Greetings and Gestures in Austen’s Novels

Understanding the subtle nuances behind formal introductions and customary greetings during Jane Austen’s lifetime is a lot of fun, and it can provide a unique level of insight into her books. The reason: Austen uses breaches of etiquette and manners as commentaries on her characters. In her book Those Elegant Decorums, Jane Nardin says, “In Jane Austen’s novels, a person’s...

Heidi

“I’ll always say my prayers…and if God doesn’t answer them at once I shall know it’s because He’s planning something better for me.” -Heidi I thought it might be nice...

Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights

It’s an overcast day here…which totally puts me in the mood for novels like Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights because it just doesn’t get much better than misty moors and mysterious secrets...

Girl of the Limberlost

“To Wesley and to Margaret the bright young face of Elnora, with its pink tints, its heavy dark brows, its bright blue-gray eyes, and its frame of curling reddish-brown hair...

Old-Fashioned Girl

“Young men often laugh at the sensible girls whom they secretly respect, and affect to admire the silly ones whom they secretly despise, because earnestness, intelligence, and womanly dignity are...

The Secret Garden

“However many years she lived, Mary always felt that she should never forget that first morning when her garden began to grow.” -Frances Hodgson Burnett It was in The Secret...