Submitted by Bethanne on Fri, 01/22/2010 - 4:49pm
I just may have mentioned that the Masterpiece Classics production of Jane Austen's "Emma" (starring Romola Garai and Michael Gambon) premieres this Sunday evening on your local PBS station.
Just in time, we've got TEN copies of the Masterpiece Edition of "Emma" to give away to randomly selected Janeites who respond to this question in the Comments:
If you could go back to Jane Austen's England, what would be your favorite thing there?
This giveaway has ended. Congratulations to the winners:
Juliet K.
Sara P.
Felicia S.
Katherine C.
Christine H.
Susan K.
Bethany F.
Jo M.
See also:
Authors mentioned in this post:
Books mentioned in this post:
My favorite thing would be
My favorite thing would be the writing. Taking the time to write notes and just the language was so elegant. Thanks for the giveaway.
The balls
My favorite thing would be the balls of course! Can you imagine the possibility to chat with interesting people there? :)
I can't forget the dresses too! Amazing!
Great contest!
My favorite will be manners, how seriously confidentiality was taken. More favorites include, the dresses, the balls, and how people interacted socially.
The letters!
Let's face it, people really knew how to write great letters in those days, and I miss receiving actual letters to hold in my hands. I think they can tell you so much about a person through their choice of paper, pen, and through their handwriting.
My favorite thing about then
My favorite thing about then would be the clothing of the period.
The countryside, the
The countryside, the simplicity and being able to just be a woman.
Dresses and dancing!
If I could go back to Austen's England, I would like to try on some of the dresses, even though I'd probably hate the corsets. I'd also like to learn some of the country dances. In the adaptations, everyone always looks so elegant when they are dancing.
I'd also probably spend a good deal of time watching the men :) That style of dress, with the cravats and waistcoats, makes all of them look handsome.
The Gardens
Seems every English country house had a lovely garden. I would love to stroll through them.
Rural England
I would very much enjoy the quiet bustle of life in rural England. Travelling to visit friends in a neighboring town and making new acquaintances sounds delightful to me.
Jane Austen's England
For me it would be dancing and manners. There seems to be a lack of good manners these days.
Great clothes and dancing!
Dancing to a live orchestra.
No cell phones or Internet!
No cell phones or Internet! I would love to write letters in loopy cursive handwriting with a quill pen on tiny paper. And ride a horse in the country, and wear regency dress.
Going back to Regency England
I would enjoy so many things: the gentlemanly manners, propriety and elegance with which everyone conducted themselves, the beautiful wardrobes, the balls to attend, and the letter writing!
Can Rupert Penry-Jones go
Can Rupert Penry-Jones go with me? Because, then, he would be my favorite thing there. Barring that, the architecture. I would love to see the actual construction of some of the best English architecture ever built.
Jane's world.
If you could go back to Jane Austen's England, what would be your favorite thing there?
If I got the chance to be the part of Jane's England...
I like the fact that people used to be so polite and courteous towards each other. Even if you disliked somebody, you disliked them politely. The elegance of the courting rituals, the dancing rituals,... The fashion was absolutely gorgeous. Women wore pretty dresses. Don't you wish we could wear stuff like that on daily basis? Breathtaking scenery. I love the green gardens filled with flowers. The mansions. The mystery of the unknown. The hand written letters...
Being there...
Thanks for hosting the giveaway! I'm recording Emma on an old VCR, and I'm not sure how the audio and/or video is going to turn out. The DVD would be perfect.
If I could go back to Regency England, the thing I would enjoy most is the communication between members of that society. People who had the privilege of an education were educated well and seemed to have a beautiful mastery of their language. Manners and gentility were highly regarded in their interactions. And without the convenience of today's internet, many communiques were sent via handwritten, neatly folded notes. Very romantic, all of it.
Laura Hartness
The Calico Critic
CalicoCritic at gmail dot com
My favorite thing
Provided that I was with comfortable means and prospects, I would enjoy most the actual human contact of social networking in Regency England. People didn't meet online but at balls, card parties, concerts, dinners, etc. An old-fashioned courtship where attachment is formed through dances, letters, looks...sounds like a dream!
Good question!
I think the slower pace of life, with time for writting long letters, sewing and reading. Oh! And of course the clothes. Bring on the bonnets!
Emma
My favorite thing would be a toss up between the dancing and the food. They always seemed to build a life around these two events and they each had more meaning than they do today.
Margay
favorite thing?
The simplicity of the time. Yes, life was more difficult but, as a mother of three, I'd love to slow the pace and enjoy my family without the distractions of 2010.
My favorite thing would be
My favorite thing would be the way people talked. I would love my conversations to sound more musical and less thrashing than todays language.
I would love just being in a
I would love just being in a more simpler time, without all this constant need for media and internet. Being able to relax with family and friends without the need for constant stimulation.
The manners...people don't have them anymore. In Jane's time, your manners went a long way.
The outfits...they were the best. Can you imagine dressing in even the simplest of gowns? Lovely.
My favorite thing would be
My favorite thing would be the clothes! They look so pretty and fancy! And I would have beautiful, perfect curves ... despite the pain.
Not much
As much as I love reading books from the time period, I can't think of much that would make me want to go there! The gardens and the dancing are about all I can think of!
Jane Austen's London
Favorite is hard, but I'd enjoy seeing John Constable's paintings as they were new...but also reading Sense and Sensibility by "A Lady."
What would be my favorite thing in Jane Austen's England?
Why England itself of course! Where the countryside consists of lush, green, rolling hills, days of grey, misting, gentle rain, and where the roses, when they bloom, are the sweetest flowers that were ever created. "Oh, to be in England!"
I'd love to communicate with
I'd love to communicate with people by letter. E-mails are fun, but not terribly personal!
Basics
I'd most enjoy a return to a simpler, more whole-some way of life. Un-processed foods, walks through lush gardens, going to bed and rising with the sun, writing with ink, reading books aloud as entertainment.--embracing the natural rhythms of the planet.
If I could go back to Regency
If I could go back to Regency England, I would be thrilled to spend time in the traditional English gardens -- that would be my favorite! As would the time and opportunity to stroll through them with a good book in my hand... and a dashing rake on my arm.
Emma
It would have to be the romance and how there is always the hint of something about to happen.
Jane Austen
I would enjoy the pristine countryside, unspoiled by parking lots and shopping malls. And I think I would enjoy a ride in a horsedrawn carriage.
Jane Austen
My favorite thing would be the time people spent with each other, friends and family, getting to know each other by actually talking, eating meals together, letter writing, and participating in other activities rather than by email, texting, cell phones and the rushed, hectic lifestyles we seem to have now that allow for little of that.
Austen's Chawton
20 yrs. ago I visited Austen's home in Chawton and was taken by the lovely village. I would love having tea in the garden with friends.
Favorite Thing...
Well of course it would be living at Pemberly with Mr. Darcy but I guess that is assuming I am Elizabeth Bennet....okay then how about being married to Henry Tilney...okay I would have to be Catherine...okay I suppose being a lady looking for her perfect romantic match in the quiet countryside of England and the bustling diversion of London will have to do!
Jane Austen
I would love to attend one of the balls. With the dresses, the cards the men fill out to dance with you, the whole thing. I think that would be so fun and interesting. From pulling up in the carriages to gossiping about who is becoming engaged to who, life would be so much easier, relaxed, and entertaining.
Jane Austen
The small towns and countryside. I would hate the clothes and probably not enjoy the food.
the family meals together
the family meals together
The mead.
The mead.
Leisure, letters, literature...
If I could magically go back to Austen's England and become a lady of independent means, my favorite thing would be having the time to pursue scholarly interests, just for the sake of knowledge. I would read and read and read, and I'd write lots of letters and hopefully receive a fair amount in return. And I would treasure them all!
My favorite thing
I would have loved to be a part of the dances Jane would go to at The Dolphin when she visited her brother. That would have been so much fun!
Had we but world enough and time...
Jane Austen's England as in the one in her novels? If that's the case, then my favorite thing would be the absolutely delicious treasure of time with money enough to spend that time well. Austen's women spend their days helping the poor in the morning, and returning for tea in the afternoon. "The distress of the poor were as sure of relief from her personal attention and kindness, her counsel and her patience, as from her purse." Their fathers allow them to indulge in fully stocked libraries without pressing them to learn algebra. "Such of us as wished to learn never wanted the means. We were always encouraged to read, and had all the masters that were necessary." The women are able to horseback ride and wander through the countryside until men note "the brilliancy which exercise had given to [their] complexion." If they feel like taking up painting or piano playing or fashion design, they do--so long as its out of the earshot of Lady de Bourgh. And then there is always plenty of time left over to flirt with the new boy in town, the old family friend or the handsome cousin. Doesn't sound too terrible a way to live to me!
The slower pace. Some days I
The slower pace. Some days I think that would be absolutely fantastic.
Great question!
My favorite thing would probably be getting dressed up for dancing at a ball! Seems like such fun.
If I were in the same class
If I were in the same class as the ladies of Jane Austen novels, I'd love to have servants who would help me get dressed and coifed every day, tidy up after me and cook for me!
The Balls!
The Balls!
Awesome contest!
My favourite thing would be seeing and visiting historic castles!
FAVORITE
Lovely giveaway. I have always been captivated with the lifestyle and the beauty of the areas. I would love to live in the countryside and appreciate the serenity of the surroundings.
favorite!
I know it's already been posted, but by far, the formal, proper, written communication. The letters are gorgeously written and lovely to read. I would miss Twitter and 140 characters, but I think to get the lost art of letter writing back would be fabulous.
I think that my favorite
I think that my favorite thing would probably be the courtesy - the way that people treat each other, the respect that is shown. That and the dances. :)
Favorite Jane Austen
Dressing up for the balls would be my favorite - does that count as one or two items?
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