Starlight and Saucepans

A Half-Hearted Defense of Henry and Mary Crawford

Shall I shock you all and confess that there was a point in my first perusal of Mansfield Park in which I was really hoping Fanny would end up with Henry Crawford? While Jane Austen has plenty of interesting villains,…

By Lizzie Hexam February 21, 2024Bookishness12 Comments

Bookishness Period Dramas

We Love Sibling Stories Week Tag

Today marks the beginning of We Love Sibling Stories Week over at Hamlette's Soliloquy...I may or may not be still writing my post for that, and it may or may not be turning out much longer than anticipated. But all…

By Lizzie Hexam February 19, 2024Bookishness, Period Dramas6 Comments

St. Mary Magdalen at the foot of the cross

Spiritual Life

Ash Wednesday

Today is Ash Wednesday. "Remember, man, that thou art dust, and to dust thou shalt return." We hear some variation on these words today as the priest or deacon marks our foreheads with ashes in the shape of a cross…

By Lizzie Hexam February 14, 2024Spiritual Life2 Comments

Bookishness

Reading David Copperfield: Chapters 11-20 (or In Which I Am Amused by Uriah Heep’s Grossness & Disgusted by Steerforth’s)

Well, I have returned with part 2 of my reading David Copperfield: chapters 11-20. It has not ceased to engross, you will be happy to know. And these ten chapters were on average a lot cheerier than the first ten,…

By Lizzie Hexam February 7, 2024BookishnessNo Comments

Period Dramas

Emma (1996) Review

(When I say "Emma 1996," I am referring, as you can see from the picture up above, to the Gwyneth Paltrow Emma. I suppose the People Who Make Movies were not feeling very moderate that year, since there are two…

By Lizzie Hexam February 2, 2024Period Dramas6 Comments

Bookishness

Reading David Copperfield: Chapters 1-10 (or In Which I Develop a Hearty Dislike for 80% of the Characters)

I fell ill this week. The result is that I have been shirking the Hard things I was supposed to be doing, and foregoing them for Easier things. One of those Easier things has been charging ahead in my current…

By Lizzie Hexam January 26, 2024Bookishness8 Comments

Oldies Music Vintage-ness

Vintage Fashion with Judith Durham

What's one thing I love above all else? ...not vintage fashion, actually, if we want to get technical. But I am quite fond of vintage fashion. I'm also quite fond of Judith Durham, lead singer of the Australian '60s band…

By Lizzie Hexam January 19, 2024Oldies Music, Vintage-ness7 Comments

Miscellaneous Oldies Music

The 30 Song Tag

The lovely Maidens of Green Gables have tagged me for The 30 Song Tag! (Thanks awfully, Maidens!) Like most people, I do listen to songs from time to time. Therefore, I thought I was sufficiently qualified to give the 30…

By Lizzie Hexam January 12, 2024Miscellaneous, Oldies Music10 Comments

Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, The Prince of Egypt, Jane Eyre, Pickpocket, Babette's Feast, Great Expectations, The Kid Brother, Arthur Christmas movie posters

Period Dramas Vintage-ness

2023 Year in Review: Filmish Edition

Last week I put up the bookish edition of my 2023 year in review. That was so long that I thought it made more sense to talk about my films of 2023 in a separate post. So, here is that…

By Lizzie Hexam January 5, 2024Period Dramas, Vintage-ness8 Comments

"Happy New Year" over screencap from Jeeves and Wooster

Bookishness Miscellaneous Period Dramas

Happy New Year with Jeeves and Wooster

Happy New Year to one and all! To help usher in the New Year, I thought it would be fitting to share a project that I've spent what some would call far too much time on. I like to make…

By Lizzie Hexam January 1, 2024Bookishness, Miscellaneous, Period Dramas6 Comments