Showing results by author "Elizabeth Boyd" in All Categories

In this romance anthology, 10 Austenesque authors sketch Pride and Prejudice heroine Elizabeth Bennet's character through a collection of re-imaginings, set in the Regency through contemporary times. In Elizabeth: Obstinate, Headstrong Girl, she bares her most intimate thoughts, all the while offering biting social commentary about life’s absurdities. Elizabeth overcomes the obstacles of others’ opinions, not to mention her own flaws, to find a love truly worthy of her - her Mr. Darcy - all with humor and her sparkling charm.

Elizabeth was not off to a good start in life, unwanted even before she was born. Fortunately, the tiny baby was placed in the loving care of her paternal grandparents, where she lived for the first three years of her life. Then, her abusive father arbitrarily decided that she belonged with her parents and unceremoniously ripped her from the only safe, secure home she had ever known. In spite of her turbulent childhood and teen years, Elizabeth managed to go to college and become a physical therapist.

In a trio of popular gender rituals—sorority rush, beauty pageants, and the Confederate Pageant of the Natchez (Mississippi) Pilgrimage—young white southern women have readily ditched contemporary modes of dress and comportment for performances of purity, gentility, and deference. Clearly, the ability to "do" white southern womanhood, convincingly and on cue, has remained a valued performance. Based on ethnographic research and taped interviews, Southern Beauty goes behind the scenes of the three rituals to explore the motivations and rewards associated with participation.