Minha Darcy friend Rita Watts, embaixadora Austen

Olá!

Hoje tenho a ótima companhia de uma amiga

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Uma amiga especial porque é

DARCY FRIEND

Foi Jane Austen quem me apresentou Rita, meu primeiro livro na verdade. Ela leu 'Friendship of a special kind', gostou, falou comigo e quando ela veio ao Rio, a gente se encontrou. Já faz um tempão, nunca perdemos contato, nos falamos sempre!
Ela mora fora há muito tempo, é Janeite desde sempre, embaixadora da Jane Austen Literacy Foundation e habitué dos festivas Ingleses.
Organizamos um papo - tipo uma entrevista - porque nunca é demais aumentar nosso círculo de amizades em Austen Nation, né non?

Rita no Jane Austen Parade for Literacy 2019

Moira: Oi, Rita! Me conta... Há quanto tempo mora fora do Brasil? 
Rita: Eu moro nos Estados Unidos desde 2001. Quase vinte anos! Credo! O tempo passa muito rápido. Morei na Inglaterra também mas somente por um ano letivo. Antes de vir para os EUA.

M: E foi morando fora que conheceu JA? 
R: Não, de jeito nenhum. Eu li Orgulho e Preconceito com uns 12 anos de idade e amei. Só que na época não tinha ideia de quem era Austen. Depois fiz Letras e a conheci "oficialmente", mas mesmo assim foi um contato rápido e decepcionante pois a professora obviamente não era fã e falou mais de outros autores do que da Jane. Claro que o fato de na época não existir adaptações ao nosso alcance fez diferença. A geração mais nova tem muita sorte.

M: Sua primeira obra de JA é sua preferida? 
R: Orgulho e Preconceito é tipo aqueles livros que você levaria pra uma ilha deserta (se só pudesse levar um). Todos são maravilhosos, claro. Se pudesse levar três, levaria Persuasão e Razão e Sensibilidade também. Emma é o mais interessante da parte acadêmica, mas não me identifico com ela. 

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M: Ah, eu adoro Emma! Acho que todas nós mulheres temos uma fase de dona-da-verdade! Algumas nunca amadurecem... tsk, tsk
R: Me identifico mais com Elizabeth Bennet e Anne Elliot, apesar das duas serem muito diferentes. Igual aos signos do zodíaco. Você tem seu signo e o seu ascendente. Então sou um pouco das duas.

Rita com Caroline Knight, sobrinha-neta em 5º grau de Jane Austen

M: Eu sou Janeite fã de O&P, você é Janeite de outro nível! Dona do ALL THINGS JANE AUSTEN blog e páginas dedicadas a JA super bombadas e... Embaixadora da Jane Austen Literacy Foundation! Quanta honra, parabéns! Me fala da Fundação Jane Austen para Alfabetização. E como virou embaixadora? 
R: Eu recebi esta honra da Caroline Knight porque eu ajudo a divulgar tudo que a fundação faz na minha página do Facebook que tem mais de 45 mil seguidores. Mas qualquer pessoa pode se tornar embaixadora da fundação. Basta arrecadar ou doar uma pequena quantidade de dinheiro por ano.  

M: O passeio do vídeo (aqui em baixo), onde foi, quando? E usar vestidos de cintura alta, com bonnet e tudo?
R: Foi o Jane Austen Parade for Literacy em Chawton (da casa onde ela morou até a mansão do irmão onde tinha a biblioteca que ela usava), e teve a presença da Jane Bennet da série de 1995, Susannah Harker que também é embaixadora da Fundação. Essa foi minha segunda vez em Alton (onde fica Chawton Cottage - casa da Jane que virou museu).  A primeira foi mais emocionante porque foi no aniversário dela, 16 de dezembro. A segunda vez foi especial também porque foi durante a Regency Week, geralmente uma das últimas semanas de junho dedicada a ela e que toda a cidade participa, muita gente viaja pra lá por causa dos eventos. Tem concertos, picnics, palestras, feira onde se pode comprar coisas maravilhosas como o meu  lindo "bonnet" azul que você pode ver no vídeo com a Alison Larkin.

Anota aí: esse ano, 2020, será dia 21 de junho

M: Eita, deve ser super emocionante! Usou caleçon também? 
R: Ainda não cheguei nesse nível mas um dia... quem sabe?

M: Sei que gosta de costurar... Você fez o modelito? 
R: Eu desenhei o modelito depois de achar essa gola de crochet super antiga nos guardados da minha mãe. Fiquei encantada! Já estava querendo um vestido estampadinho como a gente vê nas adaptacões, perfeito para o picnic nos gramados de Chawton House (a mansão do irmão da Jane - Edward Knight). O vestido foi feito no Brasil onde tem mais costureiras (e com preço mais em conta também, claro). 

M: Tem o molde pra passar prazamigas? 
R: Infelizmente não tenho molde mas tem links na internet para baixar ou comprar muitos tipos de molde. Principalmente no Etsy. Amazon tem com certeza.

M: Esse ano você vai ao bicentenário do festival de Bath? Tem dicas pra quem vai daqui?
R: O plano é de ir a Bath esse ano. Já estive lá 3 vezes mas nunca durante um festival. Será maravilhoso se eu conseguir. Prometo fazer vídeos e tirar fotos prazamigas...rsrs

M: Miga, obrigadissima pela paciência e informações tão bacanas de Austen Nation. 
R: O prazer é todo meu. Eu que agraceço porque o que mais gostaria é de inspirar as Janeites Brasileiras a fazerem vestidos (sem medo de ser feliz) e dançar pelo Brasil a fora! Temos tantos lugares antigos e lindos...

Olha Rita falando sobre Austen na Parade de 2019

logo antes da caminhada começar. Como embaixadora,

ela deveria ir na frente.

transcrição:
Alison Larkin: Diga aos nossos espectadores e ouvintes quem você é.
Rita: Bem, eu sou Rita Watts, eu corro a página do Facebook ALL THINGS JANE AUSTEN, e eu também tenho a mesma conta no Twitter e Instagram. Felizmente, tenho cerca de 45 mil seguidores, foi um acidente, sério!

A: Bem, é uma página fantástica e você fala sobre tudo o que Jane Austen.
R: Tudo de Jane Austen, tudo relacionado à Inglaterra, moda da era da Regência, os livros que ela poder ter lido, tudo o que ela poderia ter feito, e também mulheres que contribuíram para nossa sociedade da melhor maneira que ela.

A: E quando conversamos, porque na verdade eu conheci Rita no evento da JASNA (Jane Austen Society of North America) em Boston. Eu estava fazendo um discurso lá e Rita era a outra embaixadora da Fundação de Alfabetização Jane Austen (Jane Austen Literacy Foundation) e conversamos sobre uma das coisas que ela adora, que é como Jane Austen é, na verdade, essas não são heroínas comuns. Elas são ... embora ... seja um particular diferente ...
R: Inovadoras.
A: Sim.
R: Eles lutam contra o status quo da época, Jane preferiu ficar solteira para poder controlar seu próprio dinheiro. O dinheiro iria para o marido e eles teriam controle sobre ele.
A: Sim.
R: E ela disse: tudo isso tem minha caneta.

QUOTEFANCY

A: Sim.
R: Eu não preciso me casar.
A: Foi mesmo.
R: É quase injusto quando as pessoas dizem que ela apenas fala de romance e casamentos. Isso não é ela, há muito mais ...
A: Sim.
R: ... em Jane.
A: Uma das coisas que mais gosto em Jane Austen é que mulheres muito fortes, brilhantes e inteligentes como você-
R: Obrigado!
A: São inspiradas pela carreira dela, quero dizer, ela realmente se auto-publicou no começo.
R: Ela fez.
A: E ela era uma mulher de negócios. Ela era uma...
R: Ela era! Quando seu irmão Henry ficou doente, ela se encarregou da publicação.

Rita e Alison falam de self publishing, auto-publicação, de Austen: Em 1803, ela vendeu os direitos da primeira versão da Abadia de Northanger (chamada Susan) a uma editora de Londres, mas o primeiro de seus romances a ser publicado foi Razão e Sensibilidade, publicado às suas próprias custas $$ em 1811. Em uma época em que as mulheres não tinham poder legal para assinar contratos e precisavam  um representante masculino, através de seu irmão Henry, o editor Thomas Egerton concordou em publicar R&S, que, como todos os romances de Jane Austen, exceto Orgulho e Preconceito, foi publicado "sob encomenda", ou seja, por risco financeiro do autor.  
Ao publicar por comissão, os editores aumentam os custos da publicação que se pagam à medida que os livros são vendidos e cobram uma comissão de 10% por cada livro vendido, pagando o restante ao autor.  Se um romance não recuperasse seus custos por meio de vendas, o autor era responsável pelas cópias não-vendidas.  A alternativa era a venda dos direitos autorais, onde o autor recebia um pagamento único da editora pelo manuscrito, o que ocorreu com O&P.  
A experiência de Austen com Susan (o manuscrito que se tornou a Abadia de Northanger) foi ruim. Ela vendeu os direitos autorais para a editora Crosby & Sons por 10 libras, e o livro não foi publicado, forçando-a a recomprar a obra para publicar seu trabalho.  
Com as muitas reimpressões de R&S ela 140 libras, o que lhe proporcionou alguma independência financeira e psicológica.  Após esse sucesso, todos os seus livros subsequentes foram anunciados como escritos "pela autora de R&S" e o nome de Austen nunca apareceu em seus livros durante sua vida.  
Egerton publicou O&P em janeiro de 1813, depois de comprar os direitos autorais por 110 libras.  Wiki diz que, se Austen vendesse o Orgulho e o Preconceito 'sob comissão' ou seja, auto-publicado, ela obteria um lucro de 475 libras, ou duas vezes a renda anual de seu pai.
Uma transição significativa em sua reputação póstuma ocorreu em 1833, quando seus romances foram republicados na série Standard Novels de Richard Bentley, ilustrada por Ferdinand Pickering, e vendida como um conjunto.

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Eles gradualmente ganharam elogios e caíram no gosto popular.  Em 1869, cinquenta e dois anos após sua morte, a publicação de Memórias de Jane Austen, por seu sobrinho, introduziu uma versão convincente de sua carreira de escritora e vida. Hoje sabemos que ele editou a tia, contou só coisas boas.

Assim que é, né?

Nada de ranhetice e fofocas...

 Siga a Rita 

no Facebook, Instagram e Twitter.

>> outras curiosidades & pesquisas históricas, aqui

E meus livros novos são esses...

O CLUBE DE FLORENCE

romance de época em Português

DIRTY PETTICOATS 

romance continuação de O&P em Inglês

Hotels and Inns in Jane Austen's works

hello,
This post is part two of my research on hotels and inns. Don't roll your eyes at me just yet when I tell you that yes, I had doubts if England did have hotels as we know them back then. The first part is here: HOTELS AND INNS IN REGENCY ERA

Now we dig into HOTELS AND INNS IN JANE AUSTEN'S WORKS.

Again I explain why I started this. I'm working on a new JAFF, quite different from my last one, 9 WAYS TO LIVE PRIDE AND PREJUDICIOUSLY. 

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The new JAFF is called DIRTY PETTICOATS, a Pride & Prejudice continuation - a mystery romantic comedy or a chick lit full of shenanigans for Darcy and Mrs. Lizzy Darcy to solve - set entirelly in the Regency Era. 

I fear big errors, so I do research and read and wonder and spend time thinking. That was why when a certain characters needed a place to stay, I stopped short: 

WHERE THERE HOTELS IN REGENCY ENGLAND?

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Yeah, of course there were... Duh!

Now I am sure because I did research. First I looked into Jane Austen's own words and listed below, secondly I looked over my fellow nosy people in the internet to find tips, thirdly I checked trully historical sources as magazines and catalogues from 1810 to 1819. The last two sources you'll find in the first post. FYI, I loosely pinpoint P&P around the first two decades of 19th century and only specify the year if it's pivotal to the story.

Anyway, why did I have such a silly doubt?
Well, because I tend to think the highly refined and proper people of Regency England a bit too underdeveloped when compared to the sizzling Victorians. Don't know, maybe because of the power of the industrial revolution.

So, the research began with Austen.

poeme-se

Thank God Gutenberg has all the major novels on line and my Firefox can do 'search' so I skimmed directly to the words and read a bit before and a bit after to judge if it was relevant for me.

Here you have it: by novel, each relevant quote on 'inn' or 'hotel'. 
Not in order of appearances and relevant to me, which was MAKE SURE IT DID EXIST and CATCH DETAILS OF ITS WORKINGS. If you do need something in particular, you may want to double-check.

P&P

Here Austen says about meals in coaching inns, for a single man residing in hotels would be easier than opening the town house when alone and the ideal hiding place for lovers on the run

- Mr. Bennet’s carriage was to meet them at the inn, ... both Kitty and Lydia were looking out of a dining-room up stairs
- a table set out with such cold meat as an inn larder usually affords
- settle his account at the inn
- WE ARE convinced that when Charles gets to town he will be in no hurry to leave it again, we have determined on following him thither, that he may not be obliged to spend his vacant hours in a comfortless hotel
- ...Mr. Bennet had been to Epsom and Clapham, before his arrival, but without gaining any satisfactory information; and that he was now determined to inquire at all the principal hotels in town, as Mr. Bennet thought it possible they might have gone to one of them, on their first coming to London, before they procured lodgings

S&S

Again Austen mention meals when on the road and also, receiving mail

- only disturbed that she could not make them choose their own dinners at the inn, nor extort a confession of their preferring salmon to cod, or boiled fowls to veal cutlets
- They was stopping in a chaise at the door of the New London Inn, as I went there with a message from...

EMMA

Here it is more juicy! The serach for a place to host a ball. And more: how horrible most road inns were

- Their first pause was at the Crown Inn, an inconsiderable house, though the principal one of the sort, where a couple of pair of post-horses were kept, more for the convenience of the neighbourhood than from any run on the road; and his companions had not expected to be detained by any interest excited there; but in passing it they gave the history of the large room visibly added; it had been built many years ago for a ball-room, and while the neighbourhood had been in a particularly populous, dancing state, had been occasionally used as such;—but such brilliant days had long passed away, and now the highest purpose for which it was ever wanted was to accommodate a whist club established among the gentlemen and half-gentlemen of the place. He was immediately interested. Its character as a ball-room caught him; and instead of passing on, he stopt for several minutes at the two superior sashed windows which were open, to look in and contemplate its capabilities, and lament that its original purpose should have ceased. He saw no fault in the room, he would acknowledge none which they suggested. No, it was long enough, broad enough, handsome enough. It would hold the very number for comfort. They ought to have balls there at least every fortnight through the winter. 
- A room at an inn was always damp and dangerous; never properly aired, or fit to be inhabited. If they must dance, they had better dance at Randalls. He had never been in the room at the Crown in his life—did not know the people who kept it by sight.—Oh! no—a very bad plan. They would catch worse colds at the Crown than anywhere.
- ...if you knew how Selina feels with respect to sleeping at an inn, you would not wonder at Mrs. Churchill's making incredible exertions to avoid it. Selina says it is quite horror to her—and I believe I have caught a little of her nicety. She always travels with her own sheets; an excellent precaution. Does Mrs. Churchill do the same?”
“Depend upon it, Mrs. Churchill does every thing that any other fine lady ever did...."

PERSUASION

Austen again mention meals, mail and daily dealings when first arriving at an inn. 

- After securing accommodations, and ordering a dinner at one of the Lyme inns, ...
- After attending Louisa through her business, and loitering about a little longer, they returned to the inn; and Anne, in passing afterwards quickly from her own chamber to their dining-room, had nearly run against the very same gentleman, as he came out of an adjoining apartment. She had before conjectured him to be a stranger like themselves, and determined that a well-looking groom, who was strolling about near the two inns as they came back, should be his servant. Both master and man being in mourning assisted the idea. It was now proved that he belonged to the same inn as themselves;...
- take a chaise from the inn
- A morning of thorough confusion was to be expected. A large party in an hotel ensured a quick-changing, unsettled scene. One five minutes brought a note, the next a parcel; and Anne had not been there half an hour, when their dining-room, spacious as it was, seemed more than half filled: a party of steady old friends were seated around Mrs Musgrove, and Charles came back with Captains Harville and Wentworth.

MANSFIELD PARK

nothing...

NORTHANGER ABBEY

In Bath, hotels are not only to stay but to visit for a meal, quite interesting!... Fashionable places they were. And one more time she speaks of horrible places, bad servants and all

- They arrived at Bath. Catherine was all eager delight—her eyes were here, there, everywhere, as they approached its fine and striking environs, and afterwards drove through those streets which conducted them to the hotel. She was come to be happy, and she felt happy already.
They were soon settled in comfortable lodgings in Pulteney Street.
- ...they had driven directly to the York Hotel, ate some soup, and bespoke an early dinner, walked down to the pump-room, tasted the water, and laid out some shillings in purses and spars; thence adjourned to eat ice at a pastry-cook's, and hurrying back to the hotel, swallowed their dinner in haste, to prevent being in the dark; and then had a delightful drive back, only the moon was not up, and it rained a little, and Mr. Morland's horse was so tired he could hardly get it along.
- ...a fear, on Mrs. Allen's side, of having once left her clogs behind her at an inn, and that fortunately proved to be groundless.
- Everybody acquainted with Bath may remember the difficulties of crossing Cheap Street at this point; it is indeed a street of so impertinent a nature, so unfortunately connected with the great London and Oxford roads, and the principal inn of the city, that a day never passes in which parties of ladies, however important their business, whether in quest of pastry, millinery, or even (as in the present case) of young men, are not detained on one side or other by carriages, horsemen, or carts. 
- It is so d—uncomfortable, living at an inn.
- ...find a pool of commerce, in the fate of which she shared, by private partnership with Morland, a very good equivalent for the quiet and country air of an inn at Clifton. Her satisfaction, too, in not being at the Lower Rooms was spoken more than once.
- These schemes are not at all the thing. Young men and women driving about the country in open carriages! Now and then it is very well; but going to inns and public places together!
- ...with his discontent at whatever the inn afforded, and his angry impatience at the waiters

LADY SUSAN

The single man living alone in a hotel, again, as Caroline hinted Charles Bingley would do. Fine, fine move...

-MR. DE COURCY TO LADY SUSAN. —Hotel. I write only to bid you farewell, the spell is removed; I see you as you are...
-MR. DE COURCY TO LADY SUSAN. ——Hotel. Why would you write to me? Why do you require particulars?

SANDITON

As a new spa, the hotel would be an important business. But the first we hear is that it has a subscription at the library. Then that the new guest will not stay there. Hotel is treated once more as a not so pleasant place but nevertheless, very busy.

- ...Mrs. Whitby at the library was sitting in her inner room, reading one of her own novels for want of employment. The list of subscribers was but commonplace. The Lady Denham, Miss Brereton,..., Grays Inn; 
- ...She had gone to a hotel, living by her own account as prudently as possible to defy the reputed expensiveness of such a home, and at the end of three days calling for her bill that she might judge of her state. Its amount was such as determined her on staying not another hour in the house, and she was preparing in all the anger and perturbation of her belief in very gross imposition there, and her ignorance of where to go for better usage, to leave the hotel at all hazards, when the cousins, the politic and lucky cousins, who seemed always to have a spy on her, introduced themselves...
- AFTER THE TERRACE... In this row were the best milliner's shop and the library—a little detached from it, the hotel and billiard room.
- ...Two large families one for Prospect House probably, the other for Number two Denham place or the end house of the Terrace, with extra beds at the hotel.
- ...I have no fancy for having my house as full as an hotel. I should not choose to have my two housemaids' time taken up all the morning in dusting out bed-rooms.
- ...a gentleman's carriage with post horses standing at the door of the hotel, as very lately arrived and by the quantity of luggage being taken off, bringing, it might be hoped, some respectable family determined on a long residence.
- ...there was an arrival at the hotel, but not its amount.

LOVE AND FRIENDSHIP

An inn was expected to be a meeting place. Fun thing here is to hear about the dealings of horses and comings and goings in the yard.

- ...As soon as we had dispatched this Letter, we immediately prepared to follow it in person and were stepping into the Carriage for that Purpose when our attention was attracted by the Entrance of a coroneted Coach and 4 into the Inn-yard.
- ...We were in the Inn-yard when his Carriage entered and perceiving by the arms to whom it belonged, and knowing that Lord St Clair was our Grandfather, we agreed to endeavour to get something from him by discovering the Relationship—.

FREDERIC & ELFRIDA

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THE THREE SISTERS

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JACK & ALICE

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HENRY AND ELIZA

Meals at a coaching inn, but here, look, Eliza decides to stop even thought she is close to home. so it must have been a hospitable place, huh?

-She had about 40 miles to travel before she could reach their hospitable Mansion, of which having walked 30 without stopping, she found herself at the Entrance of a Town, where often in happier times, she had accompanied Sir George & Lady Harcourt to regale themselves with a cold collation at one of the Inns.
The reflections that her adventures since the last time she had partaken of these happy Junketings afforded her, occupied her mind, for some time, as she sat on the steps at the door of a Gentleman's house. As soon as these reflections were ended, she arose & determined to take her station at the very inn she remembered with so much delight, from the Company of which, as they went in & out, she hoped to receive some Charitable Gratuity.
She had but just taken her post at the Inn yard before a Carriage drove out of it, & on turning the Corner at which she was stationed, stopped to give the Postilion an opportunity of admiring the beauty of the prospect. Eliza then advanced to the carriage & was going to request their Charity, when on fixing her Eyes on the Lady, within it, she exclaimed,
"Lady Harcourt!"
To which the lady replied,
"Eliza!"

"Yes Madam, it is the wretched Eliza herself."

How about that?

Did you enjoy this research?

Soon my new novel will be out, Lizzy will visit a certain hotel and well, shenanigans will abound!

See ya!

xoxo