#Wentworth Woodhouse

[vox-anglosphere]

Wentworth Woodhouse: Britain's largest home has over 300 rooms

[timunville]

Great to see that this magnificent mansion , the largest private home in England, is again coming to life. Well done to all the volunteers especially.

Wentworth Woodhouse: East front.

[phantomstatistician]

Fandom: Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen

Sample Size: 3,122 stories

Source: AO3

[bethanydelleman]

Could you rank the Austen main couples from the least to the most likely to have sex before they are married?

Least to Most Likely:

Edmund Bertram & Fanny Price: It is all very proper. They probably have sex with their clothes on after the wedding.

Fitzwilliam Darcy & Elizabeth Bennet: She would have been down, he wasn't. He later congratulates himself on his excellent self control.

Edward Ferrars & Elinor Dashwood: There were definitely smooches, but after that roller coaster of a courtship, Elinor wants things legal and in writing. Also, just because something feels good doesn't make it right, MARIANNE.

Henry Tilney & Catherine Morland: he is a gentleman, but it was really the long distance relationship that prevented them from doing anything. Was there some racy content in those letters? I'd love to know...

George Knightley & Emma Woodhouse: Donwell is right there. You can walk right over...

Charles Bingley & Jane Bennet: "Bingley, who wanted to be alone with Jane" I see your intentions, sir. I see them!

Colonel Brandon & Marianne Dashwood: "I have feelings," said she, "let's indulge them." If something feels good, that makes it moral, right? Romanticism says yes, ELINOR.

Captain Frederick Wentworth & Anne Elliot: Do not care about anything except getting married as quickly as possible. Banns take far too long when you've been waiting 8 years and Napoleon just escaped from Elba. Let's get this DONE.

BONUS:

Lucy Steele & Robert/Edward Ferrars: No way in hell with either of them. She's too cunning to give up her best card before she has the man secure.

Frank Chuchill & Jane Fairfax: Not in a million years, no matter how many times Frank makes puppy eyes.

Robert Martin & Harriet Smith: Abbey Mill farm is like, right there. You can walk over. It has a hay barn...

Related: First Kiss for each Austen Heroine Couple

Also, marriage and birth records show that premarital sex was pretty common. Or else the Regency era had magically good premature baby care 😉

[artbymyth]

And here’s my favorite three Jane Austen couples before and after!

[petratherrock]

We're obsessed with only child, middle child, eldest child aesthetics so let's list them in terms of ✨The Ships ✨

1. Kaz Brekker and Inej Ghafa

Youngest child - only child

2. Anthony Lockwood and Lucy Carlyle

Youngest child - youngest child

3. Darlington - Galaxy Stern

Only child - only child

4. Annabeth Chase and Percy Jackson

Only child - only child-ish

(i mean it took him abt a decade before having a younger sibling so does that count? Not sure.)

5. Jude Duarte and Cardan Greenbriar

Middle child - youngest child

6. Suren "Wren" - Oak Greenbriar

Eldest child (ish?) / Only child - youngest child

Does it count when you've been separated for ages but you did kinda spend a few years with the unsister and you still care abt them a lot? Idk either

7. Henry Tilney - Catherine Morland

Middle child - middle child

8. Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy

Middle child - eldest child

9. Harriet Smith and Robert Martin

Only child - eldest child

10. George Knightley - Emma Woodhouse

Eldest child - youngest child

11. Anne Elliot - Capt Frederick Wentworth

Middle child - middle child

Okay that's it for the books ships.

Interesting when you look at their dynamics from the perspective of which child they are in the family, and it also makes sense how they act

Also interesting that Miss Austen said, justice to the middle childs let them have their own stories!! Love it xD

After listing down the Austen ships I can't wait to do one with my fave dramas and shows because my brain immediately went to Edith Crawley, my favourite middle child

But ah well for me, anyway, the science of which child you are is probably as reliable as the meyers-briggs test which I'm not sure is that reliable but still fun to discuss and think abt anyway!

Edit : as the youngest child, I do acknowledge and claim these sillies

[lily-s-world]

Finally watched Emma (2020), and I can't avoid feeling that this movie is everything Persuasion (2022) attempted but failed to be.

[quotes-and-recs]

My ranking of Jane Austen's 6 novels before and after reading them

Before:

Pride and Prejudice I've read this many times, so I know I love it. And I think it's the general favorite among Jane Austen's readers (that, or maybe Emma) so I expect it to remain my favorite.

Sense and Sensibility Maybe it's just the title & the two main characters being sisters, but this one feels a lot like Pride and Prejudice to me, so I think I'll like it a lot.

Persuasion I really like the premise of the novel, and honestly, that's all I've got to say about that one.

Emma I think this one is the second most popular, so I expect to like it, but also I don't generally like characters like Emma (or characters that I presume Emma to be like) so we'll see.

Mansfield Park I'm actually most of the way through this one (whoops) so this is probably where it'll be after I've read them all, but we'll see. I like it, but it's not quite as dramatic or romantic as I imagined it would be.

Northanger Abbey Kind of like with Emma, I just don't expect to like Catherine Morland. I'm already shuddering with second hand embarrassment for her. I expect my opinion will change once I've actually read the book, though.

After under the cut

After:

Pride and Prejudice I love all of the characters in this and I really love all of the settings, too. I feel the most transported when I read this one.

Persuasion This one felt the most gentle to me. The most anxiety I had was when Louisa had her accident. It was a smooth read and I really love Captain Wentworth and Anne. (I also love how the Musgroves love Anne more than Mary.)

Mansfield Park I liked Fanny more than I thought I would, I really liked Susan, and I enjoyed hating Mrs. Norris. When I finished this, I liked it, but I didn't really have any strong feelings about it. Now that I've let it marinate in my brain, though, I like it more and more every day

Northanger Abbey I adore Henry Tinley and Catherine. Henry is probably my favorite of Austen's heroes. I felt like I was in Bath with them. I really liked this as I was reading it, but almost immediately after I forgot what made me like it so much.

Emma I did not like Emma--not the story or the character. I can see why people like it and her (I didn't dislike her as much at the end), in the same way I can see why people like Sense and Sensibility. But it just wasn't my cup of tea.

Sense and Sensibility I was really surprised and kind of dismayed that I didn't like this one. I didn't have any strong feelings about the characters, settings, or events. It was incredibly boring to me.

[vox-anglosphere]

The essence of England: afternoon tea served on Royal Albert china

[florencewelchsgrapejuice]

queer classic lit relationships according to me and me alone

Romeo and Juliet- he/him lesbian and his soft femme gf

Mercutio and Benvolio- the other tragic love story in R&J 

Hamlet and Horatio- no explanation needed

Beatrice and Benedick- the B’s in their names stand for bi 

Viola/Cesario, Orsino, Olivia, Sebastian, and Antonio- Shakespeare invented the chaotic polycule 

Helena and Hermia- who the hell are Demetrius and Lysander i only know these two sapphics 

Oberon, Titania, and Puck- they’re a triad your honor 

Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy- he’s bi, she’s demi, they’re iconic 

Anne Elliot and Frederick Wentworth- only demisexuals could have the patience these two do 

Fanny Price and Mary Crawford- get fucking WRECKED Edmund no one even likes you

Emma Woodhouse, Harriet Smith, and Mr. Knightley- Emma has two hands etc etc

Jane Eyre and Mr. Rochester- little bi freaks 

Jo March and Friedrich Bhaer- two ace dark academia nerds managed to find each other wow love is real 

Anne Shirley and Diana Barry- *looks at photo of Gilbert* sorry to this man

[mea-gloria-fides]

Wentworth Woodhouse, Yorkshire WR.

[firawren]

Jane Austen crack poll #4

I'm enjoying doing these silly polls imagining the Jane Austen characters in our modern universe.

Now I want to know, who loves karaoke the most? Not necessarily who is the best at it, but who most enjoys doing it?

If you like, reblog and say what their go-to song is.

[bethanydelleman]

First Kiss for each Austen Heroine Couple

Fitzwilliam Darcy & Elizabeth Bennet: after they were married, when no one else was around. Mr. Darcy does not do PDA.

Charles Bingley & Jane Bennet: they were making out behind a bush while Lady Catherine was scolding Elizabeth. Charles was just hoping for a single kiss, he modestly hadn't expected Jane to be so excited about it.

Anne Elliot & Captain Frederick Wentworth: there was smooching at 19 and 23, you cannot convince me there was not. At 27 and 31, they really thought they would be more mature, but honestly if they hadn't been married as rapidly as possible there would have been serious canoodling.

Catherine Morland & Henry Tilney: Catherine ran after Henry when he was about to leave Fullerton and very dramatically kissed him before he mounted his horse. Then they had to wait about six months to do it again. It was torment.

Emma Woodhouse & George Knightley: They kissed in the garden around Hartfield after getting engaged. No one knows who initiated it, but on reflection it was probably Emma.

Elinor Dashwood & Edward Ferrars: Marianne was trying to leave them in corners and behind trees the whole time Edward was staying at the cottage, which they found very amusing and took advantage of fully. The first kiss was out of doors, after their engagement.

Marianne Dashwood & Colonel Brandon: You know that Colonel Brandon was attempting to be a perfect gentleman and Marianne was trying to to be anything but a modest lady.

Fanny Price & Edmund Bertram: Despite ample opportunity and the feelings of the lady, not until they were in the bedroom after the wedding.

Bonus! Jane Fairfax & Frank Churchill: There was pre-engagement making out and Jane felt so bad about it, but couldn't help herself.

Bonus! Bonus! I would bet my bonnet that Jane Bennet was born not quite nine respectable months after her parent's marriage.

[cogentranting]

I'm 75% of the way through Mansfield Park for the first time, and I want to grab Edmund and shake him.

(*I don't really know Northanger Abbey. I'll get to it sooner or later)

[tales-from-the-abbey]

"Best" is left up to interpretation

[thatscarletflycatcher]

Top 10 favourite portrayals in Austen adaptations?

Hi!

10. Peter Gale as John Dashwood in Sense and Sensibility 1981

John Dashwood is most often portrayed as a weak, stupid fool designed to get on everyone's nerves, which tends to shift all the blame that belongs to his character upon Fanny. It is not so with this version of the character. It is obvious that he is rather stupid, but he's also greedy, selfish and callous himself, and an all around superficial person you can laugh at and be infuriated by.

9. Joseph Mawle as captain Harville in Persuasion 2007

Another example of a minor character done well, specially meritorious in this case because this adaptation is a tv movie. It is usually a problem that Wentworth's friends come across as a bit of a blur, but in this case, between writing and acting, Harville comes across as intelligent, loyal, amiable, etc, an all around gentleman whose friendship does credit to Wentworth's character.

8. Guy Henry as John Knightley in Emma (ITV) 1996

And another one! There's several "minor character in movie adaptation" in this list, because it is really hard to make a minor character feel "alive" or nuanced when said character is given very little screen time. Guy Henry steals the scene every time he appears in this adaptation. His delivery of the famous Christmas speech is impeccable. He also comes across as a loving father and husband too.

7. Angela Pleasence as Lady Bertram in Mansfield Park 1983

Jemma Redgrave (Lady Bertram in Mansfield Park 2007) is, in my opinion, a mesmerizing actress, one of those beings that are both beautiful and have a very strong scenic presence. I love her version of Lady Bertram, but Angela Pleasence is something else in the role, and somehow specially because her vibe is the strong opposite of JR. Always sweet, delicate, and soft spoken in her roles, her Lady Bertram is hysterical; I don't think there's a scene where she gets a speaking line where I don't laugh, and laughter is so very welcome in a story that can be as heavy and as painful as Mansfield Park. She provides a characterization that fits Austen's (pliable, lazy, dim, perpetually distracted) without making her insufferable.

6. Kate Beckinsale as Emma Woodhouse in Emma (ITV) 1996

Kate Beckinsale has always had queen bee energy, but her youth in this movie softens it enough that we can see how Emma is ultimately a young woman who means well, and means to be just. I don't read Emma as having the finishing school affectations of a Caroline Bingley (something that in my opinion happens in 2020 and to some degree in the Miramax movie); she was raised at home by an indulgent governess and rarely if ever meets other ladies of her rank. But I also do see where people are coming from when they criticize 2009 Emma for being too modern and her way of carrying herself as one that would have been considered vulgar in the regency era, and I think this Emma strikes a happy compromise. Emma has good manners and a sense of rank, but she's also decidedly provincial.

5. Hayley Atwell as Mary Crawford in Mansfield Park 2007

Love, hate or be baffled by this adaptation of Mansfield Park, most people seem to agree that this casting choice was great, and there's reason to it. Atwell is a very talented actress, and despite the script not helping, she brings out both the best and the worst of Mary out, avoiding both the femme fatale and the pure victim we don't talk about the expose my ankle scene

4. Olivia Williams as Jane Fairfax in Emma (ITV) 1996

I feel like Jane Fairfax also suffers from a problem similar to Emma in adaptations. She's made to have these very suspicious vibes and heavy-looking aspect (against the trendy more Heroin Chic look of Palthrow) in the Miramax movie, she's a mousy creature in 2009, and a sort of severe schoolmistress in disguise in 2020 (I'm exaggerating for effect, but for a character that is traced with few, delicate strokes in the novel, she surely gets a lot of rather sharp depictions). Olivia Williams gives a Jane that is very accomplished, but also elegant, understated and reserved. She's someone we can look at with Emma and see as a glaring spotlight on our shortcomings rather than an interloping rival.

3. JJ Feild as Henry Tilney in Northanger Abbey 2007

I feel a bit silly, because rivers of electronic ink have been poured over this beloved interpretation of one of the favorite Austen heroes, so what can I say about this one that hasn't been said before? Most of the choices in this list are unusual, and while I picked them because I think they are spotlight worthy and truly are favorites at the moment, I won't deny there is an element of... isn't it boring to repeat to each other ad nauseam what has been said over and over and over again and almost everyone is already familiar with? So I'll let you all fill in the blanks here.

2. Robert Swann as Colonel Brandon in Sense and Sensibility 1981

This one is very high on the list because Sense and Sensibility is very dear to me, faultless despite all its faults, I obsess over it, and colonel Brandon is a very dear favorite of mine. So I am very picky about it all, and have grown dissatisfied with the 95 adaptation (I was never particularly keen on 2008) despite acknowledging its many merits as a movie and a period piece. One of the most interesting things about this novel to me, is the treatment of strength and power in its male characters -it's not a central theme, but it is certainly there. John Dashwood and John Willoughby are men who have power, and the power society and money give them, they use to vulnerate the women under their care or influence; and they are morally speaking, extremely weak men. By contrast, both Brandon and Edward are men rendered more or less "powerless" in the circumstances presented in the novel, in appearance "emasculated"; they are soft, unimposing, they don't demand attention or space, but underneath all that lays great moral strength, and it's said moral strength to do what is right and helpful that makes them dependable and even admirable.

That's why it is very important to me for Brandon to keep these traits -that softness, melancholy, humility, unobtrusiveness- besides his moments of high dramatic emotion that showcase his affinity to Marianne, and Robert Swann is the closest to this that we have ever gotten (I cannot call it perfect, but it is so very close), where other adaptations, to different degrees, try to "butch up" his character.

Elizabeth Garvie as Elizabeth Bennet in Pride and Prejudice 1980

We have had our good Lizzys and our bad Lizzys and it gets on my nerves every time someone says "[actor] is [character]!" even and maybe specially when I say so myself, but, boy, has it happened very few times in my life that I have seen a performance and been struck by its likeness to the experience of reading the source material, and this is one of those. She's witty and she's lively but she's also young and vulnerable at times. She makes mistakes, she rationalizes, she reflects and changes and grows. She is what Caroline Bingley would call small and brown and not a beauty, but we see with Darcy the charm of her expressive eyes. I'd say if there wasn't any other reason to watch Pride and Prejudice 1980, Elizabeth Garvie's Lizzy would be reason enough and some.

Some honorable mentions:

Felicity Jones as Catherine Morland in Northanger Abbey 2007 and Hattie Morahan as Elinor Dashwood in Sense and Sensibility 2008

I struggled a lot back and forth with the first. It is a really, really good portrayal of Cathy's ingenuity and honesty and JJ Feild's Henry wouldn't have been as good without her to play off of, but I also sincerely couldn't find a spot in between the others for her anywhere either at the top or the bottom of the list. So she remains in limbo without fault of her own, and I apologize to her for this failure.

Now, the second... there's this story Emma Thompson tells in her diary of the making of the 1995 Sense and Sensibility where she talks about sitting on at casting auditions for Elinor, and, unlike other roles, there being many candidates who gave great auditions, and her commenting "this is a country of Elinors". EDIT: it's been called to my attention in replies that it was Ang Lee calling Britain a country of Fannys, as it was Fanny's casting process. I do feel the dictum also applies to Elinors, on othe opposite end of the spectrum. That's probably the main thing keeping Hattie Morahan off the list. She's my favorite Elinor, but I don't think we ever had anything closely resembling a bad Elinor. 81 wasn't directed well, and Emma Thompson was indeed too old for the part, but characterization wise, they were good. Joanna David was really good in 71. And I felt on making this list that the "standing out significantly" was a key aspect. but she was, indeed, a really great Elinor.

Dan Jeanotte as Edward Ferrars in Sense and Sensibility 2024/Bosco Hogan as Edward Ferrars in Sense and Sensibility 1981

These interpretations of Edward are dear to me, and linked by being sort of opposites that complement book!Edward. Bosco Hogan is an unfiltered portrayal of Edward's diffidence, depression, and lack of personal charm even if his manners are polite. Jeanotte's captures an undercurrent of sass and glimpses of the character's deeper feelings and active negative emotions. Each on its own is incomplete, and yet show something essential to the character that is dissimulated or erased in 95 and 08; I wish I could mush them together somehow and have an Edward portrayal I could wholeheartedly love (From Prada to Nada's Edward gets relatively close, but then that is a rather loose adaptation).

Ask me my top5/top10 anything!