"I Have Been Very Negligent"

Last Friday, Jane Austen (may she rest in peace) turned 421, and I had a lovely tea with my mother and some friends of ours to celebrate the occasion. For whatever reason, I didn't feel the need to write a florid post in honor of dear Jane (hence the post title, a quote from Henry Tilney), but I've since decided that such an auspicious event deserves some mention, so here goes - better late than never! I give you these two little poems which I hope will please.

Lydia Bennet

Her dancing eyes, her jaunty look,

A head which ne’er peeped in a serious book,

Her bouncing gait, her saucy curl,

All make her a silly, dear girl.

She was my first Jane Austen friend,

And our connection will ne’er end.

Miss Jane Austen 

Lizzy met Darcy while at a ball,

Their mutual dislike made quite a muss; 

Neither knew then that in love they would fall - 

Their sweet story is called Pride and Prejudice. 

Emma made matches, until she was burned;

Young Frank adored another. 

Then of Knightley's true love she learned,

And he became more than her brother. 

Miss Morland and Tilney both loved to read,

Though she sometimes was a bit silly, 

Till she found that he really loved her, indeed,

Because she was pure as a lily. 

For these tales and others we often get lost in,

Let us thank the dear authoress, Miss Jane Austen!

Images: An illustration for chapter 15 of Pride and Prejudice by H.M. Brock (the scene in which Denny introduces Wickham to the Bennet girls), and a still from the 2007 ITV version of Northanger Abbey.