Today I’m delighted to be taking part in Austen’s Birthday Soiree, a multi-blog extravaganza organized by Maria Grazia of My Jane Austen Book Club and Katherine Cox of November’s Autumn. The best part is that you can get presents, even though it isn’t your birthday, because each blog is also hosting a giveaway. I’ll be giving away a copy of Mr. Darcy’s Undoing to a lucky commenter.
Meantime, each blogger gets to give a virtual birthday present to Jane Austen herself. My choice was obvious because I’d just done far more research than was necessary (as is usually the case for me) to be able to describe a very specific gift Darcy was to give Elizabeth in Mr. Darcy’s Letter. I can see some readers scratching their heads trying to remember a present from Darcy in Mr. Darcy’s Letter – you might as well give up, since it ended up being cut from the final draft, despite the three days of research I’d put into it. It was a lap desk, a wooden box that opens to reveal a fabric or leather sloping surface for writing on, with compartments for bottles of ink and a shallow groove to store pens. Underneath the writing slope was a storage area for papers – just right for love letters. Many also had secret compartments for valuables. In Mr. Darcy’s Letter, the gift was of significance because Darcy had received two letters from Elizabeth (the second was cut from the final version) and wanted her to write more, but knew she had difficulty finding privacy at Longbourn to write a secret missive. The gift of a lap desk was a tongue-in-cheek reference to their past secret correspondence, but also practical and decorative – and it could be locked to keep private letters away from snooping sisters.
What better birthday gift could I give Jane Austen than tools to make her writing easier? This one is made of birdseye maple with mother-of-pearl insets. The interior, like that of many lap desks of the period, is a lovely rosewood, and it comes complete with a key. Jane can take it anywhere to write – under a tree as well as in her sitting room. Maybe she’ll write even more now!
interior writing slope
If you’re interested, you can see more views of this lap desk here. It’s even for sale, and if I ever win the lottery, it’s on the top of my to-buy list.
I’m also celebrating my newest release, Mr. Darcy’s Letter, with a giveaway of a signed copy at Austen Authors, and I’ve posted my short story “Intermezzo” as a free bonus for my readers. Don’t forget to comment here (including email address) by December 23 if you’d like to win the signed copy of Mr. Darcy’s Undoing!
Katherine Cox ~ November’s Autumn
$10 Barnes & Noble gift card
Maria Grazia ~ My Jane Austen Book Club
a selection of Austenesque novels
Austen Authors
Georgette Heyer’s Regency World
Sharon Lathan ~ Sharon’s blog
Miss Darcy Falls in Love
C. Allyn Pierson ~ Semi True Stories
Mr. Darcy’s Little Sister
Cindy Jones ~ First Draft
My Jane Austen Summer & package of Lily Berry’s Pink Rose Tea by Bingley Teas
Marilyn Brant ~ Brant Flakes
According to Jane canvas tote bag & A Summer in Europe luggage tags
Karen Doorbebos ~ Fiction vs. Reality Smackdown
Definitely Not Mr. Darcy (2 copies), 2 Jane Austen candles, & drink coasters and tea
Regina Jeffers ~ Regina’s Blog
Christmas at Pemberley
Alyssa Goodnight ~ Alyssa’s Blog
Jane Austen Action Figure
Vera Nazarian ~ Urban Girl Takes Vermont
Vera’s Perpetual Calendar of Inspiration in hardcover
Jane Odiwe ~ Jane Austen Sequels
Mr. Darcy’s Secret & a mug with a Jane Odiwe illustration
Susan Kaye, Laura Hile, Pamela Aidan, & Barbara Cornthwaite ~ Jane Started It!
Young Master Darcy: A Lesson in Honor by Pamela Aidan
set of Frederick Wentworth, Captain by Susan Kaye
Mercy’s Embrace: So Rough a Course (2 copies) by Laura Hile
set of George Knightley, Gentleman by Barbara Cornthwaite
Juliet Archer ~ Choc Lit Authors’ Corner
Persuade Me & The Importance of Being Emma
Jane Greensmith ~ Reading, Writing, Working, Playing
Intimations of Austen and Sense & Sensibility Marvel graphic novel
Emily Snyder ~ O! Beauty Unattempted
Letters of Love & Deception
Farida Mestek ~ Regency Sketches
I Was Jane Austen’s Best Friend by Cora Harrison
vvb32 Reads
Jane Austen’s Little Instruction Book (Charming Petites)
Jane Austen in Vermont
JASNA 2012 calendar from Wisconsin JASNA Region
Becky Rhodehouse ~ One Literature Nut
selection of Austenesque reads
Jennifer Becton ~ Historical Fiction & Thrillers
Personages of Pride and Prejudice Collection eBook
Courtney Webb ~ Stiletto Storytime
Noble Satyr by Lucinda Brant
Adriana Zardini ~ Jane Austen Brazil
Sense & Sensibility 1995 DVD – English with Portuguese subtitles
Patrice Sarath ~ Patrice Sarath blog
The Unexpected Miss Bennet
Kaitlin Saunders ~ Kaitlin Saunders blog
A Modern Day Persuasion
Laurel Ann Nattress ~ Austenprose
Jane Austen Made Me Do It
Prue Batten ~ Mesmered’s Blog
Georgiana Darcy by Anne Elliot
Jenny Allworthy ~ The Jane Austen Film Club
Northanger Abbey 2007 DVD
Sitio Jane Austen ~ El Salon de Te de Jane
Spanish and English DVD package of Jane Austen adaptations
Erin Blakemore ~ The Heroine’s Bookshelf
Pride & Prejudice notecards
