little miss austin

Alice said, or simply use the initials, A · A good.

Henry vetoed it, feeling it wasn't a "name".

In the end, the siblings decided to draw lots, write a few alternative names on small slips of paper, make small balls, throw them on a silver plate, and then Alice picked one out herself.

The final choice was AliceLeigh. Leigh is Mrs. Austin's maiden name, which is also a name recognized by the siblings.

Brother Henry has a son, he is happy all day long, and he is very energetic in doing things.Alice thought of the two handsome young men who were high-spirited and vigorous, and now they are both husbands and fathers. She felt that they had become too worldly. If one was not her brother and the other was her brother-in-law, she would not want to pay attention to them.

So, most people will change?Maybe this is "growth"?Even Jane has changed now. She is no longer the literary young woman who only wants to dream of literature, but has become a mother who cares about her children and has to compromise with traditional concepts for the sake of reality.Fortunately, her writing skills and desire to create have not been extinguished, otherwise it would be a loss to the whole world.

Ivo Gordon still sent her 2 or 3 letters a week, talking about trivial matters, but he didn't say a word about his junior Grant.Alice later found out the letter he sent last year, and found that except for some insignificant classmates, neither cousin Byron nor neighbor Oliver was mentioned in it, as if they did not exist.

This is a kind of natural vigilance of men. When writing a letter to a girl he likes, there can only be "I, I, I" and "you, you, you" throughout the letter, and the names of possible competitors are not allowed. Even Julian Bondfield and Evan Holmes, whom Alice disliked very much, he never mentioned.

Ivo has 6 older sisters, who were actually raised very pampered, but fortunately, he was not raised as a baby boy. Mr. Gordon paid great attention to cultivating his "masculinity" to ensure that he would be a qualified heir.The annual income of the Gordon family is nearly 1 pounds, which can be regarded as a large landlord class, but the dowry for the daughters is not too much. Each daughter can only have an annuity of 300 pounds plus a fixed dowry, so it goes Nearly 2000 pounds, the property that Ivo can inherit in the future is several properties and 7500 pounds of real estate income, which is enough for him to live a very good life.

His living expenses at Oxford University are 500 pounds a year, which is less than half of Oliver's living expenses, but if you don't have much expensive entertainment, 500 pounds is definitely enough.Like Oliver, he also learned to smoke, buy some high-quality shredded tobacco every month, buy some good wine, occasionally go to the boxing ring to bet, attend some class reunions, and usually go to restaurants to eat and drink.

As for the other important thing he must do during college, he hasn't made up his mind yet.

The important reason why he couldn't make up his mind was that he felt that Alice might be very disgusted with this kind of thing.

It never seemed to occur to Mrs. Gordon that her son was over eighteen and it was time to think about losing his virginity.

Mr. Gordon asked him if he was still a virgin when he came home from summer vacation, and he got the answer, but he didn't say anything, probably in a state of "knowing".However, I still found time to talk to my son, not suggesting that he go to those professional prostitutes, because many sexually transmitted diseases are prevalent among prostitutes, especially syphilis, and there is basically no cure.He also took his son to visit the patients with syphilis in the church ward.

Ivo was too scared to eat for days after visiting the church ward.

So he decided to keep his virginity for the time being, even if he might be ridiculed by his classmates, his life is still the most important thing.

He strategically mentioned this extraordinary experience in his letter to Alice, and felt that those people were really pitiful.Most of the prostitutes in this era were born in poverty, such as Jacob’s family. If the parents keep giving birth to children and the family cannot support all the children, they will probably sell the girls among them. These girls have a lot of places to go. Some of them are reduced to brothels in various large and medium-sized cities, or in brothels in places with dense factories.

Ivo has never seen this kind of group struggling under the line of food and clothing before, and even if he saw it, he would not think too much about it, and would not think about "why".But he didn't know what to do. After asking the pastor of the church, he donated the more than 20 pounds he had with him that day to the church ward.

He wrote in the letter: "My father thought I was too soft-hearted, but he didn't blame me. He just said that I will donate money when I can't see poor people in the future, so that I will soon become a poor man. But I think, at least I can Find a way to save a little money to help them. I know I can't solve this problem on my own, but if I can help one or some of them, it would be nice."

Ivo has a kind heart, so of course Alice wanted to encourage him, "But you haven't inherited any property, so do you want to save your own living expenses? Then how much money are you going to save a year? What do you spend money on?" With less space, your classmates might think your family is bankrupt. Please don’t starve yourself, and do good deeds within your means.”

She found the Gordon family's education method very interesting, and it was very different from the education method of the country gentleman's family she knew.For example, in the Austin family, I am afraid that Pastor George will not discuss with his sons who are going to college when they will lose their virginity, and it is impossible to take them to visit the church wards in London.For example, Mrs. Austin would not discuss issues between men and women with her daughter too early, and she would only talk about it after her daughter got engaged.

If you want to receive sex education in this era, you must either read picture books or listen to the explanations of the elders. Of course, men have an extra way, and they can also experience it through professionals in advance.

Alice didn't receive the hidden lines in Ivo's letter, and he didn't dare to say it too clearly, lest she think he was thinking about messy things in his mind.

In comparison, the content of Oliver's letter has changed slightly.Last year, he only wrote about what happened in school, and every letter was like a small daily composition on campus. This year, he added a lot of things about himself, saying more about "I" and more about "" You", began to ask Alice's opinion and opinion.In all fairness, his words are still very humble. Compared with Julian's arrogance, he treats her as an equal partner as much as possible.

Before going to Cambridge University, he wrote a letter to apologize to her, admitting that what he said last time was wrong, his concept was outdated, and he did not treat her as an equal "person". Men are equal and should have all "human" rights, and should be the same as men.

However, he also wrote that she was different from any girl or woman he had ever known, that she was special. "This is not to say that there is nothing wrong with being different from ordinary people. True geniuses are different. Their speech and behavior may not be different from ordinary people at all, but their thinking is progressive and ahead of the times. I vaguely feel that you are different from me, dear Alice, my blue-eyed oriole, I am leaving London, and I will not see you for many months, so I can only write to you. You Can you write me back in time? Every time I get a letter from you, it makes my day very happy. I miss you before I leave. I think, I should tell you, I miss you every day You, I don’t know when this kind of miss started. I eagerly hope that you will grow up soon, so that I can hold your hand and dance with you. I think your dancing posture must also be graceful, You have learned to dance for so long, and I want to be the one who dances your first dance with you. Will I be the lucky man? Waiting for your answer. Yours, faithfully, Oliver."

He kept the letter in a drawer for several days before it was sent to Austin's house.

Alice who received the letter didn't know how to reply, so she simply pretended not to understand and didn't reply.

So, this is why men can't maintain innocent friendship with women?Boys grow up and turn childhood friendships into love, or whatever they think they are.Oliver's letter is still very restrained. Dancing, when she is 16 years old, she can enter the social world and participate in social balls. Of course, she can dance with others. It is normal to dance with her teenage friends.Every sentence of his is very ordinary when taken apart, but when read together, why does it feel a bit wrong?

Oliver's letters talked about her more and more carefully, and the words were carefully chosen. Half of the topic was about the arrangements for the Christmas holidays. Whether Henry Austen was going to give her a ball to introduce her into the world, and she wanted to invite Who, she had to agree to dance the first dance and the last dance with him, which skillfully interspersed with other topics, such as what kind of dance skirts are popular in London now, did she make skirts, and did she grow taller again? He also said that he went to a bookstore near Cambridge University to pick up her new book that he had ordered, and finally finished reading it after several nights.

In Alice's reply, she picked some topics to reply, most of which were trivial matters.The ball is definitely going to be held, Henry will invite many people to the ball, Lucinda and Susan will also come, Oliver has seen Susan, but not Lucinda; Said that Lucinda finally has a brother , a pair of twins, but her mother, Mrs. Gleason, died of postpartum haemorrhage.

She made it clear that having a child is a terrible thing. A woman's life should not be defined by how many children she has and whether she has a boy. If she does not have children, she may live for a few more years.

Oliver had a hard time replying, neither saying she was right nor saying she was wrong.His mother also died of dystocia when giving birth to her third child. He was already 5 years old and was deeply impressed by his mother's death, so he has always had fear and pity for women's childbirth.But unlike Ivo who is still ignorant, he has already understood that if he marries Alice in the future, he cannot have no children. He has family property and title, which must be inherited by a boy. If he has no children or no sons , the family property and title will only be left to Julian's son in the future.

Just as Julian was jealous of him, he was jealous of Julian.When his mother died, Julian was still young, only 2 years old. He didn't remember his mother, so he didn't have any special feelings about his mother's death, and his father spoiled him very much. Oliver often felt pain because of this, thinking that he had lost At the same time as his mother, he also lost his father.

Therefore, he would not be willing to leave his family property and title to Julian's son.Like William Beckford, he'd probably be spending his money like hell while he was alive, what the hell!

Of course Ivo didn't know that Oliver had wooed Alice in the letter, and he was also nervous about Alice's social dance at the end of the year.

"You have to let me have your first dance with you. As your closest friend, I should have the right to ask for the first dance. If I can, I want to be your male partner at the ball. I will drive Your favorite pumpkin carriage is coming to pick you up, and you should have a pair of crystal slippers, so you'll be the most dazzling princess at the ball. Don't worry about the 12 o'clock clock at midnight."

George Byron, who had just entered university, quickly fell into the vices of all college students. Without the restraint of his mother, Cambridge University was not like Harrow School, a strict boarding school. , Of course, if you miss too many classes, you will face the danger of being expelled.Byron learned to smoke and drink, and hang out with some dandies. His living expenses were exhausted, and Mrs. Byron couldn't give him any more living expenses, so he began to borrow money to live outside.

Sometimes Ivo would receive letters from Byron asking for money. He was very generous and usually sent him dozens of pounds out of his living expenses; Oliver would sometimes give Byron dozens of pounds; Lun is also not bad. When Byron has no money to eat, he goes to Julian; Evan is not well-off, and he is very disgusted with Byron's extravagant and absurd life. ignore.

But Byron has borrowed money all over the world, but he has never asked Alice. He probably thinks that Alice is a girl and younger than him. Although he has some money, how can a big man ask a little girl to borrow money? .On the contrary, Alice heard that Byron had spent too much money, so she sent him 100 pounds.

As for the others, Alice didn't have the enthusiasm to meddle in other people's business, and she didn't persuade him to drink less, play less, study hard and improve every day.Sending money to him is out of youthful friendship, as for how he spends the money after getting it, she doesn't care.

Evan still wrote small essays for her when he was free. After "The Season of the Witch" came out, he even wrote several eloquent letters and sent them to her.Alice is very disgusted with his small papers that first criticize and then criticize everything, and writes to Oliver to complain, saying that Evan, a stupid guy, hasn't figured out why she never writes back to him, and no one wants to He always listens to other people's criticisms, is he sick?Get sick quickly!

It took Oliver a long time to receive Shigara.

In fact, Evan is still ignorant. He has never understood that he likes Alice. He still has the mentality of a little boy and likes to bully the girl he likes.In the past few years, Evan has been able to see Alice, and it is impossible not to see her once. Once, he cut off a lock of her hair with scissors, and Alice was furious, and severely whipped Evan with a horsewhip.

It was in Newton Manor at that time, Evan was whipped and rolled on the ground outside the stable, and the servant rushed to inform Mrs. Holmes. When Mrs. Holmes arrived, Alice had finished the whip and dropped the whip.

Mrs. Holmes saw her son lying on the ground covered in dirt, crying and howling; Alice nestled on Oliver's chest, crying loudly.Although Mrs. Holmes felt sorry for her son, but thinking about Evan's temper, she must be bullying again. It is no wonder that Alice cried so sadly, so she had to comfort Alice first, and then asked the servant to take Evan away.

Since then, Evan has been a lot more honest.

But still a dumbass.

He wrote back to comfort her, saying that Evan is an idiot, and that's what idiots are like. Don't read his letters in the future, and leave them all to me.

Julian wrote to Alice out of jealousy, thinking that the girl his brother liked could not be easily obtained by him, but he never thought that Alice would not read his letters at all; Evan is still a little boy, so don’t worry .Alice's preferences are still very clear and easy to distinguish.

Byron only likes older women, and he doesn't have any feelings for Alice between men and women, which can also be ruled out.

As for Grant, he didn't think he was a threat at all.

"Season of the Witch" was released in two volumes because it was too long. The price of a set is 1.99 pounds, which is considered a normal price. The official sales began at the end of October, and by the end of the Christmas sales season at the end of December, a total of 10 sets had been sold.

Ivo Gordon retrieved the scheduled "Season of the Witch" from a bookstore near Oxford University. It is a bit of an exaggeration to order 100 sets. He ordered 3 sets, one set was placed in the dormitory, and two sets were taken home for collection.

Austin Press has a lot of tricks. In addition to regular newspaper advertisements, it also distributes color-printed advertising bookmarks to bookstores.Now there is no color printing machine, if you want to register and print, you can only use engraving to register the color manually, which will greatly increase the cost, but the finished product is very beautiful.

The soft-covered hardcover version is now on the market, a set of two, and the cover is also chromatographically printed, very particular about the use of gold paint, the title and author's name are gold, and the cover is not the plain typesetting cover of the previous few years. There are raised patterns on the four sides, which are also overprinted with gold pigments.

This kind of cover is of course novel and high-end, and it is very eye-catching when placed in the window. Many people want to go in and look through this book just because of this cover.

Before Christmas, a hard shell cover was also launched, priced at 0.99 pounds, which can be bought alone or together with the book.Several hundred more envelopes were sold.

I also started to make a paperback pocket version of the advertisement, which is divided into 4 volumes. The format is small enough to be placed in a coat pocket, which is convenient to carry. It can be taken out to read at any time on a park bench or in a carriage, so it is called "pocket volume".

The second half of the first volume of "The Season of the Witch" begins with flashbacks and interludes, telling the story of Margaret's parents.

Margaret's parents wanted a child for many years, so they asked an unknown ancient god for help. The god agreed to their request and made an exchange request. If they gave birth to a boy, they would extend this agreement to the son's offspring; If a girl is born, at the age of 12, the girl must be sacrificed to the gods.Margaret's parents wanted the child so much that they agreed to the terms.After all, the possibility of giving birth to a girl is only 50.00%. They are lucky, thinking what if they give birth to a boy?

But it turns out the gods always win, and they have a girl.

By the time Margaret turned twelve, her parents had forgotten the pact, and disaster struck.

This flashback line is interspersed with the main line. Margaret follows the footsteps of her parents' life, backwards to her own residence for 12 years, and finally finds the mountain where they turned to the gods for help.

She summoned the god according to the summoning ceremony that year, but the god said that he had already received the sacrifice, and the death of Margaret's parents had nothing to do with him, and he would not be free to kill anyone.

Then, there was a gust of wind, lightning and thunder, and landslides and ground cracks.

Margaret fainted.

Ivo's major is classical literature. Among other things, the amount of reading is very large. He needs to read a lot of ancient Greek and Roman poetry, drama and other texts. In his opinion, Alice's writing skills are undoubtedly qualified. Above average for a 15 year old.The writing style is not top-notch, nor is it aura, but its strengths lie in its skillful skills, and its ability to integrate various materials well, cleverly constructing a complex modern legend, which is a combination of growth stories and adventure stories, 3 articles The lines are intertwined and methodical, and the narratives intertwined and flashbacks are flexibly intertwined. The reading experience is very good, and people can read without interruption in one breath.

He quickly wrote to Alice, praising her for being a great writer. If the book was written by a 20-year-old, it would be considered excellent, but if it was written by a 15-year-old, it would be great. It's just amazing.

When Lucinda passed by London in October, "Season of the Witch" hadn't been released yet, and she didn't know that the author was her girlhood classmate.

Susan Beckford knew about it, and ordered 2 sets in advance. On the first day of release, she asked the maid to pick up the novel, and it took several days to finish reading it.

William Beckford was also reading the novel.

A few days later, after the father and daughter finished reading the novel, the Beckfords visited Alice at Austin's house.

"Congratulations, I have nothing more to teach you." Beckford said: "You have mastered everything you should master, even better than I imagined."

"Thank you, Mr. Beckford." Alice sincerely expressed her gratitude.For a very rich and extremely rich person, there is no need to give any kind of thank-you gift, as long as he is truly grateful.

"As long as you continue to write hard, there will always be a place for you in the history of English literature in the 19th century."

Susan looked at her father in surprise: He seems to think too highly of Alice too!

Beckford didn't guide Alice on what subject matter she should write about, but said, first of all, you must like it yourself. As a creator, you don't like your own works, so how can you expect readers to like them?

The author has something to say:

* Keats, Shelley, and Byron are all talented players with extraordinary aura. It is said that after reading Byron’s poems, Scott felt that he could not surpass Byron, so he switched to writing historical novels. up.But geniuses tend to die early. Keats was 25, Shelley was 30, and Byron lived a little longer, dying at 36.Jane Austen died at the age of 41.