Introduction to (Grey Pony)

Quizzes, Coxcombs, Old Grey Ponies, Dashed Off Letters and the Gentle Art of Being an Excellent Walker

My copy of Persuasion, purchased in 1995 and still in use. This Wordworth Classics edition of Persuasion features a detail from the illustration April Showers Bring May Flowers by caricaturist Faustin Betbeder (1847 – 1914)

While it is true that a book, or whatever object that metaphor is applied to, ought not to be judged by it’s cover, never let it be said the cover isn’t yet significant. At thirteen years old I hadn’t yet read any Jane Austen, and though I read constantly, my exposure to books that weren’t Enid Blyton or on the school list and/or didn’t involve vampires, preferably, or adventures on the other side of wardrobes or looking glasses, was minimal. But I was however very into black and white movies and spent most of my early teenage years absorbed in old movies, reading books and devoting much time and energy to clandestine smoking. Clearly, I did little homework. It was through one of these black and white movies that I first came across Austen, thanks to the Laurence Olivier phase I was in and the 1940 Pride and Prejudice adaptationion he was in. Incidentally, that phase started with a viewing of That Hamilton Woman, also less sensationally billed as Lady Hamilton outside of the US. The same movie also was the first small grain in my interest in all things Georgian (era not country – sorry Republic of Georgia, no offence!) including of course, literature.

Although the Pride and Prejudice film was really quite terrible, there was something about the dialogue and the characters that intrigued me. I found the novel in my school library, checked it out, and didn’t read it. Probably too busy reading Anne Rice novels and smoking and watching movies, habits which contributed no doubt to my leaving high school shortly thereafter at 15 and getting a job in a bookstore. Suddenly I had money. Not much but enough for a trip to blessedly air conditioned shops in the city on Fridays to buy a book, see a movie and drink coffee (from an espresso machine! Crazy). In a bookstore there where I was probably looking for a new Anne Rice novel, there was a table loaded up with Wordsworth Classics going for three or four dollars. I perused them enthusiastically but didn’t recognise any names or titles except for Dracula and Frankenstein, which, being bend toward the fantastical at that age, I’d naturally already read, until I came across Persuasion by Jane Austen. The volume was slim and neat, and the book’s showery, billowy cover caught my imagination* so I happily purchased it, hardly knowing that I was taking a first step into my adulthood and my future.

It might seem excessive to say that a three dollar copy of Persuasion I bought when I was 15 influenced my life, but it did. I stumbled into what would become my chief interest in life, 18th century literature and the study of European history.  A whole new world opened up to me then, of things I knew very little of at the time..the classics of European literature, art and music and even interiors, landscaping and of course, tea (made from real leaves! Crazy). And l reckon that the landscape gardener who had the most lasting influence over the parks and shrubberies of the era has the best nickname ever: Capability Brown.

More than ten years on, Persuasion is still a favourite and it will always be the first really adult book I bought with my own money, for myself. And thanks to my much indulged pursuit, when I inevitably went back to high school three years after buying it,  it was with a mind to study English Literature and European Languages.  I am presently a student of The University of British Columbia pursuing a degree in Modern European Studies.  I previously studied Romance Literauture, and French, Italian and German Language Studies at The University of Western Australia.

All research is conducted and all original content is written by Rebecca Hasenauer.  (Grey Pony) is a not for profit website with no commercial affiliations. If you’d like to discuss a guest submissionn contact rebecca.hasenauer@gmail.com

The graphic design for (Grey Pony) features details from three 18th century decorative art pieces:

Printed textile by John Slack, Salford, Lancashire, England circa 1805
Philadelphia Museum of Art Accession Number 1949-58-2

Bed curtain textile from Nixon & Co., Phippsbridge, Surrey, England 1770-1780
The Victoria and Albert Museum Accession Number T.612-1996

Printed textile by Oberkampf, Jouy-en-Josas, France circa 1790
Philadelphia Museum of Art Accession Number 1926-72-1