Fun and Games: a Word Puzzle

I hope you have your wits about you today, because I have a game for you! Or maybe it’s more like a puzzle to solve, using Jane Austen quotes. It was actually part of a “Scavenger Hunt” theme we did here at Austen Variation over seven years ago, but I thought it would be fun to play it again.

First, though, for those of you who have been wondering, a brief progress report. Since publishing my most recent novel in October (Mr. Knightley in His Own Words) I’ve been remarkably lazy about getting a new project underway. But after reader feedback and careful consideration, I’m now planning to write Captain Wentworth in His Own Words next. That, however, will require some research first on mysterious subjects like smuggling and the workings of the Royal Navy during the Regency years. In the meantime, I’ve written about 13K words of what will either be a very long “short story” or a short novella, featuring Mr. Darcy. Since it has a Christmas connection, I will probably release it in November or December. Stay tuned for more info on these projects in the coming months!

NOW  FOR YOUR GAME! This is how it works. Part 1: below are nine Jane Austen quotes, each with one underlined word for you to unscramble. Some are pretty challenging! Keep a list of those words, because you’ll need them later in Part 2. Ready? Here we go:

You know the story; Willoughby fortuitously happens upon a lovely lady in distress. Miss Marianne Dashwood has sprained her ankle and needs rescuing!

The gentleman offered his services; and perceiving that her modesty nicleded what her situation rendered necessary, took her up in his arms without farther delay and carried her down the hill. (S&S, ch.9)

During the rehash of the Meryton assembly, Mrs. Bennet vents her bad opinion of Mr. Darcy:

“I beg you would not put it into Lizzy’s head to be vexed by his ill-treatment, for he is such a disagreeable man, that it would be quite a trofisemun to be liked by him.” (P&P, ch.5)

Mr. Knightley, uneasy about Emma’s new friendship with Harriet Smith, tries to enlist Mrs. Weston’s support to discourage it. But she’s not worried and claims some lingering authority, leftover from her days as Emma’s governess. She says,

“It has been so many years my province to give cevaid, that you cannot be surprized, Mr. Knightley, at this little remains of office.” (Emma, ch.5)

I’m sure I don’t have to tell you to whom this quote, describing the Meryton assembly, refers:

…he was looked at with great admiration for about half the evening, till his manners gave a disgust which turned the tide of his popularity; for he was crodesived to be proud… (P&P, ch.3)

Here we have the vane Sir Walter Elliot’s indictment against the “dreadful multitude of ugly women of Bath.” If you think it’s a little harsh, keep in mind that he found the men “infinitely worse”!

…once… he had counted eighty-seven women go by, one after another, without there being a tolerable face among them. It had been a frosty morning, to be sure, a prash frost, which hardly one woman in a thousand could stand the test of. (Persuasion, ch.15)

The story of Emma begins as Miss Taylor has just become Mrs. Weston. Even though Emma proudly claims the match is of her own making, she knows she will miss having her friend under the same roof and with her every day.

….she was now in great danger of suffering from lactulintele solitude. She dearly loved her father, but he was no companion for her. (Emma, ch.1)

Marianne Dashwood resents Mrs. Jennings insinuations about Col. Brandon, whom she considers so old that he “must have long outlived any sensation” of an amorous nature. Little does she know…

“It is too ridiculous! When is a man to be safe from such twi, if age and infirmity will not protect him?” (S&S, ch.8)

A miserable Fanny languishes in Portsmouth in the home of her birth parents, desperately wishing she could return to Mansfield Park:

William was gone; and the home he had left her in was, Fanny could not clocena it from herself, in almost every respect the very reverse of what she could have wished. (MP, ch.39)

I just love the light and clever banter between Catherine Morland and Henry Tilney when they first meet at the ball at the Lower Rooms! Don’t you? Here’s one small portion of it for your last word:

“Everybody allows that the talent of writing agreeable letters is peculiarly leafme. Nature may have done something, but I am sure it must be essentially assisted by the practice of keeping a journal.” (NA, ch.3)

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Did you get them all? Then you’re ready for PART 2!

Before, you were looking at quotes from Jane Austen. Now you’ll be looking at one of mine from my second novel, For Myself Alone, But it’s missing some critical words. Take the words you unscrambled in Part 1 and figure out which blanks they belong in to complete the quote correctly. To me, it sounds like something Jane Austen might have written herself. In fact she did write part of it! See if you can find her quote within my quote.  Good luck!

[Alternatively, since this quote is contained within the first few pages, you could follow the link above to the book’s page on Amazon to find the answers by reading the free sample. Or do so to check your work if you wish. No, it’s not cheating! I’m giving you permission!]

To my dismay, I have ___1___ that most gentlemen do not wish their prowess in the ___2___ realm challenged, especially by anyone ___3___. I  remember once reading that a woman, if she have the ___4___ to know anything, should ___5___ it as well as she can. Perhaps I should have taken this ___6___ to heart, for I believe my ___7___ has proved a bit too ___8___ for some. Having once been cut by it, many a man has ___9___ to be put at peril of it again.

Did you figure it out? If you want me to confirm that you’re right, leave your answers in your comment (the missing words in the right order, numbered 1-9). Did you find the quote within the quote? I hope you had fun. Thanks for playing!

In case you haven’t read this one yet, here’s more about For Myself Alone:

The tale of Josephine Walker, a bright, young woman whose quiet life is turned upside-down by an unexpected inheritance. With a tempting fortune of twenty thousand pounds, she’s suddenly the most popular girl in town. Yet Jo longs to be valued for who she is, not for her bank balance. She cannot respect the men who pursue her for her money, and the only one she does admire is considered the rightful property of her best friend. Now, even the motives of her new fiancé are suspect. Does he truly love her for herself alone? There’s one sure, but extreme, way to find out… if she has the courage to take it.

This Austenesque story is the author’s interpretation of what Jane might have written next, with lines from her classic novels sprinkled throughout the text for her fans to find.