'Jane Austen Speaks' by Maria Emilia De Medeiros ~Excerpt & Givewaway!

Hello Fellow Readers,

Today I have the pleasure, of welcoming Maria Emilia De Medeiros. 
Author of  'Jane Austen Speaks', 'About Life, the Modern World, & Heavenly Pursuits'.

As always, I enjoy the opportunity to showcase new JAFF authors and I hope you will all make Maria Emilia feel welcome. After reading the excerpt “My Dinner Parties in Heaven” I had some fun imagining who I would invite, I conclude, I would need to host several, including literary greats and music legends.

Many thanks for inviting me to your blog today, Tamara!  I am most humbled and honored to share about my recently released book, Jane Austen Speaks About her Life, the Modern World, & Heavenly Pursuits, with your readers today. 

This book is my own lighthearted attempt to allow Miss Austen to voice what might have been her “own” opinions on modern day matters, based on a knowledge of her life, work, society, and the prevailing social morés inherent in Western culture of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries with which she was raised.

In addition to Miss Austen’s wide-ranging reflections upon her life, novels, and the modern world, a section of the book is devoted to food and social visits, featuring a number of heavenly “guests” as well as recipes for your use and enjoyment.  You can plan your very own Jane Austen dinner party, too!

I have often tried to imagine what a real dinner party would have been like in a lovely English home during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries in which Jane Austen lived.  I know that there are historical reenactors who attempt to bring these to life again in our modern era.  Having researched food history and social customs of the time period myself, I know that it is possible to recreate such an event in a most charming manner.  However, we will never really know what such an event was like for those in attendance, because we are not able to travel back in time. 

Having read Jane Austen’s letters as well as her novels, I know that the great lady novelist from Hampshire attended her share of fancy dinner parties as an invited guest of wealthy friends.  Due to her own family’s limited circumstances, it is doubtful that Miss Austen’s parents would have been able to host such a grand event. 

These thoughts led me to wonder, “If Jane Austen could throw the grandest dinner party she could wish for, what would it be like?  And most importantly, who would be privileged enough to be on her guest list?”  It was tremendously diverting, Dear Readers, to imagine Jane’s heavenly dinner party.  Knowing her intelligent, open-minded spirit, I believe many noteworthy figures from all walks of life, who lived before, during, and after her own life on earth, would have been in attendance for some good food and excellent conversation!  In my book Jane Austen Speaks, I have included what I have imagined one of her guest lists would have been like.  Perhaps you would like to try your own hand at imagining who would receive one of Miss Austen’s invitations, written in the finest paper in her best hand, of course!

Here is an excerpt from “My Dinner Parties in Heaven” from Jane Austen Speaks About Life, the Modern World, & Heavenly Pursuits.  I do hope you will enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!

Excerpt

I must confess that my dinner parties in Heaven are much more casual affairs than the proper ones I attended many times during my lifetime on Earth.  On the Other Side, there are no more concerns whether or not the correct number of gentlemen will be in attendance in proportion to the number of ladies, no such thing as proper procession of rank when dinner is announced, and no more worries about who will or will not be impressed by the grandness of the occasion.  In truth, Society and its many dictates no longer exist as they do on Earth, Dear Readers.  Generally, I like to invite a great many interesting souls who lived at many different time periods on Earth, and who will quite simply enjoy one another’s company in addition to stimulating conversation.  Good wine, good food, and some pleasant music always help to improve the ambiance most agreeably, to be sure.

Besides family and friends who were dear to me during my Earthly life, I am wont to invite souls who took many divergent paths during their lives on Earth.  I am certain to enjoy a large group of literati, scientists, inventors, artists, musicians, political statesmen, and activists to ensure lively and diverting conversation.  It is a delight to be entertained by Herr Mozart or Beethoven on the pianoforte and perhaps hear an aria or two sung by Miss Jenny Lind.

However, it is generally true that at some point, my brothers Henry and James as well as my father—all Anglican clergymen, to be sure—will end up in a heated debate with Mr. Darwin regarding his theories of natural selection, race, and evolution.  (They simply cannot seem to get these topics sorted for themselves!) Furthermore, my brothers Frank and Charles Austen, together with Mr. Churchill, will invariably end up in a corner trading war stories and extolling the glories of the British fleet.  When the writers and poets begin to quote from their literary works, and dear Mr. Robbie Burns begins to sing “My Love Is Like a Red, Red Rose,” I know that the evening’s festivities have come to a most proper end.  

Please enter your comments below to be entered in the giveaway for an eBook copy!  I look forward to hearing from you. Once again, I would like to thank the lovely Tamara for so graciously inviting me today so that I might talk about Jane Austen Speaks About Life, the Modern World, & Heavenly Pursuits.  It has been so delightful to be your guest today!

Thank you for sharing with us today and for the generous blog tour giveaway! 
Readers please comment below and the winner will be announced on 29th August 2016! Giveaway open Internationally.

Blog Tour Schedule ~ 6th -28th July

My Jane Austen Book Club:  July 6
Laughing with Lizzie:  July 8
Obsessed with Mr. Darcy:  July 12
So Little Time...:  July 14
More Agreeably Engaged:  July 19
My Kids Led Me Back to Pride and Prejudice:  July 21
Babblings of a Bookworm:  July 25
Darcyholic Diversions:  July 28

Each stop on the Blog Tour, generously features a giveaway, of an e-book copy of the book!

Book Blurb:

In JANE AUSTEN SPEAKS, author Maria Emilia de Medeiros “channels” the great Jane Austen from her heavenly home and allows her the opportunity to speak her mind about the modern world nearly two centuries after her passing. Readers will gain a healthy dose of wise counsel and witty advice for leading a sensible, well-mannered twenty-first century life. Jane Austen’s heavenly exploits (not to mention her recipes) will both entertain and delight you. At times serious, drily humorous, or even a bit naughty, JANE AUSTEN SPEAKS is a necessary addition to every Janeite’s library. Dear Readers, if you have ever asked yourself, “What would Jane Austen think?” you have indeed come to the right place.

Buy Links:
Amazon US:  https://www.amazon.com/Jane-Austen-Speaks-Heavenly-Pursuits/dp/0692639950/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1466366157&sr=1-1&keywords=jane+austen+speaks
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Jane-Austen-Speaks-Heavenly-Pursuits/dp/0692639950/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1466366192&sr=1-1&keywords=jane+austen+speaks