Good news! We have an official release date for The Young Victoria in America! November 13. 7 days before New Moon November is going to be a good month.

I am moving into college today (University of Georgia—Go Dawgs!), so I might be absent for a little while!

Love,

Lady Ashley

Today is FI’s 1st birthday!!! Since it’s conception on August 4th, 2008, when getting 10 views a day was cause for celebration, FI has received 35,324 views and has won an “Excessively Diverting Blog Award!” Thanks to all the people who leave comments and visit regularly—you guys are awesome! I hope this blog’s second year will be as great and fun as the first.

In honor of this momentous occasion, I am giving away 2 scrumptious costume dramas: BBC’s 2009 Tess of the d’Urbervilles, starring Gemma Arterton, Hans Matheson, and Eddie Redmayne, and ITV’s 2008 Pride & Prejudice spoof Lost in Austen, starring Jemima Rooper and Elliot Cowan.

Actually, these DVDs have sat unwatched on my shelf since last Christmas. Why? Well, silly me, I asked for them for Christmas, and my parents ordered them from the UK, since they were not yet available over here. Did I stop to think that I would have to buy a multi-region DVD player in order to play my new DVDs? No. So, these are Region 2 DVDs, which means they will only play on Region 2 or multi-region (or region-free) players. I have the US versions now, and these DVDs (freed from their plastic wrappers—I was curious to see what the inside looked like—but otherwise untouched) are free to a new home. What better time to give them away than FI’s first birthday!

If you still want them, all you have to do is leave a comment by August 31 responding to the question below. I will then put everyone’s name in a hat, and draw one winner for both DVDs. I will cover shipping.

If you could star as any English costume drama character (past or present), who would it be?

My answer? Anne Elliot in Persuasion 2007 (played by the extraordinary Sally Hawkins). Anne is my favorite Brit Lit heroine, and who wouldn’t want to run around Bath in Regency garb? (Not to mention kiss that dashing Captain Wentworth? )

I’ve neglected blogging for like a week now. Shame on me. Since last Thursday I’ve been a busy little bee, and can you blame me for being unable to think about the 19th century when I have Twilighton the brain? This weekend saw a TwiTour Convention come to Atlanta, and you better believe I was there. Kellan Lutz, Ashley Greene, Peter Facinelli, Billy Burke, and Catherine Hardwicke were all there at one point or another, and I had an awesome time. . . spent WAY too much money, but I had an awesome time

This week I am off to take the waters in Hilton Head. A few days of beach reading under my little tent—avoiding the sun like a good Regency girl—will be much welcomed. I have Interview with a Vampire, The Historian, and The Confessions of Mr. Darcy in tow. We’ll see how far I get with that.

I’ll be back.

At promptly 2:00 pm tomorrow, my lovely mother and I will be departing for the delightful state of Washington! Why Washington you ask? Don’t teens normally go someplace sunny and beachy? Two words:

Twilight Trip!

Fun, fun, fun!

We will be flying into Seattle and driving through the beautiful Olympic Peninsula to Forks.

In short, I will be gone till Wednesday. It’s been rather rainy and sunless down here in Atlanta recently—I wonder if I can convince the Cullen’s to take a holiday? We shall see.

Just dying slowly.

The weekend is on the horizon!

I left Friday afternoon for a trip to New York City, enjoyed a lovely, buzzing weekend, and drove home all day yesterday. Right now, I am getting back in touch with the world, cleaning out my inbox, and catching up on school work. But tomorrow I will be back to my regular blogging.

Where I left my heart. . .

Yesterday Factual Imagining was awarded “The Excessively Diverting Blog Award,” and as a recipient I am supposed to nominated 7 other blogs. Honestly, I could not come up with 7 other candidates not already mentioned; I read on a daily basis the “Big 3″ as I call them, Jane Austen’s World, Jane Austen Today, and Austenprose, and I believe they are all maintained by the same team that created this award. “The Gossip Guides” and Austenblog are also regular reads, and they have already been nominated. As I follow few other blogs (save a number of sites on Twilight, and it would be a stretch to nominate them on the basis of a Jane Austen mention here and there  ), I have 3 nominees, but they are good ones!!

1) Bronteblog: As more of a Janite, I have not always been kind to this blog’s homegirls, Anne, Charlotte, and Emily; but the Bronte Sisters have grown on me considerably, and this blog is to the Bronte World what the Big 3 are to the Austen World. If any of the Sisters are mentioned from Azerbaijan to Zimbabwe, you will be sure to read about it here. Very well done!

2) Elegant Extracts: Witty, humorous, and entertaining, this blog always makes me chuckle. From the Bad Boys of Austen shirt designs to the random rants and amusing comments, you will not walk (I suppose the better word is “surf”) away with a straight face. Thanks for the laughs and great writing! 

3) History Undressed: A blog concerning the history of clothes and fashion (and other topics in history), there is always something new to discover here, such as the history of socks and the truth about the Celtic Druids.

Recipients, please claim your award by copying the HTML code of the Excessively Diverting Blog Award badge, posting it on your blog, listing the name of the person who nominated you, and linking to their blog. Then nominate seven (7) other blogs that you feel meet or exceed the standards set forth. Nominees may place the Excessively Diverting badge in their side bar and enjoy the appreciation of their fellow blogger for recognition of their talent.

Factual Imagining has been awarded The Excessively Diverting Blog Award by the blogging team at Jane Austen Today!! How exciting! This is a great honor, as FI is a rather young blog designed, written, and updated by a rather young blogger! I am grateful for Laurel Ann’s comments on FI and her support, not to mention her vivacious blog that always has something fun to share.

The aim of the Excessively Diverting Blog Award is to acknowledge writing excellence in the spirit of Jane Austen’s genius in amusing and delighting readers with her irony, humor, wit, and talent for keen observation. Recipients will uphold the highest standards in the art of the sparkling banter, witty repartee, and gentle reprove. This award was created by the blogging team of Jane Austen Today to acknowledge superior writing over the Internet and promote Jane Austen’s brilliance.

Factual Imagining: Lady A. Byron’s energy and eye for design caught our collective eyes, and her penchant for writing about news items and historical topics related to the sort of history, literature and the cinema that interests us warms the cockles of our hearts.

Again, what an honor and a joy to receive. As a recipient of this award, I am charged to nominate 7 other blogs that I believe meet or exceed the same standards and enjoy thoroughly for their blogging excellence. I will have my nominees shortly.

A nasty virus invaded my computer last week, leaving me unconnected with the rest of the world for quite some time. I actully had to watch television. Ick. I couldn’t even work on my period films index; torture through and through.

And a major REMINDER: Tonight at 9:00 pm Eastern, don’t forget to watch Tess of the d’Urbervilles on PBS Masterpiece Classic. If you miss it and don’t have TiVo, it is available online here from January 5-19.

I am currently working on a Period Film Index that will list every “major” film adaptation of a work in English literature or a time period/event in English history, limiting the list to works/events prior to the 1920’s. It took me nearly three hours just to compile the works of Charles Dickens, so this is certainly an ongoing project. When complete, however, all works/events will be listed alphabetically with the various adaptations bulleted underneath, listing the name, year, producing studio, and director with links to their page on IMDB. So if it seems I have fallen off the face of the earth, I am probably working on the index.

Happy New Year!