21 dezembro 2004

A question of pride
The women of Britain have spoken. Pride and Prejudice is the novel that has most transformed the lives of the nation's better half, according to Woman's Hour. But how well do they know the author? Let's play Mistressmind. Answers at the bottom of the page ...

First, five general questions.

1. Which Jane Austen heroine plays baseball?

2. There is one mention of excrement in the six major novels. Where?

3. Does Mr Elton (he who proposes after too much of "Mr Weston's good wine") actually marry Emma?

4. Who says, "Why do I not see my little Fanny?"

5. There is gambling, seduction and booze in the novels. Is there a whiff of tobacco breathing over the pages?

On to the winning novel itself.

1. What was P&P originally called?

2. The Guardian, last Thursday, called P&P "Jane Austen's salty-tongued commentary on the plight of women in the 19th century". Is it?

3. There are two instances of paedophile abuse of children in P&P. Who are the victims and who the perv?

4. Vegas comes to Longbourn. Who plays blackjack in the novel?

5. How much did the chimney piece in Lady Catherine de Bourgh's drawing-room cost?

6. How good, or bad, are the heroine's teeth?

7. Which of the five Bennet girls may have TB?

8. When, as Elizabeth tells Jane, did she first begin to love Darcy?

9. Does Austen ever talk dirty?

10. Of the five Bennet girls, Austen chose Lizzie as her heroine. Which of the sisters would a post-feminist Austen select?


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