Why I Think Jane Austen Was Smarter Than Einstein
Why I Think Jane Austen Was Smarter Than Einstein
And other reasons I reread her books often
For starters, all Einstein had to do was invent the space-time continuum, making time travel such as portrayed in my book, The Renaissance Club, theoretically possible. You could say Einstein spawned the Outlander series, and many more.
But Jane Austen had to turn her quiet mostly country life into a series of dramas involving romance, money, death, illness, lost chances, sibling rivalries and affections, good parents, bad parents, scoundrels, and ill-bred aristocrats. She had to invent new ways to keep readers turning pages. She had to keep track of multiple character plots and development, invent colorful and memorable people who were all distinct from one another. Maybe Charles Dickens invented more, but Jane invented whole villages full of people who often seem more real than the people I know.
She studied theater
Nowadays, authors read long, boring books about plot structure, but in Jane’s day, all you had to do to be a clever writer was go to see a play. She enjoyed the witty comedies of Sheridan.
She uses weather to develop her plots
Think about Pride and Prejudice. Would Jane ever have married Mr. Bingley (spoiler alert) if her mother hadn’t sent her out into a storm to nearly catch her death and have to wind up in bed recuperating at Mr. Bingley’s mansion? Of course not! In Sense and Sensibility, the foolish Marianne goes off walking into a brooding day blithely assuming that if she ever fell into trouble, a handsome gentleman would rescue her—which happens, except that Willoughby turns out to be no gentleman after all.
She practically invented the unreliable narrator novel
If you liked Girl on the Train, Catcher in the Rye, or Gone Girl, you’ve appreciated an unreliable narrator. Jane Austen invented this kind of flawed main character in her brilliantly narcissistic and manipulative Emma. Emma lets us in on the fact that the main character we’re so ready to like and follow has little, shall we call them, issues. She thinks she knows who should be matched with whom. She believes herself to be a compassionate, kind person. Most of all, she thinks her neighbor Mr. Knightly should have no other goal in life than to be her and her father’s easygoing companion.
All Einstein had to do was come up with a little equation. I put it to you, dear reader, that inventing all those people and their interactions, while holding them in her head and writing them forward—without benefit of cut-and-paste, mind you—required a level of genius dear Albert could only aspire to.
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The Renaissance Club
by Rachel Dacus
Time Travel Romance
January 23, 2018
Would you give up everything, even the time in which you live, to be with your soul mate?
May Gold, college adjunct, often dreams about the subject of her master’s thesis - Gianlorenzo Bernini. In her fantasies she’s in his arms, the wildly adored partner of the man who invented the Baroque.
But in reality, May has just landed in Rome with her teaching colleagues and older boyfriend. She yearns to unleash her passion and creative spirit, and when the floor under the gilded dome of St Peter’s basilica rocks under her feet, she gets her chance. Walking through the veil that appears, she finds herself in the year 1624, staring straight into Bernini’s eyes. Their immediate and powerful attraction grows throughout May’s tour of Italy. And as she continues to meet her ethereal partner, even for brief snatches of time, her creativity and confidence blossom. All the doorways to happiness seem blocked for May-all except the shimmering doorway to Bernini’s world.
May has to choose: stay in her safe but stagnant existence, or take a risk. Will May’s adventure in time ruin her life or lead to a magical new one?
About the Author:
Rachel Dacus is the daughter of a bipolar rocket engineer who blew up a number of missiles during the race-to-space 1950’s. He was also an accomplished painter. Rachel studied at UC Berkeley and has remained in the San Francisco area. Her most recent book, Gods of Water and Air, combines poetry, prose, and a short play on the afterlife of dogs. Other poetry books are Earth Lessons and Femme au Chapeau.
Her interest in Italy was ignited by a course and tour on the Italian Renaissance. She’s been hooked on Italy ever since. Her essay “Venice and the Passion to Nurture” was anthologized in Italy, A Love Story: Women Write About the Italian Experience. When not writing, she raises funds for nonprofit causes and takes walks with her Silky Terrier. She blogs at Rocket Kid Writing.
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