Your online source for Jane Austen and her legacy
WIN A FREE COPY OF CONFESSIONS OF A JANE AUSTEN ADDICT Today is the official release date for the paperback edition of one of my favorite Austen-esque novels, Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict, by Laurie Viera Rigler. Hurrah! You can read a synopsis of the book here. This novel received a most ‘favourable'... Continue Reading →
"I lay it down as a general rule, Harriet, that if a woman doubts as to whether she should accept a man or not, she certainly ought to refuse him. If she can hesitate as to "'Yes,'" she ought to say "'No'" directly. It is not a state to be safely entered into with doubtful... Continue Reading →
"Upon my word," said her ladyship, "you give your opinion very decidedly for so young a person. Pray, what is your age?" "With three younger sisters grown up," replied Elizabeth smiling, "your ladyship can hardly expect me to own it." Lady Catherine seemed quite astonished at not receiving a direct answer; and Elizabeth suspected... Continue Reading →
"And-oh yes-there was a Miss Bates; just an old maid runnin' about like a hen with 'er 'ead cut off, an' her tongue loose at both ends. I've got an aunt like 'er. Good as gold-but, you know." Humberstall, Janeites, Rudyard Kipling, (1924) Did any gentle readers catch My Boy Jack on Masterpiece Classic... Continue Reading →
"There is nothing I would not do for those who are really my friends. I have no notion of loving people by halves; it is not my nature. Isabella Thorpe, Northanger Abbey, Chapter 6 Jane Austen's character Isabella Thorpe is a strange creature by way of a friend; an odd mixture of affability and cunning,... Continue Reading →
"I do not know whether it ought to be so, but certainly silly things do cease to be silly if they are done by sensible people in an impudent way. Wickedness is always wickedness, but folly is not always folly." Emma Woodhouse, Emma, Chapter 26 Jane Austen's World: The life and times of England's... Continue Reading →
"This present from the Campbells," said she -- "This pianoforté is very kindly given." "Yes," he replied, and without the smallest apparent embarrassment. "But they would have done better had they given her notice of it. Surprizes are foolish things. The pleasure is not enhanced, and the inconvenience is often considerable. I should have expected... Continue Reading →
"Four years you have been engaged?" said she with a firm voice. "Yes; and Heaven knows how much longer we may have to wait. Poor Edward! It puts him quite out of heart." Then taking a small miniature from her pocket, she added, "To prevent the possibility of mistake, be so good as to look... Continue Reading →
"I shall divide every moment between music and reading. I have formed my plan, and am determined to enter on a course of serious study. Our own library is too well known to me, to be resorted to for anything beyond mere amusement. But there are many works well worth reading, at the Park; and... Continue Reading →
"I, and only I, knew your heart and its sorrows; yet, to what did it influence me? -- not to any compassion that could benefit you or myself. -- Your example was before me: but to what avail? -- Was I more considerate of you and your comfort? Did I imitate your forbearance, or lessen... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Laurel Ann Nattress: 18th and 19th century primogeniture and marriage laws in England were very complicated, even for those who lived in the era. Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility is fueled by legal issues that are puzzling to our 21st-century sensibilities. It was a serious business however, impacting many lives. When... Continue Reading →
"You are mistaken, Elinor," said she warmly, "in supposing I know very little of Willoughby. I have not known him long indeed, but I am much better acquainted with him, than I am with any other creature in the world, except yourself and mama. It is not time or opportunity that is to determine intimacy:... Continue Reading →
