Your online source for Jane Austen and her legacy
From the desk of Tracy Hickman: My go-to choice in times of uncertainty is a comfort read. While each person has their own ideas about what qualifies as comfort, I especially enjoy books by authors such as Miss Read (Dora Saint) and D.E. Stevenson. These books are set in a time and place distant enough... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Laurel Ann Nattress:Â Hello Dear Readers, I am happy to welcome bestselling Austenesque author Victoria Kincaid to Austenprose today to share her fifteenth Pride and Prejudice variation, Rebellion at Longbourn. Variations have become the driving force in Jane Austen fiction for several years now. The creativity of the authors who imagine... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Pamela Mingle: Every good Regency romance deserves a manipulative old dowager. In this book, it’s Great Aunt Agatha. She tells the Duke of Everingham, called Hart, that her niece would “…rather live with dogs and horses than marry.” Likewise, she tells her niece that the duke would never consider her for... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Sophia Rose: Jane Austen’s Persuasion gets a modern facelift Desi-style in this standalone sequel to Sonali Dev’s 2019, Pride, Prejudice and Other Flavors, as Indian American chef, Ashna Raje, and Brazilian footballer, Rico Silva, encounter each other once again as acrimonious cooking partners on a reality TV show. I love that... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Laurel Ann Nattress:Â Forced marriages are a time-honored trope in Regency romance. Recently there was To Have and to Hoax, by Martha Waters, and then there are classics like Outlander, by Diana Gabaldon, and The Convenient Marriage, by Georgette Heyer. In each of these novels the hero and heroine must marry... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Laurel Ann Nattress:Â Hello Dear Readers, Did you know that in historical fiction the fabulous fifties are the new forties? Yes, after years of WWII stories, novels set during the post-war years are now being published more frequently. I adore the Grantchester mysteries series by James Runcie, and later this month... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Katie Jackson: In Regency-era novels, which are popular for their promotion of proper behavior and swoon-worthy romantic declarations, forced-marriage tropes spice up the angst and the inevitable, slow-burn romances that result. It is satisfying to read of gentlemen doing the right thing, marrying not for love but as their duty... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Laurel Ann Nattress:Â Hello dear readers, I hope that you are all coping during this crazy time. I am on lockdown here at Woodston Cottage trying to be productive while immersing myself in audiobooks and rom-com movies. It is Spring and the birds are singing, and the flowers are blooming. I... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Laurel Ann Nattress:Â I have been watching several romcoms lately to offset the stress and anxiety generated from a world health crisis. Last week I enjoyed Father of the Bride (1991), Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994), Made of Honor (2008), and The Wedding Date (2004). Do you notice a theme... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Laurel Ann Nattress: Raise your hand if you agree that the “half agony, half hope” love letter written by Captain Frederick Wentworth to Anne Elliot in Jane Austen’s Persuasion is the most romantic love letter in literature. If not, by the time you get to the “you pierce my soul” line,... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Katie Patchell: What do you think of when you hear the word “rake”? Do you think of a rogue, face and heart scarred, but with a devilishly attractive smile? Do you think angry thoughts, with words like “cad” and “bounder” (and maybe some unprintable ones) flashing through your mind? Or maybe... Continue Reading →
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