Ecurb
10-31-2013, 12:23 PM
Pride and Prejudice by Leo Tolstoy
FitzWilliam Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet dislike each other as soon as they meet. Soon, however, the proud, rich Mr. Darcy (who is being initiated as a Free Mason), finds himself attracted to the lively Elizabeth, which he figures out when he sees an ancient oak tree in full blossom. No sooner does Mr. Darcy declare his love, however, than he is swept up in the epic events of the Napoleonic Wars. Attache to the Duke of Wellington, Darcy learns that history is like the movement of a locomotive (or is it the falling leaves of an oak tree?), and that every private in the British Army had more to do with winning the battle of Waterloo than Wellington did. Darcy narrowly escapes death when he ducks under a comet which augurs the coming of the Industrial Revolution.
Look for the famous death scene of Darcy’s enemy George Wickham, in which the proud Darcy actually begs Wickham’s forgiveness for foiling his elopement with Georgianna before his former rival dies.
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Northanger Abbey by JRR Tolkien
Catherine Morlanthian is the last of an ancient race, descended on her father’s side from Turin Turambor himself, and on her mother’s side from Beren and Luthien. The blood of the elder and younger children of Illuvatar is mixed with that of the ancient race of the Maiar, for Luthien’s mother was Melian herself. Catherine’s quest: to free Henry Tilenic from the clutches of the evil General Tilenic, who, unfortunately for all concerned, happens to be a balrog.
Catherine seeks the aid of the famed seamstress Allensana, who weaves for her the cloak of mystery, with the help of the Ring of Amethyst which she stole from Cirdain. Protected by this magic cloak, Catherine must journey into the dungeons of Northangria itself to free Henry from imprisonment, torture, and death, which are the normal Northangrian punishments for being late to dinner.
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Mansfield Park by Georgette Heyer
When Fanny Price is sent to live with her cousins, the elegant, rich, Bertrams (who all take three hours to tie their cravats and have weird names for the knots like “waterfall” or “cascade”), little does she know that she will be pursued by the younger brother Edmund who is destined (yecchh, blecch!) to be a clergyman. When the elegant (seeming) fop Henry Crawford visits his sister in the neighborhood, Fanny is introduced into his company. At first, she despises him, because she thinks him immoral (despite the fact that he has a tippity team of Greys, matched to a quiz, and can handle his bunches of fives like a professional, having trained with Jackson, and, at one point, plants a whisty facer on Edmund, popping his cork).
Fanny’s Uncle (a slave trader in the Indies) tries to force Fanny to marry Edmund, but everything comes out all right in the end, thanks mainly to a lovely muslin gown., and the perfect white bonnet.
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Sense and Sensibility by RL Stevenson
When Robert Dashwood inherits his father’s estate, he and his conniving wife collude to leave his step-mother and half-sisters penny-less. Fortunately, Marianne, the younger of the two sisters meets with a charming fellow named Willoughby, who just so happens to be a blind, one-legged pirate, with a hook instead of a left hand. Willoughby tries to convince Marianne to sail to a distant island with him in search of the buried treasure promised by an ancient map. In the meantime, Colonel Brandon is trying to win Marianne’s support for the Good Side in the ’47, because he’s a 7th cousin of Bonnie Prince Charlie, and owes Clooney lots of money he lost at the cartes. He woos Marianne by saying things like, “bairn” and “wee” and “bonnie” in a cute accent, and he longs to fight with the Bonnie Prince, but they won’t let him because he’s too old and decrepit.
Marianne’s sister Elinor (who represents “sense” in the novel) tries to persuade sis that perhaps she should marry NEITHER a blind pirate with a map that he can’t read, nor an ancient, arthritic rebel. Marianne is basing her decision on whether being hanged or drawn and quartered is more romantic. Elinor’s own fiance is Edward Ferrars, who, normally, is the most boring man alive, but who sometimes changes into his evil twin Robert, and steals other people’s fiances, something Edward would never do, because no girl could possibly like him.
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Emma by Charles Dickens
Emma Woodhouse has brains and beauty, BUT she’s addicted to laudunum. How can she support her habit? The only way is to supply military secrets to Napoleon in exchange for drugs. The go-between is beautiful but naïve Harriet Smith, a dupe to Emma and her secret partner, the supposed preacher Mr. Elton. Believing she is carrying love letters to Frank Churchill (who is really a French spy), Harriet supplies Emma’s poppy derivatives – and doesn’t know how much danger she’s in until it’s too late. By that time, Emma has descended into a world of drug-induced delusion, and madness, so perfectly captured in the justly famous “Box-Hill” scene.
Only one man can save Harriet. The dark, mysterious figure of Knightly. But first he must find out what’s in the piano some “anonymous” person has sent to Jane Fairfax. The book descends into a mad, delusional race against time, as Knightly, Emma, Frank Churchill and “Mrs. Elton” all try to discover the “secret of the piano”. Only one person knows the truth – the shadowy Mrs. Bates, who turns out to be the Queen Mother in disguise.
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Persuasion directed by John Ford
John Wayne – Capt. Wentworth
Victor MacLaughlin – Captain Harville
Barry Fitzgerald – Captain Benwick
Maureen O’Hara – Anne Eliot
Monument Valley provides a dramatic backdrop for this story of love, obsession, and military professionalism. Anne Eliot and her former fiance Captain Wentworth are thrown together when Anne’s stage coach is rescued from Apache attack by Captain Wentworth’s cavalry unit. Anne rejected Wentworth’s proposals 8 years previously, but, like every other woman who ever saw John Wayne, has “never met his equal.” Anne is travelling to California with her father and older sister to “retrench” after squandering all of their money, when circumstances throw them together once again. Wentworth has never forgiven Anne, and remains bitter before Anne softens him up by picking off a few hostile Apaches with her Winchester. Look for the touching scene where, despite his bitterness, Wentworth condescends to remove a hostile Apache warrior who is clinging to Anne’s back and attempting to tomahawk her.
FitzWilliam Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet dislike each other as soon as they meet. Soon, however, the proud, rich Mr. Darcy (who is being initiated as a Free Mason), finds himself attracted to the lively Elizabeth, which he figures out when he sees an ancient oak tree in full blossom. No sooner does Mr. Darcy declare his love, however, than he is swept up in the epic events of the Napoleonic Wars. Attache to the Duke of Wellington, Darcy learns that history is like the movement of a locomotive (or is it the falling leaves of an oak tree?), and that every private in the British Army had more to do with winning the battle of Waterloo than Wellington did. Darcy narrowly escapes death when he ducks under a comet which augurs the coming of the Industrial Revolution.
Look for the famous death scene of Darcy’s enemy George Wickham, in which the proud Darcy actually begs Wickham’s forgiveness for foiling his elopement with Georgianna before his former rival dies.
---------------------
Northanger Abbey by JRR Tolkien
Catherine Morlanthian is the last of an ancient race, descended on her father’s side from Turin Turambor himself, and on her mother’s side from Beren and Luthien. The blood of the elder and younger children of Illuvatar is mixed with that of the ancient race of the Maiar, for Luthien’s mother was Melian herself. Catherine’s quest: to free Henry Tilenic from the clutches of the evil General Tilenic, who, unfortunately for all concerned, happens to be a balrog.
Catherine seeks the aid of the famed seamstress Allensana, who weaves for her the cloak of mystery, with the help of the Ring of Amethyst which she stole from Cirdain. Protected by this magic cloak, Catherine must journey into the dungeons of Northangria itself to free Henry from imprisonment, torture, and death, which are the normal Northangrian punishments for being late to dinner.
--------------------------------------------
Mansfield Park by Georgette Heyer
When Fanny Price is sent to live with her cousins, the elegant, rich, Bertrams (who all take three hours to tie their cravats and have weird names for the knots like “waterfall” or “cascade”), little does she know that she will be pursued by the younger brother Edmund who is destined (yecchh, blecch!) to be a clergyman. When the elegant (seeming) fop Henry Crawford visits his sister in the neighborhood, Fanny is introduced into his company. At first, she despises him, because she thinks him immoral (despite the fact that he has a tippity team of Greys, matched to a quiz, and can handle his bunches of fives like a professional, having trained with Jackson, and, at one point, plants a whisty facer on Edmund, popping his cork).
Fanny’s Uncle (a slave trader in the Indies) tries to force Fanny to marry Edmund, but everything comes out all right in the end, thanks mainly to a lovely muslin gown., and the perfect white bonnet.
--------------------------------------------------------
Sense and Sensibility by RL Stevenson
When Robert Dashwood inherits his father’s estate, he and his conniving wife collude to leave his step-mother and half-sisters penny-less. Fortunately, Marianne, the younger of the two sisters meets with a charming fellow named Willoughby, who just so happens to be a blind, one-legged pirate, with a hook instead of a left hand. Willoughby tries to convince Marianne to sail to a distant island with him in search of the buried treasure promised by an ancient map. In the meantime, Colonel Brandon is trying to win Marianne’s support for the Good Side in the ’47, because he’s a 7th cousin of Bonnie Prince Charlie, and owes Clooney lots of money he lost at the cartes. He woos Marianne by saying things like, “bairn” and “wee” and “bonnie” in a cute accent, and he longs to fight with the Bonnie Prince, but they won’t let him because he’s too old and decrepit.
Marianne’s sister Elinor (who represents “sense” in the novel) tries to persuade sis that perhaps she should marry NEITHER a blind pirate with a map that he can’t read, nor an ancient, arthritic rebel. Marianne is basing her decision on whether being hanged or drawn and quartered is more romantic. Elinor’s own fiance is Edward Ferrars, who, normally, is the most boring man alive, but who sometimes changes into his evil twin Robert, and steals other people’s fiances, something Edward would never do, because no girl could possibly like him.
-------------------------------------------------
Emma by Charles Dickens
Emma Woodhouse has brains and beauty, BUT she’s addicted to laudunum. How can she support her habit? The only way is to supply military secrets to Napoleon in exchange for drugs. The go-between is beautiful but naïve Harriet Smith, a dupe to Emma and her secret partner, the supposed preacher Mr. Elton. Believing she is carrying love letters to Frank Churchill (who is really a French spy), Harriet supplies Emma’s poppy derivatives – and doesn’t know how much danger she’s in until it’s too late. By that time, Emma has descended into a world of drug-induced delusion, and madness, so perfectly captured in the justly famous “Box-Hill” scene.
Only one man can save Harriet. The dark, mysterious figure of Knightly. But first he must find out what’s in the piano some “anonymous” person has sent to Jane Fairfax. The book descends into a mad, delusional race against time, as Knightly, Emma, Frank Churchill and “Mrs. Elton” all try to discover the “secret of the piano”. Only one person knows the truth – the shadowy Mrs. Bates, who turns out to be the Queen Mother in disguise.
--------------------------------
Persuasion directed by John Ford
John Wayne – Capt. Wentworth
Victor MacLaughlin – Captain Harville
Barry Fitzgerald – Captain Benwick
Maureen O’Hara – Anne Eliot
Monument Valley provides a dramatic backdrop for this story of love, obsession, and military professionalism. Anne Eliot and her former fiance Captain Wentworth are thrown together when Anne’s stage coach is rescued from Apache attack by Captain Wentworth’s cavalry unit. Anne rejected Wentworth’s proposals 8 years previously, but, like every other woman who ever saw John Wayne, has “never met his equal.” Anne is travelling to California with her father and older sister to “retrench” after squandering all of their money, when circumstances throw them together once again. Wentworth has never forgiven Anne, and remains bitter before Anne softens him up by picking off a few hostile Apaches with her Winchester. Look for the touching scene where, despite his bitterness, Wentworth condescends to remove a hostile Apache warrior who is clinging to Anne’s back and attempting to tomahawk her.