I didn’t expect to spend much time thinking about Jane Austen on our recent trip to Hawaii. Well, aside from checking Remotely Connected to grin like a loon over seeing my words in print, then worry about tomatoes being tossed at my review; and my Jane Austen action figure had places to go and things to do * (she’s much more portable than Uncle Q’s solid plaster garden gnome, who used to be quite the traveler in his day). But I read other books: intrepid Victorian traveler Isabella Bird’s Six Months in the Sandwich Islands and a collection of Mark Twain’s letters from Hawaii for the Sacramento Union.

And then, while reading Roughing It in the Sandwich Islands, I came upon this passage:

Captain Phillips takes a just pride in his driving and in the speed of his horse, and to his passion for displaying them I owe it that we were only sixteen minutes coming from the prison to the American Hotel—a distance which has been estimated to be over half a mile. But it took some fearful driving. The Captain’s whip came down fast, and the blows started so much dust out of the horse’s hide that during the last half of the journey we rode through an impenetrable fog …

When we came to anchor at last, and Captain Phillips looked at his watch and said, “Sixteen minutes—I told you it was in her! that’s over three miles an hour!” I could see he felt entitled to a compliment, and so I said I had never seen lightning go like that horse. And I never had. ( ch. 2)

Could Captain Phillips be John Thorpe’s nephew?

“Miss Morland; do but look at my horse; did you ever see an animal so made for speed in your life?” … Such true blood! Three hours and and a half indeed coming only three-and-twenty miles! Look at that creature, and suppose it possible if you can.”

“He does look very hot, to be sure.”

“Hot! he had not turned a hair till we came to Walcot Church; but look at his forehand; look at his loins; only see how he moves; that horse cannot go less than ten miles an hour: tie his legs and he will get on.” (Northanger Abbey, ch. 7)

Mark Twain may be on record as detesting Jane Austen, but as this intriguing essay by Emily Auerbach suggests, perhaps he was a closeted Janeite? They certainly both recognized a slow horse (and a fast talker) when they met one.

* That’s the summit of Mauna Kea behind Jane; the altitude is making her feel woozy and a bit off-center.

Aloha! Masterpiece Theatre’s Complete Jane Austen is well underway, and you can read my review of Northanger Abbey on PBS’ blog Remotely Connected. Remotely Connected is a small, diverse group of bloggers who have been chosen to present their perspectives on major PBS programs. I’m thrilled to be invited to participate! Read reviews for all the new Jane Austen films at Remotely Connected.

(And look for more posts on that aloha soon … we’re still taking and labeling photos.)

Happy New Year! With Masterpiece Theatre’s Complete Jane Austen starting this Sunday (13 January), I thought I’d better do a little site maintenance, just like the way I frantically clean house just before somebody visits. If last year’s ITV-related surge is any indication, the next few weeks will be busy.

One of a pair of “Promenade Dress” models from the June 1811 Ackermann’s Repository magazine, this lovely lady now graces the Solitary Elegance header.