Good Afternoon everyone,
I’m very happy to be welcoming author Heather Moll for a wonderful guest post about her recently released book, His Choice of a Wife. Ms. Moll choose to bring to From Pemberley to Milton an excerpt where Mr. Darcy allows Georgiana to waltz in a ball and because this was still a new type of dancing in 1812, she also developed a guest post where you can learn more about this dance. Also, there is more to this scene then the excerpt you see here today. There is another wonderful scene at Meredith’s blog Austenesque Reviews, so if you want to know more about waltzing, please stop by her blog and check it out 🙂
Thank you for hosting me at Pemberley to Milton today, Rita! I’m very excited to share a short excerpt from His Choice of a Wife and talk a little bit about waltzing in England. In the scene below, Elizabeth is returning Georgiana Darcy’s call—at her brother’s house—where the two talk about learning a new dance.
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“I spend Thursday mornings in dance lessons with other ladies. There is but one in the group for whom I felt anything akin to friendship. My brother may loathe dancing”—Miss Darcy offered a small smile—“but even he would agree to the importance of learning what is fashionable.”
“To execute perfectly the steps of an English country dance and to make polite conversation while remaining attentive to the demands of the dance requires skill. What did you and your companions review today?”
“The turning waltz” was her reply, and they spoke animatedly about the intimate dance and its supposed affront to English morals. Miss Darcy declared she would be too mortified to be seen clasping a gentleman so closely but conceded the dance was graceful.
“It is fortunate that I am far too proper for such wickedness,” Elizabeth said playfully. “Otherwise, I might regret not having the opportunity to learn the steps so I might scandalize my country neighbors.”
“There is nothing shocking in the side-by-side position, only in the closed.” Miss Darcy inhaled deeply and nearly tripped over her words. “Would you care for me to show you the steps?”
Is Darcy doing something scandalous by allowing his little sister to learn to waltz in 1812? But no one even waltzed in Regency England, right?
While it’s true that a waltz on Dancing with the Stars was nothing like what the English danced in early 19th century, the waltz WAS danced then, and by the time Georgiana is learning it wasn’t as inappropriate as you might think. Early waltz music was sold by London’s music vendors in the 1780s. At first, waltz only referred to the music and the dancing figures were the same as English country dance steps.
By the 1790s, the couple-waltz appeared in England at society balls— twenty years before His Choice of a Wife is set. The Morning Post in 1801 describes how the Marchioness of Abercorn opened her ball with the “German waltz” and it was attended by much of the nobility and royalty. Other balls mentioning a waltz appear in the newspapers in the first decades of the 19th century, and dancing masters begin advertising their services in teaching the waltz.
So what was the controversy about this new dance?
Some hints appear in what was said in this 1811 article: “… no considerate father, mother, husband, or brother, can approve of this familiar clasping German Waltz, and that it can only find advocates among volatile young men who like to twist, twirl and spin the girls about, and turn them into whirligigs”.
The author of the etiquette guide The Mirror of the Graces also said in 1811: “There is something in the close approximation of persons, in the attitudes, and in the motion, which ill agrees with the delicacy of woman, should she be placed in such a situation with any other man than the most intimate connection she can have in life.”
All of that spinning and close holding and extended eye-contact was quite a change from country dances!
The debate waged through the first decade of the 19th century, but the nobility danced it… and the moralists were worn down. Change is hard, right? A turning point was in 1814 after the—temporary—defeat of Napoleon when European dignitaries had state visits to London and the waltz was widely danced. Even Jane Austen’s brother Henry attended one of the state balls that summer!
Different classes of London society had differing opinions of the waltz, but the truth was it was popular among higher circles and foreign dignitaries, and it gradually made its way down the social ladder and substituted country dancing.
So what exactly did Georgiana teach Elizabeth in 1812 in His Choice of a Wife?
About 50 seconds in to this short clip you’ll see the side-by-side promenade position, and then the more intimate closed position, with left arms arched over their heads and right arms wrapped around their partners. These are what the Elizabeth and Georgiana practice first, but it’s the faster-paced—and noisy— hopping and skipping that attracts the attention of anyone else who might be in the house…
If any of you are interested in reading a longer excerpt from that waltzing scene, visit yesterday’s blog stop at Austenesque Reviews.
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When a man’s honor is at stake, what is he willing to risk for the woman he loves?
After a disastrous marriage proposal and the delivery of an illuminating letter, Fitzwilliam Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet hope never to lay eyes on one another again. When a chance meeting in Hunsford immediately throws them in each other’s way, Darcy realizes his behavior needs correcting, and Elizabeth starts to appreciate his redeeming qualities. But is it enough to forgive the past and overcome their prejudices?
Jane and Bingley’s possible reconciliation and Lydia’s ill-conceived trip to Brighton pose their own challenges for two people struggling to find their way to love. When scandalous news threatens their chance at happiness, will Darcy and Elizabeth’s new bond be shattered, or will their growing affection hold steadfast?
You can find His Choice of a Wife at:
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Heather Moll is an avid reader with a B.A. in European history and a M.A. in library science, so it is astonishing that she did not discover Jane Austen until her late-twenties. Making up for lost time, she devoured all of Austen’s novels, her letters, and unpublished works, joined JASNA, and spent far too much time researching the Regency era. She is thrilled to have found fellow Janeites and the JAFF community, if only to prove that her interests aren’t so strange after all. Heather is a former librarian turned stay-at-home mother who struggles to find time for all of the important things, like reading and writing.
You can contact Heather thought the following social media:
Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/HeatherMollAuthor/
Twitter Author Page: https://twitter.com/HMollAuthor?lang=en
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Heather-Moll/e/B07V5KLGB8/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_1
Goodreads Page: https://www.goodreads.com/HeatherMoll
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We are right in the middle of the blog tour, so you still have plenty of excerpts, guest posts and reviews to read. You can see the next stops below:
July 25 More Agreeably Engaged
July 26 Babblings of a Bookworm
July 27 My Love for Jane Austen
July 28 Half Agony, Half Hope
July 29 Austenesque Reviews
July 30 From Pemberley to Milton
July 31 Savvy Verse & Wit
Aug. 1 Darcyholic Diversions
Aug. 2 Diary of an Eccentric
Aug. 3 Margie’s Must Reads
Aug. 4 My Jane Austen Book Club
Aug. 5 So Little Time…
Aug. 6 My Vices and Weaknesses
Meryton Press is giving away 8 eBooks of Heather Moll’s His Choice of a Wife. To apply to it all you have to do is comment on this post and click on this rafflecopter link.
Good Luck Everyone!
Thank you for welcoming me at From Pemberley to Milton, Rita!
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Thanks for the interesting information about waltz, I enjoyed the scene from the book.
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That scene is one of my favorites, Kate. I’m glad you enjoyed it and the waltz info, too. Thanks for saying hello!
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That was interesting; the waltz looked much easier to learn than the country dances, but you can see why they were considered scandalous! I imagine they were tiring as well. Thanks for the informative post, Heather. 🙂
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They were real exercise, weren’t they Kelly! Thanks for stopping by!
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I pre-ordered, read & enjoyed the book. I really appreciate the video clip of the turning waltz, as that had had me befuddled.
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Sometimes having a visual is helpful, isn’t it? Thanks for reading it Beatrice! I’m glad you enjoyed it.
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Done quite a bit of old English country dancing but never learnt the waltz
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I haven’t braved English country dancing yet- I fear for the lives of my fellow dancers. If you have any suggestions let me know!
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This was so interesting! When I hear ‘waltz’ I think of dances like that picture you posted, from Dancing with the Stars. I had no idea there was any other way to do it! I love bits of information like this. Thanks for sharing!
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Isn’t it fascinating? I love finding myself at the bottom of a research rabbit hole. Thank you for being here today!
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This book looks delightful. I’ve added it to my TBR list.
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I’m so glad you’ve added His Choice of a Wife to your to read pile! Thanks for visiting today, Leeza!
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That was really interesting. I cannot keep rhythm and no matter how hard I try or how much I practice I invariably forget the next move and get confused. On top of that I have 2 left feet on backwards. Thank you for sharing the video as well as the background.
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I’m hardly any better, Debbie! I’m happy to watch the others from the safety of the sidelines. Thanks for stopping by!
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Thanks for the information (and video) about the turning waltz. I didn’t know it differed from the usual waltz I’ve seen performed in movies.
Congrats on your book, Heather!
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I’m glad you found the waltz interesting Pam! Thanks for visiting and for your well wishes 🙂
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Fascinating! Definitely appreciating the videos and background research, Heather…
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Nothing better than a tumble down the research rabbit hole! Many a happy hour I spend down there lol thank you for saying hello!
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I’m glad you appreciated my nerdy attention to accuracy! I do have fun with it. Thanks for saying hello!
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Wonderful post. Thank you for the giveaway.
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Thank you for stopping by Becky. Best of luck in the giveaway!
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Fascinating excerpt and accompanying article! This blog tour is coming along splendidly and we have hosts like Rita to thank for it!
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I’m so glad you found them both interesting! Thanks for coming along the blog tour 🙂
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This is the first time I saw this type of Waltz. Interesting. I see how it can be seen improper those days. Tank you for sharing and the chance to win a copy of this book.
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Isn’t it fascinating? Thank you for visiting today 🙂
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Thanks so much for the video clip, I couldn’t picture it in my mind without that! I can now see Darcy enjoying that dance with Elizabeth (although not so much with Miss Bingley 😂)
I’m still looking forward to reading this one and am enjoying the tour. Thanks Rita 😁
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Sometimes a visual can be very helpful, especially since what they danced wasn’t exactly what we think of when we hear ‘waltz’. And I can’t blame Darcy for wanting to avoid a waltz with Miss Bingley *shudder* Thanks for being a part of the tour Glynis!
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What a delightful clip. I didn’t realize that was the dance they were using in that movie version of Emma. Excellent. I suppose you wouldn’t want to dance the waltz with just anyone. Man, that would be brutal to be in that close proximity with someone you didn’t like.
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Imagine poor Elizabeth and Mr Collins forced to waltz? No thank you! Thanks for being so supportive this blog tour 🙂
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Learning more about the waltz and how it was done by Darcy and Lizzy was fun. I can picture them better now as I think of that scene, which is still one of my favorites. I could feel the electricity as I read it! Thanks for sharing the pics and the videos to go along with your interesting post. Thanks to Rita for hosting.
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I’ve always loved that scene, too. One of the favorites of everything I’ve written. Thanks Janet!
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That was very interesting, Heather! The video of that different waltz is nothing like the waltz I had in my mind, hehe. But I can well understand how it was scandalous at that time, since they were so much closer while dancing. I love the scene where Elizabeth visits Georgiana. 😉
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The Georgians danced a waltz that was not quite like what I had to do in middle school gym class! Having a visual was very helpful while writing. I’m glad to see you on the blog tour Daniela 🙂
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I love the waltz and enjoyed watching the video. Thanks for sharing.
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I’m so glad you liked the visuals! I found them very helpful 🙂 thanks for stopping by
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Lovely post 🙂
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Thanks for reading it Maria!
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Great post Heather. Fascinating to read a bit about the history of the waltz. Thanks again for the generous giveaway. Count me in! I’d really love to read your book. 🙂
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I’m so glad that you enjoyed the post Elaine. Best of luck in the giveaway 🙂
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Love the excerpt more and more
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So glad you liked the post 🙂
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It’s fascinating to learn more about the waltz, Heather. Although I did know that it’s risque to dance during Regency times, I don’t know how scandalous it is. Thank you for sharing some historical accounts of the subject to give a perspective on society’s reaction to this new form of dancing.
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I happy that you found it interesting! I love that you find it as fascinating as I do 🙂
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I love posts which teach me historical tidbits. I couldn’t quite see Regency people dancing the waltz as we know it, but I wasn’t sure what it was like, so it was good to see the examples 🙂
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Isn’t it fascinating? I like having a visual, too. Thanks for participating in the blog tour, Ceri!
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