Today I'm happy to be welcoming Karen M Cox back to Babblings of a Bookworm. Karen's books often take Austen's works to other eras, and my personal favourite of her books, 1932, transports Pride & Prejudice to the Great American Depression of the 1930s. Karen has revised and re-launched this book and comes here today with a post about 1930s movies, and a chance for me to share my review of the 2nd edition of 1932 with you. She also brings a giveaway! Read on for more details!
Book
Description
“…do anything rather than marry without affection.”
—Pride and Prejudice
During the upheaval of the Great Depression, Elizabeth Bennet’s life is torn asunder. Her family’s relocation from the bustle of the big city to a quiet family farm has changed her future, and now, she must build a new life in rural Meryton, Kentucky.
William Darcy suffered family turmoil of his own, but he has settled into a peaceful life at Pemberley, the largest farm in the county. Single, rich, and seemingly content, he remains aloof—immune to any woman’s charms.
Until Elizabeth Bennet moves to town.
As Darcy begins to yearn for something he knows is missing, Elizabeth’s circumstances become more dire. Can the two put aside their pride and prejudices long enough to find their way to each other?
1932, Karen M Cox’s award-winning debut novel, is a matchless variation on Jane Austen’s classic tale.
Winner of the Bronze Independent Publishers Book Award in Romance, 2011
Guest
Post from Karen M Cox - Movies
Thank, Ceri, for welcoming me to Babblings of a Bookworm to
celebrate the new 1932. As part of the blog tour, I’ve gathered some fun
information about the time period of the book, the 1930s. Yes, the decade of
the Great Depression had tragedy and suffering, but it also had joy too,
shining through like a brilliant smile suddenly appearing in the stoic
countenance of a certain Austen hero.
With that in mind, here are the 5 Best Movies Set During
the Great Depression. Why are they the best? Well, because I said so, I guess!
Here we go...
- The
Sting (1973)
Why? Because I've always had a huge crush on Paul Newman.
- O
Brother, Where Art Thou
(2000) Why? Because it's my dad's favorite movie. And it has great quotable
lines, like "I've spoken my piece and counted to three," and
"Well, ain't this place a geographical oddity. Two weeks from
everywhere!"
- To
Kill a Mockingbird
(1962) Why? Because Atticus Finch. And Gregory Peck. That is all.
- The
Untouchables
(1987) Why? Because it's dramatic, and the actors are superb: Sean Connery,
Kevin Costner, Andy Garcia, Charles Martin Smith, and Robert De Niro just nail
their roles in this one.
- Cinderella
Man (2005) Why?
Because James J Braddock rises like a phoenix above the ashes of adversity. And
a man who takes care of his family is sexy as hell.
Okay, movie buffs, have your share in the conversation—anything
I missed?
1932 - Pride & Prejudice Revisited by Karen M Cox - My Review
1932 is a story
based on Austen’s Pride & Prejudice, but moved into Depression-era
Kentucky. It doesn’t follow Austen’s story exactly, but takes the characters
into another era. When I first discovered the Austenesque genre 1932 was
one of the early stories that I found, and I loved it! You can see my review ofthe first version here.
When I heard that Karen M Cox was planning to
release a second edition of 1932 I was equally excited and
apprehensive; I am such a fan of the book that I was happy that it was getting
some attention, but I was a little worried that the things that I charmed me in
the first version might be removed or changed in this one but I still jumped at
the chance to read and review it for the blog tour.
One of
the things that worries Mrs Bennet in P&P is the insecurity of the Bennets’
situation – they only have Longbourn as long as Mr Bennet lives. In 1932
the economic downturn is what has done for the Bennets’ financial security – Mr
Bennet has lost his job, teaching at a university, and some investments haven’t
worked out, meaning that he doesn’t have back-up savings. As he hasn’t been
able to find another job, the whole Bennet family are going to move to the
country, where her maternal uncle, Edward Gardiner is the local vet and still
owns the Gardiner family farm, which he offers to the Bennets.
Elizabeth
is a university student, but her family will no longer be able to afford the fees.
Instead she will have to take a job at her uncle’s surgery to help out the
family finances. Her elder sister Jane is found a job at a local store and the rest
of the family are going to have to pitch in at the farm. Even so, it will be
touch and go as to how they will manage; they are moving at the wrong time of
year to plant crops so it’ll be some time before they can stand on their own
feet financially.
Lizzy
finds the whole situation chafing to her pride; she has moved to a society where
she feels like just another poor girl. However, she soon begins to make friends
in the town of Meryton, and she begins to attract the notice of a local farm
owner, a certain William Darcy, although as his notice towards her doesn’t seem
very admiring, she can’t really account for it:
Again,
when she looked up, she caught Mr. Darcy staring at her. He turned quickly when
she saw him. Elizabeth self-consciously rubbed an imaginary ink smudge from her
cheek and returned her attention to Reverend Adams.
Mr Darcy
lives with his sister, Georgiana. She has two daughters and there is some
mystery surrounding the father of the children, as Georgiana is still calling
herself Miss Darcy. Darcy is proud and reserved, but he shows another side of
himself in his love for his nieces.
Meeting
Miss Elizabeth Bennet has taken Darcy by surprise; she has entered into his
well-ordered life and he can’t get her out of his head. He doesn’t want to
love, having seen what misery it can bring but he is quite bewitched by
Elizabeth and is very attracted to her. He feels compelled by this attraction
to propose marriage. He doesn’t offer her love, but what he does offer her is an
escape from her family life. This would be a way to ease the burdens on her
family’s finances. This is an Elizabeth who has little hope for the future, so
she decides to take a gamble on improving the short-term future rather than
hold out hope of getting a better long-term future. There is another motivation
for her gamble though:
She
looked up at him and the words died in her throat. He was watching her with an
intensity that was unnerving at worst, and at best–well it was somewhat
stirring.
A
marriage of convenience between two proud people who are both keeping secrets
from each other… what could possibly go wrong?!
So,
what is it that I love about this book? Firstly, I love the fact that this is set
in a different period. I think that the options for women in those times were
limited, although obviously there were more options than in a Regency setting.
I like
the way that that author took text from Pride & Prejudice and worked
it naturally into the different setting:
She had
accused him of being too quick to judge others based on outward appearances,
but was she not just as guilty as he? Until this moment, she had never truly
known herself, and the knowledge she had gained was troubling.
What I
love most about this book is the feelings, particularly on Darcy’s side. He thinks
he is infatuated with Elizabeth and has offered her a marriage based on
compatibility and sense. When he realises that he feels more for his new wife
than he has professed, he doesn’t have much hope that things will improve:
He was
in love with the new Mrs. Darcy, and the pain of it was acute, because he knew she
didn’t return his feelings.
When I
started reading this second edition I didn’t know how comprehensive the changes
were, whether I’d even notice them. However, in addition to minor amendments there
were also several scenes added, some of which gave more of a flavour of the
pre-marriage period, showing the building relationship between the couple, and
also giving more insight into one of the secrets Darcy is keeping from his
wife.
For
those who like to know about these things, there are some sex scenes in this
book. In this sort of marriage of convenience scenario, this kind of intimate
scene can highlight for the reader the state of a relationship. I was glad to
see the notable sex scene of the wedding night made it from the first edition
into the second. It’s notable to me as so often first sex scenes between
inexperienced people seem highly romanticised, and this one seemed more real!
It’s
also worth noting that there is a ‘sidequel’ to this story - The Journey Home
which looks at Georgiana’s story. I would read 1932 first and
then move on to The Journey Home.
In
summary, I loved the second edition of 1932 just as much as the first; the changes
made between the editions only enhanced the story for me. It was already a story
that I re-read, but I will enjoy my reads all the more now! This is a definite
5 star read for me.
Author
Bio
Karen M Cox is an award-winning author of five novels accented with history and romance, a novella, and several short stories.
Karen was born in Everett WA, the daughter of a United States Air Force Officer. She had a nomadic childhood, with stints in North Dakota, Tennessee, and New York State before settling in her family’s home state of Kentucky at age eleven. She lives in a quiet town with her husband and works as a pediatric speech pathologist.
If you would like periodic bits of authorly goodness delivered to your inbox, be sure to get Karen’s News and Muse Letter. Updates, sales, book recommendations, etc. are yours for the asking.
Social Media and Publicity Links: Website / Instagram / Twitter / Facebook / Tumblr / Pinterest
1932 Tenth Anniversary Edition Launch and Birthday Party
To celebrate the 10th anniversary edition of 1932, Karen is giving away a signed copy of the book and some Jane Austen swag: fun notecards from The Quill Ink, What Would Jane Do? book of quotes, and Austen coffee mug (if US winner) or an ebook copy of the book and 25$ Amazon Gift Card (if International Winner - cause #shipping :)
To enter, use the Kingsumo link below:
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