Tags
Anne Elliot, Bank of England, books, Jane Austen, Jane Austen quotations, Janine Barchas, John Mullan, literature, Mansfield Park 200th anniversary, Miss Bingley, Persuasion, Pride and Prejudice, syllabub
I sincerely hope your Christmas … may abound in the gaieties which that season generally brings.
– Pride and Prejudice
Yes, I know I’m quoting Caroline Bingley here, just as the Bank of England quotes her saying, “I declare there is no enjoyment like reading” on the mock up of the new £10 note. (I recommend John Mullan’s analysis of “Why that Jane Austen quotation on the new £10 note is a major blunder” and Janine Barchas’s post “Jane Austen on the Tenner — great idea, bad execution.”) No matter how hard you search the texts of Austen’s novels and letters, it can be a challenge to find quotations that fit special occasions such as holidays and weddings.
My wishes really are sincere, however. I hope you all have a wonderful time over the holidays. May you all enjoy good food (syllabub, perhaps?), good books, and good company – or, if you’re very fortunate (and I hope you are), the best company: “the company of clever, well-informed people, who have a great deal of conversation” (Persuasion). There – that’s a Jane Austen quotation that fits the occasion, and it’s Anne Elliot this time, instead of Miss Bingley.
Merry Christmas, and I’ll see you in the New Year. Let’s celebrate 200 years of Mansfield Park!
Sarah Emsley 
Merry Christmas, what a beautiful looking dessert! Happy Reading and Bonne Continuation for 2014
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Thanks! I love syllabub and often make it for Christmas Eve. All the best to you in 2014 as well — I look forward to reading more about your adventures in reading.
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Syllabub? I have never heard of it, now I am intrigued, what is it?
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It’s a dessert that was popular in Austen’s time: whipped cream, sugar, wine, lemon. Delicious! There are many variations in recipes online or in Austen-inspired books about food, such as Tea with Jane Austen, by Kim Wilson. Here’s one from the Jane Austen Centre: http://www.janeausten.co.uk/a-single-syllabub/.
There are a couple of syllabub similes in Austen’s story “Lesley Castle,” which she wrote when she was a teenager: “her face as White as a Whipt syllabub” and “his heart … was as delicate as sweet and as tender as a Whipt syllabub” (http://www.pemberley.com/janeinfo/leslcasl.html).
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Lovely post. Wishing you a Happy Christmas full of good cheer, good company, and of course … good books!
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Thank you, and happy reading to you, too! My Christmas books included Accusation, by Catherine Bush and Hellgoing, by Lynn Coady. What are you reading over the holidays? Wait – I forgot that I already know: Mansfield Park! But I’m sure you have some other good books to keep you company as well.
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That does sound delightful. I actually did a reread of A Christmas Carol, just to be in the Christmas spirit. Of course, I am also digging into Mansfield Park. It’s been a couple of years, so very eager to reread! Thx for the motivation on that one!
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Good choice for the Christmas season. It’s been a while since I read that one. I am so excited about celebrating MP, and so happy that you and so many others are going to join me in talking about it here this year. Happy New Year!
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Happy New Year! I am v much enjoying reread of MP. Also, all the Mansfield Park 200 excitement on twitter! You’ve got us all excited!
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Glad to hear it! I’ve been meaning to ask you, when I talk about the MP series on Twitter do you want me to use @WordHits or @sawoodberry (or both)?
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Oh, you don’t have to use both! You need those characters for other tweeps I’m sure. @wordhits is fine, but I will likely RT from @sawoodberry. The wordhits handle is from my blog and I mostly tweet about books and reading etc. The @sawoodberry might be less interesting to your followers, owing to my banal tweets about things like my coffee and sadness over the Cowboys recent trouncing in football. 😉
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Thanks, Sarah. I’ll go with whichever one fits, in case I need more space, then. Coffee is always interesting to me (football not so much — okay, not at all).
Good question about hashtags. I like #MP200 because that’s how I refer to the novel and the celebrations in my notes. But I suppose it’s less obvious to non-Janeites, so maybe we should go with #MansfieldPark200. I notice that a few people have tweeted using the latter, and none so far with the former.
Any suggestions for what to call the blog series? Something obvious like the “Mansfield Park Project”? Or “Celebrating 200 Years of Mansfield Park”? Or something more catchy and clever? Maybe I should ask Twitter. One more question — are you on Facebook?
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I am on FB and I believe I have “liked” you! I will send you /an email. Let’s connect!
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Great — thanks for liking my author page, too!
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p.s. have you decided on a hashtag? Like #MansfieldPark200 or #MP200 or such? Just curious…
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Fantastic quote! Enjoy the syllabub.
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I’m glad you enjoyed the post. Syllabub is so delicious, and so easy to make. Anita Campbell made and decorated the syllabub in the photo, for JASNA Nova Scotia. I often make half the recipe with wine, and half with lemonade, for kids. Merry Christmas!
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