Afternoon Tea with Jane Austen

I have said for years (and my husband and family can attest to this) that I was born in the wrong time period. For the record, I am not doubting the Lord and His sovreignty in putting me on this planet when he did; I just often dream of times gone by.  I just chalk it up to my extreme love of history. With that said, I basically would love to visit anytime between the years1500-1900 England. From the halls of King Henry VIII to the defeating of the Spanish Armada under Queen Elizabeth I to the creation of the King James version of the Bible through all the King Charles's and King George's to colonization and the Revolutionary War up into the reign of the magnificent Queen Victoria. Each of these time periods entices me for numerous reasons. Have no fear, I will not bore you with all of them in this blog =) For those that hate history and are still with me I am impressed! On to the topic at hand though.

This blog is mainly about my love affair with the amazing Jane Austen. To understand this love, you had to have my little historical intro. I remember the first time I attempted to tackle a Jane Austen book was when I was studying abroad in England during my junior year of college. I had promised myself that I would finally read Pride and Prejudice in the country it was written in (cheesy I know, but that is what we history nerds do!) As I read Pride and Prejudice for the first time, I was swept up in a time gone by. The time of true ladies and gentlemen when chivalry was at its best and true love was for only a fortunate few. A time when clothes were handmade and as breathtaking to look at as they were to wear (minus the corsets!) A time when the Miss Elizabeth Bennetts and Mr. Darcys were the happy endings every english maiden longed for; including Jane Austen herself. As I sat in the park overlooking Kennsington Palace in London and finishing this incedible work of fiction, I began my love affair with all things Jane and all things England. Since that time I have read as much Jane Austen as I can and seen as many versions of the movies and miniseries that exist (the absolute best is the BBC version of Pride and Prejudice with Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth!) Then there are my tea sets, love of scones and black currant tea and the general need to ponder a return trip to England in the near future. Often times we are asked if we could sit down and have lunch with someone past or present who would we choose. Well, I have a fairly long list of people I would choose from (Ronald Reagan, Queen Elizabeth I, Queen Esther of the Bible, The Apostle Paul, Joan of Arc, Jonathan Edwards and the list goes on...) but I always leave room for afternoon tea with Jane Austen. I think we could be quite good friends =)

So, there is a small window into my love of all things Austen. This blog really only scratched the surface but I am impressed if you have stuck with me this long! If I wrote in great detail this would have to be a several part blog. As a final note to this entry, I wanted to share about one of my most favorite things on this planet. I know I can't take it with me to heaven, but I can enjoy it while I am on this earth =) My amazing husband is an incredible gift giver. He is a great listener and when I say there is something I like or wish to have, he files it away and odds are good I will receive it as a gift at some point. During our 2 years of dating/engagement, I mentioned on several occasions that I would love to have an original edition of Pride and Prejudice some day. Little did I know, my soon to be husband went searching for just such an item. The oldest copy he was able to find (that wasn't on display somewhere or cost an arm and a leg) was an 1895 Peacock Edition. The cover is gorgeous with a golden peacock etched on it and the pages are gold tipped. The best part, is it has that old book smell too =)  Mike gave this to me as a wedding gift and further proved why he was such a keeper (there are many other reasons too!)  I think more than anything, Jane Austen meant all the more to me in that moment because I realized I had finally found the Mr. Darcy I had always hoped for. Yes,that may sound cheesy, but to be honest that is the kind of sentimentality Jane would be proud of! Until next time...