OLD NEW AGAIN

Tags

action movie, AUSTEN, Emma, England, films, GeorgetteHeyer, history, humor, Mark Wahlberg, movies, regency, reviews, romance, Spenser Confidential

EMMA

Having seen numerous versions of Emma, the real draw to the newest was Bill Nighy. I must say right away that he is splendid. With a twitch of his hand or a barely-there shrug, he conveys everything needed to be expressed. He added the right touch of humor, and IMHO, with a subtly that would please Austen. Many of her characters were meant to be whimsically humorous.

Austen’s Miss Woodhouse is not my favorite, since she is pushy, self-serving and proud. In this rendition, my mild aversion to her has been mollified. Anya Taylor-Joy portrays our heroine in a more accessible manner. Paltrow’s take was somewhat whiny, often petulant, rather childish. Taylor-Joy has created an Emma with more depth, a snobbish, self-satisfied busybody, who learns the meaning of true civility. By the end of the film, she is worthy of the excellent Mr. Knightly, who in this film (Johnny Flynn) comes across as too emotional. He’s a joy to watch, certainly, but the character of Mr. Knightly is a gentleman of constraint and superior style. And I didn’t quite understand the purpose of showing his bare backside or having him lying on the floor in despair. Mr. Knightly prostrate with frustration? Surely not.

And the marvelous Brit actors do not disappoint. Oh, the ensemble acting! So many favorites! And every one of them understands Austen’s restrained humor and sly enjoyment of pointing out humanity’s character flaws. Josh O’Connor as Mr. Elton, who gave us an interesting and sympathetic portrayal of Prince Charles in The Crown, embodies hypocrisy in an almost over-the-top performance. Tanya Reynolds as Mrs. Elton is spot-on as the society witch utterly oblivious to her own crass behavior. Miss Bates, (Miranda Hart of Call the Midwife) is the tender-hearted gentle lady of limited means, but generous of soul, who provides the perfect contrast to Emma’s smallness of character and the catalyst for a much-needed learning experience.

The costumes are exquisite. Emma’s wardrobe is extensive. The hats glorious. The houses and locales are lushly represented. The production is of the highest quality. The Brits almost always do it up right, but this is a step above and beyond. There are many reasons to see this movie, but first and foremost, if you are an admirer of Austen, this one should not be missed.

Older DVD Gem:

THE LAST WORD (2009)

This totally character-driven story is about previously powerful, retired ad exec Harriet Lauler (Shirley MacLaine), who decides that she wants her obituary written before her death. Unfortunately for her, the person she chooses to write it, Ann Sherman (Amanda Seyfried) has a will as strong as Lauler’s and won’t back down and write flowery drivel. Ann forces Lauler to confront the fact that almost everybody hated, feared, and avoided her. She didn’t merely crack the glass ceiling; she smashed it, which means she stepped on many to get there. In order to get a proper obit that conveys a brilliant legacy, Lauler must start a new direction at the end of her life.

The beginning of the film dwells too long on Lauler’s control issues and depression. Hang in there. Once it gets moving, it’s fascinating and goes in unexpected directions. There is so much meat in this story, so much to encourage personal reflection and make us wonder about our own legacies—not for the sake of vanity—but for the sake of self-improvement and finding the best ways to enrich our lives and live each day to its fullest.

On Netflix:

If you don’t mind graphic everything, check out Spenser Confidential. Loads of action, smarty-pants humor, and a guy who just wants to do the right thing. But beware of the girlfriend.

 

M.L Rigdon (aka Julia Donner)

Follow on Twitter @RigdonML

Blog: https://historyfanforever.wordpress.com/

Website http://www.MLRigdon.com

https://www.bookbub.com/authors/julia-donner

https://www.facebook.com/Julia-Donner-697165363688218/timeline

PUT OUT THE DAMN LIGHT

Tags

Byron, corsets, England, etiquette, genre, history, manners, mystery, pet peeves, regency, Victorian, writing

Judi Lynn/Judith Post recently wrote a blog about ten steps to make your mystery better and started off with “kill somebody.” I can’t think of any opener to top that, so will just start off with the things I look for and try to incorporate in historical fiction to make it believable and immediate. Because that’s the point, isn’t it? To immerse the reader in a world that has been before.

Character/s

How often do we see the same man or woman over and over in a story and nothing changes but their eye and hair color? In reality, people don’t look the same, even when they look sort of the same. People are unique. So should characters be. It’s best if they possess the kind of personality you’re drawn to, but perhaps you prefer the challenge of finding a way to make a somewhat off-putting man or woman sympathetic to the reader. But an initial connection must be made from the get-go and that’s kind of difficult if they have the charisma of yesterday’s pancake.

The Four Es of Character Building

Entice, entrigue, engage, and excite. This doesn’t mean making them attractive. It means making them accessible. They should have traits and personalities similar to the human conditions that haven’t changed over the ages. We all have baggage. Give them reasons for reacting the way they do when “showing” their responses, instead of just “telling” or explaining them on the page. Lets’ just get over it. We’re products of our environments until we do something about it. Give your protags some emotional warts so you can show how they’ve grown (removed) them by the end of the book.

Mary Balogh’s more recent regency works are peopled by the challenged. Her characters have been blind, lame, deaf, suffering from disabling war wounds, including PTSD. The ubiquitous fiesty heroines and sardonic men have become tedious, which is why Balogh is considered the comemporary queen of historical regency. Her people have the problems, joys, and triumphs we understand and seek, or find lacking in our own lives. They have some amazing emotional warts to overcome.

The Three Cs

Complication, conflict, conclusion. You better have all of these nailed. Throw in some juicy subplots while you’re at it to pick up the pacing and tension. If dried up of ideas on how to inflict misery on your beloved protags, there’s always a nasty or annoying family member. We’ve all got one.

Situations

An opening incident that involves one or both of your main characters must suck us into the storyline, establish the time period, or atmosphere, and most importantly, get the reader invested in the primary charatcers.

More and more we’re seeing historical stories striving to tweak genre themes to fit into a niche market or category. In doing so, the story can become secondary to the magic of creating a period piece or just a dang good story. The deliciousness of sinking into the past can get lost from its primary goal by forcing conformity to a parameter. It’s vitally important to keep the time period immediate, to bring the reader into that world, become saturated by the surroundings. In other words, don’t lose sight of the magic of the site, the joy of being there.

Know your history

 OK, so I have a pet peeve about blatant incongruity, like women in corsets doing impossbile physical feats while wearing what should be more accurately called a torso vice made of whalebone or metal slats. It’s impossible to lounge, leap over small buildings, or mount a horse via stirrup without creating a puncture wound. Regency versions (stays) were not quite as viscious as the later, Victorian versions.

Incorporating the etiquette of the time period makes it real, the necessary realities. Calling cards were vital social accourtrement and came with a precise set of rules. A card corner turned down meant the card was delivered personally. It was the most convenient way for both parties to find out whether or not your company was welcomed, or more kindly told to get lost, when there is no reply to the card.

Men went up stairs before women for many reasons but most often to spare them the display of their ankles. Then there’s my always favorite, wait for it…clear vision in rooms where no candle or lamp is ever lit or extinguished.

Even though strict rules were ingrained, behaviors/actions considered not done often were during the regency where gossip had lethal results. A great deal was written about people like Lady Caroline Lamb (flagrant adultery), Brummell (viciously insulted his prince), Lord Byron (too raunchy to list), and Jane Austen (dared to write and evetually use her real name) to list a few. When the Victorian Age descended, the not done stuff still happened, it just got shoved underground.

So many rules, so little time.

If you would like to read Judi Lynn’s excellent advice, here is the link to her blog:

https://writingmusings.com/2018/05/22/10-steps-for-writing-a-mystery/

M.L Rigdon (aka Julia Donner)

Follow on Twitter @RigdonML

Website http://www.MLRigdon.com

https://www.bookbub.com/authors/julia-donner

https://www.facebook.com/Julia-Donner-697165363688218/timeline

 

 

History Mystery

Tags

Brown Lady, England, ghost, Lady Dorothy Townshend, legend, murder, mystery, photograph, rake, Raynham Hall, scandal, scoundrel, spirits, Walpole, Wharton

The speculation regarding the death of Dorothy, Viscountess Townshend, in 1726 has been hashed over for almost three-hundred years. I’ll lay out some of what’s been written to allow you to make up your own mind. Whether or not the famous photograph of the Brown Lady descending the staircase is real is not the point. What really happened to Lady Dorothy is the mystery. That she haunted Raynham Hall is pretty much a given with or without the photograph. She’s been “seen” by too many people, too many times over the centuries, wearing a brown brocade dress and looking like her painting. George IV, when he was Prince Regent, visited Raynham Hall, saw her and nearly did the “run screaming into the night” shtick. Another idiot tried to shoot her, maybe not the best authority, but it happened while he was with two others. The list goes on. And on. Let’s get to the clues. Some at least, because there are tons.

It’s written that Dorothy, thirteenth child of the Walpole’s, fell in love with Townshend but her father, who was also guardian to Townshend, would not allow them to marry. Walpole feared public suspicion that he would be perceived as throwing the youths together for personal and social gain. Townshend ended up marrying the daughter of Baron Pelham. His wife died in 1711, and not long after that, Dorothy and Townshend married. From then on, Dorothy was perpetually pregnant. She bore seven children to add to the five Townshend had with his first wife. There is no mention, of course, of the lost pregnancies that could have happened between births. The point is, the two of them kept busy. Then came trouble.

While Townshend was married to his first wife, Dorothy wasn’t idle. Whether she was seduced or forced, she had an involvement with Lord Wharton, a “profligate” sort, who later fled the country to avoid debts. This guy was so bad he was declared an outlaw and stripped of his titles in 1729. Somewhere along the way Townshend found out about the old affair, and from that point on, Dorothy was “locked up” in her apartments, separated from her children.

It’s been written that Dorothy died of mysterious circumstances that include everything from small pox, a fall or a push down stairs, or a broken heart. It was also suggested that she never died in 1726, at the age of forty, but that Townshend continued to keep her locked up for years.

When it comes to the truth about being locked up, or cruelly treated, I have to wonder about her family. Dorothy’s brother, the famous PM, Sir Robert Walpole, was also a business partner of Townshend’s. Seems odd that Sir Robert would allow anything too grim to happen to his sister. Husbands held complete legal power over their spouses, there was no interfering with that, but families had been known to intervene. Then again, Sir Robert could have been ticked at his sister for letting it get about that she had a thing with a guy as slimy as Wharton. Townshend and Walpole were prominent politicians. Reputations must be maintained.

Then there’s small pox. I didn’t find mention that anyone else in the household had it, but a servant outbreak might never be noted. It is contagious, which could be a reason why she was set apart, or maybe it wasn’t really small pox, but the other “pox” kind, venereal disease. If she were the type to “get around” during the safe times of perpetual pregnancy, she could have picked it up.

It’s often agreed that ghosts linger due to traumatic deaths or embittered life experiences. Why is Dorothy hanging around? Give it your best guess. Here are a few links.

http://www.hauntedhovel.com/raynhamhall.html

http://www.castleofspirits.com/brownlady.html

And sorry about no personal post last week. I had a new ebook release, The Duchess and the Duelist, written as Julia Donner. 

http://amzn.to/13GGbmO

The attendant work involved and the holiday activity fried me down to the socket. See you next week. Happy New Year and ghost hunting!