Enthusiasm (26 page)

He had the entire Patrick O’Brian series of naval novels in a heap behind the door and admitted to having read them all—“But don’t tell my dad, it would please him too much,” he said. He lent me the first one after making me promise to keep it away from Ashleigh for a few weeks. “Let her go on sharing Ned’s interests for as long as possible.”

I found it hard to drag myself to school during that heavenly period. I particularly resented the Thursday afternoon wasted at
Sailing
. Seth took care to talk to me just as much as ever, as if to prove that there had been nothing particular behind his attentions. But he soon took up with Margaret Barsky, a tall, pretty girl in Ms. Milburn’s third-period bio, who had hair the same color as mine. They appeared regularly as a couple at the Cinepalace and the Java Jail. I often caught her looking at me with triumph tinged with dislike. From time to time, too, I caught a glance from Seth so full of some strangled emotion that I regretted ever having allowed him to think—whatever it was he
had
thought.

My father and stepmother mourned Seth’s loss as if he had been one of their own dreamed-of babies. Parr, they pointedly let me know, would never replace him in their affections.

When Forefield started up again, Parr and I had to sustain ourselves with e-mail for several weeks. Then we had the happy thought of volunteering at the Byzantium Senior Center at the same time on Tuesday evenings. It was a savvy move for college applications—or at least, that’s how I presented it to Dad.

Yvette Gerard, after her
Insomnia
experience, found she liked acting as much as her sister did. With some help behind the scenes from Samantha, the twins and Ashleigh seized control of Byz High’s spring musical from the Michelle Jeffries clique. Ash volunteered to compose the music, and after some persuasion, I agreed to write the lyrics.

With all my new activities, time flew by. It’s April already. The Forefield Spring Frolic is this Saturday. Parr and Ned gave us our tickets as soon as they were printed, and we look forward to producing them at the first sight of Turkeyface.

Ash has been giggling mysteriously all week, hiding sheets of music whenever I show up at her window. (The tree lost its ice weeks ago, but I have to be careful not to tear the tender young leaves.) I suspect she and Ned may be planning to surprise me with a waltz or a quadrille arrangement of the tune to which Ashleigh set the poem I wrote so long ago, when Parr seemed to me only a hopeless dream.

So far, Ashleigh’s musical craze has held strong, and Parr and I have high hopes that even when it changes, as it inevitably will, her loyalty to those she loves will not allow her to leave Ned behind.

The End

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

No writer could have a warmer friend or a more generous reader than Anna Christina Büchmann, or a keener, more loving husband than Andrew Nahem, who gave me my best joke and taught me everything I know about happy endings. For their insight, encouragement, and generosity I’m greatly indebted also to Nancy Paulsen, my editor; Irene Skolnick, my agent; and Michael Abrams, Mark Caldwell, Eunice Chan, Stacey D’Erasmo, Lisa Dierbeck, Carol Dweck, John Hart, Elizabeth Judd, Katherine Keenum, Eleanor Liu, Anne Malcolm, Shanti Menon, Christina Milburn, Laura Miller, Laurie Muchnick, James O’Shea, Lisa Randall, Jenna Reback, Maggie Robbins, Andrew Solomon, Cindy Spiegel, Jaime Wolf, and Shenglan Yuan. And for their love, support, intelligence, and humor I’m grateful to my family: my brother, Theodore Shulman; my mother and stepfather, Alix Kates Shulman and Scott York; my father and stepmother, Martin and Beverly Shulman; and all the Nahems, especially my niece Emily and my father-in-law, Sam, who was as beloved as he was bald.

Enthusiasm

READER’S GUIDE

Little-known facts about
Enthusiasm
and Jane Austen

• Jane Austen’s niece, Anna, wrote a novel called
Enthusiasm
, which she sent to her aunt. Jane had many encouraging things to say, including suggesting that Anna change the title to
Which is the Heroine?

• The character of Charles Grandison Parr—or Parr for short—was named after Sir Charles Grandison, the hero of Samuel Richardson’s 1753 novel of that name and one of Jane Austen’s favorite literary characters.

• Jane Austen published her novels anonymously, as was the custom of female writers at the time.

• Like many of Austen’s heroines, Jane herself turned down an offer of marriage that would have allowed her to live a more comfortable life and be less dependent on her family. In the end, she never married.

The Life and Legacy of Jane Austen

Jane Austen (1775-1817) lived her entire life in the English countryside with her mother, father, sister, and two brothers. She never married nor ventured far from the confines of her family’s home, yet she wrote some of the most enduring novels of her time, including
Pride and Prejudice
,
Sense & Sensibility
, and
Emma
.

When Jane Austen penned her first novel in 1789, little did she know that the stories she acted out in her drawing room with her sister and brothers would affect popular culture hundreds of years later. Dozens of movie adaptations of her novels have been made and continue to be popular, starring actors such as Keira Knightley, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Winslet, Colin Firth, and Hugh Grant. Her writing has inspired other books as well, such as
Bridget Jones’s Diary
,
The Jane Austen Book Club,
and
Jane Austen’s Guide to Dating
.

Discussion Questions

1. Why do you think Jane Austen and her books have endured as long as they have? Why do Jane Austen’s stories translate so well into modern stories?

2. Have you ever read any of Jane Austen’s books? If so, what similarities and differences do you see between Austen’s works and
Enthusiasm
?

3. “There is little more likely to exasperate a person of sense than finding herself tied by affection and habit to an Enthusiast.” Do you know/have known an enthusiast? Were you ever one yourself? Although Julie complains about her friend’s enthusiasm, what admirable qualities can be found in Ashleigh’s exuberance?

4. If you could produce a movie based on a Jane Austen story, which would you choose and from what angle would you approach it: Comedy or drama? Present day or historical setting?

5. Have you ever had a crush on the same person as your best friend? If so, what happened?

6. Throughout the story Julie is careful to point out what a good friend Ashleigh is to her. Unfortunately, Ashleigh’s not always a very good listener. At the same time, Julie is keeping secrets from Ashleigh. Could you still say they are great friends? Why or why not?

7. Class was an important issue for people in Jane Austen’s time. In what ways does the issue of class/money come up in
Enthusiasm
?

8. Do you think Julie handles her relationship with her stepmother well? What could Julie and her stepmother do to improve their relationship?