Literary Heroine Blog Party Questions 2014

It is that time of year again! Accordion to Kellie is hosting her fabulous Literary Heroine Blog Party. It runs from the 16- 28. There will be games and giveaways, so hop on over to her blog to see everything.

1. Introduce yourself!  Divulge your life's vision, likes, dislikes, aspirations, or something completely random! Hi, for all of you who don't already know, I am the Madd Rose and I post about books, movies, and shows that I love. Many of these are period drama related. I like Books (especially classics), movies (especially BBC period dramas) and I love tea! I dislike cold very much at the moment, I do not like Twilight and the like, and I do not like crude language. Something completely random... I always wear a wristwatch.
2. What, to you, forms the essence of a true heroine? A true heroine does not have to be perfect. In fact, I usually like her better if she is not. (Not to be completely off topic, but I am reading A Tale of Two Cities for school, and perfection is exactly why I can't seem to connect with Lucie Manette. Did anyone else have that same problem? Also her fainting... YEESH. Anyway...) I like heroines who aren't perfect, who grow, change, learn, and I especially like if they end up finding true love. Girls with some selflessness, fun, smarts, and kindness. Those kind of girls are fun to read about. 
3. Share (up to) four heroines of literature that you most admire and relate to. Anne Shirley. She is what started me on classics. She is imaginative, talkative, fun, and kind. She is not perfect, but she never makes the same mistake twice.  :) I wish I were more like her and I hope I end up with a Gilbert Blythe. Emma Woodhouse. She is silly, naive, kind, and rather selfish. I can be all those things too. I love how NOT perfect she is. It is so refreshing. Emily Webster. From the little known Emily of Deep Valley. She is tall, shy, and unsure of herself. She is pretty much me on paper for the most part. Elizabeth Bennet. Who doesn't admire her? She is so witty. I am not really very much like her, except in that I can judge people first, and learn about them later. Also, I like reading like her.
4. Five of your favorite historical novels? The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, An Old Fashioned Girl, Anne of Green Gables, Emma, and The Moving Finger.
5. Out of those five books who is your favorite major character and why? Out of those five, my favorite major character is... oh I already talked about some of them, so I will pick Juliet Ashton.  She is funny, breezy, and kind. She is a little older than the heroine I usually read, so she provided a refreshingly new perspective.
6. Out of those five books who is your favorite secondary character and why? Out of those five, my favorite secondary character is Mr. Knightley. He IS a gentleman in the truest sense of the word. I adore him.
7. If you were to plan out your dream vacation, where would you travel to - and what would you plan to do there? England! Or can I just say Europe in general? I would visit Bath, I would visit Jane Austen's house in Chawton. I would also shop in London and go into every little tea and book shop I see. I would visit the gardens and rent a little cottage in some out of the way village. If I could do all of those things I will think I have died and gone to heaven. :)
8. What is your favorite time period and culture to read about? I love to read about Regency, Victorian, Edwardian and WWII. I like to read about England, mostly.
9. You have been invited to perform at the local charity concert. Singing, comedy, recitation - what is your act comprised of? I should sing, but I couldn't do it by myself. It would have to be a duet with my friend.
10. If you were to attend a party where each guest was to portray a heroine of literature, who would you select to represent? Oh! This is difficult. I would like to dress up in a fancy outfit, so I would be Marguerite St. Just. She wears such lovely outfits. I'm not sure I could do with that much hair piled atop my head though....
11. What are your sentiments on the subject of chocolate? I love it. Milk chocolate, dark chocolate, chocolate with caramel, with raspberries, strawberries, hot chocolate, chocolate ice cream... You get the idea, right?
12. Favorite author(s)? L. M. Montgomery, Jane Austen, Maud Hart Lovelace, Louisa May Alcott, Heather Vogel Frederick, Agatha Christie, and many more.
13. Besides essentials, what would you take on a visiting voyage to a foreign land? Are books essentials? They should be. So, besides books, I would take a camera, a traveling diary, my laptop and phone.
14. In which century were most of the books you read written? 20 C. I believe.
15. In your opinion, the ultimate hero in literature is… Oh! I don't know. Maybe Sir Percy? He makes so many sacrifices for the greater good. (But I'd still rather marry a Gilbert or Knightley.)
16. Describe your ideal dwelling place. It is still the same as last year. "A cozy cottage, with a little garden, and a hammock swung between two trees. It will have a little library with old beloved books and a nice, roomy window seat, simply strewn all over with pillows. I'd like a creamy yellow kitchen with a farmhouse sink. There should be a little piano somewhere, maybe in the library. It will have nice, crooked stairs, with a little platform and window. I'll have lace curtains billowing in the breeze. There will be bedrooms, of reasonable size, and at least one small walk in closet. It must have nice, shadowy little corners and some flowery wallpaper.  I'd like a little porch out front, with a rocking chair, where I could sit and hear the ocean; for my dream house must be reasonably close to the ocean, you know. I will see the lighthouse peeping through my living room window as I sit on an overstuffed chair by the fire on wintry evenings. Oh, and I'd like it to be on an island. "
17. Sum up your fashion style in a short sentence. Comfy and cute. (Hopefully.)
18. Have you ever wanted to change a character’s name? Yes, specifically Mr. George Knightley. He isn't really a George. Also, Mr. Darcy. Fitzwilliam just doesn't really work for me.
19. In your opinion, the most dastardly villain of all literature is... Um.. all of the sudden I cannot think of a single villain I REALLY disliked. Soary.
20. Three favorite Non-fiction books? I'm afraid I don't read much nonfiction. So I shall skip this one.
21. Your duties met for the day, how would you choose to spend a carefree summer afternoon? Reading on the hammock or by the pool. With lemonade!
22. Create a verbal sketch of your dream hat - in such a way as will best portray your true character. Ugh a HAT that portrays my CHARACTER? Wow pressure. So, I suppose I would want a simple straw hat like they wear in Road to Avonlea with a blue ribbon and a little bit of lace.
23. Share the most significant event(s) that have marked your life in the past year. Last year I was diagnosed with Celiac disease and had to change up my whole diet. That was a biggie.
24. Share the Bible passage(s) that have been most inspiring to you recently. Philippians 4:13, Isiah 41:10, John 4:7-8, and the beatitudes. 

Well that was fun! I hope you all enjoyed yourselves, I know I did. Make sure to check out all the festivities Kelly has planned this week!

Happy Valentine's Day

Here are some funny Les Mis Valentine's I wanted to share. I found them on Pinterest!






Now for a more serious one...



Happy Valentine's Day everyone! I hope you all feel loved and appreciated. (And I wish you a nice amount of chocolates into the bargain.)

Review of Rear Window

So Rear Window was my first taste of the infamous Alfred Hitchcock. It was good, but.... not what I was expecting! What I mean is, I thought it would be more of a Agatha Christie or typical gangster or something... but it was everyday life, the whole movie took place from one room, and no murder or body was shown. No policeman really, either. Just Jimmy Stewart, the lovely Grace Kelly, and Thelma Ritter.

Photographer "Jeff" has broken his leg, and is stuck in his apartment for weeks. He takes to people watching... and believes his neighbor has murdered his invalid wife!

At first everyone discredits this. He didn't even see anything, really. But then his glamorous girlfriend, Lisa starts to think he may be right. But his detective friend Doyle discredits Jeff after a brief search for clues. So Jeff, Lisa, and Jeff's nurse Stella decide to solve this thing for themselves!

        

It is mostly suspense that makes this murder mystery, not wild chases or blood and gore. It is unlike any other movie I have ever seen. Most of it was just "people watching." They developed these neighbors so much! And we never actually "meet" any of them really; yet they each have their own little story.

I was especially interested in the lonely woman in the apartment across the way. I loved her ending. So perfect for her!

And Grace Kelly is a perfect, blonde haired, blue eyed, tiny waist-ed little doll! My goodness, her outfits were gorgeous! How she stays with Jeff when he is so dismissive.... he really doesn't deserve her! ;)

And the nurse made for a little humor. She was quite funny, without even meaning to be most of the time.

So overall, this movie was nice but a little slow. The suspense, however, makes up for the slowness at the beginning.

A Review of Mrs. Miniver

Some correspondents of mine recommended the book Mrs. Miniver to me a while back. It proved a bit difficult to find, but finally my library had it at their main branch and had it sent over to me. (I just love libraries, don't you?)

So, I wasn't sure what to expect, because though I had seen the movie, I had been told the book was really nothing like it. This book is not even necessarily a novel. Rather, it is a bunch of short stories on a woman's life in around a year or so, I would say.

Each chapter was a separate story in and of itself, and I could read the chapters out of order and not be a bit confused. This is because the chapters were originally written as a column in The Times.

Mrs. Miniver, a book by Jan Struther, is about an upper middle class housewife pre-WWII and during the early years of WWII. It is about her thoughts, doings, and family. Mrs. Miniver is a unique person in her thoughts, and has a gift of making the everyday something special.

Sadly, as I was reading I didn't mark the things that stood out to me. So I shall just try to find them now, but I am sure some of the best snippets shall just slip past me.

"Mrs. Miniver was a fool about inanimate objects... It wasn't, with her, a question of the pathetic fallacy. She did not pretend to herself that cars had souls or even minds (though anybody, seeing the difference that can exist between one mass-produced car and another, might be excused for believing that they at least have at least some embryonic form of temperament). No, it was simply a matter of mise en scene. A car, nowadays, was such an integral part of one's life, provided the aural and visual accompaniment to so many of one's thoughts, feelings, conversations, decisions, that it had acquired at least the status of one's house. To part from it, whatever its faults, was to lose a familiar piece of background."

"Words were the only a net to catch a mood, the only sure weapon against oblivion."

"Not that he disliked school; but it had to be regarded, he found, as another life, to be approached only by way of the Styx, You died on the station platform, were reborn, not without pangs, in the train, and emerged at the other end a different person, with a different language, a different outlook, and a different scale of values. That was what the stray grown-ups you met on the holidays did not seem to understand when they asked you the fatuous and invariable question, 'How do you like school?' It was impossible to answer this properly, because the person of whom they asked it never, strictly speaking, arrived at school at all."

"She wondered why it had never occurred to her before that you cannot successfully navigate the future unless you keep always framed beside it a small clear image of the past."

And when getting gas masks with the children, the chapter ends so: "You did look a fright,' she said. "I 'ad to laugh.' One had to laugh."

I found the whole At the Dentist's chapter interesting.

I loved Aunt Hetty. "'Come along-we're having tea in the strawberry bed.' 'In the strawberry bed?' 'Yes. it's  a new idea that occurred to me last time Vin was here. You know how much better they always taste when you eat them straight off the plants? Only the drawback is, there's never any cream or sugar. So I thought, why not take the cream and sugar under the nets with us? We tried it, and it's a capital plan. I can't imagine why I never thought of it before.'"

I liked Mrs. Miniver's description of her first airplane flight in the chapter The New Dimension.

Her description of traveling struck me: "For you cannot make them understand the essential point, which is that when you went away you took the centre of the universe with you, so that the whole thing went on revolving, just as usual, round your own head."

"And it oughtn't to need a war to make us talk to each other in buses, and live simply, eat sparingly, and recover the use of our legs, and get up early enough to see the sun rise. However, it has needed one: which is about the severest criticism our civilization could have."

I also was amused when Mrs. Miniver spent her commute trying to find out what sound the new car's windshield wiper makes (beef tea), her agonies over which new calendar to get, and her musings over the strangeness of people who do not wait to catch a door someone else has already pushed open (Chapter: Christmas Shopping). I also enjoyed Three Stockings, and her musings on the way her children empty their stockings.

 Mrs. Miniver is a dear, lovely woman, and I loved her little book full of odds and ends and random thoughts. I wouldn't recommend it for everyone, but if you don't mind a book that is more about characters than plot, and more about everyday life than a sweeping tale of daring-do, then I recommend this to you.

Until next time then, lovely blog readers! Are you staying warm? It is freezing where I am, and I spent more than an hour today shoveling up inches and inches of snow and ice from the driveway.... brr! I think it is a tea and reading day!

Book Reviews

So, I have read and finished several books, and read and not finished several more. I thought I would just heap them all into one review and see what happens. Ready? Okay.

Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell: Wives and Daughters is a classic novel that sounded right up my alley. And I loved the BBC version of it. (You can see the review here.) I started this book and get along very well. It is rather long, but I was already on chapter 17 and it had only been a couple of days! But then school started and I found myself not really reading that anymore. It was not because it was bad, in fact, I remember thinking that this was a lovely story and I loved when Molly was at the Miss Browning's. I have lately gotten into the bad habit of just letting books go. But I hope to pick it up again one of these days. I wish I had not watched the mini series first, as now I am rather impatient for Certain Proposals. (If that is even included in the work, as I know Gaskell died before the completion of this novel. Most unsatisfying, I know.)

Forty Acres and No Mule by Janice Holt Giles: This was one of my grandma's favorite authors, so I thought I would give her a try. It turned out that I had picked her autobiography of her beginnings at her and her husband's farm in the Kentucky mountains. I was a little worried, but it was not dull and factual, so I proceeded on my way. It was unlike anything I have ever read. The village is behind the times, even for just after WWII. They were a biblical society, living by God's rules, and not so much a governments. Most of them were hardworking farmers without electricity or even indoor plumbing! (that is where I draw the line) Yet Jan and her husband Henry were not happy with city life and so decided to move back to Henry's boyhood hometown. And after a little adjusting they had a marvelous time. It stressed simplicity, hard work, and yet calm. Jan seemed very happy and by the end said she wouldn't want to live anywhere else. I think all of us could use some of this happy simplicity, but as a lifestyle? I, for one, wouldn't really want to take that challenge.... I will count this as a finished read, because I read it word for word diligently and by the last 50 pages skimmed and scanned so I could get the happily ever after and on to a new book I was eyeing....

                                      

The Princess and the Sage by Anneliese Blakeney: I found Anne-girl's blog a couple of months ago, and enjoyed reading about her literary pursuits. Then I found that a delightful Lewis Carol-ish story that she'd been posting snippets of was actually out for people to buy! So I hurried to Amazon and ordered myself one. It is a quick and light read, but very funny and nonsensical. It is the author's first novel to be published and I enjoyed it muchly. 

I reread At Home in Mitford by Jan Karon before my mom came home with a stack of library books that I shall read after exam week. (Although they are so tempting. This reminds me that scene in Anne of Green Gables when Anne is studying the dreaded geometry so Gilbert doesn't get ahead, and she tells Matthew he should lock up that "thrilling" book her school chum gave her until she is finished studying, as it is such a temptation! I should do that...)

I may post reviews of the library books later, but for now I am ending this post, as that is all I have read thus far, and I have some science to study....

           

End of the Year Book Wrap-Up

Okay, so I originally got this idea from Miss Dashwood. She said in her blogpost this was past the date, and it must have been, because when I went on the notebook sisters blog to find the post about this, it was not even one of the first few posts there! But I shall not pay attention. I will fill it out anyway, because it looked like lots of fun to do! So, without further ado, here are the end of the year book questions: 

1. What was your overall favourite book this year? (Yes. Pick one.)
This is so hard! Must I pick just one? *Madd Rose pouts* Fine. I think I liked the Last Sin Eater the best. (And as a series I liked Miss Marple the best. Soary, as Gilbert would say; I had to throw that in there.)

2. Favourite debut(s)? (Author must have been first published in 2013.)
Uh.... I don't really read many modern books, so I don't think I have even read an author that has just been published this year. Bummer.. WAIT! I think Wish You Were Eyre by: Heather Vogel Frederick came out this year! So there it is, problem solved.

3. Which books did you reread this year?
Tons and tons! Alright, fine I will try to name them all:
Anne of the Island b: L.M. Montgomery
Anne of Windy Poplars by: L.M. Montgomery
Anne's House of Dreams by L.M. Montgomery
Rilla of Ingleside by: L.M. Montgomery
Emily Climbs by L.M. Montgomery
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by: Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
A Rose in Bloom by: Louisa May Alcott
An Old Fashioned Girl by: Louisa May Alcott
Little Women by: Louisa May Alcott
Heavens to Betsy by: Maud Hart Lovelace
Betsy in Spite of Herself by: Maud Hart Lovelace
Betsy was a Junior by: Maud Hart Lovelace
Betsy and Joe by: Maud Hart Lovelace
Betsy and the Great World by: Maud Hart Lovelace
Betsy's Wedding by; Maud Hart Lovelace
Emily of Deep Valley by: Maud Hart Lovelace
Emma by: Jane Austen
Pride and Prejudice by: Jane Austen
Sense and Sensibility by: Jane Austen
Daddy Long Legs by: Jean Webster
....and that's all I can think of, but I think there were others.

4. Favourite cover(s) this year!

Note: not necessarily my favorite books, but I liked the covers

5. Worst cover(s)?
Um... I don't like to read or buy books with covers I don't like. I will say I dislike when publishers put the movie as the cover of the books.
                                                           

6. What self-published books did you read this year?
I've read Only a Novel by Miss Dashwood and I greatly enjoyed myself while doing so. :)

7. Which book(s) gave you a massive hangover?
The Last Sin Eater: because this book is just full of so many ideas and concepts and it is really good.

the Mitford series: because I loved this series to itty bitty pieces and when I finished the last book I just didn't know what to do with myself. I'd been "living" in Mitford for months, you know?

 Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society: even though this was a reread, I was so happy when it ended and then very sad because there is no sequel. And cannot be, as the author, Mary Ann Shaffer, has since passed away. :'(

8. Best standalone you read?
This is hard, as I read several good stand alones this year. Um... the Last Sin Eater, I suppose.

9. Biggest book(s) you've read this year?
I think it might be Wives & Daughters. I started several big books this year, but I didn't finish them. (I know, I am very bad about that sometimes.)

10. Book(s) you followed the hype for and then loved!
the Help by: Katherine Stockett... I think that might be it, I really don't follow "hype" or "trends."

11. Most disappointing book(s) you read this year?
the Postmistress looked promising but turned out to be rather bad. There are others, but that is the most recent one I can think of. (And yes, I know Miss Dashwood also did that but sometimes I am not an original thinker...)

12. Favourite leading-female character?
This year? Miss Marple

13. Favourite leading-male character?
And... Father Tim

14. Best romance(s)?
Juliet and Dawsey from the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (is that how you spell his name? Eh... I am too lazy to look it up, so if it is wrong, be a dear and please excuse. Thanks.)
Father Tim and Cynthia from the Mitford series (And Dooley and Lace)
Sally McBride and Dr.Robin "Sandy" McRae from Dear Enemy
Rose and Mac from A Rose in Bloom
Polly Milton and Tom Shaw from an Old Fashioned Girl
Emily Webster and Jed Wakeman from Emily of Deep Valley
Betsy Ray and Joe Willard
Emma Woodhouse and Mr. Knightley
Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy
ANNE AND GILBERT from Anne of Green Gables
I think I covered most of them, but if I didn't, please excuse

15. What book(s) hit the DNF list? (Did not finish.)
Sadly, a lot. I won't even list them all, readers, because I am a tad embarrassed about how many there would be. More and more this year I found it difficult to get through books. And not always because they are bad. Just because I lose interest. I sort of worries me as I haven't really had long lapses like that before.

16. What book(s) did you read out of your comfort-zone?
 the Last Sin Eater (I don't usually read Christian fiction, because it usually turns out to be some silly romance) and Agatha Christie's novels (because I didn't think I would like murder mysteries. I still don't like many murder mysteries, but Christie's special)

17. Which author did you read the most from?
Probably Agatha Christie. I read all the Miss Marple mysteries and several of Poirot and some stand alone novels of hers.

18. Top 5 books you'd recommend from all the books you've read this year?
Can this include series? Well I shall make it include series (this is my blog you know; )) 
In no particular order
1) Miss Marple mysteries
2) the Mitford series
3) the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
4) Miss Pym Disposes by: Josephine Tey
5) Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm by: Kate Douglas Wiggin (and if you want something similar, the Anne books by L.M. Montgomery)
5 1/2) I know I am such a cheater. Oh well... the Betsy Tacy series

19. How many books did you read this year all up?
I didn't keep a list... but quite a bit! You know what? That shall be one of my new years resolutions. I will keep a list of books I have read in 2014.

20. What's a book you're hugely excited for coming out in 2014?!
I wish I were hugely excited about one, but I am not. I am excited about the next Penderwick book, but I think that actually comes out in 2015 or later.

Many Happy Returns of the day Miss Austen and Miss Rose

December 16 is here and it is a very special day.... Can anyone guess? It is Miss Jane Austen's birthday! Her 237th, I believe. And, may I humbly add, my own. Today I shall be, as Jane Austen would say, six and ten. (Isn't it funny how they say five and twenty instead of 25?)

So I wish dear Miss Austen many happy returns of the day and without further ado, I am here to share some fun facts about the acclaimed authoress that even some of my fellow Janeites might not know... I hope they prove to be interesting!

- In 1894 George Saintsbury coined the term "Janeite" to describe Austen fans. The term didn't become widely popular though until 1924 when Rudyard Kipling used the word in one of his short stories.

- Under "Manners for Men" which hero do you think fit the bill? Mr Knightley! It says that "The perfect example of a gentleman in Austen's novels is Mr Knightley in Emma. Mr Knightley always acts correctly, as we see when he behaves with condescension towards the poor Mrs and Miss Bates, when he walks and dances so well at the Crown Inn ball and because he also acts as a standard of moral good for Emma."

- During WWI British soldiers suffering from shell shock were advised to read Austen's novels. The hope was that the comforting images of idyllic English society would help speed up their recovery.

- In many television adaptations of Persuasion we see Captain Wentworth, acting for Admiral Croft, asking Anne if she is engaged to Mr Elliot , and whether the Crofts should leave Kellynch. Many readers of Persuasion  may assume this scene is inserted by the film company, but this scene was in fact Austen's original ending to the novel.

- The mother and daughter team of Mrs and Miss Bates is played by real life mother and daughter Phyllida Law and Sophie Thompson, the mother and sister of Emma Thompson.

I didn't know several of those little pocket facts and I found them of note. I got these facts from The Jane Austen Pocket Bible- everything you need to know about Jane and her novels by Holly Ivins.

I have had a very Austen birthday, receiving the beautiful Pride & Prejudice 2005 soundtrack and tickets to see Pride & Prejudice at a theater near me in March. I also received some yummy Downton Abbey tea and I LOVE it!

I also watched the newest installment of Emma Approved today on YouTube. At first I wasn't sure I'd like it, and it is nothing like the Lizzie Bennet Diaries, but I like it now. And I love snarky Knightley. I just don't think you can go wrong with a Knightley, period.

What is your favorite Austen book (if you can choose)? Who would be your swoon worthy hero?

As Austen said to her sister Cassandra, "Adieu, sweet you"

P.S. I found a free font of Jane Austen's handwriting so I decided to write a little bit... Jane and I share a birthday, respectively, the sixteenth of December.
I believe we are what Anne would call “kindred spirits” and what Miss Cornelia would call “the race that knows Joseph.”
-Maddie Rose

Jane Austen