Your online source for Jane Austen and her legacy
An old Richmond, Virginia plantation, a festive wedding, and family disputes set the stage for murder in Tracy Kiely’s novel Murder on the Bride’s Side, the second novel in the Elizabeth Parker mystery series inspired by Jane Austen’s classic novels. A year ago, Kiely wowed me with her debut novel Murder at Longbourn loosely based... Continue Reading →
"He shrank from hearing Margaret's very name mentioned; he, while he blamed her--while he was jealous of her--while he renounced her--he loved her sorely, in spite of himself." Elizabeth Gaskell, North and South 2010 marks the bicentenary of mid-Victorian novelist and short story writer Elizabeth Gaskell’s birth on September 29th, 1810 near London. Best known... Continue Reading →
Stars, planets and murder are investigated in Dark Matter, a new Inspector Lewis episode on Masterpiece Mystery tonight. This is the third installment of Series III and much lighter in tone than last week's The Dead of Winter. When a body is found at the university observatory, DI Robbie Lewis (Kevin Whatley) and DS James... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Laurel Ann Nattress: I feel like a giddy schoolgirl. Look what arrived on my doorstep today. An advanced reading copy of The Mischief of the Mistletoe, by Lauren Willig! *major goosebumps* I have been a fervent fan of Ms. Willig’s Pink Carnation series since the day it landed on the new... Continue Reading →
As a Janeite, it is impossible ignore the siren call when an author announces to the book buying world that her new novel The Cookbook Collector is “a Sense and Sensibility for the digital age.” Whoa! My first reaction was “this is literary suicide.” Why would anyone want to equate themselves to a beacon of... Continue Reading →
Inspector Lewis continues tonight on Masterpiece Mystery with another new episode of the popular detective series based in Oxford where the death toll since its predecessor Inspector Morse hit the airwaves in 1987 must place this small college town as the epicenter of "malice aforethought" in England. The Dead of Winter involves sad connections to... Continue Reading →
Autumn is here -- and September is my favorite month of the year in book publishing. There is always so much to choose from and this year does not disappoint. The Jane Austen book sleuth is happy to inform Janeites of the many, many Austen inspired books heading our way this month, so keep your... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Christina Boyd: In this latest twist on Jane Austen’s classic Pride and Prejudice, author Kara Louise’s Darcy’s Voyage: A Tale of Uncharted Love on the Open Seas embarks on a tale of romance, intrigue, and adventure. Setting the scene for all to follow, Mr. Darcy and Miss Elizabeth Bennet meet whilst... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Laurel Ann Nattress: As the month-long Celebrating Georgette Heyer event draws to a close, we can look back through the thirty-four reviews of Heyer’s romance novels and see a common thread through each and every one. Her heroes are epitomes, nonpareils, and nonesuches. In the Regency romance genre, they are a... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Elizabeth Hanbury: Lady of Quality was Georgette Heyer’s last book before her death in July 1974. She suffered chronic ill-health in her later years and fractured her leg in a fall in January 1972. Despite this, she began work on another book and by April had sent the outline to her... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Dana Huff: Georgette Heyer’s novel Charity Girl, originally published in 1970, is the story of Ashley Carrington, Viscount Desford’s entanglement with Charity “Cherry” Steane. Desford’s father wishes Desford, who is approaching thirty, had married family friend Henrietta Silverdale, known affectionately as Hetta, but Desford and Hetta insist, rather too much, that... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Chris:Â Kate Malvern just lost her job as governess and is staying with her old nurse Sarah until she gets a new situation. Sarah doesn't like the idea of her Kate, whose father was a gentleman despite being a soldier and a gambler, hiring herself out to anyone who asks. Kate... Continue Reading →
