______________ And ___________

Anne Marie writes:

In 19^th century novels, pertinent identifying details will be left out but represented by a blank, for example – “The militia was sent to the north in the county of ——–shire.”

Why is this?

First, thank you, thank you, thank you for asking a literature question I tend to get more science ones than anything else.  And that’s vaguely remembered from Jane Austen isn’t it?

Clever, witty, bookish and, at least by accounts from her family, a little bit shy, Jane Austen was my kind of girl. She was also one of the best writers the English language has ever produced.

There are two reasons why Austen might have chosen to replace the names of people and places with _________, one that helped her, another which helped her readers. Let’s look at the first of these by considering the world in which she found herself.

There were many things, including, but not limited to, “vote”, “express an opinion”, “work” and “survive the birth of their 14^th child”, that a well brought up young lady most simply did not do. Writing a novel was one of these things.

This is why the authorship of Sense and Sensibility was initially ascribed thus:

“A Lady” was racy enough, “Jane Austen, Miss” might very well have caused the complete collapse of society or the dead to walk the earth or something.

Hang about, that’s a great idea for a ….

Oh never mind, nobody would want to read a book about zombies in a Regency setting.

Where was I?

Oh yes, the need for Austen to be circumspect when writing. People think that we live in a litigious society now, but we have nothing on the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries if you happened to be a member of the social classes that might feel affronted by being mocked by a satirist. And, Colin Firth stomping about in soggy jodhpurs notwithstanding, that is what Austen was, a satirist.

So in addition to being a woman who wrote novels (gasp), those novels satirized the landed gentry and others at the tops, or at least the top of the middle of society (heavens!).

Given these two considerations, and the shyness I mentioned earlier, it isn’t surprising that she might choose to publish anonymously and to obfuscate the names of people and places in her novels.

Both would serve to keep her anonymous and the latter would prevent people from deciding that the puffed up buffoon in the latest novel from “A Lady” wasn’t a fictional character at all but instead a thinly veiled portrait of themselves and rushing off to court with every intention to sue (but then, a puffed up buffoon would think, and act, like that wouldn’t they?)

However the habit of eliding proper nouns in writing fiction has a rather interesting effect. Rather than make the text less readable and alienating the reader, the elision can actually make reading the novel a more involving experience.

“Why?” you might ask, well I’ll tell you.

Ever find somebody’s diary? Did you the urge to read it? Of course you didn’t, that would be wrong and anyway they didn’t write the names of the people they were talking about, they used codes or initials instead, and that only made you more interested in what they were writing about.

Er, I mean, that’s a possible response to those questions.

But that’s why doing something similar in fiction can help great a sense of verisimilitude. The vaguely alluded to county or individual merely presents a challenge for the reader to ponder and this creates a secondary interest in the text. And is a truth universally acknowledged that it is always useful to keep them interested.

And this is why the writers of other works, many of them with titles like The Amorous Adventures of a Dandy Fop* or The Naughty Minx in Knightsbridge for some reason, used the same technique.

By saying “Wednesday last, had a fine meeting with the Marquis of _______ at his country seat in _________” the reader is left to wonder which Marquis and where might one find his seat, country or otherwise and so the story is that little bit more compelling.

So let’s return to the initial question:

In 19^th century novels, pertinent indentifying details will be left out but represented by a blank, for example – “The militia was sent to the north in the county of ——–shire.”

Why is this?

Initially for very practical reasons, eventually because it was a useful technique for engaging the reader’s interest.

OK that one was fun to answer, you may ask another.

…

Oh

…

I see you already did:

Anne Marie further writes:

Find me a good quinoa recipe!

I made quinoa with a broccoli pesto, and almonds and feta on top.
It was good the first day. Not a great re-heater dish.

Jawohl Eure Ladyschaft!

I’m thinking the feta was probably the source of the trouble there.

Here’s a really good recipe that has a lot of re-heatability:

Lemony Quinoa with Butternut Squash

Ingredients

• 10 ounces butternut squash (about 2 cups)
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• ½  cup white quinoa
• ½  cup red quinoa
• ¼ cup chopped shallots
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 2 ½ cups vegetable broth
• 1 tsp grated lemon peel
• 1-2 TBS lemon juice
• salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 2 TBS (about 7/10 oz) lightly toasted pine nuts
• 1 tsp minced fresh chives

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400F.
2. Cut the squash in half and scrape out the seeds and strings (using a grapefruit spoon makes this easier).
3. Peel and cut into ½-inch cubes and toss with the 1 teaspoon of lemon juice.
4. Place them on a non-stick baking sheet (or silicone mat), sprinkle with a little salt and pepper, and bake for 15 minutes, stirring halfway through.
5. Place the quinoa in a fine-mesh strainer and rinse it well and allow to drain.
6. Heat a deep, non-stick pot. Add shallots and garlic and cook, stirring, until shallots soften slightly.
7. Add the quinoa and toast it until it has dried out and begins to exude a toasty aroma.
8. Add the squash along with the thyme and vegetable broth.
9. Reduce the heat to low and cover. Cook, stirring once or twice, until all broth is absorbed, about 20 minutes.
10. Stir in the lemon peel and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice.
11. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and add more lemon juice if needed.
12. Serve with toasted pine nuts and chives sprinkled on top.

* Why yes, I did enjoy Mr. Show, why do you ask?

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