Bookraft

Whats was this? Here at the Port Hope Library - a bastion of good reading and literary standing. Jane Austen for Dummies???!! Tell me this is a mistake. Or maybe a bit of Bob Newhart-like absurdist humor.

Could it be the library is catering to the Coles Notes or illicit "thesis paper" trade ? Trinity College School [undoubtedly a stalwart source of Austen-philes]is just up near Croft Street and might be the source of a few all-nighter needs. Perhaps there might be a Trinitian or two needing some insight into Pride and Prejudice or just a little Persuasion.

I could not ignore the book. It was right in the stacks, right smack in front of my face. And I had just praised Jane to a friend and now ... but no Dummies for me. Really what could one expect from a book craving to serve the at-best curious and more likely the simply vacuous and clueless? Besides, hadn't Jane already proved more than enough times that we are all uncivil enough [currently the US Congress seems to have a corner on the contemporary Uncivil Market], so just let it be.

Well I had to at least - horrors - confirm the worst and be done with it. So with great discretion worthy of Captain Wentworth I furtively picked up J.A. for Dummies. I was embarrassed to see it was by Joan Klingel Ray, PhD an obvious catering to the Coles Notes set. And the cover - here was an image of an eighteenth century English gala party with women dressed to the nines, men in great boots, uniforms, and frock coats. But the rouge! Such an excess of rouge make all the party goers look badly overdone.

Oops - whats this here. A colleague come to visit with me. Better cover-up J.A. for D. right away. There will be no end of ribbing and trouble if Cory discovers that I am a J.A. fan. We discuss the hockey playoffs and the Olympics and agree that US and Germany had done remarkably well. Oh, the hockey had gone well and Canada at least Owned the Golden Podium . Cory seems to want to find out what I am reading. So I casually toss J.A. for D. with a book Fables on top over by the Please Do Not Reshelve Books sign and complain that the library is a mess since they instituted this policy.

A few minutes later I quickly pickup J.A. for D. and right away discover the incriminating evidence on pages 2 and 3 no less. Cheat Sheets! Well there you go. Now wait a second, describing Darcy of Pride and Prejudice as the extremely wealthy hero is hardly satisfactory. What is this Joan Klingel Ray trying to do?

Okay a simple glance at the table of contents is all I need to make this a shut and closed case for pandering to the eager-to-remain-uneducated masses. Hmmmmm.
Getting to Know Jane Austen, Lady and Novelist
Austen Observes Ladies and Gentlemen
Living Life in Janes World
Enjoying Austen and Her Influence Today
Now whats this? - a section on Playing the Dating game, Courtship, Austen Style. I'll just glance into this. Well I'll be darned I did not know that ... well just a small matter. Okay whats this then - Following Religion and Morality for Jane Austen and Her Times. How could that be much different than contemporary circumstances. Maybe a bit more important then. I'll just peruse this quickly.

Well by the time I come to Marrying, a Serious Business for Jane and Her Characters it finally dons on me - I have a problem. I will have to figure some way of checking out this book without attracting too much attention. Maybe I should try "I am getting it for my friends daughter who is reading Persuasion for her English class. Not to worry, the Port Hope Librarians are Discretion at its Best.