Ford Capri is an absolute dream to handle" (Jeremy Clarkson, Sunday Times) and, "It is a truth universally acknowledged that my so-called ex is an insufferable prat, whinger and serial shagger" (Liz Jones, Mail on Sunday) and, "It is a truth universally acknowledged that there were times when King Henry VIII could be a right royal bastard" (Dr David Starkey, Monarchy Today).
11 Little is known about the life of Jane Austen. Her life is notable for its singular lack of events. However, this has not deterred biographers.
A recent biography by leading American feminist and professor in media studies Hermione P. Hackenbacker suggests that Austen committed suicide, having been let down by men; another, by leading conservative historian Alkin V. Halkin, argues that Jane Austen was in fact Jim Austen, and that he secretly adopted a female pseudonym in order to sell more copies of his novels.
A forthcoming work, Austen: Riddle Solved, suggests that all Jane Austen's novels were in fact written by Stratford-born playwright William Shakespeare.
12 A new version of Persuasion, re-named Me, I Don't Take Much Persuasion and scripted by Andrew Davies, is soon to be filmed, with Pamela Anderson as Anne and Mickey Rourke as Captain Wentworth.
In an arresting new opening, Anne and Captain Wentworth are seen making love in a Regency bed; the middle scenes also see them in bed together, and they are in bed together, too, in the final scene, only this time the bed is of a slightly later design, to emphasise the passage of time.
"It's what Jane Austen would have wanted," says Andrew Davies, who is now working on his next adaptation, this time of EM Forster's Howard's Bottom.
5 Lifelong fans of Jane Austen's work include Radio 1's Chris Moyles, celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay, Rick Parfitt of Status Quo and Big Brother star Jade Goody.
"To my mind, she has an exquisite understanding of the complexities and nuances of human relationships," argued Moyles on last week's Time for Austen slot of his popular breakfast show.
6 In autumn 2010, the Walt Disney corporation opens The Jane Austen Experience on a 50-acre site on the outskirts of Bath. Visitors are greeted by a 12ft high Jane Austen, dressed in period costume. Jane leads them into The Ballroom, where they can watch Jane dancing to a traditional Regency rhythm with a 15ft high Mr Darcy.
Other top exhibits in The Jane Austen Experience include Mansfield Safari Park and a fully automated camping area, Tents and Tentsability. The Austen Arena is proud to present the new musical Emmagination! five times a day, with exclusive lyrics by Sir Tim Rice. There is also a choice of six restaurants, including the award- winning Fried and Pre-Juiced Dishes.
7 A number of recent movies, such as Clueless (1995), have placed the plots of Jane Austen novels in contemporary settings. Martin Scorsese introduced an unexpected note of violence into his version of Mansfield Park, re-shot as Goodfellas (1990), but, as he pointed out in a talk at the National Film Theatre recently: "To me, there's an underlying violence in every word Austen wrote."
Experts have now begun to realise that the long-running series EastEnders is in fact an extended version of Sense and Sensibility, with Barbara Windsor as Mrs Dashwood and Phil Mitchell as John Willoughby.
8 Jane Austen has never been more popular in America. Candidates on both sides of the political divide are now vying with one another to quote her in their speeches. "And you know what?" Republican candidate Mitt Romney told a group of his supporters last Thursday. "Jane Austen loved Iowa every bit as much as I do".
On the Democrat side, Hillary Clinton is just one challenger who has shown herself eager to invoke Austen's name. "If Jane Austen can win the heart of Minnesota, then so - with your help - can I!" she told a gathering yesterday.
9 The first filmed adaptation of a Jane Austen novel came with Emma in 1937, starring the young Margaret Rutherford as Emma and Charles Laughton as Mr Knightley. This adaptation did not escape the censors: a 10-second sequence in which an incautious Harriet, attending a ball at Donwell Abbey, performs a suggestive lap dance for Robert Martin, has only recently been reinstated.
10 Up to 75 columnists a week introduce a note of erudition into their articles by beginning them with the phrase "It is a truth universally acknowledged that..."
Recent examples include, "It is a truth universally acknowledged that the new two-door Ford Capri is an absolute dream to handle" (Jeremy Clarkson, Sunday Times) and, "It is a truth universally acknowledged that my so-called ex is an insufferable prat, whinger and serial shagger" (Liz Jones, Mail on Sunday) and, "It is a truth universally acknowledged that there were times when King Henry VIII could be a right royal bastard" (Dr David Starkey, Monarchy Today).
11 Little is known about the life of Jane Austen. Her life is notable for its singular lack of events. However, this has not deterred biographers.
A recent biography by leading American feminist and professor in media studies Hermione P. Hackenbacker suggests that Austen committed suicide, having been let down by men; another, by leading conservative historian Alkin V. Halkin, argues that Jane Austen was in fact Jim Austen, and that he secretly adopted a female pseudonym in order to sell more copies of his novels.
A forthcoming work, Austen: Riddle Solved, suggests that all Jane Austen's novels were in fact written by Stratford-born playwright William Shakespeare.
12 A new version of Persuasion, re-named Me, I Don't Take Much Persuasion and scripted by Andrew Davies, is soon to be filmed, with Pamela Anderson as Anne and Mickey Rourke as Captain Wentworth.
In an arresting new opening, Anne and Captain Wentworth are seen making love in a Regency bed; the middle scenes also see them in bed together, and they are in bed together, too, in the final scene, only this time the bed is of a slightly later design, to emphasise the passage of time.
"It's what Jane Austen would have wanted," says Andrew Davies, who is now working on his next adaptation, this time of EM Forster's Howard's Bottom.
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
WUTHERING HEIGHTS (1847) Emily Bronte
"I've dreamt in my life dreams that have stayed with me ever after, and changed my ideas; they've gone through and through me, like wine through water, and altered the colour of my mind."
-Catherine Earnshaw
"And I pray one prayer—I repeat it till my tongue stiffens—Catherine Earnshaw, may you not rest as long as I am living; you said I killed you—haunt me, then! The murdered do haunt their murderers, I believe. I know that ghosts have wandered on earth. Be with me always—take any form—drive me mad! only do not leave me in this abyss, where I cannot find you! Oh, God! it is unutterable! I cannot live without my life! I cannot live without my soul!'
-Heathcliff
-Catherine Earnshaw
"And I pray one prayer—I repeat it till my tongue stiffens—Catherine Earnshaw, may you not rest as long as I am living; you said I killed you—haunt me, then! The murdered do haunt their murderers, I believe. I know that ghosts have wandered on earth. Be with me always—take any form—drive me mad! only do not leave me in this abyss, where I cannot find you! Oh, God! it is unutterable! I cannot live without my life! I cannot live without my soul!'
-Heathcliff
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