My Favorite Things Beginning with T, U, V, W, and Y

T

• Author and/or poet: Elizabeth Taylor (d. 1975), Tennyson
• Book: The Tortoise and the Hare by Elizabeth Jenkins, They Loved to Laugh by Kathryn Worth
• Film: The Trouble with Angels; Truly, Madly, Deeply; A Touch of Class; The Turning Point (1977)
• Actor: Spencer Tracy
• Actress: Emma Thompson
• Composer: Tosti
• Opera: Tosca
• Food: tiramisu, trout

U

• Book: Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mays
• Film: Under the Tuscan Sun

V

• Author and/or poet: Virgil
• Book: A Village in a Valley by Beverley Nichols
• Composer: Vivaldi, Verdi

W

• Author and/or poet: Wordsworth, Mary Wesley
• Book: William by E. H. Young
• Fictional character: Wilmet Forsyth (A Glass of Blessings, Barbara Pym)
• Film: When Harry Met Sally, Working Girl, Where the Boys Are (1960)
• Actor: Tom Wilkinson
• Actress: Kate Winslet, Julie Walters
• Composer: Hugo Wolf
• Opera: Werther
• Food: watermelon, but I've become allergic to it

Y

• Author and/or poet: E. H. Young
• Film: You've Got Mail
• Actor: Michael York
• Actress: Loretta Young
• Food: yogurt

My Favorite Things Beginning with Q, R, and S

Q

• Film: The Queen
• Composer: Roger Quilter

R

• Author and/or poet: Christina Rossetti
• Book: Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
• Fictional character:
• Film: Return to Me, Roman Holiday
• Actor: Alan Rickman, Oliver Reed
• Actress: Rosalind Russell, Diana Rigg, Meg Ryan
• Composer: Rossini, Rachmaninov, Richard Rodgers
• Opera: Rigoletto
• Food: rib eye steak, medium rare

S

• Author and/or poet: Dodie Smith, George Bernard Shaw
• Book: The Secret Garden, The Soul of Kindness (Elizabeth Taylor)
• Fictional character:
• Film: Don't make me choose one, or even two or three. Summertime, Sense and Sensibility (1995), Shadowlands, The Shop around the Corner, Sleepless in Seattle, Sabrina (both versions)
• Actor: James Stewart
• Actress: Maggie Smith, Juliet Stevenson, Meryl Streep
• Composer: Schubert, Schumann
• Opera: Suor Angelica, Serse (Xerxes)
• Food: shrimp

My Favorite Things Beginning with O and P

O

• Author and/or poet: Ovid
• Book: Can't think of one at the moment.
• Film: Old Acquaintance
• Actor: Peter O'Toole
• Actress: Maureen O'Hara
• Composer: Okay, I guess it's Carl Orff .... but not really.
• Opera: Orfeo
• Food: oatmeal, oatmeal cookies, oatmeal bread

P

• Author and/or poet: Barbara Pym
• Book: Persuasion by Jane Austen
• Film: Persuasion (1995), The Philadelphia Story
• Actor: David Hyde Pierce
• Actress: Joan Plowright, Michelle Pfeiffer
• Composer: Purcell
• Opera: I Puritani
• Food: Pasta, in just about any preparation. I could eat pasta every single day. Potatoes – ditto and ditto. And did you know that when both pasta and potatoes are cold (e. g., pasta salad, potato salad, etc.), their starches do not completely convert to sugar in your body?

My Favorite Things Beginning with M and N

M

• Author and/or poet: F. M. Mayor, Lucy Maud Montgomery
• Book: Mansfield Park by Jane Austen, The Man of Property by John Galsworthy
• Fictional character: Mildred in Barbara Pym's Excellent Women
• Film: Moonstruck
• Actor: Sir Ian McKellen
• Actress: Anna Massey, Hayley Mills
• Composer: Mozart
• Opera: Madama Butterfly
• Food: mozzarella di bufala

N

• Author and/or poet:
• Book: No Fond Return of Love by Barbara Pym, The New House by Lettice Cooper
• Fictional character: Niles Crane!!!!!
• Film: Notting Hill
• Actor: Paul Newman
• Actress: Mildred Natwick
• Composer: Thomas Newman (film)
• Opera: Le Nozze di Figaro, Norma
• Food: New England clam chowder

My Favorite Things Beginning with K and L

K

• Author and/or poet: Emily Kimbrough
• Book: Can't think of any, but I'm sure something will come to mind later
• Fictional character: Kit in the Sue Barton series
• Film: The King's Speech
• Actor: Greg Kinnear
• Actress: Deborah Kerr, Diane Keaton
• Composer: Jerome Kern
• Opera: none
• Food: Knoblauchsuppe (German garlic soup—it's dee-lish!)

L

• Author and/or poet: Rosamond Lehmann
• Book: Little Women, Little Town on the Prairie
• Fictional character: Lotte in The Enchanted April
• Film: Little Women (1994), Love Affair (1939)
• Actor: Jack Lemmon
• Actress: Christine Lahti
• Composer: Lully, Loewe (of Lerner and Loewe)
• Opera: Lucia di Lammermoor
• Food: Linguine with white or red clam sauce, lasagna (almost any kind, but no mushrooms)

My Favorite Things Beginning with I and J

I

• Author and/or poet:
• Book: In This House of Brede by Rumer Godden, Invitation to the Waltz by Rosamond Lehmann, I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
• Fictional character: Irene in John Galsworthy's The Forsyte Saga
• Film: Into Great Silence, I Capture the Castle
• Actor: none
• Actress: none
• Composer: none
• Opera: Idomeneo, Iphigénie en Tauride
• Food: ice cream

J

• Author and/or poet: Elizabeth Jenkins
• Book: Jane Eyre, Jane and Prudence (Barbara Pym)
• Fictional character: Jane Eyre, Jane Bennet
• Actor: James Earl Jones
• Actress: Glenda Jackson
• Composer: none
• Opera: none
• Food: Jordan Almonds

My Favorite Things Beginning with G and H

G

• Author and/or Poet: John Galsworthy, Elizabeth Gaskell
• Book: The Ghost and Mrs. Muir by R. A. Dick
• Film: The Ghost and Mrs. Muir
• Fictional character: Captain Gregg, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir
• Actor: Cary Grant, Hugh Grant, Kelsey Grammer
• Actress: Judy Garland
• Composer: Gluck, Gershwin
• Opera: Giulio Cesare, Gianni Schicchi
• Food: gnocchi, grouper
• Place: none

H

• Author and/or Poet: Gerard Manley Hopkins, Helene Hanff
• Book: Henrietta's War and Henrietta Sees It Through by Joyce Dennys
• Film: Holiday, The Holiday (two completely different films!)
• Actor: Anthony Hopkins
• Actress: Katharine Hepburn, Audrey Hepburn
• Composer: Händel
• Opera: Hansel und Gretel
• Food: halibut, Honey Nut Cheerios
• Place: any Half-Price Books store

My Favorite Things Beginning with E and F

E

• Author: Emerson
• Book: Excellent Women by Barbara Pym, 84 Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff, and The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim, Emma by Jane Austen
• Film: Enchanted April, Emma (ITV 1995)
• Actor: None
• Actress: None
• Composer: None
• Opera: L'Elisir d'Amore (The Elixir of Love)
• Food: Eggs. The perfect food.
• Place: Edinburgh, Scotland
• Fictional character: Elizabeth Bennet, of course

F

• Author/Poet: E. M. Forster, Robert Frost
• Book: Forty Plus and Fancy Free and Floating Island, both by Emily Kimbrough
• Film: Four Weddings and a Funeral, French Kiss, Foreign Affairs
• Actor: Colin Firth, Harrison Ford
• Actress: Sally Field
• Composer: George Fenton (films), Fauré
• Opera: Falstaff
• Food: French fries
• Place: Florence
• Fictional character: Fanny Price, Mansfield Park

My Favorite Things Beginning with C and D

C

• Author: Lettice Cooper
• Book: Crampton Hodnet by Barbara Pym
• Film: Come to the Stable
• Actor: Michael Caine, George Clooney
• Actress: Toni Colette
• Composer: Corelli, Chopin
• Opera: Così fan tutte, La Cenerentola
• Food: Coconut cream pie (NOT meringue), chocolate mousse
• Fictional character: Mr. Collins (Pride and Prejudice)

D

• Author/Poet: E. M. Delafield, Emily Dickinson
• Book: Diary of a Provincial Lady, E. M. Delafield
• Film: Desk Set
• Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis, Robert Downey, Jr.
• Actress: Irene Dunne, Doris Day, Judi Dench, Bette Davis
• Composer: Donizetti
• Opera: Don Giovanni, Dido and Aeneas
• Food: Double Devonshire cream, dim sum
• Fictional character: Dickon (The Secret Garden), Dulcie (No Fond Return of Love)

My Favorite Things Beginning with B

Favorite author: Anita Brookner
Favorite book: The Bible
Favorite film: The Big Chill, Brief Encounter (1945), Broadcast News
Favorite actor: Hugh Bonneville, Jim Broadbent
Favorite actress: Ingrid Bergman, Emily Blunt, Ellen Burstyn
Favorite composer:  Bach, Bellini
Favorite opera: Il Barbiere di Siviglia
Favorite food: Boeuf bourgignon
Favorite place: Backstreet Café in Houston
Favorite fictional character: Belinda in Barbara Pym's Some Tame Gazelle