Happy 235th Birthday
On 16 December 1775 the future literary great, Jane Austen, entered the world. This year marks the 235th anniversary of her birth. My preference for literary escapes is the nineteenth century. When I was expecting my son, I was reading Richard Shannon's biography of the Victorian prime minister Gladstone. After Thomas was born, PBS's Masterpiece Theater showed productions of several Charles Dickens works in a row, including the beautiful Bleak House . Dickens fan or not (the horror!), you must watch this movie. It is a beautiful example of a modern take on a faithful period piece. Another beautiful modern example is the 2007 ITV1 production of Persuasion . It actually manages to capture the breathless and sometimes deliciously frustrated feelings you experience as a reader. Plus, Rupert Penry-Jones is a favorite actor of mine! I can never quite settle on my favorite characte...