Changes and a new blog.

I've been debating for a while what to do with both my blogs. I came to the decision to keep my main one but I was unsure as to what I was going to do with this one. I wanted to be absolutely sure before I announced anything or did anything rash. As updating this blog on a regular basis is quite hard I decided that the best thing to do was to delete it- but I just couldn't do it. So I have come up with another option. Firstly I have opened a tumblr account to run in conjunction with this blog. I will be moving the AC2 fanfiction story over there (and calling it a new name which I will announce asap). The account is up and running, I plan to add the finish touches today and begin posting within the next few days. Whenever I post a new section of the story I will write a post informing you all about it and I'll add a link so you can also read it there.

I will still be posting here on blogger as I have in the past but for those of you who don't understand tumblr, it will allow me to post pictures and gifs without a limit and it will be far easier to update. It will also give me the opportunity to 'reblog' pictures that other fans of the film have created. So in essence this blog is staying and will be updated here and there, and for those of you who would like more regular updates the tumblr blog will be updated every few days (hopefully everyday) with pictures, stills etc and with the upcoming fanfiction.

I will explain more about the tumblr account and give you a link possibly later today or in the next few days. Thank you all for being such lovely and dedicated followers.    

Hello Abduction Club Fans!

Its been quite a long time since my last post hasn't it! I really must apologise, I started back at University the week following our celebration week here- so things have been quite busy. But that is no excuse is it, many of you are awaiting Part 2 of The Abduction Club 2 Fan fiction  and I have been terribly slack in not writing it and posting it up- it is now at the top of my "to do" list!

In other news, I have to say a huge... Thank you!
to everyone who commented and participated in the Celebration Week, I had so much fun and it would not have been possible without your support and help! I have already started to brainstorm and plan next years event for the 10th Anniversary of the films release and it is going to be huge! I am already excited for it :)

Also during the celebration week I posted a quiz, I have not posted the answers yet purely because I wanted to see if anyone else wanted to have a go...I will give it one more week and then I plan to post the answers. You can find the quiz here: An Abduction Club Quiz

Love and many apologies,
Mel xx

AC 2: Part 1

The wind played with the loose strands of Catharine’s hair as she settled down at the base of an ash tree. She leaned back against the sturdy trunk and with what was left of her strength reached down and began to unbutton her shoes. Laying the well worn heels aside, she flexed her toes as the feeling in her feet slowly returned.  It’s not long now, surely it can’t be too far.

                She reached into the inside pocket of her coat and consulted a hastily written note. The directions were vague at best but Catharine estimated that they were within a four miles of their destination.

“Anne, if we start now I think we could be there by sunset” her words breaking the unnatural silence that surrounded them.  “Anne?”  

 Catharine thought it a odd when Anne did not respond the second and third times that she called.  So she dragged herself up and rounded the tree to where Anne was sitting- propped up against the trunk just as Catharine herself was moments before. “Anne” she whispered again. Drawing closer Catharine realised her exhausted younger sister had fallen asleep. Her arms encircling a large heavy coat much like a child would cling to their favourite blanket. Catharine knew Anne would ever let go of the dirty old coat, it was the last thing Strang had given her. 

"It's okay Anne, just sleep" she whispered. Timing was crucial and she knew they really had to keep moving but seeing the pain etched in Anne’s face she didn’t have the heart to wake her. I suppose it can’t hurt to rest for just a short while.

Turning back Catharine resumed her position under the ash tree. The sun had shifted; its rays were now trickling through the leaves.  Resting her head against the trunk before closing her eyes she allowed her mind to drift between the memories and events of the past eight weeks. Visions of joyful days were interrupted by flashes of painful events.  Pulling her legs tightly into her chest she hoped to dull the continuous ache in her heart. I have to be strong. Come on Catharine...think of the happy things. There are still things to be thankful for.  She opened her soft brown eyes directing them to the plain yet beautiful ring on her left hand. That was something she should be both happy and grateful for yet- all is did was serve as a bitter reminder of what once was and what could have been and with silent tears streaming down her face she fell into a troubled yet deep sleep.

The History of The Abduction Club: Part 4

If you missed out on reading the first parts you can read them here: Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3

Part 4: The Story of the film 

So how much of the actual storyline of the film is true. After researching and reflecting on the film, its actually not as accurate as I had hoped. Some characters were true enough I suppose but I am a little upset at the ending of the film- it is not like the film at all and some of the characters traits -goodness me they are too different.

*NOTE: If you are reading because you want to find out that 'The Abduction Club' (the film) was based upon a true love story and that just as in the film they rode off into the sunset and lived happily ever after- you may not like what you find. As I have stated above the film ending is significantly different to the real life ending-  I am just warning you, in the case you do not want to continue to read (which is fine)

Okay, so you do want to know. Curiosity always seems to get the better of us, doesn't it :) well here is. I have researched the story and condensed it to make a little easier to read.  

Byrne and Strang both 'won' the rights to abduct the Kennedy sisters and in preparation of the abduction met the girls at various social events.  It was not long before both Anne and Catharine had fallen in love with them. It is even said that the girls were so pleased by the gentlemen that they actually encouraged and invited them to abduct them as earliest convenience.

When the time came for the abduction to take place, at a play, the sister's  mother was informed of the plan and was not pleased so she immediately took her daughters home. This presented little problem for Strang and Byrne who then went to the house and abducted the girls from there.

They travelled on horseback accompanied by other ladies whom were the sisters or relatives of Byrne or Strang and some men who formed the club. Catharine and Anne were terrified on this journey as they were threatened with abandonment if they refused the proposals of the men.

The young girls consented to marry the men and the vows were made by a priest promptly. It is said that they continued as a group on horse back for some five weeks until the girls were rescued by a Mr. Power while the men fled to Wales.

It was not thought that the men would be pursued but justice was needed and they were brought back and a trial was set-were both found guilty and were to be sent to death.

What did Anne and Catharine think of all this?Well, Anne wanted Strang's death, it is said that whilst on the run Strang hit Anne and she never forgave him for it. Catharine however was very attached to Byrne, it is quite possible that she was in love with him. He was never unkind or treated her ill- besides the manner in which he first abducted her.

Despite Byrne and Strang's family connections, public support and the fact that abduction was such common a thing, they were both hanged. It was feared that at the time of execution due to the public there would be a rescue but there never was.

And what became of Anne and Catharine? Anne's fate was a sad one, although she grew into a great beauty and married, she was miserable until the day she died. Many believing that her unhappy life was the punishment for her ill thoughts towards Strang.

Catharine's life was also one of unhappiness. She also married, a man who claimed to be haunted by Byrne as he slept- funnily enough he always kept a light burning at night, his safety measure. Catharine lived an unhappy life, she lost her youth and beauty fast, and started a habit of smoking to dull the pain of her past.   

Both women lived their lives scorned upon by the townspeople due to receiving 'blood money' (called so by the townsfolk) which was in the form of a handout from the government- a compensation for the horror they had experienced.

Well, there you have it- personally I like the film better. I admit I do love a tragic love story but unfortunately this just isn't one. It is just a terrible and sad story of an event that forever negatively impacted upon all those involved. 

I hope that you enjoyed this series of posts and that they didn't alter too much your view of the film.

Some Links for The AC

I come across these questions quite a lot so I thought it might be a good idea try and answer them as best as I could. If you have any other questions feel free to ask and I will try to do my best to answer them.

Where can I buy the film?

This is a question I come across frequently, this film seems to be quite hard to come across in some countries. I bought my copy over the internet so if you cannot find this film at a department store I would suggest trying to find it online.

Some places I would suggest looking would be "Ebay" or "Amazon".

Generally the problem many people find is that the film is not avaliable to buy in the right region for their country (it is particularly a problem for those living in USA). I believe that unless your dvd has the right region code for your country it won't play unless you have a multi-region DVD player.

Are there any fansites?

There aren't any official fansites, I supose you could call this blog somewhat of a fan site. Other than that there is:

- A Fanpop page
This page includes many images, quiz questions, fan picks, articles, links and videos. I started this page and add to it every now and then. It is a page where any fanpop user (it's free) can add to the content or upload informationn and pictures.

- A Facebook page
I came across this page recently, I believe it is relatively new and as yet I have not had much of a look but from what I can see it is great. I am glad that someone loved the film enough to start it!

The only other sites I can think of is the IMDb site which has a ton of information. And there are various other sites for the actors associated with the film.


Is there a trailer? If so where can I view it?

Firstly there is a trailer on this blog under the Video's tab.

Otherwise there is one on fanpop here.


What about fan made videos?

Some times the trailer of a film does do the actual film justice. It is always great to take a look at some fan-made video's before passing over a film.
The best place to view these are on fanpop, I have all the links to the ones that I have found on there. Some of them are really great. You can view them by following the link below and clicking on the title of the video you wish to see.

Videos for "The Abduction Club"

Much Love,

Mel

The History of The Abduction Club: Part 3

For this post to make sense you don't necessarily need to read the first two parts. However if you would like to- you can find them here: Part 1 and Part 2

The Abduction Club

After looking at the information I had found- it was obvious that heiress' were indeed abducted by the younger son's of wealthy families in Ireland. So there you had it the film is based on true events, should I have stopped there, maybe? but I still had this nagging question, the film follows a club- an abduction club. So...was there an actual abduction club.

Yes there was (how cool is that!) in fact there were many, however they only operated within the South of Ireland but they consisted of more varied members than you would think. The impression I was under after watching the film was that The Abduction Club was strictly a society for younger son's of wealthy families. Although these younger son's made up the bulk of the club, even farmers and those of low social class were involved in these clubs too. I believe due to the differences in social class of the men, it is probably very likely that many of these clubs existed- according to county and also class. We know from the film that the particular club that Byrne and Strang were members of was The Wicklow Abduction Club.

These clubs were assisted by individuals all over the country and in any and every social class. Information was relayed as to when a young woman was available along with details about her family and fortune. Then just as in the film, the members would draw lots or 'toss up' for her and it was the duty of the other club members to assist the man who won to abduct the young lady in question.


The Characters in the film

Okay so the tag line that the film is based upon true events is looking somewhat better.  So far the research has given shown us that:

1. The abducting of heiress in Ireland actually happened
2. The younger son's of wealthy families in Ireland were left virtually penniless
3. Abduction clubs really did exist.
4. And these clubs did consist of younger sons.

But what of the characters-did the Miss Kennedy's exist? What about Strang and Byrne.

Catharine and Anne did exist, they were the wealthy daughters of Richard Kennedy and lived in the county of Waterford in 1770. Their father was dead and they lived with their mother. They were but mere girls at the time, Catharine was 15 while Anne was a year younger at 14. This is significantly different to the ages of the sisters in the film (Anne was 17 while Catharine is thought to me around 20 or 21).  Anne is said to have been generally thought the more beautiful, although both girls were lovely, and she was said to have 'determination and haughtiness of character'. Catharine's disposition was simply likened to that of Byrne's (see below).

James Strang and Garrett Byrne were also real people. They were said to be popular fellows who were both reckless, spirited and dashing. Strang, is described quite differently to how he was portrayed in the film, he was said to be bad tempered and tyrannical. Byrne's description is similar to Daniel Lapaine's portrayal of him in the film, he was gentle and someone everyone liked, he was sensitive towards women and very different to the disposition of Strang.


I hope you enjoyed this post. The 4th and final post will be posted tomorrow. It will focus upon the actual events in the film- how true is the actual storyline.

A Guest Post from HelloKitty

Firstly I want to thank Mel for letting me do something for the Celebration week “Thank you”.
I made this fan art on my favourite scene, its romantic and funny.
I absolutely love when James Strang says “what?” when he knew what Anne said “what does it mean?", just to get extra time to think of something without “blowing” his cover.

Haha I Love James Strang <3

HelloKitty

 Xxx

Thank you, HelloKitty for your hard work in creating this post, and being such a dedicated fan of this blog and "The Abduction Club".  What a lovely piece of fan art! It is really beautiful and that quote is so sweet!
And some exicting news is that HelloKitty has also agreed to do some more posts- sometime in the future so look out for her contributions.