Welcome to British Isles Friday! British Isles Friday is a weekly event for sharing all things British and Irish — reviews, photos, opinions, trip reports, guides, links, resources, personal stories, interviews, and research posts. Join us each Friday to link your British and Irish themed content and to see what others have to share. The link list is at the bottom of this post. Pour a cup of tea or lift a pint and join our link party!

Last week, I did some royal watching in celebration of the engagement of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. Sim is waiting for the release of The Mercy starring Colin Firth and Rachel Weisz. While she waits, she’s enjoying the series The A Word, set in the Lake District. Mike shared his ten favorite British castles — and they are stunning! Becky reviewed Norman The Slug with the Silly Shell and shared her 25 favorite teas.

I successfully completed NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) in November, finishing a 50,000 word novel in 30 days. The most fun part of the experience for me was inventing The Regency Museum in London. Are you surprised that there isn’t one in real life? I housed it in a Georgian townhouse in Mayfair, between Hyde Park and Grosvenor Square. The employees, visitors, and donors are early 19th century historians and/or fans of Jane Austen or Georgette Heyer.

To celebrate winning NaNoWriMo, I bought myself a front-row ticket to see the play Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley at the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis.

TUESDAY, NOV. 28, 2017 – This is the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis’ production of “Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley” at the Loretto-Hilton Center.
©Photo by Jerry Naunheim Jr.

The featured Miss Bennet is Mary, the middle of the five sisters. In Pride and Prejudice, she’s the bookish and moralistic one who is the least interesting Bennet girl. According to this review of a production in California last year, Mary has improved in the two years since her sister Lizzy married Mr. Darcy. Mary has lost some prudishness and acquired a quiet wit. According to this review of a production in the Chicago area last year, playwrights Lauren Gunderson and Margot Melcon do something that would never have occurred to Jane Austen — celebrate a nerdy woman.

I’ve been to movies by myself, but never a play. I’m ridiculously proud of myself for making that leap. And, of course, buying a solo ticket makes it much easier to get a front-row seat. I’m going on the 20th, so I’ll let you know just before Christmas what I thought.