Meet Karen McCullough

Posted on June 25, 2011 by Regina Jeffers

Karen McCullough writes both mystery and science fiction, with romantic elements, for Five Star/Gale Group. Check out her
Heart of the Night
A Question of Fire
A Gift for Murder

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Meet Chloe Harris

Posted on June 25, 2011 by Regina Jeffers

Chloe Harris writes “hot spiced historical romance” for Kensington Press. Chloe Harris is the pseudonym of a partnership of writers: Noelle Henderson and Barbara Kolten. Check out her
Secrets of Sin
In Deep
Silent Night, Sinful Night

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Meet Beth Williamson

Posted on June 25, 2011 by Regina Jeffers

Beth Williamson also write “cowboy”-themed romance. She says she admire Leigh Greenwood’s stories over the years. Beth writes for Kensington Press. Look for her
Gideon
Lucille’s Lawman
Restless Heart

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Meet Jennifer Hudson Taylor

Posted on June 25, 2011 by Regina Jeffers

Jennifer Hudson Taylor has released eight books, but has recently joined the group from Addington Press. She writes “inspirational” romance which thrives on characters who have very “human” qualities. Check out her
Highland Blessings
Highland Sanctuary

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Meet Leigh Greenwood

Posted on June 25, 2011 by Regina Jeffers

Also on the panel, we will find Leigh Greenwood. Leigh worked for Dorchester, but has recently gone to the eBook format. His “cowboy” romances have been a staple of the business. Check out
No One But You
When Love Comes
Someone Like You

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Meet Mary Margaret Daughtridge

Posted on June 25, 2011 by Regina Jeffers

On Saturday, June 25, I will be sharing a panel with 9 great romance writers. Let me introduce you to them.
Mary Margaret Daughtridge is a 2010 National Readers’ Choice Award winner. She writes for Sourcebooks. Her books about Navy Seals are very popular.
SEAled Forever
SEAled with a Kiss
SEAled with a Promise
SEAled with a Ring

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1940 Pride and Prejudice: A “Screwball Comedy”

Posted on June 23, 2011 by Regina Jeffers

According to moderntimes.com, the term “screwball comedy” refers to “films where everything was a juxtaposition: educated and uneducated, rich and poor, intelligent and and a bit stupid, honest and dishonest, and most of all male and female. When two people fell in love, they did not simply surrender to their feelings, they battled it out. They lied to one another, often assuming indifferent personas toward each other. They often employed hideous tricks on each other, until finally after running out of inventions, fall into each others’ arms. It was fossilized comedy, physical and often painful, but mixed with the highest level of wit and sophistication, depending wholly on elegant and inventive writing.”

The 1940 adaptation of Pride and Prejudice was created in the image of such famous screwball comedies as Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, My Man Godfrey, Bringing Up Baby, You Can’t Take It with You, and It Happened One Night. For the true Janeite, the 1940 film speaks to everything wrong with film adaptations of Austen’s works. It has a systemic problem: four different views of the plot. There’s Austen’s original novel. There’s also Helen Jerome’s 1935 dramatization of Pride and Prejudice, upon which this film was based. Then, there’s the uncommon collaboration between MGM screenwriter Jane Murfin and British novelist Aldous Huxley. It’s no wonder the audience is given a film that’s 20% Austen and 80% Hollywood.

Laurence Olivier had garnered acclaim in his film roles in both Wuthering Heights and Rebecca. He was a natural choice for Fitzwilliam Darcy. Producers were hesitant to give the role of Elizabeth Bennet to Olivier’s real-life love Vivien Leigh, and so Greer Garson was recruited for the part. Neither gives his/her best performance, but they are both pleasant to look at. Actually, minor characters carry the film. Mary Boland (Mrs. Bennet), Edmund Gwenn (Mr. Bennet), Edna Mae Oliver (Lady Catheine de Bourgh), and Melville Cooper (Mr. Collins) bring life to the film. These characterizations are reminiscent of the Jerome’s farcical play. We all remember Oliver sitting on Kitty’s music box and her enduring the parrot squawking in the background.

Costumer Adrian provided 500 voluminous and anachronistic gowns for the film, and although the opening frame announces, “It happened in OLD ENGLAND,” the film lacks legitimate British aspects. In Jane Austen in Hollywood, Troost and Greenfield say, “Readers of the novel must balk, however, when Darcy calls Elizabeth ‘tolerable,’ and adds, ‘I’m in no humour tonight to give consequence to the middle classes at play.’ Austen is more egregiously misrepresented when Elizabeth speaks of Darcy’s unwillingness to ally himself to ‘a family of such low descent.’ The novel’s Elizabeth, so proud of being ‘a gentleman’s daughter,’ was not quite what Hollywood wanted – any more than an Elizabeth less beautiful than her sister Jane was. Enjoying Greer Garson’s perfect features and glassy composure, the camera persuades us to forget she is a decade or so older than Elizabeth Bennet’s ‘not yet twenty.’ Similarly, we are meant to consider Elizabeth as a daughter of those middle classes that reliably rose up against the aristocracy in Hollywood’s wartime renderings of nineteenth-century novels (cf. Jane Eyre), which portrayed OLD ENGLAND as democratic America’s ancestor. Part of the context that shaped this film was the producers’ aim to get the United States into the war as England’s ally together with the formal constraints of Hollywood comedy, politics was responsible for changing Lady Catherine’s mind about Elizabeth.”

Caroline Bingley wears a black gown to the assembly. This would have been unheard of for a young, unmarried woman of the Regency period. 1939’s Gone with the Wind influenced costumer Adrian’s choices. We find hooped skirts, tight bodices, tight waistlines, high puffy sleeves, and hats, which frame the face. At the garden party, Elizabeth wears a white bouffant dress with a white hat. When Mr. Collins proposes, she has black accents to the gown (bows, zigzags on the sleeve, etc.). The effect is more 1830.

Obviously, the class difference, central to the novel, is greatly reduced in this film version. Darcy’s objection to dancing with Elizabeth at the Meryton assembly rests purely in her being slighted by other men. Olivier’s role is “minor” in this adaptation. His most brilliant performances come in the proposal and the reconciliation scenes. He’s so much better as Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights. Garson is much too old for Elizabeth, and she plays the character as a “modern” woman. The script has her a downright rude at times.

None of the Bennet sisters display consistent manners or decorum. In the film, Jane is openly flirtatious – quite a contrast to the demure creature of Austen’s novel. Kitty and Lydia are shown behaving very badly. Do we not remember the scene on the swings with the officers? Kitty is also quite inebriated at the Netherfield Ball.

The first 16 chapters are reduced to one scene at the Meryton assembly. Darcy finds Elizabeth appalling at the beginning of the assembly. At the assembly’s end, he’s intrigued by her. Wickham dances with both Elizabeth and Lydia during the assembly. Elizabeth refuses Darcy’s request to dance, but then she accepts Wickham (Edward Ashley). Relationships are defined in this one extended scene. The use of the Netherfield garden party also defines personalities. Elizabeth, in a very modern strand, beats Darcy in an archery contest. She later alludes to Darcy having refused an introduction to Wickham. Darcy tells Elizabeth that he would judge each situation individually, and he admonishes her for judging him as anything but a man of honor. They appear to strike up a friendship when Darcy comforts Elizabeth after Caroline Bingley’s (Frieda Inescort) unkindness. However, Mrs. Bennet’s pronouncement regarding Jane’s prospects with Mr. Bingley (Bruce Lester) curtail the relationship.

The time compression is somewhat problematic in the film. Only moments after the audience discovers Lydia has eloped with Wickham, Darcy is on Longbourn’s doorstep to offer his assistance. He confesses Wickham’s attempted seduction of Georgiana. Elizabeth confessing to Jane that she loves Darcy follows. The audience loses the change of heart that Austen’s readers love in the novel.

There are other anachronistic elements. For example, Lady Lucas says of the letting of Netherfield Park is the best news “since the battle of Waterloo.” Of course, Waterloo came two years after the release of Pride and Prejudice. Some of Austen’s most beloved scenes are missing, especially those at Pemberley. We have NO portrait in the gallery, NO praise from Mrs. Reynolds, and NO being discovered at Darcy’s home. Ellen Belton in “Reimagining Jane Austen: The 1940 and 1995 Film Versions of Pride and Prejudice” says, “While the novel concerns itself with the complex psychological processes by which first the hero and then the heroine fall in love with one another, the film visually suggests a mutual attraction that is almost instantaneous. It is obvious from the outset that he is drawn to Elizabeth and makes very little effort to resist succumbing to her charms.”

The film might be summed up when Garson’s character says, “You’re very puzzling, Mr. Darcy. At this moment, it’s difficult to believe that you’re so proud.” To which, Olivier’s Darcy replies, “At this moment, it’s difficult to believe you’re so prejudiced. Shall we not call it quits and start again?” This film garnered both financial and critical success. In fact, when it opened at the Radio City Music Hall, it drew the largest weekly audience during the month of August in the theatre’s history. During its four-week run at RCMH, it grossed $1,849,000.

Posted in film, film adaptations, Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Kindle Sales Continue to Rise

Posted on June 23, 2011 by Regina Jeffers

My friend and cohort at Austen Authors, Mary Simonsen, shared the following information regarding the prevalence of eBooks.

From Amazon’s Kindle Newsletter:

Amazon Now Selling More Kindle Books Than Print Books

In November 2007, Amazon introduced the revolutionary Kindle. By July 2010, Kindle book sales had surpassed hardcover book sales, and six months later, Kindle books overtook paperback books to become the most popular format on Amazon.com. Today, less than four years after introducing Kindle books, Amazon.com customers are now purchasing more Kindle books than all print books – hardcover and paperback – combined. Since April 1, for every 100 print books Amazon.com has sold, it has sold 105 Kindle books. This includes sales of hardcover and paperback books by Amazon where there is no Kindle edition. Free Kindle books are excluded and if included would make the number even higher.

Amazon announces the Top 20 Most Well-Read Cities in America:

1. Cambridge, MA
2. Alexandria, VA
3. Berkeley, CA
4. Ann Arbor, MI
5. Boulder, CO
6. Miami, FL
7. Salt Lake City, UT
8. Gainesville, FL
9. Seattle , WA
10. Arlington, VA
11. Knoxville, TN
12, Orlando, FL
13. Pittsburgh, PA
14. Washington, D.C.
15. Bellevue, WA
16.Columbia, SC
17. St. Louis, MO
18, Cincinnati, OH
19. Portland, OR
20. Atlanta, GA

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West Virginia Day – June 20

Posted on June 20, 2011 by Regina Jeffers

June 20 celebrates the birth of my home state. West Virginia was founded in 1863. I just returned from WV on Sunday. I love driving the mountain roads, but I’m sure many others do not. They are intimidated by the curves. When I come out of the tunnel at Bluefield, the one which separates WV from Virginia, my heart always says “home.”
On June 20, 1863, West Virginia became the thirty-fifth state in the Union. The land that formed the new state formerly constituted part of Virginia. The two areas had diverged culturally from their first years of European settlement, as small farmers generally settled the western portion of the state, including the counties that later formed West Virginia, while the eastern portion was dominated by a powerful minority class of wealthy slaveholders. There were proposals for the trans-Allegheny west to separate from Virginia as early as 1769. When Virginia seceded from the Union in 1861, the residents of a number of contiguous western counties, where there were few slaves, decided to remain in the Union. Congress accepted these counties as the state of West Virginia on condition that its slaves be freed. “Montani semper liberi,” “mountaineers always freemen,” became the new state’s motto.

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Remembering Errol Flynn on June 20

Posted on June 20, 2011 by Regina Jeffers

“I am the epitome of Twentieth Century cosmopolitanism, but I should have an explorer in the time of Magellan” – Errol Flynn.

Errol Flynn was a rugged, handsome actor. I have watched him over the years, and I have enjoyed his films time and time again. We, normally, think of Flynn as the “king of swashbucklers,” but he was so much more. His acting skills excel. Take the sword away, and Flynn would still command the camera.

Errol Flynn burst onto the screen in Captain Blood, Michael Curtiz’ wonderful swashbuckler. At the age of 25 he made a movie called Murder in Monte Carlo, for Warner Brothers.Jack Warner, the studio head recognized Flynn’s magnetism and placed the Australian actor under contract.
The result was Sea Hawk, which garnered Flynn and Warner Brothers many new fans.

Both men and women admired Flynn’s movie characters: virile, courageous, honorable, and romantic.

Flynn Films:

Cuban Rebel Girls
The American Correspondent

1959 Goodyear Theatre (TV series)
‘Doc’ Boatwright
– The Golden Shanty (1959) … ‘Doc’ Boatwright

1959 The Red Skelton Hour (TV series)
‘The Duke’ – Gentleman Hobo
– Freddie’s Beat Shack (1959) … ‘The Duke’ – Gentleman Hobo

1958 The Roots of Heaven
Forsythe

1958 Too Much, Too Soon
John Barrymore

1957 The Sun Also Rises
Mike Campbell

1957 Playhouse 90 (TV series)
Capt. Bidlack
– Without Incident (1957) … Capt. Bidlack

1957 The Big Boodle
Ned Sherwood

1957 Istanbul
James Brennan

1956 Screen Directors Playhouse (TV series)
Francois Villon
– The Sword of Villon (1956) … Francois Villon

1956 The Errol Flynn Theatre (TV series)
Don Juan / Himself – Host / John Morton
– 1000th Night of Don Juan … Don Juan / Himself – Host
– Rescued … John Morton

1955 King’s Rhapsody
Richard, King of Laurentia

1955 The Dark Avenger
Prince Edward

1954 Let’s Make Up
John ‘Beau’ Beaumont

1954 Crossed Swords
Renzo

1953 The Master of Ballantrae
Jamie Durie

1953 The Story of William Tell (short)
William Tell

1952 Against All Flags
Brian Hawke

1952 Mara Maru
Gregory Mason

1951 Adventures of Captain Fabian
Capt. Michael Fabian

1951 Hello God
Man on Anzio Beach

1950 Kim
Mahbub Ali, the Red Beard

1950 Rocky Mountain
Capt. Lafe Barstow (CSA)

1950 Montana
Morgan Lane

1949 That Forsyte Woman
Soames Forsyte

1949 It’s a Great Feeling
Jeffrey Bushdinkle, the Groom (uncredited)

1948 Adventures of Don Juan
Don Juan de Maraña

1948 Silver River
“Mike” McComb

1947 The Lady from Shanghai
Man in Background Outside of Cantina (uncredited)

1947 Escape Me Never
Sebastian Dubrok

1947 Cry Wolf
Mark Caldwell

1946 Never Say Goodbye
Phil Gayley

1945 San Antonio
Clay Hardin

1945 Objective, Burma!
Capt. Nelson

1944 Uncertain Glory
Jean Picard/Emil DuPont

1943 Northern Pursuit
Corporal Steve Wagner

1943 Edge of Darkness
Gunnar Brogge

1942 Gentleman Jim
James J. Corbett

1942 Desperate Journey
Flight Lt. Terrence ‘Terry’ Forbes

1941 They Died with Their Boots On
George Armstrong Custer

1941 Dive Bomber
Doug Lee

1941 Footsteps in the Dark
Francis Monroe Warren II

1940 Santa Fe Trail
Jeb Stuart

1940 The Sea Hawk
Geoffrey Thorpe

1940 Virginia City
Kerry Bradford

1939 Essex and Elizabeth
Earl of Essex

1939 Dodge City
Wade Hatton

1938 The Dawn Patrol
Captain Courtney

1938 The Sisters
Frank Medlin

1938 Four’s a Crowd
Robert Kensington ‘Bob’ Lansford

1938 The Adventures of Robin Hood
Robin Hood

1937 The Perfect Specimen
Gerald Beresford Wicks

1937 Another Dawn
Captain Denny Roark

1937 The Prince and the Pauper
Miles Hendon

1937 Green Light
Dr. Newell Paige

1936 The Charge of the Light Brigade
Major Geoffrey Vickers

1935 Captain Blood
Peter Blood

1935 Don’t Bet on Blondes
David Van Dusen

1935 The Case of the Curious Bride
Gregory Moxley

1935 Murder at Monte Carlo
Dyter

1933 I Adore You
Bit (uncredited)

1933 In the Wake of the Bounty
Fletcher Christian

Turner Classic Movies will celebrate Flynn’s film career all day Monday.
Errol Flynn, June 20, 1909 to October 14, 1959

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