Jane Austen Festival Australia

Writing Tips - Part 1

2012-02-02T14:59:00.007+11:00

Anthea Stanwell and her sister are now, well and truly, off on their adventures in Trust and Tribulation. For those of you who are interested in entering the competition to write the final chapter of the serial (Chapter 11), I will be posting a series of fiction writing tips to give you some pointers on how to craft an engaging end to the story.

First off, here are my "five fast tips" to quickly improve your writing skills:

1. Use the five senses in your descriptions.

We experience the world through sight, smell, touch, sound, and taste. However, many new writers only use descriptions that are based on sight. Use all five senses and your writing will be far more vivid. For example, a description just based on sight: The kitchen was old and dirty. A description using more of the senses: The dirt on the kitchen floor crackled under my feet and the smell of fried bacon left a taste of salt on my tongue.

2. Use original detail.

Part of a writer’s job is to keenly observe the world around them and find new and interesting ways to describe it. A lazy writer depends on cliché and phrases that have been used over and over again. For example, as hard as a nail. Push beyond the banal and think of details that are fresh and exciting and reflect the way that you see the world.

3. Be specific.

A good writer helps a reader create clear images in their minds-eye. The more specific you are with your descriptions, the easier it is for the reader to picture the action. For example, if you wrote The dog ran into the room and knocked a vase off the table, the reader is left without knowing what kind of dog it is, how big it is, etc. However, if you wrote,

The black Labrador ran into the room. His long, wagging tail swept across the coffee table and knocked a glass vase onto the carpet

then the reader can picture the dog and the action clearly.

4. Show don’t tell.

You may have heard this maxim before, but it is a very important idea to grasp if you want to write engaging fiction. Show don’t tell means putting your characters in scenes using dialogue, actions and thoughts rather than just dryly explaining the story. If you hand everything to your reader on a plate, they don’t have to do anything to engage with the story or the characters. However, if you gradually give them information in a dramatic form that makes them think and feel, then you will awaken their curiosity and they will want to read on and will invest in the characters and the story. For example, if you wrote She was angry then the reader will get the basic information, but will not feel the character’s anger. However, if you wrote,

She slammed the heel of her hand against the desk.

“I don’t care what you think,” she said. “I’m going to do it anyway.”

“Then you’re an idiot,” I said.

Her eyes narrowed. “I may be an idiot, but least I’m not a coward.”

As you can see, a whole lot more information and emotion can be conveyed in a far more interesting way by using the show don’t tell method.

5. Read your writing out loud.

Find a quiet place where you can be alone and read your work out loud. Listen to the rhythms of your writing. If you run out of breath, you may need more punctuation. If you stumble over a few words, take another look at them. Think about how fast your writing is making your read – do you want that much pace, or do you want to slow the reader down? Short sentences make pace faster while longer sentences slow it down. Reading your work out loud is a good way to start the all-important rewriting that every author must do to make his or her work as strong and effective as possible.

I hope that helps. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to leave a comment below and I will respond as soon as I can.

Cheers, for now,

Alison

Next Time: How to create scenes, the building blocks of a story.

Visit Alison’s website at www.alisongoodman.com.au

Chapter 3, Trust and Tribulation

2012-01-30T00:18:00.009+11:00

Chapter 3 – Frank discussions and extravagant fashion

“I believe Mr Pitwater will declare himself to you soon,” Lily said. She pulled Anthea’s arm closer against her own, huddling into her sister’s side as they walked. “It is so cold today.”

They were heading into the village, both carrying linen wrapped bundles containing the gowns from their wardrobes that had been deemed suitable for refurbishment. The autumn wind was already promising the winter days to come, cutting through the thin woollen cloth of the girls’ spencers, and lifting their bonnets hard against anchoring ribbon ties. A little further back, their mother walked with Mrs Johnson, an elderly neighbour who they had met on their way to the small collection of shops and houses.

“I think you are right,” Anthea said grimly. “Mr Pitwater has that air about him, doesn’t he?”

“What will you do?” Lily asked.

Anthea steered her sister around a large puddle in the deeply rutted road. Their half-boots were already coated in mud; it was going to take an age to get them clean again.

“A smart girl would marry him,” Anthea said. “He has position, prospects and a decent livelihood.”

Lily shook her head. “You mean, a desperate girl. He is so …” She paused, obviously at a loss to describe the vicar.

“Crumbly?” Anthea provided. “Pompous, opinionated, hypocritical?”

Lily giggled. “I take it, then, that you will not accept?”

Anthea stopped. “How can I, Lily? Yet, it is a way, isn’t it? If I marry him, you and mother would only have to share the income two ways. I would have my own household. We could all be more comfortable.”

“No.” Lily started to walk again, pulling her sister back into motion. “He may fulfil the requirements of comfort and income, but you do not feel any affection for him. You do not even feel respect. To marry him would do both you and him a disservice.”

Anthea hugged her sister’s arm. “O wise one, you speak the truth.”

“I do,” Lily said. She sighed with relief as the village came into view, the wide central street already busy with shoppers, carts and horses. “Perhaps we will meet nice men at Lakeside.”

“Lord Dansworth, perhaps?”

They both laughed.

“He does sound very bad,” Lily said.

“If what Bernice says is true.”

The sisters exchanged a glance. Bernice was not always beholden to the truth.

“Perhaps all he needs is a wise wife to steady him,” Lily said. “And since we both know I am wise…”

“Good luck to you,” Anthea said. “I would not want to marry him. I want a man of sense, not a reprobate. Nor do I want to marry a soldier or a navy man.” She could not help the note of bitterness that had crept into her voice.

“Why ever not? Papa was a soldier!”

“That is exactly why,” Anthea said, although it was not the whole reason. As the time for their departure to Lakeside loomed, she was not so sure she could face Commander Hayden again. “You see how Papa’s loss makes mother suffer, even now after three years.”

“Yes,” Lily said softly.

They both stole a glance back at their mother. She still wore her mourning greys.

“Girls,” Mrs Stanwell called, noticing their attention. “Go on to Madame Celeste’s. She is expecting us even now. I will assist Mrs Johnson and see you in a few moments.”

Anthea waved their understanding. The two girls quickened their pace, eager to take refuge from the wind, their bundles swinging from the string ties.

Madame Celeste’s salon – dealing in fine cloth, haberdashery, headwear and gowns for the discerning lady – was set a little apart from the centre of the main village trade. For those who visited the village, finding such an establishment in such an out-of-the-way place always elicited surprise. The salon was more suited to a big town or, if one actually saw a Madame Celeste creation, even Town itself. As it was, many ladies from the surrounding area journeyed to the village to purchase from Madame. The story of how such a talented mantua-maker ended up in their midst always brought a sigh to the listener, for it was high danger and grand love that had brought her amongst them.

Over twenty years before, Celeste Le Croi had been rescued from the Terror by a young man– the son of a local gentleman – at the end of his Grand Tour and unluckily caught up in the horror. Love had blossomed. They had married and returned to his home, setting up the salon to instant success and acceptance into local society. Not even Monsieur Bonaparte’s tyrannical ambitions had soured the good opinion of the local populace about their favourite émigré. Three years ago, Madame’s dear husband had died, around the same time that Mrs Stanwell’s husband had perished in Spain. That unfortunate circumstance had built a special bond between the two women, and the Stanwell ladies had become firm favourites of Madame Celeste. She was, of course, aware of their situation, and did everything in her power to stretch their modest wardrobe budget without causing offence. She was also aware that it did no harm to her business to have her creations worn by three such lovely women.

Anthea pushed open the red painted door of the salon and entered, the warm air of the room like soft silk on her cold cheeks. Lily followed, calling out a salute to Madame Celeste who was supervising the placement of some stock on a shelf.

“Bonjour, Madame. Comment êtes-vous?”

Madame smiled a welcome and gave a small bow to the two girls. “Très bien, Mademoiselle Lily. Et vous?”

“Cold,” Lily said, lapsing back into English. Mrs Stanwell had not had much success teaching her younger daughter the accomplishment of French. “It is like winter already out there.”

Madame Celeste’s apprentice curtsied and hurried forward, taking the bundles from the girls and collecting their bonnets.

“Is your Mama not with you?” Madame Celeste asked.

“She is on her way,” Anthea said. “She said to start without her.”

“This is very pretty.” Lily stroked some ivory sarcenet displayed near the window. “Is it new?”

“Oui, from Paris. Do come through.”

Madame Celeste ushered them into the private chamber at the back of the salon. There was no hardship in understanding how she had captured the heart of her Englishman so long ago. Madame Celeste had a vivacity and natural elegance that showed in every movement. Her fine-boned face still commanded attention, although interest was now mainly centred upon her eyes – dark, wide-set and alight with a keen intelligence that was always tempered with warm kindness.

It was not long before the two girls were seated on the brocade sofa and studying the latest La Belle Assemblée, and The Lady’s Magazine. Their mother joined them soon after, and the business of the day began.

“It is full dress that I am most concerned about,” Mrs Stanwell said, casting her eye over Anthea’s old evening gown already laid out for consideration. “These old ones will do with some changes, but both girls will need at least one more dress for evening with some possibilities for embellishing them.”

“A new gown each, mother?” Anthea said. “But –”

“You will be dining in the company of lords and ladies, Anthea. While you will not be expected to have an extensive wardrobe, some change to your appearance – however small – must be made each evening.”

Madame Celeste nodded. “It is so. Mademoiselle Lily has already seen the new sarcenet, which will suit her complexion. I have a very pretty cream satin with embroidery upon it for Mademoiselle Anthea. We will make both with the longer sleeve to be buttoned in or taken out. Oui?”

Mrs Stanwell smiled. “Excellent.”

“For the possibilities...” Madame Celeste shuffled through the magazines. “Voila!” She flicked open to a page. “Silk westkits to wear over the bodice.”

Anthea leaned across to look at the coloured fashion plate. The willowy lady depicted wore a blue silk westkit – a short, feminine version of the vest – laced over the high waisted bodice of her white muslin dress. The westkit fitted over the bodice so exactly as to create the semblance of a new gown.

“How ingenious,” Lily said.

“Oui. I think perhaps a bronze silk for Mademoiselle Anthea, to bring out the gold in her eyes, and a green for Mademoiselle Lily? And if we are clever with our cut –” Madam Celeste paused, allowing a moment for the fact that she was always clever with her cut, “ – the Mademoiselles will be able to exchange and create another possibility.”

Mrs Stanwell smiled her agreement. “Now, their day dresses. The latest double lines of hem flounces are pretty. What do you think, girls?”

As Anthea listened and voiced her opinions, she was torn between the delightful prospect of new clothes – an evening gown, a muslin day dress, a pelisse and the bronze westkit – and the knowledge of what such extravagance would cost, doubled by Lily’s wardrobe. Not to mention the addition of unmentionables, gloves, and evening slippers.

“It is all around that you go to Lakeside,” Madame Celeste said to Mrs Stanwell, folding a rejected length of spotted muslin and handing it back to her apprentice. “There is much talk about it.”

“I can imagine.” Mrs Stanwell raised an eyebrow, amused. “What do they say?”

“Oh, this and that. Much of the green eye, I think,” Madame said. “But there is one who knows the family Rydges, and she said to me something of interest.”

“In confidence?” Mrs Stanwell asked tentatively.

Madame shook her head. “Non, not at all. She says they experience difficulties with the money. The gambling, you see.”

“Of the son?” Lily asked with a knowing glance at Anthea.

Madame gave a very Gallic shrug. “All of them, I think.”

“That would explain some of the other guests,” Mrs Stanwell said.

It was Madame’s turn to raise her eyebrows.

“Two heiresses,” Mrs Stanwell continued. “Lady Davinia Rambold, and Miss Cecily Tait.”

“Ahh,” Madame said. “It is time for the son to marry.”

“Then why have they invited us?” Lily asked. “We have no fortune.”

Anthea picked up a pink silk flower she had chosen for a bonnet trim, and rolled the stem between her fingers contemplatively. “Lily is right. If I were a mama intent on marrying my son to an heiress, I would not invite us. The more heiresses to choose from, the better.”

“Yes,” Mrs Stanwell said. “Perhaps their circumstances are not so urgent, after all.”

Anthea recalled the few times she had met Lady Rydges. There had been a restless dissatisfaction and ambition about the woman that had simmered beneath the surface of her gracious manners. Anthea had come away from Town with the opinion that Lady Rydges, for all her delicate appearance, was as shrewd and unyielding as a fishmongers wife.

“Or perhaps Lady Rydges thinks that we are so far from eligible that we will round out the numbers and not get in the way of her two marriage choices for her son,” she said.

“Anthea!” Mrs Stanwell exclaimed.

Madame Celeste laughed. “Mademoiselle Anthea has clear eyes.”

“And an impertinent tongue,” Mrs Stanwell said, her tone a warning. “Lady Rydges is doing us a great kindness. Keep that in mind.”

“Of course, Mama.”

Anthea lowered her eyes to the silk flower in her hand. She had a feeling that neither she nor Lily would be able to forget the kindness of Lady Rydges, at any time, while they were at Lakeside.

Next Time: Confusions and Fond Farewells

For more information about the serial and the competition to write the final instalment (Chapter 11), please visit the 'Regency Serial' tab above.

AUSTRALIA DAY OFFER - win a reticule or cravat

2012-01-25T15:52:00.000+11:00

For one week only we are giving all our readers the chance to win a handmade reticule or cravat [their choice]. The reticule or cravat will be delivered to its new owner before the end of March, 2012.

All you have to do is post the Jane Austen Festival Australia 2012 poster and the website link onto your facebook page, blog or twitter with an @-mention shoutout to the festival website and then add where you posted it in the comments box below. The more places you post the poster & link the more times your name goes into the hat.

Download the picture from http://www.earthlydelights.com.au/JAFA2012.jpg The website link is http://www.janeaustenfestival.com.au or you can link to our blog http://janeaustenfestival.blogspot.com

On 1 February 2012 we will make the draw and notify the winner.

LImited-Attendance Classes at the Jane Austen Festival

2012-01-25T15:08:00.001+11:00

I've just updated the JAFA limited-attendance classes and sent out invoices. If you want to register, know which ones are full or find non-JAFA ones you can enrol in visit http://janeaustenfestival.blogspot.com/p/regency-sewing-classes.html

Trust and Tribulation, Chapter 2

2012-01-23T00:08:00.026+11:00

Chapter 2 – An enlightening evening of entertainment

Two days after the arrival of the invitation from Lord Rydges, the Stanwell ladies attended a much-anticipated evening of cards, music and supper at the house of their neighbours, the Qantas-Link’s.

Mr and Mrs Qantas-Link had moved into the area only a short time before the Stanwell’s, and the two families’ mutual strangeness to the area had done much to forge a friendship. The Qantas-Link’s had six children in all, their eldest a daughter by the name of Bernice who was much the same age as Lily. The lack of other genteel families with adult children in the vicinity had forced a closer connection between Lily and Bernice than probably would have otherwise naturally occurred. It was obvious that their different temperaments could not make for a deep friendship. As Anthea had once wryly observed to her mother, it was more a match of convenience and borrowed bonnets.

The supper evening had not started well for Anthea. Mr Pitwater was also a guest and had manoeuvred himself to stand at Anthea’s elbow in the large drawing room, locking her uncomfortably close to the generous fire. Miss Talbot, the Qantas-Link’s elderly relative, had deftly made her escape, but Anthea and Mr Qantas-Link had been trapped by their own good manners. Mr Pitwater had then proceeded to depress them with a laborious discussion of a newspaper article that had decried the wild behaviour of the Prince Regent.

“His moral turpitude must not be allowed to continue unchecked. He is a royal personage and should understand his exalted place!” Mr Pitwater said, finally coming to a pause in his exhortations. He took a punctuating bite of his cake, crumbs falling down the front of his plain black evening jacket and limp cravat.

“I think it is exactly because he does know his exalted place that he acts as he does,” Anthea said, unable to help herself from taking a contrary position. If Mr Pitwater said the sky was blue, Anthea knew she would have to argue that it was, quite plainly, red. She was not proud of the urge, but there it was, a sad defect in her character.

Mr Pitwater lifted his small, pink-rimmed eyes from his plate and stared at her in the manner of a man who had seen a horse talk. By now, Anthea thought crossly, he should know that she was not a Milk-Miss, mouthing only yes-sir-no-sir-whatever-you-say-sir.

Obviously taking advantage of the vicar’s bemusement, Mr Qantas-Link smiled at Anthea, and said, “Miss Stanwell, I believe your dear mother requires your presence. May I escort you to her?”

Anthea turned to find her mother seated on a chaise longue across the room, deep in conversation with Mrs Qantas-Link and taking no notice of either of her daughters. Nevertheless, Anthea bobbed a quick curtsey to Mr Pitwater and, with a grateful glance at her host, took his arm. She knew she must try and cultivate more tolerance – Mr Pitwater was not a bad man, merely irritating, and she could not spend all evening trying to avoid him. Still, she had been given the chance to escape, and she was going to take it.

“Lud!” Mr Qantas-Link exclaimed under his breath as they crossed the room, nodding to the other guests as they passed. “After that marathon, I am on the side of the Prince Regent.”

He winked at Anthea. She smiled, unfazed by the familiarity. He reminded her very much of her dear Papa. Not so much in looks – Papa had been of average height with classical features, whereas Mr Qantas-Link was a tall man with a long-boned face that, at rest, looked a little cadaverous, but in motion was all good humour. His similarity to Papa was in his kind nature and gentlemanly manners.

As they approached the two ladies on the blue velvet chaise, Mrs Stanwell looked up with a look of intense gratitude. “Mr Qantas-Link, how can I thank you and your wife for the kind offer of your carriage to take Anthea and Lily to Lakeside estate? Your generosity is overwhelming.”

“It is my pleasure, Madam,” he said, bowing.

“And they must have Thomas too,” Mrs Qantas-Link said to her husband. She was a flurry of hands and vivid colour: bright cheeks and mouth and chestnut hair that, under a dainty cap of lace, still held its rich reds and browns. “We can spare him, and we cannot let two girls travel to County Canberra and an Earl’s estate without the services of a footman. What would it be like!”

“Indeed, my dear,” Mr Qantas-Link said. “It is all settled then.”

“We are very grateful, sir,” Anthea said. “I know it will be a great comfort to Mama to know that we have your man with us.”

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Mr Pitwater heading their way.

“The roads are dangerous places these days, what with the highway men, and those dispossessed from their land,” Mr Qantas-Link said. He smiled reassuringly at Mrs Stanwell. “The driver will be armed, madam, so you need have no fear.”

“Anthea, do come here,” Lily called. She was sitting at a pretty little pianoforte in the far corner with Bernice. “Do come and see this music.”

Lily was in excellent looks, Anthea thought, watching her sister for a moment in the soft light cast by the extravagant profusion of wax candles. Lily wore her white satin evening dress – the high waist tied with a simple length of blue silk – and had caught up her dark hair in the new asymmetrical style, described in a recent issue of La Belle Assemblée. The style dictated a cascade of soft curls to one side with only a few delicate tendrils on the other. Anthea had tried it herself, but it had not suited her stronger features. She had stayed with her customary braided high knot, the natural wave in her hair creating a becoming frame to her face.

Bernice, seated beside Lily, had inherited her mother’s vivid complexion, but the brightness had already turned somewhat florid, and she had not been granted with that lady’s luxurious hair. Instead, she had received her father’s flat brown locks that she’d bravely twisted into fashionable tight curls around her red face and dressed with a profusion of faux roses. She wore a pale green crepe gown, swagged with red silk at the hem, and draped with a Norwich shawl of rich russets and gold. Yet, even with such opulent fashion and attention to coiffure, she was still outshone by her more simply dressed friend.

“They make a pretty picture, do they not?” Mrs Qantas-Link said.

“Indeed, Madam,” Anthea said diplomatically.

With a curtsey to her elders, she joined the two girls, taking a somewhat circuitous route behind the well-stocked supper table, out of Mr Pitwater’s path.

“Listen, Anthea. Isn’t this lovely,” Lily said, embarking on a melody. “It is by that Viennese man, Beethoven, and called For Elise.”

Although Lily must have only just sighted it, she played the lilting notes with barely any hesitation and with great feeling. Anthea smiled with pride at her sister’s accomplishment.

“Fur Elise,” Bernice corrected pompously. “And he is Austrian.”

“I wonder who Elise is?” Lily said, ignoring the remark. “He must love her to create such beauty in her name.”

Anthea nodded her agreement, deciding it was probably fruitless to point out Mr Beethoven’s true nationality. “It is a beautiful piece. Perhaps you could make a copy and play it one evening for Lord and Lady Rydges.”

Lily looked at Bernice. “May I make a copy?”

Bernice gave a small shrug. “I don’t see why not.” With a sigh, she added, “You two are so lucky to be going to the Rydges' estate.”

“And a ball,” Lily said. Her tone had just a hint of smugness within it.

Bernice focused on Anthea. “You will probably dance with Lord Dansworth, the Earl’s son. He is heir, you know.”

“Yes, I believe he is to be one of the party,” Anthea said.

Although she had, of course, met Lord and Lady Rydges during her season, she had not met their son, or even their daughter. The former had been at University and the latter had not yet left the schoolroom.

Bernice leaned in and lowered her voice. “Lord Dansworth will have at least 40,000 pounds a year, and he is still unmarried! What do you say to that?” Not waiting for a response, she added, “My cousin, Rosamund, lives in Town. She keeps up with all the happenings, especially of the Upper Ten Thousand. She has told me that Lord Dansworth has such a reputation. She has seen him from across the street and she says he is very handsome. He is a rake, you know, and a dandy. Just fancy, you will meet a rake!”

“What has he done to deserve such an epithet?” Anthea asked, guiltily aware that she was being drawn into gossip.

“He is one of the Prince Regent’s set,” Bernice said. “They are all profligates.”

“Yes, but what has he done?” Anthea repeated.

Bernice’s little mouth pursed into delighted disapproval. “Rosamund said that he gambles enormous amounts, and drinks and fights. He was sent down from Oxford and no one knows why!”

“He sounds rather exciting,” Lily said, finishing the music with a small flourish. “I will certainly dance with him, if he asks me.”

“Will you set your cap at him?’ Bernice asked. “It would be wonderful if you were to become Lady Lily. Then you could invite me to Town.”

“He will hardly take any notice of us,” Anthea said repressively. “He will marry according to his rank.” She winced, recognising a black clad shape sidling along the wall towards them. “Mr Pitwater,” she said, forcing a cheerful note into her voice. “Are you an admirer of Mr Beethoven?”

“I believe not,” Mr Pitwater said, coming to hover once more at her elbow. He had added small flakes of pastry to the cake crumbs already caught in his cravat. “He is too foreign for my liking. I cannot believe anyone of taste could prefer him to our own majestic composers.”

“Really?” Anthea said. She could have left it at that, but once again, the devil was on her shoulder. “I must disagree with you,” she continued. “There is a stolidity to our music that the continentals consistently rise above. Do you not agree?”

She smiled at Mr Pitwater. It seemed cultivating the virtue of tolerance was still beyond her reach.

Next time: Frank discussions and fashion

Visit Alison’s website at www.alisongoodman.com.au

Alison Goodman holds the Intellectual Property Right to the Trust and Tribulation serial, but acknowledges the right of 2012 JAFA season ticket holders to make use of the characters and situations in the serial to fulfil the conditions of the competition.

Please also note that the use of brand names in the serial has been used in the spirit of fun and is not meant, in any way, as product placement. The author has, alas, not been offered any terrific freebies to use these names.

Competition - Write the final instalment of Trust and Tribulation!

Competition Conditions of Entry

The competition is only open to season ticket holders of the 2012 Jane Austen Festival of Australia (full and concession).

All entries to be:

· a maximum of 1,000 words.

· due by 5pm Thursday 5^th April, 2012. Unfortunately no late entries will be accepted.

· typed, double-spaced and in either Word or RTF format. Also, I will be judging the entries without names attached in the interest of impartiality, so please include a cover sheet with the title of your “chapter”, your name and your contact number on it. Please also label each page of your actual entry with only your chapter title so that I can, at the end of judging, finally match up cover sheet to story. Remember to include page numbers too!

· emailed to info@alisongoodman.com.au

For more information about the serial and the competition, please visit the 'Regency Serial' tab above.

Second Hand Regency Clothing Stall

2012-01-22T20:05:00.003+11:00

We will be organising a secondhand clothing stall of Regency reproduction clothing at Jane Austen Festival Australia on Friday 14th April 2012.
If you have a garment you would like to sell please contact the festival by email for more information.

Alan Moyse, Official Town Crier, ACT

2012-01-19T18:10:00.000+11:00

Alan Moyse, the Official Town Crier for the ACT, will be at the Jane Austen Festival in April. He will be giving a talk about the history of town criers - so keep watch for when we publish a revised program next week.

Original Regency Serial and Competition

2012-01-16T08:58:00.021+11:00

Hi, I’m Alison Goodman, author of four novels and first time JAFA participant. Welcome to the Regency serial, Trust and Tribulation, which I am writing for the Jane Austen Festival blog. The serial will be posted every Monday for ten weeks and will follow the adventures of Anthea Stanwell as she and her sister prepare for a visit to “County Canberra” and the Garden-Gardiners ball!

The story will culminate in a competition to write the final instalment of the serial. The competition will only be open to season ticket holders of JAFA – full and concession – and will be judged by me (decision will be final). The last instalment of the serial that I will write will be on March 19, so that will give contestants over two weeks to complete their entries. I will be looking for an entertaining, inventive, well-written, (and reasonably logical) finale to the serial. You can find the conditions of entry at the end of this first instalment.

The prize will be a signed hardcover set of my award winning fantasy novels, EON and EONA, a DVD set of the 1995 BBC Pride and Prejudice (Restored edition), both donated by me, plus a 2013 JAFA season ticket (festival only; travel and accommodation not included), donated by JAFA.

The winning entry will be announced at the JAFA Friday Regency Variety Night and, if the winner is agreeable, will also be read out by me to the audience. The winning entry will be posted on the JAFA blog. Please note that by entering the competition, you have agreed to have your writing posted on the JAFA blog, should you win.

Along the way, I will also be posting some writing tips on this blog to help you hone your story writing skills.

So, welcome to the adventures of Anthea Stanwell. Prepare to have fun and maybe find some inspiration to release your own inner Jane Austen or Georgette Heyer!

Chapter 1 – Wherein the Stanwell ladies receive a letter

Anthea Stanwell sipped her weak morning tea, the leaves of which had already done service the day before, and watched her mother across the small breakfast table. Mrs Stanwell was frowning over a letter that had arrived by horseman only an hour ago. The heavy packet had been sealed by red wax that now hung from the opened pages at the end of a silk cord. Anthea could just make out the crest of Lord Rydges pressed into the broken seal.

“Well, what is it, Mama?” Lily, her sister, asked.

Mrs Stanwell ignored her younger daughter and read on, giving a soft double click of her tongue. Anthea knew that sound. It meant her mother was facing a dilemma.

“Mama, please tell us,” Lily said. “We are dying to know.”

“Let mother read it, first,” Anthea said. “Have some more bread.”

Lily sat back in her chair, her fair skin flushed. “How can you eat when something exciting might finally happen?”

“Like this.” Anthea took a deliberate bite of her buttered bread and chewed theatrically.

“You have no sense of destiny,” Lily said.

“Girls!” Mrs Stanwell looked up from the letter.

Many of the Stanwell’s acquaintances had remarked upon the startling similarity between the lady of the house and her two daughters. It was generally agreed that they all had fine dark eyes, very good noses and excellent chins. Both Anthea and Lily had also inherited their mother’s dark hair and pale complexion, but Anthea, to her chagrin was tall and built more along their father’s angular lines, whereas Lily had also inherited their mother’s soft roundness. All in all, the Stanwell sisters were considered to be handsome girls, with Lily, perhaps, edging out her elder as the beauty in the family.

“As you may have guessed, the letter is from Lord Rydges,” Mrs Stanwell said.

Lily straightened, all her attention on her mother. Anthea wiped her mouth with her napkin, feigning indifference, but privately she had to admit to some anticipation. Their dear father – may his soul rest in peace – had been aide-de-camp to Lord Rydges and had perished three years ago on the Spain campaign against Bonaparte. On occasion the Earl took a kindly interest in his aide’s widow and two daughters. The last interest had resulted in the house they now lived in, at a very minimal rent. Perhaps, Anthea hoped, this new interest may bring a much needed horse and gig.

“Lord Rydges has written to invite us to his estate, Lakeside –” Mrs Stanwell was stopped by Lily’s sharp squeal of delight. With an admonishing glance, she continued, “–where he says there will be a small party of guests and some diverting entertainments including concerts, a fair, picnics and promenades. There will also be a ball hosted by their friends, the Garden-Gardiners.”

“A ball?” Lily’s delight could, apparently, not be contained, for she stood up from the table and, holding up the plain hem of her white muslin day dress, waltzed around the room. Stifling her own excitement, Anthea looked across at her mother, intuiting the dilemma.

“But can we afford it mother?” she asked softly.

Mrs Stanwell turned her attention from her younger daughter’s joyous dance. “Yes, I know. It will mean more gowns and outerwear, travelling expenses, not to mention the servants’ vails.”

Anthea calculated they could possibly afford to refurbish their gowns and even manage the travel with the goodwill of some friends, but the tips required for the servants of a great house would, she absolutely knew, be beyond their means.

Her mother looked down at the letter again. “I do not want you and Lily to miss this opportunity.”

Anthea leaned across the table and briefly clasped her mother’s hand. She did not want the miss the opportunity, either, but she could see no way to manage it. “We will be all right, mother. We have the village society, and it is not so bad.”

“Yes, but as we know there are no eligible young men in this vicinity.”

“What about Mr Pitwater?’ Anthea said, trying not to smile. Mr Pitwater, the local vicar, was a constant and somewhat adhesive visitor to their house, his interest ponderously pointed in Anthea’s direction. Although eligible in terms of income and rank, there was a heaviness and lack of empathy in his nature that rendered the Stanwell ladies morose after every call. Lily called him the Pit of Despair.

“Do be serious, Anthea.” Mrs Stanwell eyed her older daughter and nodded as if making a decision. “You are almost one and twenty, my dear, well able to travel by yourself and look after your sister for a time. I want you to both take advantage of this invitation and I will stay here. I know Lady Rydges will ably chaperone you. We should be able to manage it with that saving.”

“Go without you? But mother –“

“Hush now. This is my decision.” She patted Anthea’s hand. “We will start preparations immediately.” She beckoned to Lily. “Darling, go upstairs and make a thorough inventory of all your and your sister’s gowns. You have the best eye among us and we must plan how to make best use of them.” Lily blew a kiss to her mother and ran from the room. As the door closed behind her, Mrs Stanwell said quietly, “Anthea, there is something else we must discuss. Something that pertains to you.”

Anthea, always sensitive to the tones of those she loved, heard the anxiety in her mother’s voice. “To me?”

“Lord Rydges has written about who else will be in the house party and I saw a name that we all know: Lieutenant Hayden.”

Anthea stilled.

“Although,” her mother continued, “the Earl writes that he is no longer Lieutenant. He is Commander.”

“I see,” Anthea said, but her mind was living a moment three years ago. The last time she had seen Lieutenant Hayden.

It had been at the end of her one and only season in Town, at a ball, given by Lord and Lady Rydges. During the weeks before, Lieutenant Hayden had become particular in his attention to Anthea, calling almost every morning to take her riding in the park or for walks. It was generally agreed, by those who watched the couple, that an announcement would soon be made. Anthea recalled the dance where he had said goodbye. One of the scandalous new waltzes. His arm about her, his hand encasing hers, eyes sorrowful. No reason, just a regret for any false hopes his behaviour may have caused. And at the end of the dance, he had left.

“I know how he treated you,” her mother said. “If you do not feel you can see him again, I will understand.”

Although Anthea was not yet sure how she felt – lost somewhere between pain and resignation – she said, “It is all right, mother. He made no declaration. No professions of love or references to a future. I cannot hold anything against him except my own foolish imaginings.”

“But, my dear –” her mother protested.

“No, it is fine. I have no anxiety about meeting Commander Hayden.” She smiled and retreated to the doorway. “No doubt he has long been married and has a parcel of children. I will go up and help Lily sort through our gowns.” She opened the door and was over its threshold before her mother could see the truth breaking across her face.

Next week: An enlightening evening of entertainment.

Visit Alison’s website at www.alisongoodman.com.au

Alison Goodman holds the Intellectual Property rights to the Trust and Tribulation serial, but acknowledges the right of 2012 JAFA season ticket holders to make use of the characters and situations in the serial to fulfil the conditions of the competition. Please also note that the use of brand names in the serial has been used in the spirit of fun and is not meant, in any way, as product placement. The author has, alas, not been offered any terrific freebies to use these names.

Competition Conditions of Entry

The competition is only open to season tickets holders of 2012 JAFA (full and concession).

All entries to be:

· a maximum of 1,000 words.

· due by 5pm Thursday 5^th April, 2012. Unfortunately no late entries will be accepted.

· typed, double-spaced and in either Word or RTF format. Also, I will be judging the entries without names attached in the interest of impartiality, so please include a cover sheet with the title of your “chapter”, your name and your contact number on it. Please also label each page of your actual entry with only your chapter title so that I can, at the end of judging,finally match up cover sheet to story. Remember to include page numbers too!

· emailed to info@alisongoodman.com.au

A bit more About Alison:

Alison Goodman is the author of EON and EONA, a New York Times Bestselling fantasy duology which has sold into 17 countries and been translated into ten languages. EON was shortlisted for Victorian, NSW, and WA Premier’s Literary awards, and won the 2008 Aurealis Award for Best Fantasy Novel. Alison’s other novels are the award-winning Singing the Dogstar Blues, and her crime novel Killing the Rabbit which was shortlisted for the 2007 Davitt Award. She lives in Melbourne with her husband and their Machiavellian Jack Russell Terrier, and is currently working on a new series.

Who are the fools in Northanger Abbey?

2012-01-13T11:17:00.000+11:00

Presented by Dr Gillian Dooley at 2011 Jane Austen Festival Australia

Honorary Research Fellow, English
Special Collections Librarian
Editor, Transnational Literature
Central Library
Flinders University, Australia

If we think of the fool inShakespearean terms, no one springs to mind as readily as Henry Tilney. In hisfirst conversation with Catherine he has a way of turning upon his listenerwith a deflating punch-line which has an air of Shakespeare’s Touchstone aboutit:

‘As far as I have had an opportunity of judging, itappears to me that the usual style of letter-writing among women is faultless,except in three particulars’ – ‘And what are they?’ ‘A general deficiency ofsubject, a total inattention to stops, and a very frequent ignorance ofgrammar.’ (49)

Here Henry is adding weight tothe narrator’s satirical views on aspects of society in much the same way asTouchstone voices satire throughout AsYou Like It. Catherine, though entranced, doesn’t know what to make of himat first: ‘“How can you be so –” she hadalmost said, strange.’ (50) Clearly, Henry is the hero of this novel and thoughhe retains his whimsical wit, and is upbraided by his sister for his ‘odd ways’(127), he is not a fool in the sense that he lacks judgment or wisdom. Heenjoys being a pedant, and indulges in what might be called intentional catachresis:deliberately misinterpreting Catherine’s artless use of expressions like ‘nice’and ‘she promised me faithfully’. He is only reduced to talking nonsense byhappiness in love: on their visit to the Allens at the end of the novel, ‘Henrytalked at random, without sense or connection’ (240), a most unusual state forthis most delightful of Austen’s heroes. This is a neat ironic reversal, sinceearlier, in Bath, when Catherine mentioned having to entertain herself at homeby calling on Mrs Allen, he had exclaimed, ‘What a picture of intellectualpoverty!’ (97)

Mrs Allen is of course a fool,but a relatively harmless one. Her ‘vacancy of mind and incapacity for thinkingwere such, that as she never talked a great deal, so she could never beentirely silent: and, therefore, while she sat at her work, if she lost herneedle or broke her thread, if she heard a carriage in the street, or saw aspeck upon her gown, she must observe it aloud, whether there were any one atleisure to answer her or not.’ (80) This might seem unkind, but I’m sure we allknow someone like this: I know I do! Mr Allen is a sensible man, except, itseems, in his choice of wife, who ‘was one of that numerous class of females,whose society can raise no other emotion than surprise at there being any manin the world who could like them well enough to marry them.’ (42-3)

Is Henry perhaps similarlywasted on Catherine? Austen playfully discusses the subject:

The advantages of naturalfolly in a beautiful girl have been already set forth by the capital pen of asister author [Fanny Burneyin Camilla]; and to her treatment of thesubject I will only add, in justice to men, that though, to the larger and moretrifling part of the sex, imbecility in females is a great enhancement of theirpersonal charms, there is a portion of them too reasonable, and toowell-informed themselves, to desire anything more in woman than ignorance. ButCatherine did not know her own advantages; did not know that a good-lookinggirl -with an affectionate heart, and a very ignorant mind, cannot fail ofattracting a clever young man, unless circumstances are particularly untoward. (125)

But is Catherine reallyfoolish? She is certainly naïve: as she shows in an early conversation withEleanor Tilney, after which ‘they parted – on Miss Tilney’s side with someknowledge of her new acquaintance’s feelings, and on Catherine’s, without thesmallest consciousness of having explained them’. (92)

And the words ‘folly’ and‘foolish’ often appear in relation to Catherine. Here are some examples:

Catherine had neither time nor inclination to answer.The others walked away, John Thorpe was still in view, and she gave herself upfor lost. That she might not appear, however, to observe or expect him, shekept her eyes intently fixed on her fan; and a self-condemnation for her folly,in supposing that among such a crowd they should even meet with the Tilneys inany reasonable time, had just passed through her mind, when she suddenly foundherself addressed and again solicited to dance, by Mr. Tilney himself.( 93)

How could she have so imposed on herself? Heavenforbid that Henry Tinley should ever know her folly! And it was in a greatmeasure his own doing, for had not the cabinet appeared so exactly to agreewith his description of her adventures, she would never have felt the smallestcuriosity about it. This was the only comfort that occurred. Impatient to getrid of those hateful evidences of her folly, those detestable papers thenscattered over the bed, she rose directly; and folding them up as nearly aspossible in the same shape as before, returned them to the same spot within thecabinet, with a very hearty wish that no untoward accident might ever bringthem forward again, to disgrace her even with herself.( 178)

[On visitingMrs Tilney’s room and finding nothing to incriminate the General] She was sickof exploring, and desired but to be safe in her own room, with her own heartonly privy to its folly, and she was on the point of retreating as softly asshe had entered, when the sound of footsteps, she could hardly tell where, madeher pause and tremble. To be found there, even by a servant, would beunpleasant, but by the General (and he seemed always at hand when least wanted)much worse.( 196)

The visions of romance were over. Catherine was completelyawakened. Henry's address, short as it had been, had more thoroughly opened hereyes to the extravagance of her late fancies than all their severaldisappointments had done. Most grievously was she humbled. Most bitterly didshe cry. It was not only with herself that she was sunk, but with Henry. Herfolly, which now seemed even criminal, was all exposed to him, and he mustdespise her for ever. The liberty which her imagination had dared to take withthe character of his father, could he ever forgive it? The absurdity of hercuriosity and her fears, could they ever be forgotten? She hated herself morethan she could express. (201)

Her mind made up on these several points, and herresolution formed, of always judging and acting in future with the greatestgood sense, she had nothing to do but to forgive herself and be happier thanever; and the lenient hand of time did much for her by insensible gradations inthe course of another day. Henry's astonishing generosity and nobleness ofconduct, in never alluding in the slightest way to what had passed, was of thegreatest assistance to her; and sooner than she could have supposed it possible,in the beginning of her distress, her spirits became absolutely comfortable,and capable, as heretofore, of continual improvement by anything he said. Therewere still some subjects, indeed, under which she believed they must alwaystremble; the mention of a chest or a cabinet, for instance, and she did notlove the sight of japan in any shape: but even she could allow that an occasional memento of past folly,however painful, might not be without use.( 203)

She was tired of the woods and the shrubberies [ofNorthanger], always so smooth and so dry; and the abbey itself was no more toher now than any other house. The painful remembrance of the folly it hadhelped to nourish and perfect was the only emotion which could spring from aconsideration of the building.( 212)

It is striking how often sheis described as being aware of her folly, which is, of course, the beginning ofwisdom. As Touchstone says, ‘a fool doth think he is wise, but the wise manknows himself to be a fool’ – and we might observe that Austen specificallyrefers to the ‘great store of information’ Catherine gained by readingShakespeare (39).

There is little doubt thatJohn Thorpe thinks himself very wise, but that he is a paragon ofself-deception, as can be seen in this scene with Catherine:

When the contents of the letter wereascertained, John Thorpe, who had only waited its arrival to begin his journeyto London, prepared to set off. " Well, Miss Morland," said he, onfinding her alone in the parlour, " I am come to bid you good-by."Catherine wished him a good journey. Without appearing to hear her, he walkedto the window, fidgeted about, hummed a tune, and seemed wholly self-occupied.

" Shall not you be lateat Devizes?" said Catherine. He made no answer; but after a minute'ssilence burst out with, " A famous good thing this marrying scheme, uponmy soul! A clever fancy of Morland's and Belle's. What do you think of it, MissMorland? I say it is no bad notion."

" I am sure I think it avery good one."

"Do you?—that's honest, by heavens! I amglad you are no enemy to matrimony, however. Did you ever hear the old song, 'Going to one wedding brings on another?' I say, you will come to Belle'swedding, I hope."

" Yes; I have promisedyour sister to be with her, if possible."

" And then youknow"—twisting himself about, and forcing a foolish laugh—" I say,then you know, we may try the truth of this same old song."

" May we? but I neversing. Well, I wish you a good journey. I dine with Miss Tilney to-day, and mustnow be going home."

-'Nay, but there is no such confounded hurry.Who knows when we may be together again? Not but that I shall be down again bythe end of a fortnight, and a devilish long fortnight it will appear tome."

-' Then why do you stay awayso long?" replied Catherine, finding that he waited for an answer.

" That is kind of you,however; kind and good-natured. I shall not forget it in a hurry. But you havemore good-nature, and all that, than anybody living, I believe. A monstrousdeal of good-nature, and it is not only good-nature, but you have so much—somuch of everything; and then you have such—upon my soul, I do not know any bodylike you."

" Oh dear! there are agreat many people like me, I dare say, only a great deal better. Good morningto you."

-- But I say, Miss Morland, Ishall come and pay my respects at Fullerton before it is long, if notdisagreeable."

" Pray do; my father andmother will be very glad to see you."

" And I hope—I hope, MissMorland you will not be sorryto see me."

"Oh dear! not at all. There are very few people Iam sorry to see. Company is always cheerful."

[She goes on]…And as to most matters, to say the truth, thereare not many that I know my own mind about."

" By Jove, no more do I! It is not my way tobother my brains with what does not concern me. My notion of things is simpleenough. Let me only have the girl I like, say I, with a comfortable house overmy head, and what care I for all the rest? Fortune is nothing. I am sure of agood income of my own; and if she had not a penny, why so much thebetter." (136)

The amount of inaccuracy inthe last paragraph alone is obvious: It ishis way to bother his brains with what doesn’t concern him, and he does care about money, just as hissister Isabella does. Isabella, however, is more calculating then John: moreduplicitous and manipulative, as Catherine realizes when she finally receives aletter from her after the engagement with James has been broken: ‘Such a strainof shallow artifice could not impose even upon Catherine. Its inconsistencies,contradictions, and falsehood, struck her from the very first.’ (217)

General Tilney would have tobe very foolish himself to be taken in by John Thorpe – to believe his boastsabout the Morland family in the first place, and then to take him at his wordwhen Isabella and James’s engagement is broken off and he declares them to be‘a necessitous family; numerous too almost beyond example … a forward,bragging, scheming race’ (242-3). It seems unlikely that a man of the world likethe General would believe this nonsense from Thorpe, who couldn’t impose evenon the naïve Catherine, but as Anne Ehrenpreis observes in her introduction tothe Penguin Classics edition of the novel, the General ‘changes as JaneAusten’s requirements for him vary. … [s]ince [his] function is “to promote thegeneral distress of the work” we are not allowed to take him seriously.’ (20)

Austen, in her disquisition in praise of folly, says that‘to come with a well-informed mind is to come with an inability ofadministering to the vanity of others, which a sensible person would alwayswish to avoid. A woman especially, if she have the misfortune of knowing anything, should conceal it as well as she can.’ (125) ‘Tis folly to be wise’,indeed!

In one sense, all Jane Austen’s characters are fools, exceptthe chosen few: the heroine (at least by the end of the novel, if not at thebeginning), the hero, and usually one or two others. Some are dupes, somebenign, like Mrs Allen; others are dangerous, like the Thorpe siblings. Isabellaand John Thorpe in some ways foreshadow the bright, attractive, far morecomplex Crawfords in Mansfield Park,who also befriend the heroine with unhappy results. But Thorpe is a caricature,with no redeeming features apart from his entertainment value to the reader. Hisfoolishness, as well as being a not always convincing plot device, is ayardstick against which all other characters are measured – and none measuresup to him in this respect. It is he and others of his type that help Austencreate ‘the illusion of traveling intimately with a hardy little band ofreaders whose heads are screwed on tight and whose hearts are in the rightplace’, as Wayne Booth wrote (Rhetoric of Fiction, 2^nd ed, 266).

Lynne Cook's Regency Bonnet Pattern

2012-01-12T12:52:00.000+11:00

This bonnet is based on an early regency style that was popular from the late 1700's to the very early 1800's. The bonnet has a velvet band over the head, with a heavy-satin pleated bag for the crown. There is a pleated trim of the same satin at the front edge of the bonnet, and the neck curtain is the same material. This bonnet can also be trimmed with ribbon or small flowers, or left plain like this one.

Materials lists:

60cm heavy Satin (eg. "Duchess Satin" or "Bridal Satin" - NOT lingerie satin)
20cm Velvet in a toning colour
20cm lining fabric in a toning colour (matt, not shiny, is best)
1.5m taffeta ribbon in a toning colour
Bias binding in a toning colour
15cm Buckram
2m millinery wire
20cm Pellon(TM)
Matching thread
Decoration as required (small flowers, ribbon or braid).

Other items:

Sewing machine that can do zigzag (and if possible, a foot that you use to guide cording)
Pliers
Handsewing needles
Spray glue

This is a simple bonnet of the earlier regency period, and is generally all the one colour, so try and get a least toning/similar colours for all your fabrics. The original would have been in silk and this is prefered if you can find it, but the sample I have made is completely in polyester (it's just a bit more work to get it do the same thing). Taffeta ribbon is increasingly hard to find so if you have to buy (polyester) satin ribbon, try to get single sided, not 'double sided', so it's matt on one side - double satin ribbons simply won't stay tied. If you can't find millinery wire (thread wrapped), florists wire (plastic coated) is acceptable, you just need wire that is covered. Bunnings have a thin white plastic coated wire in their electrical section.

The e-pattern and instructions for this bonnet can be purchased online through paypal for $5.00 AUD

Regency Cosmetics & Makeup

2012-01-12T10:42:00.002+11:00

Regency Cosmetics and Makeup

By Melissa Stevens, presented at Jane Austen Festival Australia 2011

Downloadable illustrated version for printing

Makeup trends often change from one extreme to the other.After the Georgian era of white face, red lips and heavily rouged cheeks, theRegency era was one where natural beauty was highly emphasised. As a result,skin care became foremost.

The complexion

Women took exercise to brighten their complexion; theywalked, rode and went for turns in open carriages. And although freckles andtans were still frowned upon, a fresh and windblown face was seen as healthy.White skin still signified a life of leisure while skin exposed to the sunindicated a life of outdoor labour. In order to maintain a pale complexion,women wore bonnets, carried parasols, and covered all visible parts of theirbodies with whiteners and blemish removers.

The cheaper price on newspapers and the introduction ofthe fashion magazine meant more avenues for the apothecaries to advertise theirproducts. Papers of the time are filled with ads for the most amazing remediesof every fault of face and form. In reality, many of the products were lethal,containing poisonous substances such as lead and mercury.

And while the fancy lotions were very popular among upperclass women, it's doubtful whether they offered much over home remedies such ascrushed strawberries and cucumber.

For Freckle Removal

Bruise and squeeze the juice out of chick-weed, add three timesits quantity of soft water, then bathe the skin for five to ten minutes morningand evening.

Freckles

Take half a pint of milk, squeeze into it the juice of a lemon,add a spoonful of brandy, and boil the whole. Skim it well, after which take itoff the fire, and put it aside for use. It would not be amiss to add also asmall quantity of loaf sugar.

To take away wrinkles

The juice from green pineapples takes away wrinkles and givethe complexion an air of youth. If pineapples are not available, onion will dojust as well.

Simple almond-milk to make the skin fresh (3)

Here is another beneficial receipt, which is easy, cheap andserves two ends. I beg my readers to make note of it. Crush some peeled sweetalmonds in a mortar, in proportion of twenty to thirty to a pint of water. Adda lump of sugar to prevent separation of the oil. When the almonds have beenreduced to a very fine paste, mix it little by little into the water. To turnit into a drink, you have only to add another lump of sugar.

Strawberry water to soften and whiten the skin (3)

Take well-ripened strawberries, crush them well in a vessel,then press them through white linen. Mix the resulting liquid with milk and alittle water. You must make this preparation every night because, especially invery hot water, it swiftly turns sour.

However, some of the home remedies still included somepretty horrible ingredients. As a result the use of these sort of productssignificantly shortened the lift of many women.

Freckles

Take equal parts of roots of wild cucumber and narcissus; drythem in the shade; reduce them into a very fine powder, and put it into somegood brandy. Wash the face with it till you begin to fell it itching, on whichwash with cold water. Repeat this every day till the freckles are removed,which they cannot fail to be in a very short time, because this liquid issomewhat caustic.

As a wash for the complexion

One teaspoon of flour of sulphur and a wine glassful of limewater, well shaken and missed with half a wine-glass of glycerine and awine-glass of rose water. Run on the face every night before going to bed.

Rose milk for preserving the complexion (3)

Add an ounce of fine olive-oil and six drops of oil of tartarto a quart of rose-water. Decan the oil of tartar before adding it to themixture.

Soap with Honey, to white the skin and dispel sun-burnmarks (3)

Take four ounces of white Marseilles soap, as much of commonhoney, and ounce of benzoin, and half an ounce of storax. Mix every thingtogether in a marble mortar. When it has been well blended, shape it intolittle tablets.

What do I use?

The main note that we can take from the Regency era, whichhas still continued to this day, is to look after your skin. As we all know,drink plenty of water, cleanse your skin, sunscreen and moisturise. You cancertainly try some of the safe home remedies for skin care, but these days itis as simple as finding a product that works for your skin. There are manyreputable brands on the market.

The foundation

With the white face of the earlier era giving way to amore natural look, there was a lot less reliability on white face paint. It wasstill used to some extent, by older women trying to hide the ravages of timeand by women of ill repute.

White paint was similar to modern foundations, mainlyconsisting of fragrant water, oil, talc and emulsifier in which a pigment wassuspended. The problem was the pigment used was lead. The lead was responsiblefor the opaque quality of the white paint, or enamel as it sometimes wascalled. The lead based white paint was slowly replaced by zinc oxide and chalk,which were less opaque and glossy but much healthier.

Then white face paint was slowly replaced with tintedfoundations more similar to what we are familiar with. Powder was permissiblein this age however. The most common varieties were made of rice flour althoughfine talcum powder was at times also used. For a glossy or shiny lookpearl-powder, a brilliantly white powder made of finely ground bismuth, wasused rather like the modern highlighters. Again, this was more common formature women and not so much for the debutante.

What do I do?

To get a similar look, it is as simple as keeping your foundationlight. You don’t want a heavy coverage. By all means go ahead and conceal anyof the more prominent blemishes on your skin, but keep everything light andremember to blend. Ideally, you should be looking for a tinted moisturiser orquite simply a light dusting of powder foundation over a moisturiser.

When choosing what colour to use, you want something thatwill blend in, generally you are trying to take into account the colour of yourskin over your nose and cheeks. However, if you have a tan and the skin on yourface is lighter, make sure that you pick a colour that will match the rest ofyour skin. Nobody really wants a white face and dark arms.

Cheeks

The rogue was one ofvery few accepted cosmetics that survived the French revolution. One suchproduct appearing during the Regency era was Pear's Liquid Blooms of Roses. Theblush came in several shades and the pigment was usually bright red carmine androse pink in varying combinations. Talcum powder was sometimes used to mute thecolour. Powder blushes were most common although liquid or crème rouge could befound. Sometimes rouge was sold in sheets - crepons- made of thin crepe fabricdipped in the makeup. The make-up was rich in pigment and a light was handneeded to get a natural finish.

A rouge for the face (1)

Alkanet Root strikes a beautiful red when mixed with Oils orPomatums. A Scarlet or Rose-coloured Ribband wetted with Water or Brandy, givesthe Cheeks, if rubbed with it, a beautiful bloom that can hardly bedistinguished from the natural colour.

The Turkish method ofpreparing Carmine (1)

Infuse, during three orfour days, in a large jar filled with White Wine Vinegar, a pound of BrazilWood Shavings, having first beaten them to a coarse powder; afterwards boilthem together for half an hour; then strain off the Liquor through a coarselinen cloth, set it again upon the fire, and having dissolved half a pound ofAlum in White Wine Vinegar, mix both Liquors together and stir the mixture wellwith a spatula. The scum that rises in the carmine. Skim it off carefully anddry it for use.

Carmine may also be made with Cochineal, or Red Sanders insteadof Brazil Wood.

How do I do this?

As the regency ladies used, a powder blush is generallythe easiest to apply. Look for reds, pink and pink/peach tones as you areaiming for a soft flushed look. To get a good application, it is a good idea toinvest in a blush brush. They are designed for sweeping across the cheeks togive a rounded shape at the front that sweeps up towards the hairline.

In applying your blush, it is much simpler to start lightand add more colour later. To get your placement, smile, and apply to theapples of your cheeks, sweeping up to your hairline. Your want the bulk of thecolour to be right on your cheeks.

Eyes

The English exploration of India and contacts with otherOriental areas such as Egypt and Turkey, contributed to the spreading ofmascara and eyeliner. Mixing lamp-black (a fine black soot) with a little oilproduced a usable paste to apply to both eyebrows and eyelashes. Burnt cork,was sometimes used as well. Of all the cosmetics available those for the eyewere most frowned upon, most likely because is was difficult to apply for anatural look, particularly when viewed in daylight.

To change the Eye-brows black (1)

Rub them frequently with ripe Elderberries. Some use burntcork, or cloves burnt in the candle. Others prefer the black of Frankincense,Rosin and Mastic. This black will not melt nor come off by sweating.

Black for the eye-brows

Take one ounce of pitch, a like quantity of resin and offrankincense, and half and ounce of mastic. Throw them upon live charcoal, overwhich lay a plate to receive the smoke. A black soot will adhere to the plate;with this soot rub the eye-lashes and eye-brows very delicately. Thisoperation, if now and then repeated, will keep them perfectly black.

So what should I do?

Any eye makeup that you apply should be very simple. Keepin mind that that aim is for a very natural look. If you want to apply eyecolour, you need to keep in muted. Start with a soft flesh toned cream washover the whole of the lid, add a little brown into the crease of the eye fordefinition, but make sure that you blend. You can also add a little whitepowder to your brown bone as a highlight, but make sure that you keep itsubtle.

Eyebrow grooming will make a huge difference to your face.To keep your eyebrows in line, tweeze or wax them into shape to remove thestray hairs. When applying your makeup, brush the brow hair neatly and definethem with a little of your colour powders in a colour that matches. This isespecially important if you dye your hair darker than your eyebrows.

To finish the eyes, a very light coat of mascara can beused. However, you will need to make sure that you are not using a very thickor old mascara as it will clump on the lashes and look unnatural. Another wayto achieve darker lashes is to paint them with liquid eyeliner. This way, youare just colouring the lashes.

Mouth

One popular lip cosmetic was Rose Lip Salve, availablefrom any apothecary, and chiefly containing white wax, almond oil, alkanet tocolour and scented by attar of roses. This type of lip rouge would give thelips a somewhat transparent rosy glow, rather like modern lip-glosses. Forbright red lips vermilion (an opaque cochineal derivate) was used, whichcreated a more painted look, similar to that of our lipsticks. However, thisbright colour was only used in the Regency period sparingly by older women orwomen of ill repute.

An excellent Lip Salve (1)

Take and ounce of Myrrh, as much Litharge in find powder, fourounces of honey, two ounces of bees-wax and six ounces of Oil of Roses; mixthem over a low fire.

What do I use?

Quite simply, a lip gloss. There are historicalreproduction cosmetics including lip salve on the market, however they are alittle more difficult to come by. (2) The easiest thing to use would be asimple coloured lip gloss of the non-shiny variety. You need to look forsomething more like a lip smacker that will give shine without that wet-look.

If you find it difficult to buy a coloured lip gloss andstill want to add a bit of rose to your lips, you can do so by first applying alight layer of lipstick to colour in your lips with a lip pencil. Blot off thebulk of the colour with a tissue and then apply your lip gloss.

Downloadable illustrated version for printing

Resources

1. TheToilet of Flora, original publication date 1779

2. http://www.agelessartiface.com

3. TheLady’s Strategem by Frances Grimble, January 2009

http://hibiscus-sinensis.com/regency/cosmetics.htm

http://hibiscus-sinensis.com/regency/skincare.htm

http://www.worldmags.com/magazine/page.ihtml?pid=76&step=4

http://www.authorsden.com/categories/article_top.asp?catid=10&id=15438

2012 Program with times uploaded today

2012-01-11T14:48:00.000+11:00

Our blog now has pages tabs under the header - and we have just uploaded the new "2012 Program" with session times. Some discussion sessions will be running for a little less time than currently allocated in the program - these details will be finalised in our final program to be uploaded on 31 March 2012.

Advertising on our blog

2012-01-11T09:56:00.002+11:00

You may have noticed that the Jane Austen Festival Australia blog is now displaying commercial advertisements. The AdSense program is an important new initiative in our revenue efforts. Jane Austen Festival Australia earns upwards of .70 for each ad-click so please do support our advertisers and this initiative.

15% Discount on Sewing Patterns

2011-12-27T19:54:00.000+11:00

There is a 15% discount on right now on at Sensibility Sewing Patterns!

Christmas Eve Ticket Special

2011-12-24T17:17:00.002+11:00

Can't think of a Christmas present? Why not avoid the Christmas Eve rush and get a ticket to the 2012 Jane Austen Festival! Use the discount code CHRISTMAS until midnight tonight to receive a free canvas festival carry bag with every ticket sale. http://www.janeaustenfestival.com.au/

JAFA 2012 programme of events

2011-11-18T13:45:00.001+11:00

Jane Austen Festival Australia Draft Program

12-15 April 2012

http://www.janeaustenfestival.com.au

Special Offer: JAFA Season Ticket + 3-day EnglishDance Week 10-15 April 2012 (Save $65) jafa2012.eventbrite.com

EVENING& MAIN EVENTS

Thursday13 April

JaneAusten Opening Film Night

Joinus for the official opening at the National Film & Sound Archives, followedby a special film screening in the theatre to put you in the mood.

Friday13 April

JaneAusten Festival Variety Night

Anevening of various pleasures! From improvised dramatic performances, tosinging, display dances, musical numbers and scripted performances – all with aRegency flavour! A regency soiree with a 21st century twist. Light supper withregency desserts, tea and coffee provided at interval. Book a table and bringyour own dinner baskets, crockery & bottles of chilled wine. We will supplytables, table cloths and candelabras. Doors open at 6.30pm so you can set upyour table before the evening begins.

Saturday14 April

JaneAusten Festival Market Day & Archery Tournament

Thelawns of St Johns come alive with archery, hot food, period games, stalls andeven Maypole Dancing!

Saturday14 April

JaneAusten Festival Ball

Relivethe romance and frivolity of Regency times with a grand ball complete withcandlelight, games room, regency supper and traditional music. Ball attendeesmust attend the early morning dance workshops on Friday and/or Saturdaymornings from 9am - 10.30am.

Sunday15 April

JaneAusten Festival Promenade

Promenadearm in arm along the shores of Lake Burley Griffin in your best Regency erafinery. Remember to bring a parasol, tophat or bonnet for a day of genteel enjoyment. 9.30am-12.30pm. Meet at thechesspit in Commonwealth Park.

WORKSHOPSAND TALKS

(LISTED UNDER EACH PRESENTER)

DrJohn Gardiner-Garden

Johnis a dance teacher, researcher, choreographer and musician with over 20 yearsexperience teaching, leading and playingfor Regency (and other) era dancing, and with many dance books and recordingsto his credit. He is the artistic director of Earthly Delights Historic DanceAcademy and leader of the band Earthly Delights.

DanceWorkshops tbc - 4 workshops a day, with the first workshop every day fornewcomers and a warm up for all –

and apre-requisite to attending the Ball on Saturday Night!

1. The Austen eracountry dance—an introduction to ‘the felicities of rapid motion’.

2. We’re not at warwith Paris—the French dances enjoyed in Austen’s England.

3. The new craze fromScotland and what Darcy meant when he mentioned the reel.

4. The knotty Germandance—the salsa of the Regency era.

5. So tonight we’gonna party like it's 1799—What you need to know to fudge the ball.

6. Dances that went tothe music and names in the Austen family manuscripts.

7. Imports fromAustria and Russia—including the Duke of Devonshire’s favourite.

8. The easy minuet ofthe day—and how it became a folk dance.

9. It’s a hard setthat doesn’t ask for more’—a Jane Austen House Party with dances linked to herfamily plus your requests.

AylwenGardiner-Garden

Aylwenis an events coordinator and self-stitched costume historian, seamstress anddancer. She is a member of the Australian Costumers Guild, American CostumeSociety and is the Director of Jane Austen Festival Australia. In 2009 &2011 she travelled overseas to study historical clothing construction andattend historical costume conferences in the UK, US and Denmark.

Pre-festivalRegency Bonnet Workshop - (limited to 15) Inthis workshop you will make regency bonnet. Bring your own fabric cuttingscissors, sewing needles, pins, thread in same colour as your fabric, fabricmarking pen/chalk, 50cm of 100% cotton or silk (115-150cm width) and 100cm of1" wide matching ribbon. Pattern & handout will be provided. To enrolin this pre-festival 2-day bonnet making workshop go tohttp://jafa2012.eventbrite.com/.

Stitchesand Seam Techniques (WORKSHOP)

Learnabout the stitches and construction techniques in use 200 years ago. Techniqueswill be demonstrated and student will make a sample for each stitch. Stitchesto be learnt include backstitch, running stitch, butted seams, stand-up seam,lapped fell seam, raw-edge finishes, narrow hems and topstitched seams. Kitprovided includes handout, sample fabric, needle and thread. Please bring yourown fabric scissors.

Muffs(WORKSHOP)

WhenJane Austen was a teenager in the late 1780’s several portraits of well-knownactresses holding muffs were painted by a variety of famous artists includingThomas Gainsborough, Sir Thomas Lawrence, and Sir Joshua Reynolds. We'll startyou making your own muff to take away and finish in your own time.

Regency'Betsie' or Neck Ruff/Frill (WORKSHOP)

Fashionfollows cycles, and so we see the Elizabethan ruff influencing the wearing ofneck ruffs and frills during the regency period. This ruff earnt the names of'Betsie' from Elizabeth I and 'cherusse' as the name given to starched lacecollarettes. It was worn with high-necked gowns and as decoration with lower-neckeddresses. In August 1815, Mirror of Fashion, a section of the Ladies' MonthlyMuseum mentions "a double Frill of worked muslin round the neck".

Classmembers will make a single neck frill from white lawn and ribbon.

QuiltedRegency Coats (WORKSHOP)

Regencycoats were worn to keep the wearer both warm and dry. Stitching patterns wereused to hold the wadding in place, and often these stitches were just asbeautiful a design as the garment itself. See an antique regency coat up closeand study how it was put together. Workshop participants will then make a copyof its collar.

Makea White Regency Drawn Bonnet (WORKSHOP)

Bringyour own fabric cutting scissors, a bodkin, sewing needles, pins, strong whitesewing thread, fabric marking pen/chalk, 1m white/offwhite silk organza orhandkerchief linen (115-150cm width) and 100cm of 1" wide matchingribbon.(a rolled hem foot and zipper foot if using a sewing machine) Pattern& handout will be provided. Linen or silk organza can be ordered fromAylwen.

RegencyLetterbook (WORKSHOP)

Onher trip to the US in March 2011, Aylwen was fascinated by the Georgian andRegency letterbooks. Although quite small, they are large enough to holdletters, and in particular some feature designs indicating they were used tohold love letters. Workshop participants will start making a silk taffetaregency letterbook, and take away a kit to finish making it in their own time.

JacquiNewling

Jacquiholds a Masters in Gastronomy. She currently works as a guide at Vaucluse &Elizabeth Bay Houses and runs a series of Colonial Gastronomy programs forHistoric Houses Trust NSW. Jacqui guest lectures in Food Across Cultures atMacquarie University (Anthropolgy) and holds regular Spice Appreciation classesat Herbie's Spices in Sydney.

GASTRONOMY

Punches,Cordials & Refreshers (WORKSHOP)

Explorethe variety of flavoursome & thought-to-be wholesome beverages enjoyed inJane Austen's times. We will prepare liquid treats to serve at supper, based onauthentic Regency and traditional recipes.

MariaMacArthur In 1812 Maria MacArthur was about to embark on achallenging and new-life's role in the colony - as bride-to-be she wouldbeanaging her own domestic empire. A benevolent Aunt sent her a detailed letterfrom England advising her on all manner of household matters, includinginstructions on how to host sociable dinners and parties. Today we examine hercatering repertoire to gain a insight into Regency tastes culinary and social!

JuliaErmert

JuliaErmert is a member of the Jane Austen Society of Aust. and lectures on Jane Austen for U3A andfor the library system. She agrees with her favourite author that 'to be fondof dancing is a certain step towards falling in love', and is delighted to finda conference that combines both pleasures.

Marriagea la Mode

Thetwo best-known letters in Jane Austen's novels come from Captain Wentworth andMr Darcy. One is leading up to a marriage proposal and the other is after arejected proposal. Each was hand-delivered as young women did not receiveletters from men to whom they were not engaged .. which made things a bitdifficult! But marriage in Regency times was full of pitfalls, what with bannsand special licences, dowries, settlements and jointures ... but is it reallyany easier nowadays?

DeborahMulhall

DeborahMulhall has written 9 full length plays – which have enjoyed seasons inAustralia and overseas. There have been 5 adaptations to the stage : Pride& Prejudice; Les Liaisons Dangereuses ,The Scarlet Pimpernel and Sense & Sensibility. Original worksinclude Pipe Dreams; Gentlemen Incorporated (optioned for film), Cry,Wolf(Honorable Mention New York New Works of Merit Playwriting Competition 2003 andperformed in New York at 13th St Repertory Co.)The Jocasta Complexity and TheMaking of Elizabeth. The Storm Sisters is being developed for a televisionseries.

Deborahhas also produced and directed over 15 plays including: Don’s Party; Cat on aHot Tin Roof; Arsenic and Old Lace; Blithe Spirit; Valentino – The Musical; Julius Caesar; Whose Life is it Anyway?;Butterflies are Free; Harlequinade; Goodbye Charlie; Macbeth and The Fantastics .

Notlimited to the writer/director role, Deborah has, at times, practised what shepreached! Early roles included Raina in Arms and the Man, Kate in Taming of theShrew and Titania in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Most recently, she sank herteeth into Martha in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf.

Believingthat writing, like life, is a never-ending learning experience, Deborah isinvolved in many aspects of artist development. From The Internationalplaywright’s Symposium in Italy, to successfully training actors for schoolssuch as Stella Adler in New York , there have also been involvement withCambridge University (England) Footlights Revue ; The Illawarra Council for thePerforming Arts ; Wollongong Workshop Theatre; Ars Viva ; Playworks, ParnassusDen, Arcadians Theatre Group, RooTheatre Company, Factory Space Theatre Company, New Theatre; Crash Test Dramaand Writers’ Anon. In addition, Deborah was a founding member of Lake TheatreGroup and Parramatta Theatre Company. For more information, go to Deb’swebsite: www.deborahmulhall.com

TxtingAusten - the challenge of converting letters to performance

Howdoes a screenwriter or playwright deal with letters when adapting a novel tostage and screen? What are their options when letters carry so much importantinformation? The session will offer not only an outline with examples of howvarious writers have handled this but also a fun hands-on approach! Adaptationsand transformations offer all sorts of approaches limited only by theimagination!

LynneCook

Sincecompleting the Advanced Certificate in Garment Design and Construction in the1980’s, Lynne has many years experience in drafting, and constructing, clothingand costumes for both men and women. It’s only since her involvement in historical recreation societies inthe 90’s that her interest in research (for accurate detail) came about. Though her main interest is historicalreproduction, she has also made costumes/clothing from Science Fiction, Fantasyand pop culture genres. She has alsostudied millinery and was taught to knit, crochet and embroider as a child. She is currently the National President ofthe Australian Costumers’ Guild, which has given her the opportunity to travelto different states around Australia to share her knowledge.

“Makea Plume” (WORKSHOP)

Workingon the information from the demo on Feathers last year, this is your chance tomake a feather Plume for yourself. Aplume is generally constructed of 2 or 3 feathers sewn together and oftenwired, and then curled. Feathers andwire will be supplied for a cost of $10. Feathers will be either white, black or natural. You are welcome to bring your own feathers(you’ll need 3 ostrich feathers/drabs of approximately 30cm/12”)

“Make a Regency ‘Saque’ Hat” (WORKSHOP)

Thisis a hat that comes under Turbans and I think it is the Regency version of theBeanie – always a good hat for those bad hair days (as are most turbans). A Saque is made in a similar fashion to a mobcap or caul, so it can be easily sewn by hand (there’s really not much sewing)so there’s no need to bring a sewing machine along to this workshop.

Pleasebring: 50cm length of fabric* (115-150cm width), matching thread, sewingneedles, pins and scissors. (Optionaltassel or bead dangle. Other decoration to be discussed during the workshop.)

"AdaptingSleeves for the Larger Figure" (WORKSHOP)

Manyof us no longer have the sylph-like figures of youth. Learn to manipulate a sleeve pattern to fitlarger upper arms. (This method is alsosuitable for gentlemen with large biceps, but we will be looking primarily atladies styles.) BYO paper, paperscissors, ruler, sticky tape, pencil, eraser, pen, and tape measure. I will bring a basic ‘puff sleeve’ patternand a more fitted long sleeve for you to alter, but please feel free to bringyour own sleeve pattern to work on.

MegGardiner

After a lifetime of readingand eight years of teaching English in an all-girls school Meg is wellacquainted with the nuances of Jane Austen and writing many different texttypes. Putting her passion into practice is what Meg loves to do and herpresentation and workshops will help you to do this too. When not reading andteaching Meg loves to explore her new interest in historical costuming, singingand getting her hands dirty in the garden.

Presentation: What’s all the fuss aboutsome old letters?
This presentation will be a briefoverview of the influence of letter writing and letter writers across time,leading into Jane Austen and the influence of her letter writing adding to herbody of work. Some of the areas to be covered will include: Who did Jane Austenwrite to? How important was letter writing in Regency England? What did JaneAusten write about? How are we, as people of the 21^st Century, goingto be influenced by the great letter writers.

Workshop: “The Elegant Art of Letter Writing”
This is a practical workshop supported by a look at the content, form andstructure of personal letters. Is letter writing a dying art in the 21^stCentury? What do we write about given the prevalence of electronic forms ofcommunication? Can I still craft a fine letter? We will also touch on theetiquette of responses and replies. At the conclusion of this workshop you willleave with ideas aplenty, some sample letters and replies, hints and tips, andstationery or a card ready to write yourown letter from the Jane Austen Festival, Canberra 2012.

Gabriel& Matthew Bieniek

GabrielBieniek is a classically trained soprano who studied at the University ofWollongong and Sydney Conservatorium of Music. She continues to perform a widevariety of music from the Renaissance to C20th, both as a soloist &ensemble member. She has also lectured & tutored in Music History at boththe Sydney Conservatorium & Australian Institute of Music, and is a greatbeliever in history assisting in musical appreciation and understanding. Shelives in Canberra, has 2 young children and teaches Singing part-time.

MatthewBieniek is a composer and pianist, and a Masters graduate of the SydneyConservatorium of Music. He is a represented composer through the AustralianMusic Centre, and in 2003 was awarded the ISCM-CASH Young Composer Award, witha commission for the Gaudeamus Music Week 2005 in Amsterdam. He has taught bothpiano and composition, but currently works for the AEC in Canberra, andcomposes and plays in his spare time.

Despitethe challenge of having 2 young children, Matthew & Gabriel have regularlyperformed in concert together over the years, for organisations such as theBathurst and Redlands Arts Councils, and the Mitchell Conservatorium of Music.They enjoy presenting musical programs of their own choice and design.

Musicin the life of a Regency family

Weoften know about the musical 'greats' of a particular era, but how muchrelevance did they have for their contemporaries? What standard of musicaleducation was a sign of a well-schooled young lady? How much musical study didgentlemen undertake? Did every good home have a pianoforte, and how often wasit used? And in what stead were professional musicians held in society? TakingJane Austen's letters as a starting point, this seminar will present samples ofpopular music of the time and a discussion of the role it played in everydaylife in Regency England.

Varietynight performances

Accompaniedby Matthew, Gabriel will perform a selection of songs which would have beenfamiliar in professional concert halls in Regency England, as well as a fewmore popular numbers. Bring your voices for a bit of a singalong!

SamanthaMiller

Samanthais a long time Jane Austen enthusiast with an Arts degree from University ofSydney. She has always been interested in social history and this particulartime period is fascinating in it's high rate of change. Sam also enjoyswriting, acting and costuming.

TheRegency Letter

Followthe journey of the regency letter from start to finish. The stages it would gothrough and how it would make it's way from one hand to another. From the shortjourney of a note sent house to house to a cross country or even across theworld letter. Samantha will draw on letters from JA novels and also well knownpeople from the time.

TheWelsh Folk Dancers

JaneAusten in Wales?

DidJane Austen ever visit Wales? A letter from her niece Anna to her half-brothersuggests the family went there. What would they be doing? What was Wales like in Regency times?

SophiaWhitfield

Sophiais the co-owner and publisher at New Frontier Publishing.

NewFrontier publishes quality children's books that uplift, inspire and educate.

Inher spare time she writes under the pen name of Alex Field. She has writtennumerous articles about children- she has five - and books.

InOctober 2011 her first book was released. Mr Darcy is a children's picture bookabout a well mannered, but slightly pompous duck.

JaneAusten's novels in contemporary society

In recent years wehave seen a proliferation of novels loosely based on Jane Austen's work.Bridget Jones' Diary and Pride and Prejudice and Zombies to name a few. HarperCollins have just commissioned a new series based on Jane Austen's work. Wellknown novelist Joanna Trollope will be rewriting Sense and Sensibility. Fivemore authors will be chosen to rewrite Austen's other novels. Sophia will speakabout these modern rewrites and discuss whether they enhance or hinder Austen'swork?

2012 Jane Austen Festival Australia Dance Stream

2011-11-16T15:52:00.001+11:00

For those that have been waiting to see what dance workshops are on offer in 2012 - here is the list. The festival is designed to fit as many as want into the dance workshops, with limited-attendance workshops on the side. Some do a combination of sewing workshops, talks and dancing and some spend all their time dancing. Its up to you.

Jane Austen Festival Australia

12-15 April 2012

http://www.janeaustenfestival.com.au

Special Offer: JAFA Season Ticket + 3-day English Dance Week

(Save $65) http://jafa.eventbrite.com

DrJohn Gardiner-Garden

John is a danceteacher, researcher, choreographer and musician with over 20 years experience teaching,leading and playing for Regency (and other) era dancing, and with many dancebooks and recordings to his credit. He is the artistic director of EarthlyDelights Historic Dance Academy and leader of the band Earthly Delights.

DanceWorkshops - 4 workshops a day, with the first workshop every day fornewcomers - a warm up for all and a pre-requisite to attending the Ball onSaturday Night!

FRIDAY 13 April 2012

9:15-10:30 The Austen era country dance—an introduction to ‘the felicities of rapid motion’.

11:00-12:15 We’re not at war with Paris—the French dances enjoyed in Austen’s England.

1:30-2:45 The new craze from Scotland and what Darcy meant when he mentioned the reel.

3:15-4:30 The knotty German dance—the salsa of the Regency era.

EVENING DINNER DANCE & VARIETY NIGHT

Dances drawn from daytime repertoire.

SATURDAY 14 April 2012

9:15-10:30 So tonight we’ gonna party like it's 1799—What you need to know to fudge the ball.

11:00-12:30 Dances that went to the music and names in the Austen family manuscripts.

1:30-2:45 Imports from Austria and Russia—including the Duke of Devonshire’s favourite.

3:15-4:30 The easy minuet of the day—and how it became a folk dance.

GRAND EVENING BALL

Dances drawn from daytime repertoire.

SUNDAY 15 April 2012

11am-ish, Chess pit in Commonwealth Park-The 32 person Chess dance—a hit in 2010—& other fun dances.

3:15-5:00pm Church Hall- ‘It’s a hard set that doesn’t ask for more’—a Jane Austen House Party with dances linked to her family plus your requests.

Jane Austen Festival Ball 2011

2011-10-18T23:36:00.001+11:00

Help us sell tickets and earn some money at the same time

2011-10-13T12:18:00.001+11:00

Would you like to earn some money? Jane Austen Festival Australia has set up an affiliate ticket program - if you join our affiliate program and promote Jane Austen Festival Australia you will earn $5 from every ticket you sell! The festival has limited funds for advertising but is happy to thank you for helping to spread the word. http://www.eventbrite.com/affiliate-register?eid=1535285079&affid=8718404

Regency pattern drafting - do it yourself

2011-10-12T17:53:00.003+11:00

Jennie Chancey from Sense & Sensibility Patterns is publishing a series of online pattern drafting lesson on Your Wardrobe Unlockd. The first lesson has just been published.

The monthly lessons include:

1. Creating a Basic Bodice Sloper
2. Modifying the Sloper to Create Historical Bodices
3. How to Draft Regency Bodices
4. Drafting Sleeves and Skirts
5. Sizing Patterns and Preparing for Publication

YWU is a subscription-based site and includes hundreds of articles on every aspect of historical costuming.

(The $9.95/month fee has been slashed 50% for your first month for a limited time, too!)

A hint of what's to come in 2012

2011-08-22T13:45:00.001+10:00

As the months fly past since the 2011 Jane Austen Festival Australia, so the 2012 festival comes nearer and the organisers get more excited.

There will be changes in 2012 that we hope you'll be happy with. They include:

more food options with different catering arrangements, including a separate serving table for those with special dietary requirements
more theatre - you asked for more!
plenty of dancing and chances to dress up
special regency treats to be served at the Jane Austen Festival Ball
more hands-on workshops but with limited entry, so don't leave it late to buy your tickets and enrol
archery - for the first time!
and we have brought back outdoor regency games from England to enjoy at the Sunday Promenade.

We have new presenters - and a new feel to the festival in 2012. A wonderful team is on board already getting it prepared behind the scenes - they have put their heads together and come up with some pretty good ideas - so keep an eye out for new developments.

Earlybird season tickets are on sale now until sold out - with special discounts to large group bookings. So if you belong to a social group and want to bring along 10+ people, contact the festival asap to discuss your requirements.

Men's Regency Tailcoat Workshop 21-22 May 2011, Canberra

2011-05-11T11:08:00.003+10:00

We are running a one-off men's regency tailcoat workshop on the 21-22 May, using a new pattern that has just been released in the US and which is already receiving good reviews on its fit, historical accuracy and construction techniques.

We need a minimum of four people to enrol in this class for it to run. Can you please rsvp this week if you plan to attend, and make sure that enrolment fees are paid by this weekend so that we have time to purchase supplies and you have time to purchase your fabric. This workshop is open to both men and women who have sewing experience, a working sewing machine and time to get the project finished. Participants are welcome to sew the project by hand as was done historically, but may have to finish it in their own time.

Enrolment fees are to be paid online at http://www.regencyreproductions.com/classes.htm by the 15 May 2011. If the class does not have enough enrolments to run we will refund your fees in full on Monday 16 May 2011.

Sizes M, L & XL

Memories of 2011 Jane Austen Festival Ball

2011-05-02T00:17:00.000+10:00

JANE AUSTEN FESTIVAL BALL Saturday 16 April 2011

Limited-attendance sewing workshops at JAFA 2012 - a quick peep

2011-05-01T11:16:00.006+10:00

Just added: Four limited attendance workshops for 2012 - they'll be added as we approve applications, so if you have a workshop you wish to present, make sure you contact us by the 29 August 2011.

Beginning Embroidery – Regency Reticule (limited to 15)
Students will learn the basics of surface embroidery while making a regency-era monogrammed reticule. We will cover backstitch, whipped backstitch, chain stitch, detached chain (lazy daisy) and outline stitch. Do the embroidery in class and make up the reticule at home.

Make a Regency Dolls Dress (limited to 15)
Cut out and start sewing your own regency doll's dress.

The Cure for "Gaposis" - Methods for closing the back of your regency gown (limited to 15)
Frustrated with trying to figure out how to close your bodice? Students will learn a method for installing and will hand sew an example to take home with them.

Pre-festival Regency Bonnet Workshop (limited to 15, 11-12 April 2012.)
A two-day workshop featuring a sewing demonstration by a historic costume maker, followed by the opportunity to make a bonnet using Regency sewing techniques.
Cost for class & materials $150 (This class is not included in the Jane Austen Festival Australia Season Ticket)
BOOK HERE

Corded Stays - Close-up Analysis & Demonstration - (limited to 15)
Regency corsets were not as restrictive as their Georgian and Victorian relations, and many featured corded supports. Have a look at an antique full-length corded corset from the late regency period and see how it was made. Learn how you can make your own modern reproductions of full length or short stays and make a cording sampler to take away with you.

Quilted Regency Coats - (limited to 15)
Regency coats were worn to keep the wearer both warm and dry. Stitching patterns were used to hold the wadding in place, and often these stitches were just as beautiful a design as the garment itself. See an antique regency coat up close and study how it was put together. Workshop participants will then make a copy of its collar.

Pre-festival Regency Dress Making Workshops - (limited to 6)
BOOK HERE
Under the eye of historical costumer, Aylwen Gardiner-Garden in her Canberra studio, make your own regency gown to wear to Jane Austen Festival in April.
26-27 November 2011
28-29 January 2012
24-25 March 2012

Post-Jane Austen Festival 2011

2011-04-25T15:40:00.001+10:00

The 2011 Jane Austen Festival is over - it was fantastic seeing everyone again and meeting new friends.
This year we trialled a new programming format based on feedback received the year before - my thoughts are that it didn't work as successfully as it might have, and I plan to return to limited attendance sewing workshops during the festival - but will trial limiting attendees to two workshops only, with names then placed on waiting lists for other classes. I'd like everyone to have the chance to participate and will be putting demonstrations into the Robertson Room where there is more space for seating. It is very obvious that these are some of the most popular sessions during the day.
The 2012 festival will be changing its format - you may see a dinner on Thursday night, a marketplace on Saturday and even an archery challenge!

NEW CO-ORDINATORS
CULINARY: Already we have a 3-person team working on culinary arrangements, so watch this space. There are new ideas and new formats the team would like to try and they look very exciting.
ENTERTAINMENT: Ideas are coming forward thick and fast in this area. Deborah Mulhall has kindly stepped forward to assist in co-ordinating this area.

Pattern Sale while stocks last

2011-04-24T10:00:00.000+10:00

Jane Austen Festival Australia is selling out of paper regency patterns and is offering discounts plus free shipping in Australia. Visit http://www.regencyreproductions.com/patterns.htm

The ABC News broadcast

2011-04-19T14:01:00.000+10:00

Jane Austen Festival Australia 2011

2011-04-17T09:04:00.000+10:00

I love the weather we're getting for the Jane Austen Festival this weekend. Off to the promenade and chess dance in Commonwealth Park very soon, then onto the church concert and afternoon dance. Last night's ball was the biggest we've had yet and the best :D (Even managed to make a batch of syllabub for everyone) Catch us on ABC news tonight, the Canberra Times and a story in the Sydney Morning Herald next week.

The Sweets of May: Jane Austen’s Music in the Garden

2011-04-13T14:10:00.003+10:00

Gardens, flowers, trees and country life feature prominently in many songs of the late 18th and early 19th century, and soprano Gillian Dooley has devised a program of music on these themes from Jane Austen’s family music collections. She will be accompanied by Fiona McCauley on piano, and with guest artists Charlotte Fletcher (Sydney) and Chris Rawlinson (Adelaide) on violin.

The concert will take place at 2pm on Sunday 17 April inside historic St John’s Church, Reid, as part of the Jane Austen Festival in Canberra in April, Australian Heritage Week and ACT Heritage Festival.

Most of this music is rarely heard today. Alongside music by better known composers such as Handel and Thomas Arne, there are rousing comic songs by Charles Dibdin (1745-1814), and folksongs, parlour songs and theatrical songs, by composers including Stephen Storace, William Field and James Hook. The instrumental pieces include popular dances and melodies of the day.

Gillian Dooley has been organizing and performing in concerts of this repertoire since 2007. She presented concerts at the Canberra Jane Austen Festival in 2009 and 2010, and in the Adelaide Fringe in 2008 and 2010. In September 2010 she travelled to England to research the Austen music collections held in Chawton and Winchester, and performed at the Jane Austen Festival in Bath and the Jane Austen Conference in Harrogate.

Bookings for the Canberra concert should be made via the Jane Austen Festival Australia website at http://www.janeaustenfestival.com.au/

For media enquiries please contact Gillian Dooley on 0413 625 560

Gillian Dooley performing at the Jane Austen Festival, Bath, in September 2010 with harpist Mike Parker

Pride & Prejudice in Ten Minutes Flat

2011-04-13T01:17:00.000+10:00

Canberra Academy of Dramatic Art, in association with CADA Studio Productions, is pleased to present Pride and Prejudice In Ten Minutes Flat - a spoof on everything we know and love about Austen's classic novel. In a wild romp, four actors play Darcy, Wickham, Lady De Burgh, Jane, Lidia, Bingley, Mr Collins, Charlotte, Georgiana and of course, everybody's favourite, Lizzie... So expect the unexpected! Directed by Dene Kermond, and starring Leah Baulch, Nick Linehan, Martin Searles and Ylaria Rogers. Written by Tim Hehir.

Jane Austen Festival Australia, Friday 15 April 2011

Dancing in Jane Austen's shoes

2011-03-28T16:39:00.002+11:00

The Jane Austen Festival Australia is entering its 4th year. Although it still takes place over three days in the middle of April, and is still centered around the beautiful historic St John’s Church in Reid, the program has grown from a single stream to three simultaneous streams, making use of every hall and room in the church complex. This year’s festival will include concerts in the church, Napoleonic era re-enactors on the lawns and 22 presenters in the program.

The festival is a celebration and exploration, not just of Jane Austen’s novels, but of the culture of her time. As well as dedicated sessions on Austen’s work, there are sessions on music, dance, costume, food, theatre and men’s military history. Top presenters from around the country will offer a variety of talks, as well as hands-on sewing workshops, feet-on-floor dance workshop, and panels inviting audience participation. Though casual dress is fine, there’s lots of opportunity to costume-up for outdoor promenades, evening dinners and balls.

In an age when popular culture would have us believe that anything before DVDs is ancient history, that it’s only other people who have a cultural heritage, and that its more important to be outrageous, groundbreaking and cool than considerate, accomplished or gentle, many are discovering the satisfaction that can be had by better understanding the past and bringing forward from it elements that appeal.

In this regard, the age of Jane Austen has proved particularly attractive to modern day young men and women. Whereas the fashions of the 18th and late 19th century might seem weird or cruel, those high-waisted gowns and squire-like tails from Jane Austen’s age (the first decades of the 19th century) seem romantic and elegant. Where the social order of the 18th century seems alien, and that of the late 19th century torn and sooted by the industrial revolution, that of Austen’s years seems more egalitarian. Where the dancing of the 18th century is imagined to be courtly and stiff, and that of the late 19th century to be black-tie and formal, that of the Austen’s day seems to be just plain fun. The age’s accessibility is further enhanced, of course, by the timeless themes, engaging characters, involving plots and good humour of Jane Austen’s novels, and by the many recent screen adaptations of those novels.

One of the main interests of Jane Austen’s day, and indeed of Jane Austen herself, was dancing, and dance workshops and balls will fill the main hall, all day, every day of the festival. Dance teacher and historian Dr John Gardiner-Garden makes joining in and learning easy and fun, and participants soon realise why it is observed in Pride and Prejudice, that ‘To be fond of dancing was a certain step towards falling in love’, why it is noted in Persuasion that ‘thirteen winters’ revolving frosts had seen [Elizabeth] opening every ball of credit which a scanty neighborhood afforded’, and why in Northanger Abbey —our feature novel for the 2011 Festival— Catherine Morland’s clever dance partner Mr Tilney says: ‘I consider a country-dance as an emblem of marriage. Fidelity and complaisance are the principle duties of both; and those men who do not chuse to dance or marry themselves, have no business with the partners or wives of their neighbours’.

Festival participants’ first taste of Regency era dance invariably leaves them wanting more, just as it is remarked in Emma that: ‘It may be possible to do without dancing entirely. Instances have been known of young people passing many, many months successively without being at any ball of any description, and no material injury accrue either to body or mind; - but when a beginning is made - when the felicities of rapid motion have once been, though slightly, felt - it must be a very heavy set that does not ask for more.’

The 2011 Jane Austen Festival runs form 14-17 April. Full program and presenter details are available at www.janeaustenfestival.com.au, where tickets can also be booked.

For those that want more either side of the festival, consider the Historic Costume & Design Week, 11-14 April, 9am-3pm each day in Yarralumla, during which you can make a regency era bonnet (see www.janeaustenfestival.com.au for more information) or consider the 19th Century Dance Week, 18-21 April, 9-5pm each day (see www.earthlydelights.com.au/victorian2.htm for more information)

For more information on any of the above phone Aylwen or John Gardiner-Garden on (02) 6281 1098 or 0409 817623. Dancing in Jane Austen’s shoes by Aylwen Gardiner-Garden.

Jane Austen Festival participants invited to special historical display

2011-03-24T10:00:00.003+11:00

There will be a small display of Jane Austen era artefacts at the Tuggeranong Schoolhouse Museum in Chisholm as part of the ACT Heritage Festival.

On display will be a muslin dress with buttercup yellow under slip, two pairs of women's white satin slippers, cups and saucers and other crockery, a table, wine table, tea caddy etc. These and other later period objects & clothing will be on display in an 1880s room.

Elizabeth's display at the Museum will be open from 10 - 4pm on 10 and 24 April at 34 Enid Lorimer Circuit Chisholm.

The Museum is reflecting the early families that lived and worked in the 1880 building up to 1940 when the School closed. It has been tenanted since then but now the ACT Government has allowed Elizabeth to display her collection of costume, furniture and artefacts to bring the lives of the early teachers, their families and pupils, to life.

Jane Austen Festival participants are invite to phone Elizabeth for an appointment on 6161 6383 or on her mobile 0400391440.

Sweets of May Concert in historic Church

2011-03-21T00:34:00.000+11:00

Dear Friends of the Jane Austen Festival

We have obtained permission to hold a special concert in the Church at
St Johns during the Jane Austen Festival. If you already hold a season
or Sunday day-ticket and wish to attend we need you to book a free
ticket using the discount code we will be emailing to ticket holders .
Those just wanting to attend the concert may purchase a concert ticket
at http://jafa2011tickets.eventbrite.com/. Refreshments will
be served after the concert.

MEDIA RELEASE

The Sweets of May: Jane Austen’s Music in the Garden

Gardens, flowers, trees and country life feature prominently in many songs of
the late 18th and early 19th century, and soprano Gillian Dooley has devised a
program of music on these themes from Jane Austen’s family music collections.
She will be accompanied by Fiona McCauley on piano, and with guest artists
Charlotte Fletcher (Canberra) and Chris Rawlinson (Adelaide) on violin.

The concert will take place at 2pm on Sunday 17 April in St John’s Church, Reid,
as part of the Jane Austen Festival in Canberra in April. Tickets can
be purchased from http://jafa2011tickets.eventbrite.com/

Most of this music is rarely heard today. Alongside music by better known
composers such as Handel and Thomas Arne, there are rousing comic songs by
Charles Dibdin (1745-1814), and folksongs, parlour songs and theatrical songs,
by composers including Stephen Storace, William Field and James Hook. The
instrumental pieces include popular dances and melodies of the day.

Gillian Dooley has been organizing and performing in concerts of this repertoire
since 2007. She presented concerts at the Canberra Jane Austen Festival in
2009 and 2010, and in the Adelaide Fringe in 2008 and 2010. In September
2010 she travelled to England to research the Austen music collections held in
Chawton and Winchester, and performed at the Jane Austen Festival in Bath and
the Jane Austen Conference in Harrogate.

Draft Program for JAFA 2011 has been released

2011-02-01T17:17:00.000+11:00

We've uploaded a draft program to the website. There's a lot there for everyone, including pre-festival sewing classes.

Would you like to take part in the 2011 Jane Austen Festival?

2010-07-25T15:06:00.000+10:00

Contact the Director, Aylwen Gardiner-Garden, if you are interested in performing or presenting at the 4th Annual Jane Austen Festival Australia, to be held in Canberra from 14-17 April 2011.

We need demonstrators, musicians, actors, dancers, readers, MCs and more!

Jane Austen Festival Australia 2011 Poster

Regency Costume Competition

2010-05-17T16:06:00.004+10:00

The 2011 Jane Austen Festival Australia will be holding a Regency-Era (1795-1830 England) costuming competition for everyone to enter. There are four categories for entry:

Women's Outfit
Gentleman's Outfit
Regimental Outfit
Children's Outfit

Everyone is welcome to enter. Categories in the competition will cover three ability levels (Beginner, Improver and Experienced).
Each winner in each category will receive a season ticket to the Jane Austen Festival, plus a special "award winner" icon to place on their website or blog.
All you need to do is remember to keep good records of what you've done and what you've learnt in a "Dress Diary" - this diary will be considered as important as the final outfit itself. You won't be required to send the outfit away; we'll use photographs and email to keep your creation safe, wherever you are in the world!
We'll be looking at historical accuracy, skilful workmanship and thriftiness in three different levels - Beginner, Improver and Experienced.
Please join the JAFA Costume Competition Google Group if you plan to enter so we have an idea of how many will be entering and can keep you updated on any changes.

----------------------------------------------

Skill level

You're a Beginner if you've been sewing for less than a year in total (if you've made three outfits in your lifetime, the first of which was ten years ago, count that as less than a year when you put your experience together.) If virtually every project you can think of is a completely new experience, you're a Beginner.

You're Experienced if you're a confident sewer who's been making clothes or costumes for more than five years, and/or you make or have made a living from sewing. If you think you could probably make a good job of most costumes, you're Experienced.

Anything inbetween these two counts as Improver - say, if you have some experience and you think you could make a passable effort at a selection of different types of costumes.

----------------------------------------------

Entry

In order to enter we need to receive your entry email by 5pm on Friday February 4th, 2011. The title of the email should be "JAFA Costume Competition" and it should be sent to janeaustenfestival@gmail.com. We have four judges from the UK, the USA and Australia.

The email will need to contain:

Your name
Your email address (if different from the one you're writing from!)
Your sewing skill level: Beginner/Improver/Experienced
The category or categories you'd like to enter into
The title of your entry
Brief description of your entry, including inspiration, fabric, unique or historically accurate techniques or materials, any particular challenges you overcame, etc.
Link to your dress diary,
Links to photos or a word document with photos attached.

You will not need to send the garments themselves to us.

Take up to ten photographs of the clothes you've made; we'll use these photos and your dress diary or documentation as your entry. Your permission to use those things on the JAFA site and in the Festival brochure/book is granted by entering them, but the copyright on the photos and text remains your own.
You can host your photos at a site like Photobucket or Flickr, or paste them into a word document and email it to us - if too large to email send it through www.yousendit.com.
A dress diary is a journal that you keep during the making of an outfit that documents how you made it, what problems you came across and how you solved them, including any making-of pictures, and all your triumphs and tribulations during the project.

2-day Regency Sewing Workshop 22-23 May 2010

2010-05-06T17:43:00.000+10:00

2-day Regency Sewing Workshop
Saturday & Sunday 9.30am-12.30pm both days
Be taken step-by-step through the making of a regency chemise and chemisette.
Some sewing experience is necessary. Morning tea is provided.

Please bring your own:

3m of white 100% cotton for the chemise
1.25m white 100% cotton, voile or lawn, lightweight for the chemisette
sewing kit with needles, white thread, small sharp scissors, large fabric cutting scissors, tailors chalk, small sharp pins, and thimble.

If you wish to use a sewing machine please bring it with you as well, otherwise we are happy to help you sew it in the regency manner - by hand! Its not that hard, really, just a bit slower.

REGISTER HERE

Dance, Dancing and Dancing Masters in Jane Austen's Day - Friday 7 May 2010

2010-05-06T17:32:00.000+10:00

Friday, May 07, 2010 from 5:45 PM - 6:45 PM
CIVIC LIBRARY, CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA
Cost: Free

Explore the rich history of western European dance from the 16th century to the 19th century. Enjoy learning how the institution of the ball, ballroom etiquette, dances, dance music, dancing technique and the role of the dancing master evolved over this 400 year period.

Period illustrations, literature and instruction manuals (including rare antique originals that will be on display) will make the story come alive.

Sessions and topics covered will be:

Friday 12 March - In Shakespeare's Day
Friday 9 April - In the Baroque Era
Friday 7 May - In Jane Austen's Day
Friday 11 June - In Charles Dickens' Day

About the presenter:
Dr John Gardiner-Garden is a dance historian, researcher and book collector, who is also a dancer, choreographer, musician and composer. He has written several books and has several more on the way. John is the director of the Earthly Delights Historic Dance Academy, the only academy in Australia where participants can learn about and revel in the music, dance and costumes from the Renaissance to Victoria eras, through weekly classes and monthly balls. He can also be caught around the country displaying anything from a galliard to a galop, a minuet to a mazurka, or with his band Earhtly Delights playing anything from pavans to tangos at anything from garden weddings to grand concerts.
Visit the Earthly Delights website at www.earthlydelights.com.au.

E-Pattern Giveaway! Sense & Sensibility's Regency Patterns

2010-05-06T17:05:00.011+10:00

These patterns are very easy to make, the instructions are clear and the pieces can be used as a base to make other patterns. Online photos take you step-by-step through making the whole garment.
We are offering two winners a FREE Sense & Sensibility e-pattern of their choice - just post a link to the Jane Austen Festival Australia website [http://www.janeaustenfestival.com.au] or this Jane Austen Festival Blog [http://www.janeaustenfestival.blogspot.com] on your blog, Facebook, or Twitter, then come back over here and leave a comment with a link to your post.

You can also download your own regency e-patterns right now, using your own computer! There are regency dresses, jackets, coats, pelisse, stays and more!

Post - Jane Austen Festival 2010

2010-04-21T12:43:00.000+10:00

We are now recovering from an amazing festival. Curls are being straightened, clothes washed and bonnets packed away for another year. Many of us are so inspired we are looking for dance groups locally to continue learning the range of regency dances that dancing master John Garden taught over the weekend. How many of us are dusting off Northanger Abbey in preparation for next year?

Yes, Northanger Abbey is the novel focus for 2011, together with a focus on Jane Austen and the Garden. Many new topics will be added to the program, and a new venue is already booked for an exciting opening night. New presenters are coming forward, keen to offer new topics and to share their skills with others. If you would like to be part of the program please contact the festival office.

We also want to thank the amazing volunteers who worked for the festival. Without their help we would not have had the event you so enjoyed, and we would like to welcome others who wish to volunteer next year. As a thank you to those who volunteer, for each day that you volunteer at the 2011 festival you will receive a 25% discount off your ticket price - so those volunteering over four days will end up with a free ticket!

Last Minute Tickets

2010-04-06T15:42:00.000+10:00

We still have some tickets on sale at the Jane Austen Festival running from 15-19 April 2010.

Tickets selling out

2010-02-28T09:37:00.000+11:00

Thank you for supporting our festival by buying a ticket and volunteering to help out.

Tickets have sold out for all of Saturday events but we do have a waiting list for the Saturday night ball, with priority for male partners and family members.

There are still some tickets available for the Regency Dinner, Concert and Dance on Friday night and the Theatre show of Sense & Sensibility on Sunday night.

Volunteers needed for the 2010 Jane Austen Festival

2010-02-12T14:08:00.002+11:00

This wonderful festival happens because of volunteers. In fact, there would be no festival without you. Imagine a check-in desk without anyone in attendance, rooms in disarray, nothing but mannequins in a state of undress in the Costume Exhibition, a Ball without decorations or chairs... it would be a sad, sad thing. Don't let it be this way! Please look through the schedule at http://www.janeaustenfestival.com.au , find where you can spare a moment, and email us to let us know you are interested in helping making this festival all it can be.

Ah, "But are you asking me to work for nothing," you say? Perish the thought. In return for your willingness to help, we promise to be well-stocked with chocolate and an assortment of sundries for the league of minions (oops! Was that out loud? I meant, "eager volunteers.")

But wait, there's more!!! There will also be Daily Prize Drawings, as well as a Grand Prize Drawing, the winner of which will receive a Complimentary Entry to the Jane Austen Festival 2011. (Winner is responsible for travel and accommodation fees). So come join us. You know you want to. Contact the Volunteer Coordinator at janeaustenfestival@gmail.c

om to sign up as soon as your schedule has been decided upon.

Please let us know if there is a job below that you are able to help with.

Volunteers:

Clean Up Packdown and clean up of the site
Construction Hanging backdrops in venues, site decoration
Toilets Maintaining toilet paper, keeping toilet areas clean and smelling nice (?air freshener in the mens toilet?) Push down handtowels twice daily, check/replenish toilet paper each afternoon.
Kids Maintain a craft table at the back of the main hall and tidy at regular intervals. Parents are responsible for supervision of their children.
Yarralumla Office Database entry and administrative work Fridays and Mondays in February and March
Performer Transport Transport of performers from airport and accommodation
Raffle Tickets Sell raffle ticket to festival patrons
Stage Management Working with performers, managing concert times, stage setup
Volunteer Kitchen Maintain Volunteer meal area
Waste & Recycling Empty waste bins and put in new bin bags
Washing Up After the dinner, cups and plates during the day

Release of 50 discount earlybird tickets proves very popular

2009-11-16T22:02:00.002+11:00

Tickets are now on sale at Jane Austen Festival Australia Website .

Due to the size of the venue tickets are limited. As tickets sold out early for the last two festivals we recommend you purchase yours as soon as possible. Already half of the earlybird tickets have been sold.

Become a Friend of the Jane Austen Festival

2009-10-18T12:26:00.000+11:00

For a small annual fee of $20 per person you will receive an advance mailing of the Festival Programme and priority booking for Jane Austen Festival Australia & Earthly Delights Historic Dance Academy events. You will also know that your fee helps support the continuation of this wonderful festival. As a friend you will be able to participate in members-only events during the festival, including close-up costume examinations.

Membership runs annually from 1st January to 31st December, however for those joining anytime in 2009 membership will run to 31 December 2010. Please post or email us a passport sized photo for your membership card.

Requesting your company ... for an assembly 200 years ago

2009-10-14T11:19:00.000+11:00

Dear friends,

After three amazing days of Victorian-era dance, costume and
entertainment, and making new interstate and overseas friends, we are
about to wind back the clock to the Regency era.

Our annual Pride & Prejudice ball will be held at St. John's Church
Hall, Reid, 7:30 to 11:30pm, on Saturday 17 October - just $16 online
at http://www.earthlydelights.com.au or $20 at door (children under 15
half price), includes refreshments and potluck supper.

It will be like walking into a Jane Austen novel ...

As the ball will be a big night, there will be no Sunday dance class
the next day, but the following Sunday 23 October we will start a few
weeks of dances from a broad 450-year period building up to our 21
November "Time Travellers' Ball".

Looking forward to meeting you at the ball,

Aylwen Garden

Earthly Delights Historic Dance Academy
http://www.earthlydelights.com.au
Jane Austen Festival Australia
http://www.janeaustenfestival.com.au

Announcement: this rare and complete Regency-era evening ensemble will be on display during the 2010 Jane Austen Festival of Australia

2009-08-04T13:31:00.009+10:00

It is a rarity to find a set of matching period accessories, but to have them accompanied by their original outfit, is an amazing find!

This ensemble reportedly comes from the estate of Ms. Eliza Fox of Osmaston Hall in Derbyshire, UK.

The canary yellow, trained ball dress, is fashioned from luminous and heavy silk, and decorated with metallic copper threads in a corded, braid-like trim. The high Empire-waist is decorated with a band of ruffled canary silk, and also a band of the chord trim. There is a shimmering medallion of jewels to the center of the neckline, which is accented by further ruffled silk.

The dainty, delicate sleeves and low neckline create the typical look of the Regency period.

The dress is fully lined in gauze and cotton and fastens with hook and eyes to the back, along with some muslin ties.

The quality construction, and hand sewing, is yet another wonder!

The ball shoes, are made from the same shade of canary silk as the dress and purse/reticule, and are decorated with the copper chord trim in a large gathered medallion. They are a lovely, classic pair Regency shoes, with a carved wooden "Louis"-style hard heel, ribbon ties, and kid leather lining.

The drawstring evening reticule is decorated with the braided trim, and fully lined in gauze. It too, is also fully hand sewn.

The complete set is a true treasure, has an astounding beauty and romance that should never be forgotten and always admired.

Draft Program for Jane Austen Festival 2010

2009-07-10T13:07:00.001+10:00

Please note: the program is still to be confirmed, see the Jane Austen Festival Australia Website for more information and to see the full list of presenters and topics.
Tickets go on sale from November 1, 2009 for FRIENDS OF JANE AUSTEN FESTIVAL.
General sales commence on December 1, 2009.
To become a Friend of the Jane Austen Festival Australia click here.

"Regency" Exhibition of Costumes, Prints & Rare Books
Explore the fashions of Jane Austen's lifetime, with a focus on English women's style during the early 19th century. The charm and grace of this period is shown in fashion, prints and rare books. This ticket gives you access to the exhibition for the duration of the festival, so feel free to come back again.

Jane Austen Festival Get Together
An ideal opportunity to meet up with old friends and make new ones over a glass of wine and light refreshments.[limited tickets]

Regency Lady's Day
A special day for those interested in regency sewing and craft. Hand sewing, bonnet making, cooking, hair styles, crafts and fashion overviews. [limited tickets]

Jane Austen Study Day
Jane Austen offers tremendous insights into the larger historical and social world that surrounded her apparently enclosed fictions. Participate in round-table discussions, listen to selected readings from our feature-novel, Sense and Sensibility, and learn more about her novels from a fine selection of Australia's Jane Austen scholars. Morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea provided. [limited tickets]

Formal Regency Dinner & Concert
Formal regency dining experience. Vegetarian option available, inform bookings office if required. Guest Speaker followed by "Jane Austen's Music" concert and costumed regency dance display. [limited tickets]

Learn to Dance like Jane Austen
If you plan to attend the ball, then this is just for you! Some knowledge of the dances will make it easier for you to join in at the ball. Includes morning tea and lunch.
Beginners - Learn to dance like Jane Austen workshop for beginners, flat shoes advisable.
Intermediate - Learn to dance like Jane Austen workshop for those who have ‘had a go’ before.

An Afternoon Soiree with the Austens
Cards and other parlour games, music and afternoon tea - China tea, scones, preserves and delicious cake. Regency costume welcome.[limited tickets]

Jane Austen Ball
A special regency dance in the wonderful setting of St John's Church Hall. Regency-era desserts and refreshments will be served - labelled contributions welcome. Live band playing Regency-era music with a dancing master calling. Entertainments in the breaks.[limited tickets]

Regency Picnic & Promenade
Please join us for a lovely afternoon in the world of Jane Austen beside Lake Burley Griffin, where we shall be holding a picnic, followed by a promenade around the lake to the Farewell Dance venue. Our guests are invited to bring their own period-style picnic lunch and to make their picnic site look as period as possible (Please note that the event is not a potluck.)

Farewell English Country Dance
[limited tickets]

Monday 19 April
- Privately booked close-up examination of antique costumes.
- Bus Tour of Canberra, Yass and Goulburn visiting historical homes and collections dating to the Regency Era.

Exhibition of Regency Costumes, Prints and Books

2009-07-09T20:58:00.012+10:00

Clothing to be on display so far:

Black silk spencer, c.1810
Short cream mitts c. 1810
Man's linen shirt, c.1800
Roller-printed floral cotton bodice top (skirt missing), c.1820
Cotton bib-front daydress, c.1810
Silk bib-front daydress, c.1810
White muslin daydress, c.1820
Infant's nightgown, c.1820
Silk Ballgown with Pelerine, c.1830
Men's hand embroidered polychrome floral waistcoat, c.1780
Lady's leather dance slippers, c. 1830
Embroidered silk organza shawl, whitework, extremely fine and sheer, c. 1800
Blue chambray cotton girls round gown with ornate sleeves, c.1820
Corded stays (regency corset) c. 1830

The exhibition will run all festival, with costume researchers encouraged to book a time for up-close costume inspection for Monday 19 or Tuesday 20 April 2010.

We welcome loans of mannequins, dummies and display cases for the staging of this exhibition. Please phone Aylwen on 0409 817 623 if you can be of assistance. Click on picture for images of some of the collection.

Jane Austen Festival Australia Logo Competition

2009-07-09T16:46:00.004+10:00

We are holding a banner and logo competition for the Jane Austen Festival of Australia.

The prize? A season ticket to the 2010 Jane Austen Festival.

Good luck!

The fine print

The banner should be 920 pixels wide by 180 high. For quick loading, the file size of the banner should be no more than 50Ks. Note that the banner needs to identify the site.

The logo should be provided in a scalable (preferably vector based) or high quality photoshop .psd working version so it can be incorporated in any potential printed documents. Please use a popular graphics format such as jpeg or psd. If we wish to use your design we’ll be in touch and can sort out any further technical details at that point and not be subject to a file size limitation. To send large documents we recommend you use yousendit.com . Send all files to Aylwen Gardiner-Garden at garden@netspeed.com.au .

Entries need to be received by the 30 September 2009.

Whether or not you win the competition, we will take any entry as consent to have the material you submit licenced under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Use licence Australian variant 2.5.* This entails an implied assertion by you that the work is yours and/or that you have been granted permission to use and licence it under this licence. You further licence us to use the material in the event of us wishing to display or otherwise use the design you submit.

Jane Austen Festival Australia

Writing Tips - Part 1

Chapter 3, Trust and Tribulation

Chapter 3 – Frank discussions and extravagant fashion

AUSTRALIA DAY OFFER - win a reticule or cravat

LImited-Attendance Classes at the Jane Austen Festival

Trust and Tribulation, Chapter 2

Second Hand Regency Clothing Stall

Alan Moyse, Official Town Crier, ACT

Original Regency Serial and Competition

Chapter 1 – Wherein the Stanwell ladies receive a letter

Next week: An enlightening evening of entertainment.

Who are the fools in Northanger Abbey?

Lynne Cook's Regency Bonnet Pattern

Regency Cosmetics & Makeup

Regency Cosmetics and Makeup

The complexion

The foundation

Cheeks

Eyes

Mouth

Resources

2012 Program with times uploaded today

Advertising on our blog

15% Discount on Sewing Patterns

Christmas Eve Ticket Special

JAFA 2012 programme of events

2012 Jane Austen Festival Australia Dance Stream

Jane Austen Festival Ball 2011

Help us sell tickets and earn some money at the same time

Regency pattern drafting - do it yourself

A hint of what's to come in 2012

Men's Regency Tailcoat Workshop 21-22 May 2011, Canberra

Memories of 2011 Jane Austen Festival Ball

Limited-attendance sewing workshops at JAFA 2012 - a quick peep

Post-Jane Austen Festival 2011

Pattern Sale while stocks last

The ABC News broadcast

Jane Austen Festival Australia 2011

The Sweets of May: Jane Austen’s Music in the Garden

Pride & Prejudice in Ten Minutes Flat

Dancing in Jane Austen's shoes

Jane Austen Festival participants invited to special historical display

Sweets of May Concert in historic Church

Draft Program for JAFA 2011 has been released

Would you like to take part in the 2011 Jane Austen Festival?

Regency Costume Competition

Entry

2-day Regency Sewing Workshop 22-23 May 2010

Dance, Dancing and Dancing Masters in Jane Austen's Day - Friday 7 May 2010

Friday, May 07, 2010 from 5:45 PM - 6:45 PMCIVIC LIBRARY, CANBERRA, AUSTRALIACost: Free

E-Pattern Giveaway! Sense & Sensibility's Regency Patterns

Post - Jane Austen Festival 2010

Last Minute Tickets

Tickets selling out

Volunteers needed for the 2010 Jane Austen Festival

Release of 50 discount earlybird tickets proves very popular

Become a Friend of the Jane Austen Festival

Requesting your company ... for an assembly 200 years ago

Announcement: this rare and complete Regency-era evening ensemble will be on display during the 2010 Jane Austen Festival of Australia

Draft Program for Jane Austen Festival 2010

Exhibition of Regency Costumes, Prints and Books

Jane Austen Festival Australia Logo Competition

Friday, May 07, 2010 from 5:45 PM - 6:45 PM
CIVIC LIBRARY, CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA
Cost: Free