Celebrating Christmastide

Posted on December 18, 2014 by Regina Jeffers

Celebrating Christmastideye-old-yule-log

Christmastide (also Christmas or the Christmas season) is one of the seasons of the liturgical year of most Christian churches. It tends to be defined (with slight variations) as the period from Christmas Eve to the Epiphany. This period is also commonly known as the Twelve Days of Christmas, as referred to in the Christmas carol of the same name, or Yuletide, as in “Deck the Halls.”

Many Protestant churches add an Epiphany season after the Christmas season, extending the celebration of Christmas for forty days until the feast of the Presentation of Christ in the Temple (Candlemas) on 2 February (or a nearby Sunday). In the Missal and Breviary of the Roman rite, since 1970, the Christmas season runs a shorter period, from Christmas Eve to the Baptism of the Lord, which depending on the place and the year can occur between 7 January and 13 January. In the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the season runs from Vespers on 24 December till Compline on 2 February.

scene-from-emmaDuring the season, various festivities are traditionally enjoyed and buildings decorated. In some countries the superstition has arisen that it is bad luck to leave the decorations up after Twelfth Night.

Advent, anglicized from the Latin word adventus meaning “coming”, is a season observed in many Western Christian churches, a time of expectant waiting and preparation for the celebration of the Nativity of Jesus at Christmas. It is the beginning of the Western liturgical year and commences on Advent Sunday, called Levavi. The Eastern churches’ equivalent of Advent is called the Nativity Fast, but it differs both in length and observances and does not begin the church year, which starts instead on September 1.

The progression of the season may be marked with an Advent calendar, a practice introduced by German Lutherans. At least in the Roman Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, Moravian, Presbyterian, and Methodist calendars, Advent starts on the fourth Sunday before December 25, the Sunday from November 27 to December 3 inclusive.

Latin adventus is the translation of the Greek word parousia, commonly used in reference to the Second Coming of Christ . For Christians, the season of Advent anticipates the coming of Christ from two different perspectives. The season offers the opportunity to share in the ancient longing for the coming of the Messiah, and to be alert for his Second Coming.

Posted in British history, customs and tradiitons, Great Britain, Jane Austen, Living in the Regency, Regency era | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

A Jane Austen Time Line

Posted on December 16, 2014 by Regina Jeffers

A Jane Austen Time Line

239 years ago today, Jane Austen was born. I thought we might take a quick survey of her life.

MTE1ODA0OTcxNTQ2ODcxMzA51764-The Reverend George Austen marries Cassandra Leigh. They take up residence at Deane Parsonage in Hampshire.
1765-Brother James was born. Like his sister, James had literary aspirations, but he never knew success.
1766-George Austen was born. Mentally challenged, George was boarded out for most of his life.
1767-Edward Austen was born. Later, he was adopted by Thomas Knight. Because the Knight family had no children, Edward inherited all their property.
1767-The Austens move to Steventon Rectory.
1771-Jane’s brother Henry was born. It was with Henry’s influence that Jane found her publisher.
1773-Cassandra Austen is born.
1774-The first of Jane’s sea-faring brothers, Frank, was born.
1775-On December 16, Jane Austen is born.
1779-Charles Austen was born. Charles spent seven years in the British navy’s efforts in the West Indies.
1783-Jane nearly dies from typhoid fever, which she contracted while attending a boarding school in Oxford.
1787-Jane’s formal education ends, and she begins to write. She preserves scraps of her early writing in Volume the First.
1793-The last pieces are added to Volume the Third. Jane’s nieces Anna and Fanny Austen are born.
1795-Jane writes Elinor and Marianne.
1796-The first of the letters, which were preserved, are dated from this year. For example, in a January letter, Jane writes of flirting with Tom Lefroy, and in an October one, she tells of beginning First Impressions.
1797-Jane finishes First Impressions. It is offered to the publisher, Cadell, who declines Rev. Austen’s presentation of the manuscript.
Jane also begins Sense and Sensibility in 1797.
1798-Jane begins writing Susan. Her nephew (and future biographer), James Edward Austen is born.
1799-Jane finishes Susan. She stays for some time in Queen Square in Bath.
1800-Jane’s parents decide to retire in Bath.
1801-Jane’s parents take a lease on 4 Sydney Place in Bath.
1802-Harris Bigg-Wither proposes.
1803–Susan is sold to publisher Crosby.
1804-Jane’s family moves to Green Park Buildings, Bath.
1805-Rev. George Austen dies. Jane begins The Watsons, which she soon abandons. Her family moves to Gay Street in the spring and then to Trim Street in the autumn.
1807-The Austen women (mother, Jane, and Cassandra) take a house with brother Frank and his wife in Castle Square, Southampton.
1808-Brother Edward offers the Chawton cottage to his mother and sisters.
1809-In July, the women move into the Chawton cottage.
1811-Jane begins writing Mansfield Park. In November, Egerton publishes Sense and Sensibility.
1813-In January, Jane releases Pride and Prejudice. By July, Mansfield Park is finished.
1814-Austen begins Emma in the early part of the year. In May, Mansfield Park is published.
1815-Jane begins Persuasion. Emma is published in December.
1816-Sir Walter Scott gives Emma favorable notice in Quarterly Reviews. In August, Jane finishes Persuasion. She takes ill shortly afterwards.
1817-She begins Sanditon, but abandons it due to her health issues. In July, Jane Austen dies. She is buried in Winchester Cathedral. Persuasion and Northanger Abbey are published posthumously with a Biographical Notice written by Henry.

Posted in Great Britain, Jane Austen, Living in the Regency, real life tales, Regency era | Tagged , | 2 Comments

The Open Christmas Letter 1914

Posted on December 15, 2014 by Regina Jeffers

In the lead up to Christmas 1914, there were several peace initiatives. The Open Christmas Letter was a public message for peace addressed “To the Women of Germany and Austria,” signed by a group of 101 British women suffragettes at the end of 1914 as the first Christmas of World War I approached.

Emily Hobhouse authored the Open Christmas Letter and circulated it for signatures. License details This image (or other media file) is in the public domain because its copyright has expired.

Emily Hobhouse authored the Open Christmas Letter and circulated it for signatures.
License details
This image (or other media file) is in the public domain because its copyright has expired.

The Open Christmas Letter was written in acknowledgment of the mounting horror of modern war and as a direct response to letters written to American feminist Carrie Chapman Catt, the president of the International Woman Suffrage Alliance (IWSA), by a small group of German women’s rights activists. Published in January 1915 in Jus Suffragii, the journal of the IWSA, the Open Christmas Letter was answered two months later by a group of 155 prominent German and Austrian women who were pacifists. The exchange of letters between women of nations at war helped promote the aims of peace, and helped prevent the fracturing of the unity, which lay in the common goal they shared: suffrage for women.

The decision by some suffragists to speak out against the war split the women’s suffrage movement in the United Kingdom. Most British women were in favour of a quick solution to the conflict and were inclined to work toward that end in any way such as by helping fill positions abandoned by men off at war. Others were nationalistic and sought to make certain that British women were seen as patriotic, as doing their part, so that the men in power would think more highly of them and subsequently pass woman suffrage legislation. A minority of women advocated peace vociferously and worked with international peace organisations or with refugee aid societies. All suffragists from the most strikingly militant to the most actively pacifist agreed not to disrupt the nation at war in their promotion of women’s suffrage. Toward the end of the war, British politicians rewarded them with a partial victory: suffrage for property-holding women aged 30 and older.

From 1906 until mid-1914, the Labour Party in the United Kingdom was the party seen as most supportive of women’s suffrage—the right of women to vote. Suffragettes and other women’s rights activists organised to elect Labour candidates and to push for legislation that expanded the rights of women. In August 1914 when the world became embroiled in war, the British women activists were sharply divided into two camps: the majority who wished to work with their country’s war effort, and a minority who opposed the conflict. Millicent Garrett Fawcett of the National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies (NUWSS) wished to have the NUWSS members work for the war so that the men in politics would view the women with greater respect and would thus be more amenable to granting them the right to vote. However, the NUWSS membership included those who were against war. When Fawcett turned the NUWSS to war work, eleven pacifist members resigned, later to join the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF).

Like the NUWSS, the more militant Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU) led by Emmeline and Christabel Pankhurst chose to cease their obstructive activism for women’s votes and instead advocated the alignment of British women to the cause of war. However, in October 1914, Sylvia Pankhurst travelled to Glasgow and spoke out against the war, becoming one of the first suffragettes to do so. She said that “peace must be made by the people and not by the diplomats.” Though pacifist, Pankhurst held with her mother and sister to the general agreement that suffragettes would abstain from militant activism for the duration—she arranged for activist women to join with the War Emergency Worker’s Committee and fill some of the positions that had been abandoned by men leaving for war.

In Jus Suffragii in December 1914, Carrie Chapman Catt published a letter that she had received earlier from Anita Augspurg, Lida Gustava Heymann, and several other German women activists including presidents of woman suffrage societies in Germany. The letter was entitled “To the International Woman Suffrage Alliance, through its president, Mrs. Chapman Catt.”[5] It began, “To the women of all nations warm and hearty greetings in these wretched and bloody times.” The German women expressed that the “criminally rekindled war” should not separate women from all countries who had previously been united “by the common striving for the highest object—personal and political freedom.” They stated that “True humanity knows no national hatred, no national contempt. Women are nearer to true humanity than men.”

Catt published another letter from German women’s rights activist Clara Zetkin, one that expressed the desire for all women not to let “the thunder of guns and the shouts of the jingoes” make them forget that the rise of civilisation amongst the European countries held much in common. Zetkin wrote that the women of the world should guard their children against the “hollow din” of “cheap racial pride” which filled the streets, and that “the blood of dead and wounded must not become a stream to divide what present need and future hope unite.”

n response to the letters from Germany, Emily Hobhouse organised the writing and signing of a peace-promoting letter from British women: the Open Christmas Letter. In the 1900s, Hobhouse campaigned against and worked to change the appalling conditions inside the British concentration camps in South Africa built for Boer women and children during the Second Boer War. She saw in the German letters the opportunity for maintaining vital international relations among women who could help mitigate the damage that war would bring. She wrote what she called a “Letter of Christmas Greeting” in November 1914 and circulated it for signatures of women who wished for peace. Pankhurst and Helen Bright Clark were among the first to sign Hobhouse’s plea for continued sisterhood among the women of the world.

Others among the 101 signers were Margaret Ashton, Margaret Bondfield, Eva Gore-Booth, Esther Roper, Maude Royden, Helena Swanwick, and a wide range of women united by the wish for “undiminished sisterly relations” and a swift end to hostilities. Included among the women were some who were members of the Women’s Labour League, and some of the Independent Labour Party. One of the listed women was “Mrs. M. K. Gandhi” but it is unknown whether Kasturba Gandhi, the wife of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, asked that her name be included. At least one of the signers was an American: Florence Edgar Hobson was the New York-born wife of English Liberal social theorist and economist John A. Hobson.

The Message
Under the heading “On Earth Peace, Goodwill towards Men,” the letter’s salutation addressed “Sisters” and began, “Some of us wish to send you a word at this sad Christmastide, though we can but speak through the Press…” The women of the UK were prevented from direct communication with the women of Germany because of the war. Instead, they sent their missive to America, which was at that time a neutral nation. The letter continued, “The Christmas message sounds like mockery to a world at war, but those of us who wished and still wish for peace may surely offer a solemn greeting to such of you who feel as we do.” The letter mentioned that, as in South Africa during the Second Boer War (1899–1902) and in the Balkan Wars of 1912–1913, “the brunt of modern war falls upon non-combatants, and the conscience of the world cannot bear the sight.”

“Is it not our mission to preserve life? Do not humanity and common sense alike prompt us to join hands with the women of neutral countries, and urge our rulers to stay further bloodshed? …
Even through the clash of arms, we treasure our poet’s vision, and already seem to hear

“A hundred nations swear that there shall be
Pity and Peace and Love among the good and free.”

May Christmas hasten that day..

The Response
In the spring of 1915, the letter was answered in kind by 155 Germanic feminists including Augspurg and Heymann, who had sent the earlier letter from Germany. Margarethe Lenore Selenka, Minna Cauer, and Helene Stöcker were among the German signers; Rosa Mayreder, Marianne Fickert, Ernestine Federn, and Ernestine von Fürth were in the group of Austrian signers. The response was entitled “Open Letter in Reply to the Open Christmas Letter from Englishwomen to German and Austrian Women” and was published in Jus Suffragii on 1 March 1915. The letter began:

“To our English sisters, sisters of the same race, we express in the name of many German women our warm and heartfelt thanks for their Christmas greetings, which we only heard of lately.

This message was a confirmation of what we foresaw—that women of the belligerent countries, with all faithfulness, devotion, and love to their country, can go beyond it and maintain true solidarity with the women of other belligerent nations, and that really civilised women never lose their humanity..

For more information on this event, visit

Diana Overby’s Presently in the Past – https://dianaoverbey.wordpress.com/2012/12/21/open-christmas-letter-december-1914/

Many of these details can be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_Christmas_Letter

Posted in British history, customs and tradiitons, Great Britain | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

A Resurgence of “St. Jane,” the Never-Ending Reverence to All Things Austen

Posted on December 12, 2014 by Regina Jeffers

A Resurgence of Jane Austen

Several people believe Colin Firth’s stellar two-year “flirt” with Oscar – first with a spectacular performance in “A Single Man” and then in “The King’s Speech” – led to a resurgence of Jane Austen’s popularity. In the 1995 BBC mini-series, Firth played the enigmatic Mr. Darcy from Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, and a legion of Austen fans cheered on his most recent successes. Obviously, I am one of those fanatics, and although I have never noted the total absence of Jane Austen mania, I have seen the rise and fall of her popularity in modern culture. I write Jane Austen adaptations, as well as Regency era romances, and have seen firsthand the scramble of traditional publishers to snap up Jane Austen fan fiction (known as JAFF) for publication. I did not come to the publishing world in such a manner, but I have many Austenesque friends who have known a bit of notoriety as an Austen-inspired author.

Recently, I received a note on Facebook from a former student, who I would say “fought” me tooth and nail when I insisted upon teaching the beloved Pride and Prejudice to his AP class. He attended a film production school at the university level, and upon his first post graduation interview, the 20s something production staff described a screenplay they were considering. My student said, “Oh, that is just like Pride and Prejudice.” When the others were not as informed on Austen as my student, he explained the basic plot of P&P and earned the job. I laughed at his message for I always told him that he needed to know something of Jane Austen for some day he would be on “Jeopardy” and the final question to win all would be “Who is Jane Austen?” I was half right.

For a more detailed analysis of this “new” phenomena – this Austen mania – read the article below from The Star.

Kristin Rushowy
Education Reporter
Almost 200 years after her death, it is a truth universally acknowledged that Jane Austen and her works have found new life in the online world.
But these days, there’s another, real-world reason for all the interest in the 19th-century novelist: English actor Colin Firth.

Beloved among fans for his portrayal of Mr. Darcy in the famed 1995 BBC production of Pride and Prejudice.

aa8747014254b8bb8ac5c2e6362cFirth was the reason “a lot of people got hooked on the novels,” said Deidre Lynch, an English professor at the University of Toronto, whose Austen classes typically have as big a wait list as the classes themselves.

But, she added, that’s too simple an explanation for Austen’s ever-growing legion of fans. Social media, too, have given Austen a second life.

Austen is on Twitter — well, fans tweeting in her name — and is the subject of countless Facebook fan pages that grow daily, one with almost 850,000 “likes.” Devotees have created aFacebook newsfeed version of P&P, and others post videos to Youtube in Austen’s honour, from serious scene recreations to hilarious send-ups.

“It’s like votive offerings to Jane Austen, as if she were a saint,” said Lynch, editor of Janeites: Austen’s Disciples and Devotees.

In her current undergraduate class on romantic poetry and prose “Austen makes a few appearances,” she said. “The students would probably prefer more.”

Publishers often have trouble keeping up with demand for Pride and Prejudice.

There has been “a pretty steadily increasing Austen presence in popular culture — but not much of that really connected to the books Austen wrote,” noted Elaine Bander, president of the Canadian chapter of the Jane Austen Society of North America.

To read the complete article, please visit, http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/article/934803–jane-austen-is-back-thanks-to-colin-firth

 

Austen-inspired titles by Regina Jeffers (Visit www.rjeffers.com for excerpts, events, etc.)

Darcy’s Passions: Pride and Prejudice Retold from His Point of View

Darcy’s Temptations: A Sequel to Pride and Prejudice 

Captain Frederick Wentworth’s Persuasion: Austen’s Classic Retold from His Point of View

Vampire Darcy’s Desire: A Paranormal Pride and Prejudice

The Phantom of Pemberley: A Pride and Prejudice Mystery

Christmas at Pemberley: A Holiday Sequel 

The Disappearance of Georgiana Darcy: A Pride and Prejudice Mystery

The Mysterious Death of Mr. Darcy: A Pride and Prejudice Mystery

Honor and Hope: A Contemporary Romantica Based on Pride and Prejudice

(releasing in 2015) The Prosecution of Mr. Darcy’s Cousin: A Pride and Prejudice Mystery

 

 

Posted in book excerpts, book release, British history, Jane Austen | Tagged , , | 9 Comments

Do You Speak Jane Austen? Part Two

Posted on December 11, 2014 by Regina Jeffers

MTE1ODA0OTcxNTQ2ODcxMzA5Do You Speak Jane Austen? Part 2

A laugh, a fist pounding on a desk top, a raised eyebrow – these are all signals to punctuation of the spoken word, but what of the written word? We start with the assumption that we each wish to avoid language that is insensitive, stereotypical, or in any other way derogatory. But was that true for Jane Austen’s time? Look below. Are there words that you particularly like? Ones you find useless in our modern world?

J
jilt – to deceive a lover

“Let Wickham be your man. He is a pleasant fellow, and would jilt you creditably.” (Chapter 24)

St. James
St. James’s Palace is one of London’s oldest palaces. It is situated in Pall Mall, just north of St. James’s Park. Although no sovereign has resided there for almost two centuries, it has remained the official residence of the Sovereign and the most senior royal palace in the UK

Such formidable accounts of her ladyship, and her manner of living, quite frightened Maria Lucas who had been little used to company, and she looked forward to her introduction at Rosings with as much apprehension as her father had done to his presentation at St. James’s. (Chapter 29)

judged – to form an opinion or conclusion about

“Perhaps,” said Darcy, “I should have judged better, had I sought an introduction; but I am ill-qualified to recommend myself to strangers.” (Chapter 31)

K
kindred – family; similar people

“Can you possibly guess, Lizzy, who is meant by this?” ‘This young gentleman is blessed, in a peculiar way, with every thing the heart of mortal can most desire—splendid property, noble kindred, and extensive patronage. Yet in spite of all these temptations, let me warn my cousin Elizabeth, and yourself, of what evils you may incur by a precipitate closure with this gentleman’s proposals, which, of course, you will be inclined to take immediate advantage of.’ (Chapter 57)

kindness – an act intended to show kindness or good will; benevolence

“I can no longer help thanking you for your unexampled kindness to my poor sister.” (Chapter 58)

L
licentiousness – lack of moral discipline

“And it is the more to be lamented, because there is reason to suppose as my dear Charlotte informs me, that this licentiousness of behaviour in your daughter has proceeded from a faulty degree of indulgence; though, at the same time, for the consolation of yourself and Mrs. Bennet, I am inclined to think that her own disposition must be naturally bad, or she could not be guilty of such an enormity, at so early an age.” (Chapter 48)

livery – clothing marked for a particular member of the aristocracy

The horses were post; and neither the carriage, nor the livery of the servant who preceded it, were familiar to them. (Chapter 56)

loo – a betting card game

On entering the drawing room she found the whole party at loo, and was immediately invited to join them; but suspecting them to be playing high she declined it, and making her sister the excuse, said she would amuse herself for the short time she could stay below, with a book. (Chapter 8)

M
missish – prim and sentimental

“You are not going to be missish, I hope, and pretend to be affronted at an idle report. For what do we live, but to make sport for our neighbours, and laugh at them in our turn?” (Chapter 57)

Michaelmas – the feast day of the archangel Michael, celebrated on September 29

“Why, my dear, you must know, Mrs. Long says that Netherfield is taken by a young man of large fortune from the north of England; that he came down on Monday in a chaise and four to see the place, and was so much delighted with it, that he agreed with Mr. Morris immediately; that he is to take possession before Michaelmas, and some of his servants are to be in the house by the end of next week.” (Chapter 1)

mortifications – humiliation; shame

“Let me thank you again and again, in the name of all my family, for that generous compassion which induced you to take so much trouble, and bear so many mortifications, for the sake of discovering them.” (Chapter 58)

N
Netherfield – the fictionalized estate that Mr. Bingley rents in Hertfordshire

“Was there no good in your affectionate behaviour to Jane while she was ill at Netherfield?” (Chapter 60)

noble – dignified; gallant; aristocratic; gracious

“Had you not been really amiable, you would have hated me for it; but in spite of the pains you took to disguise yourself, your feelings were always noble and just; and in your heart, you thoroughly despised the persons who so assiduously courted you.” (Chapter 60)

novelty – freshness; uniqueness; something new, original, and different that is interesting or exciting, though often for only a short time

He was as much awake to the novelty of attention in that quarter as Elizabeth herself could be, and unconsciously closed his book. (Chapter 11)

O
odious – horrible; loathsome; abhorrent

“How many letters you must have occasion to write in the course of a year! Letters of business, too! How odious I should think them!” (Chapter 10)

obeisance – a gesture of respect, such as a bow or a curtsy; honor; loyalty

The two gentlemen left Rosings the next morning, and Mr. Collins having been in waiting near the lodges, to make them his parting obeisance, was able to bring home the pleasing intelligence, of their appearing in very good health, and in as tolerable spirits as could be expected, after the melancholy scene so lately gone through at Rosings. (Chapter 37)

P
penance – remorse; a hardship endured to compensate for wrongdoing

It seemed like wilful ill-nature, or a voluntary penance, for on these occasions it was not merely a few formal inquiries and an awkward pause and then away, but he actually thought it necessary to turn back and walk with her. (Chapter 33)

0e7486epreferment – promotion; advancement; elevation; upgrading;

pecuniary – financial; relating to money

His own father did not long survive mine, and within half a year from these events, Mr. Wickham wrote to inform me that, having finally resolved against taking orders, he hoped I should not think it unreasonable for him to expect some more immediate pecuniary advantage, in lieu of the preferment, by which he could not be benefited. (Chapter 35)

Note! Yes, I know that I added a few extra words in this mix. I had originally thought to have two words for each letter of the alphabet. However, I am anticipating some problems when I reach x and z. The extras are to make up for my latter deficiencies. Part 3 will follow on Wednesday next. 

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Of Water Nymphs and Mermaids? Are You Familiar with These British Legends?

Posted on December 10, 2014 by Regina Jeffers

Of Water Nymphs and Mermaids – Have You Heard of These UK Legends?

Fairy maidens inhabiting the oceans, rivers, springs, meadows, woods, and wells are collectively known as nymphs. Nymphs resemble humans in height and overall appearance, but they are known for their enchanting beauty and seductive charms. According to most legends, water nymphs are the most dangerous of the “sisterhood.” Many in the UK are surrounded by legends of water nymphs. Of late, I have been researching legends and myths surrounding the south central UK, but I have enjoyed reading many of those found elsewhere in England.

In all countries, “water” is the source of life, and, therefore, it holds a veneration in the world’s various cultures. Sources of water in each small village and thriving metropolis holds the potential for legends and traditions to find root. These are often extremely local, and therefore little known.

Loup Scar Burnsall: Loup scar on the river Wharfe at Burnsall is a popular venue with climbers, and the river below is popular with canoeists.

Loup Scar Burnsall:
Loup scar on the river Wharfe at Burnsall is a popular venue with climbers, and the river below is popular with canoeists.

With wells, the names alone suggest much. The memory of the mythical gods, satyrs, and nymphs of the ancient times lingers in a few, as in Thors-kil or Thors-well, in the parish of Burnsall; and in the almost universal declaration — by which not over-wise parents seek to deter children from playing in dangerous proximity to a well — that at the bottom, under the water, dwells a mysterious being, usually named Jenny Green-teeth or Peg-o’-the-Well, who will certainly drag into the water any child who approaches too near to it.

The tokens of medieval reverence for wells are abundant. The names of the saints to whom the wells were dedicated yet cling to them. “There is scarcely a well of consequence in the United Kingdom,” says the editor of Lancashire Folk-lore, “which has not been solemnly dedicated to some saint in the Roman calendar.”

Thus in Yorkshire one finds Our Lady’s Well or Lady Well; St. Helen’s Well; St. Margaret’s Well at Burnsall; St. Bridget’s Well near Ripon; St. Mungo’s Well at Copgrove; St. John’s Well at Beverley; St. Alkelda’s Well at Middleham, etc.

Thomas Hardy's Cottage

Thomas Hardy’s Cottage

In Dorset, one may find a circular pool called Rushy Pond. It is a quarter mile southeast of Thomas Hardy’s cottage at Thorncombe Wood. Reportedly, unwary travelers are lured into the pond, never to seen again.

 

 

 

“I Said And Sang Her Excellence”
by Thomas Hardy

(Fickle Lover’s Song)

I said and sang her excellence:
They called it laud undue.
(Have your way, my heart, O!)
Yet what was homage far above
The plain deserts of my olden Love
Proved verity of my new.

“She moves a sylph in picture-land,
Where nothing frosts the air:”
(Have your way, my heart, O!)
“To all winged pipers overhead
She is known by shape and song,” I said,
Conscious of licence there.

I sang of her in a dim old hall
Dream-built too fancifully,
(Have your way, my heart, O!)
But lo, the ripe months chanced to lead
My feet to such a hall indeed,
Where stood the very She.

Strange, startling, was it then to learn
I had glanced down unborn time,
(Have your way, my heart, O!)
And prophesied, whereby I knew
That which the years had planned to do
In warranty of my rhyme.

BY RUSHY-POND.

Rushy Pond

Rushy Pond

At Old Harry Rocks at Studland in Dorset, there is a mystery of sorts. The water level never changes, whether by storms or droughts. Again, water nymphs are said to inhabit the pool and practice their magic within the pool’s depths.

Black Mere Pond

Old Harry Rocks

Surprisingly, Staffordshire, which has no coastline, has the Legend of the Mermaid of Black Mere Pool. The small, remote, hilltop lake, around 50 metres wide, creates the perfect haunting site. Set on the craggy and barren southern edge of the Peak District, it is said that the dark, peat-stained waters of the pool are bottomless. Cattle refuse to drink from the water and birds never fly above it. A number of mysterious drownings are attributed to the waters, as well as one murder. In 1679, a woman pedlar was dumped into the pool by a local serial killer.

Tradition holds that the mermaid rises from the pool at midnight to lure unwary travellers to their deaths in the dark watery depths – but only single men, apparently. There are various legends concerning the origin of the mermaid. In one, a sailor from nearby Thorncliff fell in love with her and brought her back from sea, and in another she was originally a witch who transformed herself into a water nymph after been thrown into the pool during the Middle Ages.

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What Does Your eBook Reader Tell Publisher About Your Reading Habits?

Posted on December 9, 2014 by Regina Jeffers

What Does Your eBook Reader Tell Publishers About Your Reading Habits?

IT TAKES THE AVERAGE READER JUST SEVEN HOURS TO READ THE FINAL BOOK IN SUZANNE COLLINS’S “HUNGER GAMES” TRILOGY ON THE KOBO E-READER—ABOUT 57 PAGES AN HOUR. NEARLY 18,000 KINDLE READERS HAVE HIGHLIGHTED THE SAME LINE FROM THE SECOND BOOK IN THE SERIES: “BECAUSE SOMETIMES THINGS HAPPEN TO PEOPLE AND THEY’RE NOT EQUIPPED TO DEAL WITH THEM.” AND ON BARNES & NOBLE’S NOOK, THE FIRST THING THAT MOST READERS DO UPON FINISHING THE FIRST “HUNGER GAMES” BOOK IS TO DOWNLOAD THE NEXT ONE.

18mk9bcjcf1qtjpgFor centuries, reading has largely been seen as a solitary and private act, an intimate exchange between the reader and the words on the page. But the rise of digital books has prompted a profound shift in the way we read, transforming the activity into something measurable and quasi-public.

In the past, publishers and authors had no way of knowing what happens when a reader sits down with a book. Does the reader quit after three pages, or finish it in a sitting? Do most readers skip over the introduction, or read it closely, underlining passages and scrawling notes in the margins? Now, e-books are providing a glimpse into the story behind the sales figures, revealing not only how many people buy particular books, but how intensely they read them.

The perfect man, according to data collected by digital publisher Coliloquy from romance-novel readers, has a European accent and is in his 30s with black hair and green eyes.

To learn more about how “Big Brother” is watching another facet of our lives, please visit Alexandra Alter’s article on The Wall Street Journal at http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB10001424052702304870304577490950051438304-lMyQjAxMTAyMDIwODEyNDgyWj.html

Posted in eBooks, reading, reading habits | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

Do You Speak Jane Austen? Part One

Posted on December 8, 2014 by Regina Jeffers

I have run this series previously, but it never hurts to revisit a “good thing.”

MTE1ODA0OTcxNTQ2ODcxMzA5Part I: Do You Speak Jane Austen?

When my son was about three years of age, he shocked several onlookers at the mall by saying, “I have a splendid idea, if you would acquiesce.” You see, his mother is an avid Jane Austen fan, and he had heard me use such words in every day conversation. Of course, his “splendid” idea was to visit Kaybee Toys, but that is not the point. At that time, he “spoke Jane Austen.” Unfortunately, over the years, he has unlearned those phrases that were once so common. Now, he says “you know” to the point where his often-irrational mother has considered strangling him. (He is a coach, and athletes use the phrase to distraction. Yet, never fear. His mother is on the prowl, and I have banned the phrase “you know” from his speak while he is in my presence.)

So, I ask dear Readers, do you speak Jane Austen?

A
abhorrence – hatred and disgust

The sight of Miss Lucas was odious to her. As her successor in that house, she regarded her with jealous abhorrence. (Chapter 23)

acquiesce – to comply passively; to consent

Elizabeth was exceedingly pleased with this proposal, and felt persuaded of her sister’s ready acquiescence. (Chapter 25)

B
barouche-box – a luggage compartment at the front of a mid-sized carriage

“And if you will stay another month complete, it will be in my power to take one of you as far as London, for I am going there early in June, for a week; and as Dawson does not object to the barouche-box, there will be very good room for one of you—and indeed, if the weather should happen to be cool, I should not object to taking you both, as you are neither of you large.” (Chapter 37)

brooking – tolerating

I have not been used to submit to any person’s whims. I have not been in the habit of brooking disappointment.” (Chapter 56)

C
caprice – an inclination to change one’s mind impulsively; a whim

Mr. Bennet was so odd a mixture of quick parts, sarcastic humour, reserve, and caprice, that the experience of three-and-twenty years had been insufficient to make his wife understand his character. (Chapter 1)

0e7486econdescension – a superior behavior and attitude

The subject elevated him to more than usual solemnity of manner, and with a most important aspect he protested that “he had never in his life witnessed such behaviour in a person of rank—such affability and condescension, as he had himself experienced from Lady Catherine. (Chapter 14)

D
dilatory – slow; tending to delay

His family knew him to be, on all common occasions, a most negligent and dilatory correspondent; but at such a time they had hoped for exertion. (Chapter 48)

E
exigence – a circumstance; a dilemma; a pressing situation

“In such an exigence, my uncle’s advice and assistance would be everything in the world; he will immediately comprehend what I must feel, and I rely upon his goodness.” (Chapter 46)

effusions – outpourings of emotion in writing or speech

“Let our first effusions be less insupportable than those of the generality of travelers.” (Chapter 27)

F
Fordyce’s Sermons – a popular manual of instruction for young women, which was written by James Fordye in 1766

Other books were produced, and after some deliberation he chose Fordyce’s Sermons. (Chapter 14)

felicity – great happiness

After a week spent in professions of love and schemes of felicity, Mr. Collins was called from his amiable Charlotte by the arrival of Saturday. (Chapter 25)

G
Gretna Green – a Scottish village on the English border; a famous place for runaways to get married; reportedly by the local blacksmith (over the anvil)

I am going to Gretna Green, and if you cannot guess with whom, I shall think you a simpleton, for there is but one man in the world I love, and he is an angel. (Chapter 47)

genteel – refined; cultured; well-bred

So much the man of fashion! So genteel and easy! (Chapter 9)

H
hauteur – arrogance; overbearing pride

A deeper shade of hauteur overspread his features, but he said not a word, and Elizabeth, though blaming herself for her own weakness, could not go on. (Chapter 18)

heinous – shockingly wicked; abominable

Let me then advise you, dear sir, to console yourself as much as possible, to throw off your unworthy child from your affection for ever, and leave her to reap the fruits of her own heinous offense. (Chapter 48)

I
invectives – abusive expressions

Mrs. Bennet, to whose apartment they all repaired, after a few minutes’ conversation together, received them exactly as might be expected; with tears and lamentations of regret, invectives against the villainous conduct of Wickham, and complaints of her own sufferings and ill-usage; blaming everybody but the person to whose ill-judging indulgence the errors of her daughter must principally be owing. (Chapter 47)

intercourse – conversation

Lady Catherine was extremely indignant on the marriage of her nephew; and as she gave way to all the genuine frankness of her character in her reply to the letter which announced its arrangement, she sent him language so very abusive, especially of Elizabeth, that for some time all intercourse was at an end. (Chapter 61)

(Over the next few days, the alphabetical list will continue. These choices are a few of my preferences. What are some of your favorite Regency words?)

Posted in British history, customs and tradiitons, Great Britain, Jane Austen, Living in the Regency, Regency era | Tagged , , | 10 Comments

Henry VII, the First of the Tudors

Posted on December 5, 2014 by Regina Jeffers

Henry VII, the First of the Tudors

220px-king_henry_viiHenry VII came to the throne of England after defeating Richard III at Bosworth in 1485. With his accedence, England came into a long period of “National Pride.” The War of the Roses had weakened the nobility to the point where the Tudors could wield more power than had their predecessors, the Plantagenets. When Henry VII took the throne he broke the power of the barons by bringing back into favor the Court of the Star Chamber, to put on trial those who opposed Henry’s rule.

Henry married Elizabeth of York (uniting the houses of York and Lancaster) at Westminster Abbey on 18 January 1486. Together, they had seven children. He died at Richmond Palace in Surrey on 21 April 1509 at age 52. During his reign, Henry crushed a revolt at Stoke by the Earl of Lincoln on behalf of Lambert Simnel, a claimant to the throne. His invasion of France ended quickly when he withdrew his forces in return for a substantial payment from the French crown. In 1492, Henry managed to squash a second attempt to overthrow his rule. Perkin Warbeck made a claim to the throne; Warbeck was put to death in 1499.

Let us outline the Tudor dynasty.

Henry VII (1485-1509) marries Elizabeth of York (d 1503)

Their children were

86px-arthur_prince_of_wales_c_1500(1) Arthur, Prince of Wales (19 September 1486 to 2 April 1502) marries Catherine of Aragon in 1501. (When Arthur dies, Prince Henry becomes heir to the throne. Henry later marries Arthur’s widow.)

(2) Margaret Tudor (28 November 1489 to 18 October 1541) marries James IV, King of Scotland (1473 – 1513) in 1503. Their child was James V of Scotland (1513 – 1542). James V married Mary of Guise. Their marriage gave the land Mary, Queen of Scots (1542-1567). Mary first married Francis II of France (who died in 1560); then Henry Lord Darnley (who died in 1567); and, finally, James, Earl of Bothwell (who died in 1578).

Margaret Tudor

Margaret Tudor

(3) Henry VIII, who was born on 28 June 1491, (1509 -1547) marries Catherine of Aragon (divorced 1533). Their child Mary I ruled England from 1553-1558. Mary I married Philip II of Spain.

Henry VIII marries Anne Boleyn (beheaded in 1536). Their child, Elizabeth I, ruled England from 1558 to 1603.

Henry VIII marries Jane Seymour, who died from complications of child birth in 1537. Their son, Edward VI, ruled from 1547-1553.

Henry VIII marries Anne of Cleves (married and divorced within 7 months in 1540).

Henry VIII marries Catherine Howard (beheaded on grounds of adultery in 1542).

Henry VIII marries Catherine Parr (who died in 1548). Catherine outlived Henry. She married again shortly after his death.

(4) Elizabeth Tudor was born on 2 July 1492 and died 14 September 1495.

Mary Tudor

Mary Tudor

(5) Mary Tudor was born on 18 March 1496. Mary married Louis XII of France in 1514. Unfortunately, Louis passed in 1515. Mary then married Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk. Their child, Francis, married Henry Grey, Duke of Suffolk. Francis and Henry’s child was Lady Jane Grey.

(6) Edmund Tudor, Duke of Somerset, was born on 21 February 1499 and died on 19 June 1500.

(7) Katherine Tudor was born on 2 February 1503 and died the same day. Elizabeth of York died as a result of Katherine’s birth.

(8) An illegitimate son was born to a “Breton Lady.” Sir Roland de Velville was born in 1474. He was knighted in 1497 and was Constable of Beaumaris Castle.

Posted in British history, Great Britain, real life tales | Tagged , | 5 Comments

Ed Gein: The Real-Life Norman Bates

Posted on December 4, 2014 by Regina Jeffers

Ed Gein: The Real-Life Norman Bates

Of late, I’ve spent a lot of research hours on grave robbing and serial killers, especially as mayhem was practiced during the early 1800s. The need for medical schools to rob graves of “fresh” corpses to use as cadavers is common knowledge, but I had not thought to stumble across a modern-day grave robber, a man with a fetish for bowls made of human skulls; a wastebasket made of human skin; a full breastplate made of a skinned woman’s torso; ten female heads with the tops sawed off; skulls on his bedposts; human skin covering several chairs; a pair of lips on a drawstring for a window shades; and a belt made of different women’s nipples.

Ed Gein was the model for the Norman Bates character in Robert Bloch’s novel, Psycho. Bloch’s tale of murder and mayhem became the basis of the famous Alfred Hitchcock film. Some experts claim Gein’s story also inspired the Texas Chainsaw Massacre and the Buffalo Bill character in Thomas Harris’s The Silence of the Lambs. edgein

The son of Augusta and George Gein, Ed Gein early on moved to a remote farm outside of Plainfield, Wisconsin. His father was a drunkard, but his mother was highly religious. Augusta reportedly instilled strict rules of sexuality in the household. Both Ed and his brother Henry were told repeatedly about the “sinfulness of women” and of the utter evil of premarital sex.

Ed’s sexual confusion escalated after George Gein died in 1940. His father’s death forced Ed and Henry to seek odd jobs in the nearby town. Ed, generally, worked as a handyman. In 1944, Henry died under suspicious circumstances. He and Ed were fighting a nearby fire in the marshes; later, Henry’s body was found. He had several bruises about his head, and he was lying in an unburned area. However, authorities ruled the death as accidental: smoke asphyxiation.

psycho-psycho-31575399-600-450Barely a year later, Augusta died of a stroke, leaving Ed all alone. Ed nailed her bedroom door closed, preserving the room in immaculate condition. After his mother’s death, Ed became fascinated by human anatomy: absolutely devouring any information about Christine Jorgensen and the first sex-change operation. Ed considered such an operation for himself. Later, he took up with a drifter, and the two of them began robbing graves for “souvenirs.” Reportedly, Ed Gein would scour the obituaries for information on female grave sites.

The grave robbing, eventually, no longer satisfied Gein’s fascination with the macabre. In December 1954, a woman named Mary Hogan disappeared from the bar she managed in Pine Grove, Wisconsin. Gein was a suspect, but no hard evidence could be linked to him at the time.

Three years later, another 50-something year old woman disappeared. Like Mary Hogan, Bernice Worden resembled Augusta Gein. The woman was abducted from the hardware store she owned. This time there was a more concrete connection to Gein. Worden’s son told authorities Gein had approached Bernice about a date. A Plainfield resident told the police of how Gein bought antifreeze from Worden’s store on the day of the incident.

Arriving at Gein’s home, the police found a decapitated body hanging from the rafters. Bernice’s torso was slit and gutted. Her genitalia removed. Her head had been turned into an ornament, and her heart sat in a saucepan on the stove. A search of the house produced a gun that matched the cartridge found at the scene of Mary Hogan’s murder. Gein confessed to the murder of both women and was committed to a secure mental institution, where he died of respiratory failure on July 26, 1984. 220px-ed_gein_headstone

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