The Janeites Play Austen MASH

Before we get into today's Janeite Conversation, I just want to take a moment to give a

BIG THANK YOU

to all of the authors who participated in this year's silly discussions, and in Austen in August, in general. And to all of you who gave your own answers and opinions in the comments. You all brought such insight and personality and general interestingness to this year's event, and Austen in August would be nothing without you.
Thank you!!

For our final roundtable of the year, I want you to get a little silly — Play a game of Austen MASH!
MASH is a childhood fate-telling game, and if you've never played, yes, it is as ridiculous as it sounds. I have a post about it here, which tells you how to play and even includes a print-out if you want to use it (though I encourage hand-written instead! It's easy!) Basically, sit down with a piece of paper and a pen, give yourself some options both good and bad, then find out what fate has in store for you. Snap a pic if you'd like and send it to me, along with your reaction to your fate!

MISTY: Here's how things worked out for me last time, as a refresher:

ABIGAIL: I'll skip Austen MASH, since I don't want to live in the Regency. ;)

MISTY: Honestly, can't say I really blame you.

MARILYN: That was a fun -- if somewhat frightening -- look into my future! :) According to the game, I end up married to John Willoughby, mysteriously living at Northanger Abbey with the Musgroves as our next-door neighbors, and having five children...oh, my!!
MISTY: Well... married to Willoughby, I have a feeling you have five children in your household, but an awful lot of kids in the neighborhood who look suspiciously like your own...
DEBRA-ANN:Well, I must admit that this came out too funny…. I will marry Mr. Knightley, our neighbor will be Lady Catherine (Yikes!) we will live in rented rooms in Meryton, we will have 6 children and I will die of a broken heart….
MISTY: Oh no! I wonder what broke your heart? I can't imagine Knightley would stray, so my guess is, Lady C. did something... ;)
DEBRA-ANN: 🤣🤣🤣 probably a combination of those events. Although having 6 kids & living in Meryton would add to a drama.
MISTY: You all are sure having an awful lot of kids! So much for that "heir and a spare" mentality, eh? ;)
DEBRA-ANN: Mrs Bennet would be in our business no doubt.
JESSICA: .I honestly forgot about kids for the first few rounds so my results may be slightly off, but as it resulted in me not marrying Mr. Collins or Edmund Bertram I decided sometimes cheating is okay.
MISTY: Needs must, and all that.
JESSICA: As it stands, I marry Henry Crawford—
MISTY: Jealous!
JESSICA: ... live in London with Mrs. Norris as a neighbor—
MISTY: Less jealous!
JESSICA: ... and have three children. I die listening to Mr. Woodhouse drone on about something...probably how bad for you cake is. Maybe I actually die of the cake I'm secretly eating.

MISTY: Well. Serves you right. He did warn you.
Alright, well, even though I had a perfectly good fate last time (well, except for the carriage accident...), I decided to tempt fate once again and see what it had in store for me, with a much. . . mixier mix this time around. Lot of good, lot of bad, and a fair amount of weird.

 MISTY: And. . . yeah. . . Things turned out. . . well, they turned out, and that's about all that can be said for them. At least I'm not a zombie?

MISTY: So. You're telling me I'm married to Mr. Collins, I die of food poisoning, and I can only travel by doing the worm. At least I'll have some fun with Emma and the Gardiners at Hartfield before I die. Although, come to think of it, how did I end up at Hartfield if Emma's still there? Did Collins replace Mr Elton? And did Emma let us move in? Maybe she finally moved on to Donwell Abbey with Knightley, but that means, poor Mr Woodhouse. . .  Well, probably best to leave this "fate" on paper, and think of it no more!

I would be delighted if you played a game of MASH and let us know your Austen fate! You can stack the deck in your favor, or give yourself a worst-of-the-worst lineup, just for fun! But whatever you do, make sure to let us know how it turns out in the comments, or snap a pic and share it on Twitter/Insta with the hashtag #AustenInAugust!


And big thanks to our merry band of Janeites:
Christina Boyd, editor of the anthology Rational Creatures, et al
Marilyn Brant, author of According to Jane, et al.
Jennieke Cohen, author of Dangerous Alliance
Regina Jeffers, author of the Pride & Prejudice Murder Mystery series and many variations
Maria Grace, author of the series' Mr Darcy's Dragons, Queen of Rosings Park, et al.
Cecilia Gray, author of the Jane Austen Academy series, et al.
Jessica Grey, author of Attempting Elizabeth, et al.
Debra-Ann Kummoung, author of Falling for Elizabeth Bennet, et al.
Abigail Reynolds, author of Last Man in the World and many other P&P variations
Deborah Yaffe, author of Among the Janeites

Click here to return to the master list of Austen in August posts!