6 words that make you sound like Jane Austen

If you ever fancy trying your hand at writing an Austenesque story or dialogue, or if you just enjoy using historical language in your every day speech, it can help to have a few key words and phrases in your back pocket, to give it an authentic flair. These are just a very few that I like, to get you started, vocabulary that has fallen out of use, or at least have changed in their use since the early 1800s. I referred to "a want of evidence" in a legal submission recently, and thought it made me sound very distinguished. Let me know how you get on with using them, or if you have a particular love of your own antiquated colloquialisms.

Haste - meaning quick speed, or rapidity as it were. You can tell someone to hurry by saying, "make haste!" Or you can do something hastily, often to your regret. Or you can be hasty. It is a terrific word, and very efficient, for in one syllable there is so much mood and subtlety, I feel.

Alacrity - meaning enthusiasm and haste (see above). This word is quite common in Jane Austen's writing, and we NEVER see it any more. I have only ever seen it as a noun, though if anyone knows its adjectival form, please do share!

Vast - meaning very, very large. It can be used simply to describe a physical thing, such as the most common example of a vast ocean. You can also speak of there being a vast deal of something, which is very Jane-Austen in my opinion. And you can use it as an intensifier, such as being vastly disappointed in the shocking want of cake.

Directly - meaning immediately. We still use this word, of course, but not quite in the same sense. Think of Mr. Bingley saying, "I shall speak with the solicitor directly." You can also use it to replace the phrase, "as soon as," as in, "I shall ask him directly he comes here." This sounds very awkward to our modern ears, but that is what makes it authentic.

Parched - meaning thirsty. Actually, in some places they still use this word, like Newfoundland, for example, which actually has the oldest form of English currently spoken in our modern world - at least according to Trivial Pursuit, or some board game I once played that had that as a question. It's some hot today, byes! I'm right parched.

Want - meaning lack. I wrote a whole post on this word, so I was not going to include it, but decided to at the last minute because, being quite a common word, it comes up a lot and, in my opinion, makes a vast deal of difference to the sound of writing. If you don't have any tea, for example, you can speak of a want of tea. It doesn't necessarily mean you want some tea, though. If you don't have tea, and you want some, you can say that you want for tea. See how exciting this little word is? So much style, I feel.

So make haste, and come with alacrity to my vast offering of tea, directly I call you, for I see you are parched and want refreshment!

To smart or not to be smart

If you are familiar with the English spoken on both sides of the Atlantic, you might see the humour in the true story of my brother, who had an interview at Oxford and nothing to wear, going from shop to shop asking if they had any dress pants. Canadian readers might wonder, what is so funny about that? UK readers may react with the same confusion and amusement as did the people in the shops.
Where we here in the colonies say, "dress," the denizens of the old country say, "smart." And when they say, "pants," they actually mean, "underwear."

So, essentially, my poor brother was himself rather dismayed that not a single clothing store in Brighton had any dress pants, while the shop attendants wondered why this American guy wanted underwear with dresses on them, or possibly underwear to wear with a dress? Not sure. What he should have been asking for was, of course, smart trousers.

Here is a picture of my brother, looking smart in both senses of the word. Firstly, he is wearing a tie, and secondly, he ended up going to Yale where he was valedictorian and from where he went to work for Google. (Sorry, a sister has to brag when she can.)

This brings me to my point, which is to clarify the meaning of an English word, for use in historical English fiction. At least here in the New World, we use "smart" to mean intelligent. This usage began in about the mid 20th Century. Prior to that, from about 1700, it meant what it now means in UK English, ie. looking good.

The original meaning, however, is to sting. This, too, is still a use I have heard, though not as common as it once was. It is from this meaning that we get the use for clever, from the idea of having a cutting or sharp or stinging wit. It has also been applied to the sense of being keen in bargaining. These uses are attested from as early as 1300, though are more specific than our modern general use for just being, well, smart.

And just for fun, here is a picture of my brother, with me and my sister, looking smart in a wholly different, much more Regency way.

Dressmakers: unexpected feminist revolutionaries

When I was writing Mary Green, I wanted to have a character who was a mantuamaker, and I wanted the dressmaking to be a bit of a feature in the book. I had to do a bit of research about how one went about ordering gowns, and I discovered, rather by accident, that dressmaking, or mantuamaking, has quite a bit more to do with the history of feminism than I had bargained for. This was particularly problematic because I wanted my mantuamaker to be male. I wanted him to be handsome and charming and a bit of a dark horse, which was tricky once I understood how important this trade was for women.

Check out this ENORMOUS mantua, circa 1744, from the
Victoria and Albert Museum.

I discovered that, until the 17th Century, it was illegal for women to make and sell clothing, both male and female. (I have not been able to find the actual legislation which restricted economic activity to men, but believe it did exist. If anyone has a source for this law, please do direct me to it.) Then, in the mid to late 1600s, a new fashion came on the scene that would forever change the course of women in the workplace.

It was called a mantua, or a manteau, or mantle, and because of its construction it fell outside the prohibition. It was a loophole in the law, and it opened the gates to allowing women into the industry. The mantua was a less structured garment than the gowns of the previous era. It was worn over a structured stomacher and petticoat, and because of its lack of boning was somehow permissible for women to make and to sell. And once they were in, they did not let go their hold. They were the ultimate entrepreneurs and they weren't going anywhere. In fact, they branched out into millinery and jewellery and other associated trades.

And do not think that there was no push-back from the tailors! The gentlemen of the profession continued to make men's clothing, as well as stays and corsets and outerwear for women, as these tended to be more labour intensive and required more physical strength. But they lost their foothold and their ability to argue that women could not do the work of making soft-flowing robes.

Dressmakers Shop - 1775

The matter was hotly debated in parliament even, with the guilds arguing that these women were taking work away from men who had to support their families, failing to mention, of course, that women without husbands had no other means of supporting themselves and their families. Arguments were raised, even, as early as the mid-1700s that permitting women to enter into commerce in this way was was opening the gates to such horrors as women gaining the vote or standing for election. This slippery slope argument was dismissed as an absurd level of hyperbole and the women were left to earn their keep. And as the late 18th Century saw the advent of very unstructured gowns, chemises really, the mantuamakers came to be the fundamental clothiers of society ladies.

Up until then, the men were still a real part of the game, though not everyone thought they should be. Fanny Burney, for one, wrote of them as unnatural fops, knowing more about women's bodies than women did. She was writing in the second half of the 18th Century. By the early 19th Century, there were virtually no male mantuamakers left. I read on one blog that by 1810, there was not a single male dressmaker in all of New England, so that is something. However, I did find support for the idea that there were a few male mantuamakers about in England at that time, though they were rare.

My dilemma was that I wanted my lead character, Mary, to be snubbed by the high-end, popular dressmakers of Pall Mall, but not by the humble guy in the shop off the high street. I did not like the idea that these ladies, who were fighting tooth and nail to keep the men at bay, who were feeding their families with their own labour, would snub poor Mary Green because of the state of her shoes, while a man would be humble and kind.

In the end, I resolved to make my dressmaker, Mr. Graham, a linen-draper whose mother had been a dressmaker and who had learned the trade from her, since she did not have any daughters. In the later years of his mother's life, he was doing most of the work as her eyes and hands began to fail her. Linen-draping (or selling fabric) was a separate, male-only trade, though very occasionally, a linen-draper would have an in-house dressmaker. Consequently, it is the snobby, male linen-drapers who turn their noses up at Mary, and Mr. Graham who trusts her to bring his fashion skills to the ladies of London.

I hope you will like him as much as I do, and that you will not blame him for being male. Perhaps, if he is successful, he will give employment to many deserving women, and who knows? Maybe his daughters, or grand-daughters will one day fight for the vote, in memory of old Mrs. Graham and her determination and ingenuity.

What is a "Read-Along" anyway?

Have you ever read a book, and wished that you could find someone else who had read it, so that you could talk about it? I suppose that's why people join book clubs. But sometimes, you don't belong to a book club, and maybe you haven't got time to find one, or even time to go to one if you could find one. And then once you join the book club, you would have to convince everyone else to read the book that you just read.  And even if you are successful in convincing them, you would have to wait until they all read it. If, like me, you can't get it together to do all of this, if you haven't got the patience to wait through all of that, and just want to talk to about the book while it is still fresh in your mind, and you're still excited about it, then maybe a read along would be worth joining instead. You might miss out on the snacks and beverages of a real life book club, but you get to stay in your pyjamas and you can always make your own tea.

So what is a read along, then? Basically, it's an online book club. Book bloggers sometimes do them and post as they go and invite discussion etc. on their blog. In the coming month, Edmonton's newest publishing house, Stonehouse, is doing a read along of the five books it is releasing in May 1, all by Alberta authors. So if you want to get in on supporting local authors and being part of the buzz, you might want to see if any of their offerings interest you. 

The read along will involve a spotlight each week on a different book, with book club guides and author interviews and book trailers on the publisher's website, as well as a hashtag for each book that you can use to participate in the discussion on social media sites. And if you have your own blog and want to discuss the books on your site, all the better. You will be in good company, as a few bloggers are already signed on to do just that.

Here are the dates of the read along for each of the five Stonehouse titles (More details and ordering info can be found on the Stonehouse website):

May 6-13

Edge of Wild by Danika Stone

A mystery-thriller set in 1990's Waterton, Alberta.
#EdgeofWild

May 13-20

Mary Green by Melanie Kerr (that's me!)

An Austen-like tale of an orphan girl set in 19th Century England. 

#MaryGreen

May 20-27

Kalyna by Pam Clark

A story of love, heartbreak and internment among the Ukranian settlers of war-time Alberta. 

#Kalyna

May 27-June 2

Course Correction by Doug Morrison

A maffia, spy thriller set in modern Ukraine. 

#CourseCorrection

June 2-9

League of the Star by N R Cruise

The saga of a French family exiled in England following the revolution. 

#LeaugeoftheStar

Publishers Weekly Reviews Mary Green

I can hardly speak for excitement! What could be more desirable for an author than a review in the most prestigious of literary publications of their upcoming novel? I shall tell you what is -  a GLOWING review in such a publication! Here is what they had to say (I did remove one small part because it included a spoiler, and I didn't want to give anything away unexpectedly, but you can read the whole review, spoiler and all, here):


"Kerr's heroine, Mary Green, delightfully combines Anne Shirley's naivety with Emma Woodhouse's strength of mind in a debut historical novel filled with the magic and romance of Cinderella. Mary, an orphaned ward of her uncle Sir Richard Hargreaves, decides on her 21st birthday to leave behind his Oxfordshire house along with her cousins' and aunt's air of superiority. ...[S]he sets off for a new life in London. Her quest to figure out who she is both biological and metaphorically is a joy. Kerr uses dialogue and colloquialisms that authentically evoke the Regency era. The cast of secondary characters—including Mary's quippy chaperone, Mrs. Burrows; the entitled but loveable Carrington sisters; the resourceful and talented dressmaker Graham; and the puzzling Ingles brothers—all help to draw readers into this fairy tale. Mary is so captivating that readers will readily suspend any disbelief to see her get to a happy ending."


Mary Green comes out on May 1, 2016. To get your hands on a copy, you can pre-order it using the following links, or ask for it at your local bookstore (Audrey's Books in Edmonton will have copies on the shelf). Available in limited edition hard cover or paperback, as well as eBook.

Amazon
Barnes and Noble
iBooks
Chapters/Indigo/Coles

Christmas Gifts for Jane Austen Fans

In honour of Jane Austen's birthday, here is a Christmas wish list for the Austen fan - even if that person is you.
You may know a lover of Jane Austen, or of classic literature in general, and be looking for inspiration for a unique gift. They probably have all the books, in various editions, as well as all the movies, and many works of fan fiction, or non-fiction. So what do you get them? Of course, they probably have other interests which you may know more about. Just because they like Jane Austen doesn't mean they need an Austenesque gift, but if that is what you would like to get them, here are a few things I have come across, and which I think would be very welcome by anyone. Most of them will make it in time for Christmas, depending on where you are.

Storiarts Persuasion Gloves

Storiarts makes clothing and accessories based on classic literature. I like these gloves in particular, because they use text from Persuasion, which is not a novel that gets as much attention as some of the others, so it is nice to see it highlighted here. I would be delighted to receive a pair of these, as I think, would any Jane Austen fan. And it is not too late to order for Christmas, as they offer express shipping. They also have scarves, and cushions and other stuff, but these were my favourites.

Jane Austen Fridge Magnets

These are available from the Jane Austen gift shop in Bath. If you are in the UK, they should get to you in time for Christmas. They are also on Amazon, if you are not in the UK. These are best for people without kids, and therefore with a fridge that is not covered in dinosaur magnets and school notices and crayon drawings, like mine is. In fact, the Jane Austen Centre has loads of awesome gifts, including a reproduction ring, copied from the one Jane Austen wore herself, which is exclusively available through them. But as that requires six weeks to custom order, so no dice for Christmas!

Jane Austen Book Cover Purse

These are made to order, though the site says there is one in stock, so you might have some luck getting one for Christmas. I have only ever seen these on line, so there is a good chance your Jane Austen fan does not have one already. The cover design is from a vintage collection, and one  you don't see much, so it's a great, unique gift.

Pride and Prejudive Adult Colouring Book

This, from A Mighty Girl, is my idea of fun. I love the adult colouring book movement! I have a mandela book, and I work on it when I am watching my kids, because it makes me happy and I can leave it and come back, and it is kind of mindless but cathartic. How much more true would this be if the images were Regency themed? Love it.

Sense and Sensibility Opposites Primer

If you are a parent and a Jane Austen fan, you have no doubt received more copies than  you can count of the Pride and Prejudice counting primer. It is adorable, my kids love it, and I think it's a great gift... so long as you are sure they don't already have it! BUT, now there is a new one, and if you are quick, you might get to be the first to give it! (I have a copy already and it's adorable and kind of hilarious, just like the first one). It is on Amazon, so should be able to ship in time for Christmas.

Follies Past: a Prequel to Pride and Prejudice

I know, I know. Yes, this is my book, and yes I am shamelessly putting it on this list. We indie authors have to do what we can. But seriously, I have read numerous fan fiction novels, and never found what I was looking for. That is why I wrote this book, because it is what I, as a fan, wanted to read. It is also pretty obscure, so there is a very good chance that they have not read it, unlike most of the mainstream spinoff novels that you might find on shelves at your local bookstore. If you happen to live in Edmonton, you can pick up a copy at Cally's Teas on Whyte Ave, where they also carry Jane Austen band aids and air freshener as well as many other charming gifts and teas. Follies Past is also available at Tix on the Square, where they have a large selection of local handicrafts, which would make unique gifts for anyone on your list.  For those outside Edmonton, Follies Past is available on Amazon in paperback and eBook and will ship in time for Christmas if you are in North America. I cannot confirm either way for the rest of the world. 

Regency Event Tickets

I am a believer in not giving more stuff. Despite my enthusiasm for the gifts set out above, I think in our cluttered world it can be much better to give an experience. Yes, if you are in Edmonton, you can come to one of my events, like the Midwinter Ball on February 27, but there are events all over the world that you can check out. I recommend having a peruse through the Facebook Page for Regency-Austen-Napoleonic Events. You can check out your local chapter of the Jane Austen Society of North America, or the Jane Austen Festival in Bath. I know there are a few groups in Australia and across the US. And in the UK, there is lots always going on. There are costume balls, and retreats in Georgian houses, and dinners and musical evenings - I have seen posts about all of these things. If you have specific suggestions, please make them in the comments page.

Whatever you give or you get, I hope you have a wonderful holiday season, with plenty of good cheer!

Pride and Prejudice on the big screen

November 15 saw possibly the most enjoyable six hours I and 250 other Edmontonians have ever spent - with this guy (see below) at Fort Edmonton Park in the historical Capitol Theatre. It sold out in under an hour, and I have been overwhelmed with interest in repeating it. I enjoyed it so much, that even after six hours of sitting, I would have done it all over again the next day... nay, that very same night. "Just put it back to the beginning, Mr. Tech! We want more!"

So, since so many people were unable to get tickets, and are hoping for a repeat, and indeed even those who did get tickets would like to do it again, I thought I would write this little post letting everyone in on the background and thus the future of this unprecedented and thrilling event.

I had wanted to put this on for years. Eventually, in 2014, I started trying to track down the rights for a public screening. Many people do not understand copyright and think that as long as you aren't charging any money, or include a disclaimer giving credit to the rights holders and stating that you intend no copyright infringement, then you are not committing an offense. This is like saying, "I didn't intend any theft; I just meant to take it without paying." Or how about, "I did kill him, but look, I held up this sign as I did it!" (sign says: No Murder Intended). So, I had to actually acquire the rights. This proved quite a challenge. I contacted every copyright collective and every agency that I could find. They all directed me to each other. Nobody seemed to know how to obtain these rights. I even called 1800-O-Canada, which is a surprisingly helpful service in the most unexpected situations. They too were flummoxed. I contacted companies that arrange film rights for public viewings like the ones in Churchill square. They could not help me. I was sent to broadcasting rights organizations all across the county. They were all equally unhelpful. Surely, I am not the first person in the world ever to want to put on a show? Was there something about this particular show?

In the end, I went to the BBC shop - the online store where you can order DVDs and mugs and stuff. I dropped them a line. You can imagine, they were not really the right people. But I did not go away.

After a few months, I finally heard back from a guy at BBC International. He told me it was unlikely the BBC would give me the rights. I thought unlikely was not the same as impossible, so I asked him to look into it. He told me there would be a lot of obstacles and it would be very expensive. I may want to have a plan B. I told him my plan B was not to do the event. And let's see what those obstacles are, shall we? Apparently, the BBC never imagined anyone would want to show the program on the big screen and so had not negotiated the rights for that with people like the director. Essentially, the BBC didn't have the power to grant me a license to show the program, because they didn't actually own all the rights to it.

I told them to get me a ballpark estimate, just so I could evaluate whether it was worth pursuing. It was several weeks before he came back with a figure. He said it would be in the range of $37,000.00.

So, that was more than I had expected! And yet I was not deterred. It seems they had decided just to set the price so high that nobody would want to purchase the license and they wouldn't have to renegotiate the rights. Little did they know, I would not be so easily put off. I decided to ask what I would get for my $37,000.00. Could I sub-lease the license, for example? Would it be exclusive to Canada? To North America? For how long? Maybe I could get corporate sponsorship. Maybe I could crowd-fund it. Maybe Cineplex would like to do a national run of it. He said he would get back to me.

It then came up that some people didn't know that you needed to have permission to show programs even if they weren't charging admission. He asked whether I would be interested in a non-theatrical license (one that did not permit admission charges, usually used by schools and private groups), which would have different pricing. I said I could find a way to work with that (again, maybe corporate sponsorship, maybe crowd-funding). He said he would find out the price for that.

Some time later, I received the most wonderful and amazing email. He came back to me saying that the BBC had decided to buy out the rights to the program, so they now had the power to grant whatever licenses they wanted. (I'm not saying this was entirely my doing, but in my heart I do like to think that it was). And they were setting the fee at zero for me and my event. As long as I didn't charge admission, I could show it. He then said that the upcoming Friday was his last day at the BBC, and not to ask any questions but to take this permission and run.

So I did.

Next was the challenge of finding a way to cover the expenses of putting on a film screening without any income from ticket sales. I was not hopeful about grants. I could sell really expensive refreshments. Maybe do a Kickstarter campaign, but with no rewards, since I couldn't offer admission as a reward. I approached my first choice of venue, which was Fort Edmonton Park, just to get an estimate of costs so I knew how much I had to fund-raise. They took a while to provide an answer, but after several phone conversation and email exchanges, they offered to put the whole thing on for free! We would co-host it. I would provide the license and they would do everything else. What a dream come true! All they asked was the right to sell us food. All the costs of running the theatre and paying the staff would have to come out of the food sales, so they were kind of expensive, but considering the entertainment was free, it was still a good deal.

It turned out I was not the only one with this dream, as I did no advertising and it sold out almost instantly. All I did was make an event on Facebook and invite my friends to it. There were over twice as many people wanting to go as there were seats, and that was just according to the Facebook numbers. There may have been others.

Lizzie on the big screen, entertaining the throng

The event itself was absolutely glorious. The weather was perfect. The venue was perfect. Everything was even better than I had imagined it. I was a bit worried that six hours was going to seem long. It didn't. It was such a festive atmosphere. The jokes were funnier with such a large group, and the nuances of the acting, the directing choices, even the editing, were so much clearer and more entertaining when blown up to such a large size. It was truly magnificent and completely unforgettable.

Some people even came in costume!

The food was delicious, and so plentiful!

Treats laid out for our enjoyment in the original Selkirk Hotel,
beside the theatre

I have written to the BBC to seek permission to repeat this event. I have not yet had a reply, but it is Christmas time. Everyone is no doubt run off their feet. But fear not. I am not easily dissuaded, and I hope, before long, to be able to post good news here, or at RegencyEncounters.com, or on our Facebook page or Twitter. In the meantime, if you are interested in getting first dibs on tickets once I wrangle the BBC into letting me do it again, you can put your name on a waitlist I created on Eventbrite.ca. Just click the "Get Tickets" button and then the "Join Waitlist" button in the window that should pop up. (It was brought to my attention that these links were not taking readers to the waitlist. I have fixed this error and it seems to be working now. Sorry about that!)

Hopefully I will see you at Fort Edmonton Park soon!

Melanie Kerr is the author of Follies Past: a Prequel to Pride and Prejudice and founder of Regency Encounters

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Make-Believeism - a Manifesto

This afternoon, I was on the radio, talking about the Jane Austen Festival taking place this week in Bath, England. After the interview, I realized there was so much more I wanted to say, so I wrote this post to say it.

The Jane Austen Festival, like the Regency Ball, is an example of what I call Make-Believeist events, or ‎RePlay‬, as I like to call Regency re-enactment. Make-Believeism has been proliferating of late, and other examples include Comic-Con, Steam-Punk, CosPlay, masquerade balls in Venice, LARPing, etc. But what does all this say about our desires as a modern, western world? In events like these, we seek to fulfil the fantasy of entering an alternative reality, of stepping through that magical door, be it a wardrobe in the spare room or platform nine-and-three-quarters or a portal to Longbourn that we discover in the bath. By leaving behind all the markers that define us in our lives, we are forced to confront the question of who we really are. Although it seems counter-intuitive, it is my experience and my observation that when people engage in make-believe, they are more themselves than they are at any other time. It is also, for many people, the only time that they detach from their digital world and engage with the people around them in a sense of community that is based on fun, and on casting away our pretensions of social hierarchy. How can you think yourself better than anyone else when you are dressed up in a costume? We are all just having a ridiculous good time and we are all in it together. It is permission to play and it frees us to the person our heart, our spirit wants to be. 

What is more, I have observed more artistry and craftsmanship and creativity in the Make-Believeist context than in most of the many so-called arts events I have attended in my life. People are motivated in Make-Believeism not by some moralistic, abstract desire to "promote the arts" but by a burning, gleeful compulsion to live out their crazy childhood dream. They take up sewing, crafting, dancing, music, writing, all kinds of things that they would never otherwise think of, and they do not do it out of obligation. They do it out of love, out of joy. It is deeply addictive. 

This is a rebellion against consumerism. A growing number of people are tired of passive entertainment. They don't just want to watch the show. They want to be the show, be in the fantastical world, see it, feel it, live it for themselves. The world of skinny jeans is not enough for some of us. We want more. We want to dance in long-wise sets. We want to taste lembas bread. We are throwing down our cel phones and bringing our imaginations to life. 

Call it nonsense if you will. I call it art.

Melanie Kerr is the author of Follies Past: a Prequel to Pride and Prejudice and founder of Regency Encounters

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