A pleasing divertissement for Austen fans everywhere.
A light and frothy tour of Austenworld and its Janeites.
“I didn’t last in Austenworld,” writes Pacific Standard senior editor Scheinman, “but for a time it was ludicrous, intoxicating, and sometimes heartbreaking.” If his mother hadn’t been a noted Austen scholar, he “might never have found [his] way in.” When young, he started with Austen’s juvenile notebooks, Austen’s own “record of fandom,” filled with “perverse celebrations of her literary enthusiasms.” In his witty, sly, and often humorous first book, Scheinman discusses his time as a graduate student when one of his graduate professors decided to hold the first-ever Jane Austen Summer Camp. “American enthusiasm for Austen is (as I would soon learn) passionate to the point of obsession,” he writes. At first, it “sounded dreamlike, a little unreal.” He notes that in the late 19th century, scholar and critic George Saintsbury coined the term “Janeite” for those devoted to her work, and the great novelist E.M. Forster was “one of the more conspicuous Janeites of his age.” To Scheinman, the gathering reminded him of a “religious diaspora, a far-flung church, whose functionaries convene in heterodox worship.” Let the tour begin. First, the costumes: “Dressing as Mr. Darcy at an Austen symposium is like playing Mickey Mouse at Disney World.” Then the panels, where “representatives of the academy” would mingle with “their civilian counterparts.” Followed by a little table talk at meal times: “they offer the most gossipy and delicious interactions.” Next, the theatricals, plays about Austen and her characters written and performed (in costume) by participants as well as screenings of films about Austen’s books. Last but not least, there’s the Ball. After all, Henry, Austen’s favorite brother, wrote that Jane “enjoyed dancing, and excelled at it.” Scheinman picks and pokes a little here and there, but he admits it’s “some of the best and cleanest fun available to an academic.”
A pleasing divertissement for Austen fans everywhere.Pub Date: March 6, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-86547-821-3
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: Nov. 27, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2017
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis...
Privately published by Strunk of Cornell in 1918 and revised by his student E. B. White in 1959, that "little book" is back again with more White updatings.
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis (whoops — "A bankrupt expression") a unique guide (which means "without like or equal").Pub Date: May 15, 1972
ISBN: 0205632645
Page Count: 105
Publisher: Macmillan
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1972
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
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