Rob T. @170: I am working my way through the Horrid Novels. My favorite so far is The Midnight Bell, which has the most hilariously convoluted plot and...
Lauretta and her guide followed him with their eyes in silent wonder for some moments, when a sudden blow from an unseen hand levelled her companion with the earth, and, from the firmness with which he had held her arm, he in his fall drew her upon him. Astonishment closed her lips; and in an instant, a man muffled up in a cloak lifted her from the ground, and whispering in her ear "Be silent," he took her arm under his, and led her swiftly along... (from Chapter XIII)
Ninjas! Could it get any better?
I'm on my third read of The Mysteries of Udolpho and enjoying it more than the previous two readings. I find skipping the poetry helps, and also speeds things along considerably.
This discussion has been going on a long time.
Yes, novels; -- for I will not adopt that ungenerous and impolitic custom so common with novel-writers, of degrading by their contemptuous censure the very performances, to the number of which they are themselves adding -- joining with their greatest enemies in bestowing the harshest epithets on such works, and scarcely ever permitting them to be read by their own heroine, who, if she accidentally take up a novel, is sure to turn over its insipid pages with disgust. Alas! if the heroine of one novel be not patronized by the heroine of another, from whom can she expect protection and regard? I cannot approve of it. 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. Now, had the same young lady been engaged with a volume of the Spectator, instead of such a work, how proudly would she have produced the book, and told its name; though the chances must be against her being occupied by any part of that voluminous publication, of which either the matter or manner would not disgust a young person of taste: the substance of its papers so often consisting in the statement of improbable circumstances, unnatural characters, and topics of conversation which no longer concern anyone living; and their language, too, frequently so coarse as to give no very favourable idea of the age that could endure it.
From Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen, written 1798ish, published posthumously in 1818. Of course then the discussion was simply fiction/anti-fiction, not literature/genre, but it's the same idea.
Lee @116: I've never heard of green bell peppers on a steak sandwich except by request. Cheese and fried onions aren't really even default: you have to order cheese with to get them. Just the meat on a roll is the true default.
Emerging from lurk to explain the current state of Philly cheesesteaks for those who have Been Away.
At the tourist-trap places like Pat's and Geno's, a "Cheese With" order will get you Cheez Wiz (and fried onions, which is the "with" part). However, I believe you can order provolone, but you have to ask for it. They're a bit cheesesteak-Nazi-ish, so you probably want to skip anyway. Also, Geno's proprietor has been in the news for displaying some xenophobic tendencies: he has a sign up that says "Speak English Only," really cute for what is basically a tourist attraction.
If you go to Jim's Steaks at 4th and South, which has better steaks anyway, the default is Cheez Wiz, applied from a giant can with a spatula, but you can definitely get provolone if you ask. Try to get a table near the front window upstairs and people-watch, though the people-watching on South Street isn't quite as much fun as it was back in the 80s. That's the place I take anyone who comes to Philly and expresses interest in a cheesesteak (and some who do not).
Any corner steak shop and many sandwich or pizza shops will give you whatever cheese you want (that they have on hand, mind you) on your steak sandwich. Some of them might not have the Wiz, though, and only offer real cheese, or at least something closer to it.
I was born in 1962. I have a very clear memory of being in a playpen while my mother was sitting on the sofa crying and watching a state funeral on television. For a long time I thought it must have been Bobby Kennedy's funeral, but then I realized I wouldn't have been in a playpen at six years old, and it must have been JFK's funeral. I was only sixteen months old when he was assassinated. It must have made quite an impression on me, and I'm sure it was a big deal in my Irish Catholic household.
Flying out of London Gatwick in late 2005, I had my carryon bag searched. The security officer regarded my 512mb USB flash drive with great suspicion. I had to explain what it was. Once I explained it, she was not much less suspicious but let me through.
Looking over that page, it's loaded with inside-joke type things, I'll warn you. I think they're less prevalent now...we used to get up to a lot of silly hijinx back in the day.
Serge @#125: Mags... Did anyone ever do a crossover between Jane Austen and Lovecraft?
Not that I'm aware of, but I'm not well-read in the fandom anymore; I'm really more familiar with the published stuff as I am sent most of the books to be reviewed on my blog.
Lizzy the Vampire Slayer has already been mentioned. I'm sure there are other werewolf/vampire crossovers floating around, but Lovecraft specifically? Doubtful, but wouldn't that be fun?
The atmosphere in the Austen fandom for fanfic is "if you don't have anything nice to say, then don't say anything at all," so there is a severe lack of quality control. The only q.c. that is imposed is by one site that limits stories to the Regency time period, no crossovers, and the prose must be fairly clean as to spelling and grammar. Of course, one can certainly have a very bad story that is perfectly spelled and punctuated, so I don't know how well that works, really.
Apropos The Handmaid's Tale being genre (I always thought of it as dystopian fantasy, even in my English major days): the recent glurge of Jane Austen sequels and other paraliterature is often treated with disdain and horror. How can these authors do such a thing to Jane Austen? the detractors ask. To them, I say: Wide Sargasso Sea. Nobody wrings their hands for Charlotte Brontë over that one, do they? Does Miss Brontë not deserve the same consideration as Miss Austen? (And I'm a much, much bigger Austen fan.)
It's all fan fiction, really. I don't like it when fan fiction, professional or amateur, is condemned on general principles. I'm the first to admit that most of the Austen-related stuff stinks, again, professional or amateur, but there is some that is good and some that is not good precisely, but not offensive and kind of fun. Each piece should be judged on its own merits.
I like to say I got my MFA at the University of Fan Fiction. Writing regularly was the best way for me to improve--and fan fiction gave me so much "scope for the imagination," as Anne Shirley would say. I had (and have) more fannish ideas than I have time to write, whereas before I started writing fanfic, I never had ideas I considered "good enough." I was trying too hard. With fan fiction, toss it out there and see what happens. What does it hurt? It's great practice if you want to improve. Of course, if you're just in it for praise and attention, without a mind to improving and getting better, you can write fanfic for a thousand years and nothing will help you.
moo.com prints up cute little minicards at about $25 for 100 with S&H. You can put a photo on the back, your buddy image on the front, the name and/or cover of your book, etc. You can have 100 different back images, one on each card. People get a big kick out of them--I had four different ones printed up, and when I give them a choice, have had more than one person take one of each. :-)
ur jus jelus!!!11!one!
Specific to book reviews: "How dare you criticize that wonderful book! Have YOU ever written a book?"
(Daresay the second one is less likely to crop up around here, but you never know.)
@abi #96: We must have our share in the conversation...
My publisher had a booth at the Philadelphia Book Festival over the weekend and invited some of their authors to spend a couple of hours signing books. In the two hours on Saturday that I was there (a fraction of the two-day event), three authors came up to the booth and attempted to pitch their novels. I should point out that this company publishes no fiction, and even if they did, the young ladies working at the booth were marketing and publicity managers, not editors of any description, but that didn't stop our intrepid pitchers. I wanted to shake them and ask, "What are you thinking?" It's not like the information about which publishers would be at the festival, with links to their Web sites describing the type of books they publish, was not available before the festival, and all these people got for their trouble was a postcard with the company's URL on it to read their submission guidelines. It was the real-life equivalent of spam and it was positively painful to watch.
I'm sure the pay-to-publish press with several booths across the way (fortunately not one of the scammy ones, but still) was delighted to hear all about their "fiction novels," however.
*coughPersuasionwithTonyHeadavailableonYouTubeifyousearchcreativelycough*
(though I am hearing through the underground that bits of it are being pulled--so make haste!)
The aforementioned adaptation of Persuasion will be aired in the U.S. in November on Masterpiece Theatre, along with new adaptations of Northanger Abbey and Mansfield Park, recently aired on ITV in the UK, and Sense and Sensibility, which is currently filming and should air in the autumn on the BBC in the UK. I have, through the generosity of the Fangirl Underground, seen the three ITV productions and been quite underwhelmed, though Tony Head produced some of the few laughs I got out of any of them. He's quite good as Sir Walter--silly and vain, just as he ought. But they all were much too short, much too rushed, and except for Persuasion very obviously done as cheaply as possible.
Neil #53 wrote: now I'm wondering what would happen if Jane Austen had written Les Liaisons dangereuses*
Lady Susan, a lesser-known work unpublished until many years after Jane's death, seems heavily influenced by Liaisons. Go ahead, read it, it's not that long, and is delicious fun. The eponymous character is very like to Madame de Merteuil. (I think I spelled that right.) No musical version that I'm aware of, though.
And in Persuasion Anne Elliot and Captain Benwick discuss "The Giaour," which I think in its turn mentions vampyres. Or one vampyre, at least. I thought about writing a vampyre sea-story based on that but never got around to it.
I can't tell you how many Janeites of my acquaintance are also Buffy fans. And not always the ones you would expect, either. It's the humor, I think. Of course, Catherine and Henry Tilney would have been in front of the TV every week ready to watch.
Oh, and I can't give you an Austen/O'Brian crossover (though no doubt one has been done, somewhere) but I actually wrote a Persuasion/Hornblower crossover a while back. It doesn't have much in the way of plot, unfortunately, it's just a bit of fluff.
Um, Uncle Jim?
Been done. (Almost.)
And Mary in men's clothes? Also done.
I enjoyed both these stories, particularly the second one.
Second the nomination for Resolve and Resistance--wonderful story.
Oh, NOW you've done it.
*madly Googles "crochet sock patterns"*
I am not a yarn stasher, but my doily thread collection is getting completely out of hand. Tatting thread collection also approaching critical mass. Fortunately the little tiny balls of thread don't take up that much room.
Oh my gosh, this stinks. I love AW. I never posted much, mostly lurked, but the good work they do and the community that they offer to writers is fantastic.
May Barbara Bauer rot in literary Hades for her perfidy!
I can recommend my excellent webhost, JaguarPC. It looks like the Longhorn hosting plan will fit AW's requirements, though they might want to upgrade to a semi-dedicated account. I've had good results with their customer service, and I would suggest alerting the owner to the possibility of scamming idiots trying to shut them down for speaking the truth.
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