First of all, I think I can speak for Miss Osborne and Mrs. Fitzpatrick in saying a huge and heartfelt thank you for playing Jane Austen’s March Madness with us—for filling out brackets, for voting in each round, for Facebooking and Twittering and e-mailing and spreading the word (and, in one particularly endearing case, for asking us about the results between Easter services). Your enthusiasm surpassed our wildest hopes, and we couldn’t have had a successful tournament without your help and your humor and your willingness to play along. We had a great time moderating (and speculating), and we hope you had a great time playing. You’re the best!
But let’s get down to business and talk about Anne Elliot’s miracle race for the championship, shall we?
Anne Elliot—spinsterish, unassuming to a fault, and heroine of one of Austen’s less-read novels—went down to the dazzling and absurdly popular Elizabeth Bennet in the Final Four, making her the runner-up on the ladies’ side. She beat out Elinor Dashwood and her final passionate outburst, Jane Bennet and her notorious lovely/lovable combo, and even her own handsome nice-guy pirate Wentworth to become the only non-Bennet to make it to the end of the tournament. It appears that something about the air (sea air, one assumes) outside of Persuasion did her some good: in the universe of her own novel, Anne would never have put up this much of a fight.
So why did she make it so far in March Madness? Further, what kind of revealing psychological assumptions can we make about the Austenacious community at large, now that we’re equipped with this kind of data? (“Data”: statisticians everywhere shudder. Sorry, math!)
Maybe, through some ironic trick of the cosmos, the Austenacious target demographic is the demographic of maturity—in much the way that Persuasion is Austen’s treatise on autumn and long-suffering and the virtues of rekindled love. Maybe we know what it’s like to wait without hope. Maybe we have ineffectual fathers and well-meaning but occasionally overbearing lady neighbors. Maybe we like a good trip to the sea. Maybe we know that, as Benwick so heartbreakingly points out, the death of a relationship isn’t so different from the death of a person.
Or, you know, maybe we just have a thing for sailors.
Readers?
Ladies and gentlemen, we have two winners to congratulate tonight!
First, by a near 2-to-1 victory, allow me to present the Champion of Jane Austen’s March Madness:
Miss Elizabeth Bennet!
I’m sure we’d all like to congratulate Miss Elizabeth on her stunning victory—really a walkthrough, ladies and gentleman—as we’ve seen, there have simply been no serious contenders for this lady! Even her own husband did not present that much of a challenge. (Well, we knew that. 
) What’s next for Miss Elizabeth? The chat shows/books have had a field day speculating—I’ve heard rumors of zombie hunting, vampires, vampyres, and all sorts of gossip dished up about the championship couple, though I find it all a little hard to credit, given the sources. But really, Miss Elizabeth is like Greta Garbo. She’s walked away from the stage with NO announcement of any dramatic plans, and we just can’t stand that, can we?
Well, we here at Austenacious wish her good luck, at least, in all her future endeavors, whatever they may be!
Next, we’d like to thank all of our lovely voters, and most especially those brave souls who waded into the cross-book politics and submitted brackets! We salute you! Fully 1/3 of you chose the correct champion, but it’s all in the details, as they say: remember, this pool was judged on highest number of correct picks.
So, we would most especially like to congratulate the winner of the Jane Austen March Madness pool, Alexa Adams, who, even though she did not correctly choose the final champion, blew us away with a stunning 52 correct picks! Ms. Adams clearly has her finger on the pulse of the Jane Austen fighting community, and who can blame her for succumbing to Mr. Darcy’s charms at the last minute? Second place goes to Meredith Esparza, who had 51 correct picks, including the championship match itself, and third place goes to Felicia Soechting, with 50 correct picks, also including the championship.
Congratulations, Ms. Adams, Ms. Esparza, and Ms. Soechting! Your special prizes will be announced shortly (big news there, everyone, stay tuned!), and we’ll be in touch with you personally to arrange for delivery.
Whew! Thanks, everyone, for playing! It’s been a busy two weeks, but exciting too! Will we do this again next year? Only time will tell . . .
Photo credit: ©2010 Heather Dever. Some rights reserved. Please credit where used.
Well, it’s been a long, hard season for our final competitors, and for all of us. I’d like to thank all the characters who played in Jane Austen’s March Madness, and to say, better luck next year, or at home in your own books, or in the pro basketball field – whichever way you choose to go!
I think we all knew, in our hearts, who these two finalists must be. Anne put up the best fight Lizzie’s seen yet, but, let’s face it, there is only one Elizabeth Bennet. And Mr. Darcy has been a fighting machine throughout. So now we get to turn our attention to this most pondered upon, slavered over relationship, and ask ourselves, in a game of Scrabble, in a game of ping-pong, in the lists of love, WHOSE CUISINE WILL REIGN SUPREME??
Excuse me, everyone, I think I’m a little overcome. This is, after all, the shipper battle of the ages. What’s The Taming of the Shrew to Pride and Prejudice, I ask you? Crudity itself, obviously.
OK, beloved voters! Give this one some deep thought and tell us, in a battle of wits, in a duel to the death, in a love fest for the ages, who would win? VOTING ENDS TUESDAY NIGHT!
Photo credit: ©2010 Heather Dever. Some rights reserved. Please credit where used.
Three Janes, One Ball, Four Amazing Players!
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome indeed to the stratosphere of the Final Four! Here we find Jane Austen’s toughest, most beloved characters. I think you know who they are, but I cannot help presenting them one by one! Without further ado, we have:
- Mr. Darcy! Fresh from a knockout round against his father-in-law, Mr. Darcy’s tall frame makes those slam dunks no problem, but is he as quick with his hands and ideas as . . .
- Mr. Bingley! His ideas flow so fast he sometimes can’t express them. Still, he did not fumble the ball against Mr. John Knightley. Mr. John didn’t hold it together here—his temper, you know, is not always the best. Still, it was a close run thing. Unlike the women’s side! And that brings me to . . .
- Miss Elizabeth Bennet! Miss Elizabeth has superb control of the ball and sparkling wit—no match has proved any trouble yet, for this last and most unstoppable Bennet. No match, until . . .
- Miss Anne Elliot! Tenacious Anne, quiet and persistent—She has the best stamina and longest reach of any of our field. A little high-schooler like Catherine Morland was no match against such a seasoned player. Whatever happens this week, we know Miss Anne has a brilliant pro career ahead of her! Though that can be said of all our Final Four contestants!
I think you all know the drill by now, but things are happening fast and furious here at the close! Make sure you vote in all the final rounds!
Final Four: NOW until SATURDAY NIGHT AT MIDNIGHT, April 3/4.
Championship: Voting opens SATURDAY NIGHT AT MIDNIGHT, April 3/4 and closes MONDAY NIGHT AT MIDNIGHT, April 5/6.
We will then crown a champion character and a champion bracketeer! Good luck, citizens of Austenland! May your brackets be fruitful!
Once again, peerless voters, in a battle of wits, in a duel to the death, in a love fest for the ages, who would win?
Photo credit: ©2010 by Heather Dever. Some rights reserved: Please credit where used.
OK, we’re getting down to it now. I refer to the movers and shakers, the players who will not go away, obnoxious as they may be. I refer of course to those social climbers and dribbling slam-dunkers, the Bennet family. Will they be unstoppable? Only time and you, our beloved voters, will tell.
Sweet 16 went pretty much by the smart money. See the Austenacious_MarchMadness_Sweet16_Official bracket for the official results. Voting highlights:
- Colonel Fitzwilliam finally found his match in the redoubtable Mr. Bennet. Sarcasm wins the day! (Well, duh. . .)
- 29% of you gave your love to Henry Tilney, but it was not enough. No, not nearly enough. Next up, Mr. Darcy battles his prospective father-in-law, who, remember “has talents which even he cannot deny.”
- John Knightley squeaks by Frank Churchill, in another overtime match. Veddy interesting! Jane Fairfax, are you listening to this?! John Knightley may be kind of surly, but at least he doesn’t flirt with another girl in front of his fiancée. There’s words for that where we come from!
- And Mr. Bingley takes down Robert Martin (nice, gentlemanly, and rich beats nice, gentlemanly, and middle class) to face John Knightley in the coming round.
- As we all expected, the UNSTOPPABLE FORCE that is Elizabeth Bennet dealt quite handily with Miss Bates, as we know she would have had they ever met face to face. Emma’s little comment just isn’t in with what Lizzie could say! Though I don’t think Lizzie would ever be as unsubtle as Emma, do you? Miss Bates did get one sympathy vote, though, which I’m guessing was our own Miss Woodhouse on the flip side.
- In another 27-million hour game, Lady Catherine went down to Mrs. Bennet by just one vote! Both those ladies can talk, as you know, but Mrs. B did outscore Lady C in the marriage market by a handy 3 to 0, so I see this as her victory by rights, anyway.
- Emma Woodhouse, handsome, clever, and rich, got ousted by Anne Elliot, faded, unblooming, and silent. Is this the Emma haters at work, or the Anne lovers? Or both?
- Catherine Morland took down Mrs. Elton with no trouble to win the final spot at the Elite 8 table. I do think Harriet Smith is pleased about that! However, she now faces Anne Elliot is both nice (take that, Henry Tilney!) and smart. Hmm. . .
Who will advance to the rarefied air of the Final Four? Only you can tell! Elite 8 voting ends THURSDAY NIGHT AT MIDNIGHT, April 1/2.
Once again, peerless voters, in a battle of wits, in a duel to the death, in a love fest for the ages, who would win?
Well, kids, thanks for playing in the Second Round! We are now on to the Sweet 16, which is sort of funny, since our one 16-year-old (Lydia) got taken out by her own mother. This is war, ladies! Check out the Austenacious_MarchMadness_Round2_Official bracket for the standings. Voting highlights:
- Hello, Colonel Fitzwilliam! Where did you come from?! I guess not saying much is a way to get yourself liked in Austenland. Maybe Mr. Bennet will prove more of a challenge than Mr. Palmer? Mr. Bennet took out Edmund Bertram quite handily. Do we see him as a Captain Picard sort of figure? Or is Edmund just that annoying?
- Mr. Darcy collected 2/3 of the votes, so Captain Wentworth put up a decent fight. I do hope the captain tries again in eight years! Mr. Darcy now faces Henry Tilney. . . You know, I think Lizzie would like Henry. They would get on so well!—I’m just saying.
- No real surprises in the rest of the men’s match-ups, though I do think Jane Austen would be pleased that Robert Martin took down Mr. Elton. He may not be a gentleman, but he isn’t a douchebag either. We’ll just see what he and Mr. Bingley make of each other!
- On the women’s side, Eliza Bennet once again trounced her opponent—this time our own lovely Miss Bennet. I do think beloved sisters fighting is sad, don’t you?. . . Well, we’ll see what Lizzie and Miss Bates make of each other—yes, Miss Bates took down Kitty. Go Miss B!
- In a weird mother-daughter match-up, Mrs. Bennet ousted Lydia, so she’ll face Lady Catherine in the next round. Sort of inevitable that Lady Catherine would deal with poor Charlotte, I suppose.
- In a rare display of spirit, Anne Elliot took care of Caroline Bingley, so she’ll face Emma this round. This will be an acid test of our voters, I think!
- Mrs. Elton defeated Mary Musgrove by the narrowest of margins (in overtime, one might say). I guess bragging is marginally less annoying than whining? She’s up against Catherine Morland, who defeated Fanny Price. Ditz who likes clothes beats sweet know-it-all! Next on Geraldo!
OK, enough of these preview chat shows. Bring on the madness! Sweet 16 voting ends MONDAY NIGHT AT MIDNIGHT, March 29/30. (I know the other MM has moved on to and past Elite Eight at that point, but we do this our way.)
Once again, fearless voters, in a battle of wits, in a duel to the death, in a love fest for the ages, who would win?
Photo credit: ©2010 by Heather Dever. All rights reserved. OK, only some rights reserved. You can copy if you credit!
Hey, y’all, we got game! Thanks to everyone who voted; yes, your responses are important to us. The First Round is over: here’s the Austenacious_MarchMadness_Round1_Official bracket if you want to follow along. Voting highlights:
- Of the Sense and Sensibility crowd, only Mr. Palmer and John Dashwood made it past the first round. OK, we were mean to put Marianne up against Eliza Bennet, who slammed her, but Elinor was only barely edged out by Anne Elliot.
- Mr. Darcy wiped the floor with Colonel Brandon (maybe if Jane Austen had known Alan Rickman this would have been a closer fight?), and Captain Wentworth soundly defeated Mr. Knightley. I’m excited to see which of them will hoop it more in the next round!
- All the Bennet women made it through their matches, all except Mary, who fell to Miss Bates. That has got to hurt! Still maybe she’ll have more time to study this way.
Enough talk, more play! Second round voting ends WEDNESDAY NIGHT AT MIDNIGHT, March 24/25.
Once again, fearless voters, in a battle of wits, in a duel to the death, in a love fest for the ages, who would win?
Hello, all you Austen lovers, and pitters of Austen against Austen. Thank you to everyone who sent in a bracket—and may I say, we can expect an exciting two weeks!
Ladies and gentlemen, start your engines! I declare these Games of the first Jane Austen’s March Madness open! You may commence voting when ready. The polls will close at midnight on March 20/21. If you submitted a bracket, good luck! If you didn’t, we know you still have an opinion!
Out of all of Jane Austen’s characters, in a battle of wits, in a duel to the death, in a love fest for the ages, who would win?
A quick reminder:
Jane Austen’s March Madness brackets are due THURSDAY, MARCH 18! Tip-off (see what we did there?) for the big tournament takes place that day, and we wouldn’t want anybody to miss the chance to enter. Otherwise you might, like, have to follow actual basketball, and where’s the fun in that?
If you’ve already sent your bracket in, you’re good to go. Get your voting fingers ready!
If you haven’t sent your bracket in, what are you waiting for? Download, fill out the e-form, return it, and watch the magic happen! Who knows? You might win the pool, and how often does that happen? (Come on, be honest.)
You can follow the action here on the site and via Twitter (find us here!)—join the party, and bring a friend!
Thursday. Let’s do this.
