#colonel Fairfax

[greencheekconure27]

Ok new Yeomen theory/au idea:

What if Fairfax is an imposter?

Hence the discrepancy between his off-stage heroism and his behaviour in Yeomen

Clarence Poltwhistle realizes the person who came back from the wars Isn't his cousin, tries to tell people, but is dismissed as crazy. So he tries to get rid of him by accusing him of sorcery, which may or may not be true.

Even without sorcery Sgt . Meryll presumably hasn't seen Fairfax for some time.Same for the Lieutenant. Phoebe either never met him before he got arrested or only met him as a child before he went off to war. Leonard doesn't actually ever meet him in person during the events of the play, so he doesn't realize anything's wrong until act ii finale at the earliest. At which point FauxFairfax leaves with Elsie + there's a big crowd so he doesn't get the chance.

Poltwhistle finds out the plan failed, shows up to try to stop the imposter, and he, Leonard, Phoebe and a very reluctant Jack Point launch an investigation.

Meanwhile Faux!Fairfax's past starts catching up on him & Elsie is starting to realize the man she married isn't who she thought he was (twice over).

[ms-march]

Luck Be a Lady: Chapter 35

Woooo!!! This is the best chapter of LBL that has ever been published. I’ve been sitting on this chapter for about two years now, and I cannot WAIT for you guys to read it! And please excuse the dramatic shift in writing style from the last chapter. One day, I will edit previous chapters because I will have the time to do that... As always, if you enjoy it, like, comment, and/or reblog, PLEASE!!!!

“What if I want to make the next miserable decision myself?” Adrienne said bitterly before turning to head indoors, “at the very least, he is a gentleman’s son.” With the last of her words, the blonde slipped back through the door in the same manner she had come, leaving him alone, out in the cold for it to nip at his nose and heels and very bones, but none of that seemed to matter to him. “I am a gentleman’s son.”

Thank you to @tallmadgeandtea for reminding me that this line exists at least once again. He truly is the only man ever.

[kajaono]

Buying your destituted love a piona is Austen love language

[basingstokemercury]

COLONELFAIRFAXANDNOOTHERCOLONELFAIRFAXANDNOOTHERCOLONELFAIRFAXANDNOOTHERWASTHEMANTOWHOMHECLUNG!

[mellpenscorner]

A Ranking of Jane Austen Heroines, in Ascending Order of Culpability

Fanny (Mansfield Park): Has done nothing wrong ever in her life (but would never say this as she is far too humble).

Elinor (S&S): Must have scoliosis from carrying the whole weight of the Dashwood family at the ripe old age of 19. Should probably have asked for help by now, but who's she going to ask? Her mother? Unlikely.

Anne (Persuasion): Pros: is the only functioning member of her family. Cons: took some really bad advice when she was 17.

Elizabeth (P&P): So dead-set on hating Mr. Darcy that she falls hook-line-and-sinker for the lies Wickham tells her with no questions asked. Otherwise has good sense.

Marianne (S&S): Throws herself headlong into the Romantic Experience™️ and gets her heart broken by a playboy when Colonel Brandon is literally RIGHT THERE. 

Catherine (Northanger Abbey): Good-hearted, but easily led astray. So obsessed with Gothic novels that she kind of accuses Mr. Tilney's father of murdering his wife and burying her in the basement.

Emma (Emma): Tells Harriet to refuse the nice guy she likes, too prideful to see that Mr. Elton is pursuing her instead of Harriet, gossips about Jane Fairfax, feels like the rules don't apply to her, won't listen to Mr. Knightly. Is a menace.

[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 😉

[thatscarletflycatcher]

Inspired by @kajaono's post the other day about Victoria Hamilton, JLM and Austen adaptations, have a list of the actors that have been in at least 2 Austen adaptations:

Hat trickers:

Victoria Hamilton played Henrietta Musgrove in Persuasion (1995), Julia Bertram in Mansfield Park (1999), and Mrs. Foster in Pride and Prejudice (1995)

Johnny Lee Miller played one of Fanny's brothers in Mansfield Park (1983), Edmund Bertram in Mansfield Park (1999), and Mr. Knightley in Emma (2009).

Doubles:

Joanna David played Elinor Dashwood in Sense and Sensibility 1972; she also played Mrs. Gardiner in Pride and Prejudice (1995)

Samantha Bond played Maria Bertram in Mansfield Park (1983); she later on played Mrs. Weston in Emma (ITV, 1996)

Bernard Hepton played Sir Thomas Bertram in Mansfield Park (1983); he later on played Mr. Woodhouse in Emma (ITV, 1996)

Sylvestra Latouzel played Fanny Price in Mansfield Park (1983); she later on played Mrs. Allen in Northanger Abbey (2007)

Nicholas Farrell played Edmund Bertram in Mansfield Park (1983); he later on played Mr. Musgrove in Persuasion (2007)

Irene Richard played Charlotte Lucas in Pride and Prejudice (1980); she then played Elinor Dashwood in Sense and Sensibility (1981)

Robert Hardy played General Tilney in Northanger Abbey (1987); he later on played Sir John Middleton in Sense and Sensibility (1995)

Sophie Thompson played Mary Musgrove in Persuasion (1995), and then the following year she played Miss Bates in Emma (Miramax, 1996)

Kate Beckinsale played Emma Woodhouse in Emma (1996); later on she played Lady Susan in Love and Friendship (2016)

Blake Ritson played Edmund Bertram in Mansfield Park (2007) and later on Mr. Elton in Emma (2009)

Jemma Redgrave played Lady Bertram in Mansfield Park (2007); she later on played Mrs. DeCourcy in Love and Friendship (2016)

Lucy Robinson played Mrs. Hurst in Pride and Prejudice (1995); the following year she played Mrs. Elton in Emma (ITV, 1996)

Carey Mulligan played Kitty Bennet in Pride & Prejudice (2005) and then Isabella Thorpe in Northanger Abbey (2007)

Lucy Briers played Mary Bennet in Pride and Prejudice (2005); she also played a minor role as Mrs. Reynolds in Emma (2020)

If we include Austen-adjacent pieces:

Hat tricks:

Hugh Bonneville played Mr. Rushworth in Mansfield Park (1999) and later on played Rev. Brook Bridges in Miss Austen Regrets (2007) and then Mr. Bennet in Lost in Austen (2008)

Doubles:

Olivia Williams played Jane Fairfax in Emma (ITV, 1996); she later on played Jane Austen in Miss Austen Regrets (2007)

Also, Greta Scacchi played Mrs. Weston in Emma (Miramax, 1996) and went on to play Cassandra Austen in Miss Austen Regrets (2007)

Guy Henry played John Knightley in Emma (ITV, 1996), and later on played Mr. Collins in Lost in Austen (2008)

Christina Cole played Caroline Bingley in Lost in Austen (2008) and then Mrs. Elton in Emma (2009)

Anna Maxwell Martin played Cassandra Austen in Becoming Jane (2009), and then went on to play Elizabeth Bennet in Death Comes to Pemberley (2014)

JJ Feild played Mr. Tilney in Northanger Abbey (2007) and later on played Mr. Nobley in Austenland (2014)

If we include radiodramas/radioplays:

Hat tricks:

Blake Ritson gets it as he played Colonel Brandon in the 2010 S&S radio drama

Doubles:

Amanda Root played Anne Elliot in Persuasion (1995); she also played Fanny Price in the 1997 radio drama for Mansfield Park

Felicity Jones also played Fanny in the 2003 radio drama for Mansfield Park, and later on played Catherine Morland in Northanger Abbey (2007)

Robert Glenister played Captain Harville in Persuasion (1995); he also played Edmund Bertram in the 1997 radio drama for Mansfield Park

Amanda Hale played Mary Musgrove in Persuasion (2007) and later on Elinor Dashwood in the 2010 radio drama for Sense and Sensibility.

David Bamber played Mr. Collins in Pride and Prejudice (1995); he later on played Mr. Elton in the 2000 radio drama for Emma

Robert Bathurst played Mr. Knightley in the same adaptation of Emma; later on he played Mr. Weston in Emma (2009)

Also in that adaptation, Tom Hollander played Frank Churchill; he later on played Mr. Collins in Pride & Prejudice (2005)

Juliet Stevenson played Anne Elliot in the 1986 radio drama for Persuasion; later on she played Mrs. Elton in Emma (Miramax, 1996)

And I'm very likely still forgetting someone.

[anghraine]

Entertaining myself with a very serious poll during The Sickness:

[lizziestudieshistory]

Books of 2024 - April

I'm late because I've been on holiday (I've been driving around Somerset for 2 weeks) but I did read a slightly bizarre collection of books in April.

La Grande Bretèche - Honoré de Balzac

I can't remember much about this... So that probably speaks for itself.

Emma - Jane Austen

My love, my obsession. I already want to reread Emma. This book is my happy place and I can't help myself. I also had some very interesting reflections on Jane Fairfax and Frank Churchill this time around... I really should start writing about Emma because I have so much to say and no one to talk about it with.

Various essays - Italo Calvino

I've been slowly reading through the essays that look interesting or that cover books I've read in Why Read the Classics. Some I've enjoyed, others I disagreed with - but that's the point of reading them. I've also had a great time reflecting on my own concept of classics and why I love them, however, I've not finished thinking this one through.

Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen

My bid to not immediately reread Emma. I was left disappointed. Still love Colonel Brandon! But everyone else annoyed me.

Macbeth - William Shakespeare

I'm back with Shakespeare and inexplicably chose to read Macbeth in April? Definitely the wrong time of year. However, Macbeth is always a fun time and it got me thinking about James I/VI's relationship with the theatre again. I was very surprised to not enjoy it as much as I did Othello back in November. Usually Macbeth is my favourite tragedy but apparently times are changing.

The Remains of the Day - Kazuro Ishiguro

The most poignant character study I've read in a long time. I cannot express how much it moved me as I was driving around Somerset listening to the audiobook (it was a very fitting trip to take this on and completely accidental!)

Grand Conspiracy - Janny Wurts

I'm having a great time and I don't know what else to say as I'm at risk of giving too many spoilers!

[greencheekconure27]

Some Yeomen of the Guard headcanons:

The Lieutenant was looking to hire a jester because everyone kept telling him he's got no sense of humour, and he decided he needs to improve that.(Ironically he's one of the few people who would've found Wilfred's jokes funny)

Phoebe is very adventurous: she grew up hearing all kinds of tales of derring-do from her father and the other veterans (who all doted on her). She has dreamed in participating in one since she was a child, and not as a damsel in distress either. Which is another reason she immediately seizes the opportunity to rescue Fairfax

She talks Leonard into teaching her some fencing afterwards, and immediately uses her new knowledge to put the fear of god into Wilfred.

Jack can't swim. Elsie had to rescue him from drowning more than once. (It doesn't help that Jack's at his wittiest when insulting people; he gets thrown into rivers a lot because of this)

Leonard really didn't like how Fairfax treated Elsie at the wedding. He almost came rescue her when she called for "Leonard, my own" out of sheer habit. Phoebe had to hold him back.

Elsie is more in love with the idea of Fairfax than with the man himself. Coincidentally, said idea closely resembles the real Leonard.

Phoebe has a somewhat dark sense of humour, possibly as a result of all the executions she saw growing up.

Money notwithstanding, Jack Point wasn't happy about the whole "marrying off Elsie " deal at all. But old Bridget Maynard was really sick, and he was well aware they weren't making nearly enough to help her in time. So he put on a brave front for Elsie's sake and encouraged her to take up on the opportunity, accidentally alienating her in the process.

He's pretty much useless in a fight, but usually makes up for it by being extremely good at running away and dodging hits.

Fairfax and his cousin look very alike and have similar personalities, a fact that has contributed a lot to their rivalry.

Poltwhistle and Fairfax have been trying to kill each other for years, to the point that both of them see it almost as a sport.There may have been other, less lucky murder-y cousins in the past as well.

Jack stole the Hugh Ambrose book from the archbishop's library, originally in an attempt to find out what his employer finds funny, but after he got whipped and thrown out he decided not to return it. The jokes are all terrible. He used to entertain Elsie by reading them aloud and commenting on them.

Even the yeomen find Dame Carruthers' enthusiasm for all things Tower (especially the bloody parts) deeply unnerving. Wilfred and Kate are about the only people who don't try to quietly escape when she starts monologuing.

Kate thinks her aunt is very cool, actually.

[ms-march]

Chapter 34- Luck be a Lady (TURN AMC)

Remember how I used to post a chapter update weekly? Yeah. Happy chapter 34 after almost a year! It was already kinda written, so. Unfortunately, it doesn't show where I am with my writing abilities now; bear with me. The upcoming chapters are kinda a lot of the drabbles already written, so at least it should be faster (if I am peer pressured)! If you like it, please like, comment, and/or reblog!

It should have been her first kiss, Thaddeus knew that, but he also knew it was far from it.  She had been kissed well beyond a short peck on the lips, he would know.  Thaddeus also knew that a kiss from her was intoxicating.  It haunted you in your sleep. You woke up with the feeling of her soft lips on yours for months after they touched.  Thaddeus would know.  He had kissed her in his dreams—hell, he had done more than just kiss her in his dreams—and he knew the soft and sweet feeling of her lips was inescapable. He could not say that now. Had she wanted to kiss John?  Invited him to the most perfect pair of lips he’d ever seen with a smile?  Or had John stolen the kiss?  Grabbing her by her silks and pressing her lips to his?   If kissing her once upon the lips was enough to make John no better than a common scoundrel, what did that make Thaddeus who knew what the soft creamy skin of her bosom felt like on his lips?  He should not think of such things at the moment lest his body ache and give him away to the man before him. 

Shout out @tallmadgeandtea, for distracting me so heavily in thee ye ol' group chat that I didn't realize my fic hadn't been updated for about a year love you, bestie like fr

[basingstokemercury]

Dreamed that I made hazy posts about some dark/evil Sherlock Holmes AU months back and got an ask saying "that was really cool can you elaborate".

And it had been months so I didn't really remember what my thought process had been but I was trying to go back through those posts and figure it out.

This post courtesy of Dream Mercury:

So my first impulse is "kill Watson" but we need a narrator so that doesn't work.

Evil Watson would be interesting but a very radical departure from book characterisation, and I don't think Evil Holmes was what I had in mind.

My original concept, I think, was for the narrator to be evil. Holmes stories told from the perspective of some supervillain on the trail of his nemesis, who quite possibly knows he's in a story.

(oh hey, that leaves an opening for "kill Watson"! still don't think I should do it though.)

No, not Moriarty, some new antagonist. Someone less instantly recognisable as evil.

I remember his name, yes.

He was Colonel Fairfax.

[uchidachi]

Ok, so am rewatching Emma (2009) and pondering the backstory of Jane Fairfax. (I’m sure my annotated Emma could answer this more, but I’m going to be lazy and kick the question to Austen side of tumblr)

Who is responsible for Jane’s leaving the Campbells?

I’m under the impression that she is sent back to her Aunt’s to stop gossip that there is some inappropriate connection between her and Mr Dixon after he saved her life, but who decided that? And who is responsible for the gossip?

Was it Colonel Campbell or his wife or young miss Campbell who wanted her to leave? Only Miss Bates still thinks they are on good terms…

And was the gossip a natural consequence of people talking of a near-tragedy? Or did Frank Churchill encourage it to distract people from gossiping about the potential of him and Jane (the same way he encouraged Emma to distract from them)?

Only I’m wondering if that whole thing was Frank’s fault in the first place, and Jane would have kept on as Miss Campbell’s companion indefinitely if Frank hadn’t been there.

[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.