Your online source for Jane Austen and her legacy
From the desk of Katie Patchell: Matchmaker: For me, this word conjures up frightening images of domineering great-aunts and nosy neighbors, all wagging their fingers in my unwed face to the beat of Fiddler on the Roof’s justly titled song, “Matchmaker Matchmaker.” While these dreams may have more to do with my unresolved issues... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Katie Patchell: First love or second love? Sometimes we (and our heroes and heroines) end up with our first loves–these are often the “salad days” stories of childhood and college sweethearts. But sometimes the field is won not by the person we or our heroes/heroines love first, but the person loved... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Katie Patchell: Last year I had the immense good fortune to review Love and Lavender by Josi S. Kilpack. Trusting the logo of Shadow Mountain Publishing–one of my favorite Regency publishers–I cracked open its pages, not knowing what to expect…and then discovered that I was reading a work of art.... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Katie Patchell: Hidden letters. Long-lost relatives. Unlooked-for love. The Letter from Briarton Park is Sarah E. Ladd’s eleventh and most recent Regency novel. Set in small villages, lofty halls, and shadowy forests, its pages tell a page-turning tale created of equal parts chilling suspense and swoony romance. Unknown Beginnings Without... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Katie Patchell: Dear readers, what I am about to say will have you thanking your lucky stars: if this was a space for spoiler-filled reviews, I would have written a word count of thousands. Fortunately for us all, this shall be as abridged and spoiler-free as possible; a tricky task, as... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Katie Patchell: Henry Tilney (of Northanger Abbey fame) is an underrated hero of a vastly underrated novel. It’s almost impossible for me to name a favorite Jane Austen work, as (like all the best stories) each speaks into one’s life in different ways and seasons. Yet if I applied myself... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Katie Patchell: Who has seen the 1999 Wives and Daughters miniseries, adapted from Elizabeth Gaskell’s Victorian classic? It’s a powerful study of 19th-century life in a small English village, played by a phenomenal cast. Because of the miniseries, I recently devoured the 720-page volume and subsequently forced a family member... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Katie Patchell: ‘Tis the season. This is the time of year that especially prompts me to curl up with my cat in a window seat, sipping tea, and breaking into my TBR pile. Just in time for a Thanksgiving Day read, let me introduce you to a new Edwardian romance, The... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Katie Patchell: Unconventional heroines are becoming more common in Regency-inspired fiction, which is something worthy of applause. Perhaps this shouldn’t come as a surprise, given the genre’s beloved originator. Jane Austen was the queen of unconventional heroines living in a conventional world; something Elizabeth Bennet, Catherine Morland, and company attest to.... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Katie Patchell: When I was younger, I hated Jane Eyre. Charlotte Bronte’s tale of passion and self-discovery seemed a wasteland to my teenage self—bleak in Yorkshire moor and stark in romantic love. I watched every adaptation and read the novel countless times, but the results were the same. Until one day,... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Katie Patchell: When I was a teenager, I “met” Georgette Heyer for the first time. Bath Tangle was my introduction to her Regency world via a battered, coffee-stained copy housed at shoe-level in my library’s ‘H’ section. Serena and Rotherham’s banter and Heyer’s madcap plot was the perfect entry to... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Katie Patchell: I have a question for you, fellow bibliophiles: Have you read P.G. Wodehouse’s Jeeves series? Written between 1915 and 1974, this series of short stories and novels is a sometimes biting (yet always fun) satire of Britain’s posh upper class. Starring wealthy and hapless Bertie Wooster and his much-put-upon... Continue Reading →
