First Remembered Read ~ Classic

Those of us who read, and who are influenced by books, tend to squirrel away our memories of all the stories we have read over the years. 

And yet, there is always that one special book tucked away in the far corner of your mind which reminds you just why you love reading so much…

During July and August I've invited a few friends to share their First Remembered Read

My First Remembered ~ Classic

I'm thrilled to welcome


John R. McKay, author of  Mosquitoes

My first classic - The Catcher In The Rye by J.D. Salinger.

I first read The Catcher In The Rye when I was at high school in the early 1980s having had it recommended to me by a friend. When I heard that John Lennon’s killer had been holding a copy of the book when he murdered the ex-Beatle, I was intrigued to know what it was all about.

The book is written from the viewpoint of Holden Caulfield, a sixteen year old boy in 1950s America as he comes to terms with life after being expelled from school. Unable to face his parents he heads for New York City where his immaturity, naivety and sometimes juvenile behaviour eventually land him in a psychiatric ward.

The style of writing left a big impression upon me as it was a technique I had never come across before and have rarely seen since. Although the plot is nothing special, Holden’s thoughts and sometimes comical way at looking at life keep the pages turning, and although he is a very flawed character, and probably not somebody, if real, you would want to spend any length of time with, you still find yourself rooting for him.

The way in which Salinger develops Holden’s character and the often frank viewpoints he expresses, directly influenced my own character, ‘Alex Sumner’, in my novel ‘Mosquitoes’.

I have since read the book a number of times and each time I do, I get something new from it. Although it is sometimes a sad tale, as you observe the decline of his mental state, it is also uplifting in many ways, as Holden tries to cling on to his childhood innocence whilst at the same time attempting to appear mature and grown-up.

Having first read the book at around the same age as Holden Caulfield was, it had a big impression upon me at the time and I still have a large fondness for it. With the passage of time, some of the vernacular may now be a little dated. However, it still remains timeless and a classic of its age, and I have no doubt I will re-visit it once again in the near future.

Linda Green, Book Blogger at Books of All Kinds

My First Classic - Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

The first classic that I had the pleasure to read was Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen when I was the tender age of eleven. I always enjoyed reading and had read a few books here and there up to that point but it was this book that really kick-started my love affair with books and especially classics. Finding a copy of it at home which was probably left by my older sister, I remember curling up to read it and not putting it back down for hours. The richness of the language was new to me but instead of putting me off, it drew me in until I was a part of the story, dancing with the Bennets, or gazing up at the magnificence of Pemberley. The characters, the settings, the time period, all combined to create such a special reading experience for me that Pride and Prejudice is still one of the few books that I re-read every year. 

This classic also began my love for Jane Austen as well as classics in general - I even centred my dissertation at University on the beloved author. 

At the last count I have five different editions of Pride and Prejudice itself, another fifteen varying editions of Jane Austen’s other novels, and around one hundred classics in general, and I am certain that I became a bookworm the day I picked up Pride and Prejudice as a young girl. 

Thank you so much for having me and I really love your new feature!

Huge thanks to John and Linda for sharing the memories

 of their First Classic Read with me today.


Next week : My First Shakespeare

Review ~ The Elizabeth Papers by Jenetta James

Meryton Press
2016

A bit of blurb..

Charlie Haywood is a London-based private investigator who has made his own fortune—on his own terms. Charming, cynical, and promiscuous, he never expected to be attracted to Evie Pemberton, an independent-minded artist living with the aftermath of tragedy. But when he is hired to investigate her claims to a one hundred and fifty year old trust belonging to the eminent Darcy family, he is captivated. 

Together they become entwined in a Regency tale of love, loss, and mystery tracing back to the grand estate of Pemberley, home to Evie’s nineteenth century ancestors, Fitzwilliam and Elizabeth Darcy. As if travelling back in time, a story unfolds within their story. All was not as it seemed in the private lives of Mr. and Mrs. Darcy, but how can they ever uncover the whole truth?

How could they know that in 1817 Elizabeth Darcy began a secret journal? What started as an account of a blissful life came to reflect a growing unease. Was the Darcy marriage perfect or was there betrayal and deception at its heart?

Can Evie and Charlie unearth the truth in the letters of Fitzwilliam Darcy or within the walls of present-day Pemberley? What are the elusive Elizabeth papers and why did Elizabeth herself want them destroyed? 

"The Elizabeth Papers" is a tale of romance and intrigue, spanning the Regency and modern eras, reminding us how the passions of the past may inspire those in the present.

My thoughts about the book..

Family secrets abound in this cleverly woven tale of past and present which sheds light on a mystery which has surrounded the Darcy family for nearly two hundred years. For Evie Pemberton and Charlie Haywood, the mystery which surrounds the Elizabeth papers will take them back to a time of secrets and will take them into the world of Elizabeth and Fitzwilliam Darcy, who of course we met in Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice.

I always reach out to fan fiction with an air of trepidation as being something of a Jane Austen purist I can be disappointed by stories which are just reproductions and which intrude on territory which has already been done, in my opinion,  to perfection.  However, I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised by The Elizabeth Papers which are written with a great deal of skill and much sympathy towards the original characters. Of course, this is a fictional continuation of events which are entirely of the imagination of the author, but what I enjoyed was the clever intertwining of past and present which imbue a real sense of both time and place. I enjoyed the modern day aspect; the characterisation is good and in keeping with a modern day couple, however, for me the nineteenth century aspect of the novel won out and I really enjoyed seeing how the saga of Elizabeth and Darcy’s story eventually played out.

The modern day ending left me a little perplexed but maybe this sort of lends itself to a continuation featuring Charlie and Evie and that would be no bad thing as I would quite like to see what happens next for them, and as for Darcy and Elizabeth , well I’ll let you make up your own mind about them.

I think what comes across is the author's great love and passion for the world created by Jane Austen and for that I commend her skill in bringing this world alive in a very readable way.

Best Read With..A glass of good claret and a bowl of sugared almonds..

About the Author




Find the author on her website

Follow on Twitter @JenettaJames

My thanks to the author for sharing her book with me.

~***~

The authors in my spotlight are ... Ada Bright and Cass Grafton

Today I welcome to Jaffareadstoo the talented writing duo Ada Bright and Cass Grafton who are talking to us about their novel, The Particular Charm of Miss Jane Austen

Brown Dog Books
2016

It’s September, and the city of Bath is playing host to the annual Jane Austen Festival, a celebration of the famous author and her works. Rose Wallace, Bath resident and avid Jane Austen fan, can’t wait for her friends to arrive and the Festival to start, unaware one of the recently arrived guests will turn her life upside down by sharing with her a secret that ultimately puts Jane Austen’s entire literary legacy at risk. With the support of a displaced two hundred year old author and a charmed necklace, can Rose help to bring back some of the most beloved stories of all time and turn her own life around in the process.

A warm welcome to both Ada and Cass...

Tell us about yourselves and what got you interested in writing a historical novel?

Ada

Ada: I became an avid reader in Elementary School and before I set about ruining my eyesight reading fantasy novels and murder mysteries, I first read the entire school library's section of biographies. So I've always been interested in history, both in fiction and non-fiction writings. This particular instance came about because Cass had already been living in Regency writing for several years and it was natural that whatever project we collaborated on together would have a bias toward history.

Cass

Cass: Reading has always been my ‘thing’, ever since I was a young child. I grew up on a diet of Enid Blyton stories before progressing to Mills & Boon, who totally coloured my idea of what love and romance should be like! Both Ada I started to co-write fan fiction together when we first met (14 years ago), and although our initials stories were fantasy-based, we soon discovered a shared love of classic literature and progressed to co-writing Jane Austen inspired stories. I then wrote a full-length Pride & Prejudice inspired novel set in the Regency era (for which Ada and her mom provided the cover artwork).

Our new book does have historical influences, but it is a contemporary novel set in present day Bath, and it was a lot of fun to mix the two worlds together!

When you start writing do you both have a writing plan or do you plot out the story together as you go along?

Both!  We met together in Bath last year to outline the entire book.  In some ways that outline stood pretty sturdy, but when we needed to make a change we called each other up on our trusty FaceTime applications and ironed everything out.  There was very little that was ever up in the air for long - it simply wasn't feasible to leave any doubt as to where we were going because between the two of us, writing sections independent of each other and then revising each other's work, we would have been tangled up beyond repair if we didn't fix problems that arose fast. 

Do you each have a favourite part of the writing/publishing process?

Ada: We definitely have different favorites and that has served us well.  I think there were times each of us felt guilty for not being up to snuff for the other in a certain area. 

Cass: I genuinely believe it’s our differences which make us the perfect writing partnership! Our styles complement each other, and we each have different strengths, so we can bring a lot to the table between us. For me, the best part of the publishing process is the cover design! It’s so exciting when you get to that stage and can finally visualise all those months of work as an actual book!

What are the ups and downs of being a writing duo and who is the worst critic?

Ada: Wow, that is a fabulous question.  The advantages of co-writing are something I can go on and on about.  At its core, the reason I love it is that we're in it together.  A beta reader or friend who lovingly encourages you through a book is nice - important even!  But it's nothing like sharing the burden completely with someone else.  On the other edge of that sword, therein lies the negative as well: there were times I'm sure both of us wanted to walk away and we simply couldn't - we had someone else counting on us.  If we stopped writing we were directly affecting one of our best friends whom we'd made a commitment to.  It wasn't just our work that would be wasted if we gave up, but our partner's as well.  So there was pressure and there was accountability, but mostly there was support. 

Oh and Cass was definitely the worst critic - because she insisted on bringing in logic to our arguments!  Ugh!  The nerve!

Cass: The best ‘up’ for me was that if I was struggling to kick-start a scene, all I had to do was say to Ada, can you get me started, and she would! Brilliant! The down? There were a couple of times when I’d written what for me (as a Brit) was a funny line (or so I thought), and then, when the scene came back after Ada’s latest edit, it would be gone! Needless to say, we did see the funny side of our sense of humours being different most of the time!

The worst critic? Yep; definitely me. Ada is well versed in fantasy and time travel through her interests, and I’m not! I had to understand how something could work, how it would blend with reality to sound credible, whereas Ada would just shrug and say, ‘those are just some of the established rules of time travel’

What was the inspiration behind your novel?

Staying in Jane Austen’s former home in Bath, which is now holiday apartments, provided the initial inspiration. What if Jane Austen, when she was living in the house in Bath in the early nineteenth century, found a way to come forward to the present day? This led us neatly to: what if she became trapped there, before she had become a published author?

The company managing the property was also incredibly helpful with information about the building, which helped to feed part of the plot. Once we started to put the two things together, it was clear we had the makings of a good story!

Whose idea was the title of your book?

Ada: I'm pretty sure the title came from Cass, but Cass's husband deserves credit because his insistence on offering ridiculous titles full of puns had her so annoyed (not seriously) that she pushed us to settle on something officially so as to keep him from persisting. I don't actually know if it worked.  I actually liked a few of them (note: I asked Cass if she could find any of them but she’d thrown his long list away. We didn’t dare ask him if he could remember any in case he started all over again!)

Cass: We really do, and always have, struggled at choosing titles for our stories, and this was no exception. Ada is right! My husband simply would not stop coming up with more and more bizarre titles, and it was the only way to effectively stop him!

What were some of the challenges you faced on the road to publication?

Just the sheer formatting of the paperback was a huge pain, even though we enlisted the services of a ‘specialist’.  They still missed several typos, and even worse, the automatic correcting they did actually created some more!  If any of you own the paperback, you will have one of our characters having a ‘riffle’ through some things. It’s become our new secret code word!

Now that the book is published are there any nuggets of wisdom you can impart to aspiring writers?

Ada: Wisdom: yes, so much.  The thing that stands out is that we should have worked harder to settle on a genre.  I wouldn't have wanted to change much from our original idea, but because of that we almost fought against genre.  I think we should have welcomed that being a little more clear might have been nice.

Cass: Definitely agree. The story touches on so many genres (mystery, romance, fantasy/time travel, history), we struggled to determine where it should sit. Having said that, we wouldn’t want to make any changes to our story. We just wish we had forced ourselves to think it through from the genre-aspect before we prepared it for publication!

Any plans for another collaborative novel?

Ada: YES we have plans for another collaborative novel... indeed we do!

Cass: There have been some calls for a sequel, and as we had so much fun spending time with our characters, we’re keen to work with them again.

Where to find Ada and Cass. Please click on the links below 

Tabby Cow Blog

Cass’s blog

Facebook: Ada:  Cass:

Twitter: @missyadabright  @CassGrafton 

Amazon UK

Amazon.com

My thoughts about The Particular Charm of  Miss Jane Austen

I've long been a fan of Jane Austen inspired novels and to have a present-day novel with a historical twist to it was a very tempting proposition. From the start of the novel I was drawn into the contemporary setting in the beautiful city of Bath, which is a place I know well. I enjoyed getting to know Rose and appreciated seeing the city through the eyes of Rose's American visitor, Morgan.

Time travel, romance, literature and history all combine to make a lovely story which is written with great charm. Reminiscent of Jane Austen's own style of writing, what is so refreshing about this novel is that the authors have allowed a modern twist, with a cleverly controlled plot, which has, at its heart, a cleverly thought out mystery.

To say more about the plot would be to do the book a complete disservice because as with all mysteries it’s best that you read without any preconceptions. However, what I will say is that, if you enjoy a wonderfully inspired Jane Austen novel, which has delightful heroines, then I am sure that The Particular Charm of Miss Jane Austen will greatly appeal to you as it did to me.

The authors have captured this collaborative style of writing so very well. Their partnership is quite seamless so that you really can’t tell where one finishes and the other starts, so that, rather unusually for me, I forgot that I was reading the work of two different writers.

The Particular Charm of Miss Jane Austen is a lovely story which entertained me from start to finish and which, ultimately, made me smile and left me wanting to read more from this talented writing duo.

I am pleased to learn that the authors are considering a sequel, the ending certainly lends itself to a continuation.

 Best Read With ...A pot of English Breakfast tea and a generous slice of Lemon Meringue Pie

Huge thanks to both Ada Bright and Cass Grafton for spending time with us today and for answering our questions so thoughtfully.

Jaffa and I have loved having you as our guests and look forward to reading more of your work in the future.

Come back and see us again soon.

~***~

Review ~ Happy Birthday Mr Darcy by Victoria Connelly

Notting Hill Press
October 1st 2013

Jane Austen Addicts Book 5

It’s hard to believe that it is 200 years since the publication of Pride and Prejudice. To celebrate this momentous occasion Katherine Roberts and Warwick Lawton are getting married at the sumptuous Purley Hall, where together with fellow Jane Austen enthusiasts they hope to celebrate their nuptials with all the glamour and nostalgia of a bygone era. However, the coordination of a Janeite wedding is not without a few last minute hitches.

This beautifully written novella draws you in from the beginning. The story is made all the more special by references to Jane Austen’s work and is interspersed with lovely quotations which bring, not only the books alive, but which also acts as a perfect background to what is effect a rather lovely love story about two people who share a passion for the literature of Jane Austen, but who are beleaguered by the doubts engendered by a modern society.

I am new to this series of Jane Austen Addicts and so perhaps missed those subtle references which are made to previous stories but it didn’t spoil my enjoyment, in fact, I am now inspired to backtrack to start the series from the beginning.

Jane Austen Addicts Series

A Weekend with Mr Darcy (2010)

The Perfect Hero (2012)

Mr Darcy Forever (2012)

Christmas with Mr Darcy (2012)

Happy Birthday Mr Darcy (2013)

My thanks to Victoria Connelly and Notting Hill Press for my ecopy of this novella.

More about Victoria 

Review ~ The Real Jane Austen: A Life in Small Things by Paula Byrne

Harper Collins
January 2013

The ‘real’ Jane Austen will forever be an enigma, but this interesting book goes some to way to bring out the hidden and perhaps more homely traits of her personality, which all too often can get lost inside the more academic studies of Jane Austen's life. By taking small and inoffensive items that Jane may have owned, and by using then using these items as a springboard, we are allowed a tantalising glimpse into the life of a woman who was completely comfortable with herself, and who was totally of her time.

Nicely presented, in easily organised chapters, I found that this was one of those books which is easy to dip into and out of at whim, and as the book progresses it’s almost like putting together the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, with the end result being that of a complete portrait of one of our most fascinating novelists.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins for my digital copy of this book

Review ~ Sense and Sensibility by Joanna Trollope

Harper Collins
Publication 24 October 2013

When I heard that there was to be a reworking of Jane Austen, I must admit that I was sceptical, and largely fell into the camp of those purists who believed that there was no need for the masterpieces of Jane Austen to be reworked. So it was with some trepidation that I started to read Joanna Trollope’s version of a more contemporary Sense and Sensibility. Initially, I felt that the prose was all wrong; the Dashwoods came across as shallow, weak and rather too insipid, and I seem to be forever comparing them to the more durable description offered by Jane Austen, and that’s when I realised that I had to lay aside my rather battered classic copy of Sense and Sensibility, and started to concentrate on this version as being entirely ‘new’, rather than a pale imitation of the original. After that I started to enjoy the book on its own merits.

The story does indeed lend itself to a light and easy to read contemporary version, and whilst there is much to compare the ruinous nature of today’s rather impecunious society, there is also the same sense of traditional values. It became entirely convincing to see Willoughby’s skill with a top of the range Aston Martin, replace Austen’s description of Willoughby, as there not a being ‘a bolder rider in England’.

All this is beautifully expressed within the novel as with multi layered efficiency, and with no loss of character from the original, Joanna Trollope has infused new life into a story, which some may have said was outmoded and outdated.

It goes a long way to prove that, in the hands of a talented and clever author, even the reworking of a major classic can be deemed to be entirely successful.

It would be utterly wrong of me to assume that I can compare the writing of one of England’s finest novelists with one of her modern day counterparts, so for the Jane Austen purists amongst you who feel it is bordering on the sacrilegious to rework such a classic masterpiece as Sense and Sensibility, I would suggest that you approach this as you would any new venture, with an open mind.

You may even be as pleasantly surprised as I was !

 ***

 My thanks to Lovereading.co.uk and Harper Collins for my advance reading copy of this book.

A small number of Lovereading members were lucky enough to be invited to review this title - you can read their thoughts on the book here

Sense and Sensibility by Joanna Trollope will be available through Lovereading.co.uk and other book stores from the end of October 2013.

Read more about The Austen project here 

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