From the desk of Tracy Hickman: Lady Susan is my favorite of Jane Austen’s minor works. A scheming widow who also happens to be “the most accomplished coquette in England,” Lady Susan Vernon is intelligent, attractive, and unscrupulous, agreeing with her immoral friend Alicia Johnson that “Facts are such horrid things!” (256) Her letters to... Continue Reading →
Q&A with Love & Friendship Writer/Director/Author Whit Stillman
Austen scholar Devoney Looser joins us today during the Love & Friendship Janeite Blog Tour to interview ‘Friend of Jane,’ writer/director/author Whit Stillman, whose new hit movie Love & Friendship, and its companion novel, are on the radar of every Janeite. Welcome, Ms. Looser and Mr. Stillman to Austenprose.com. Devoney Looser: We Janeites know that... Continue Reading →
A Preview of Love & Friendship: In Which Jane Austen’s Lady Susan Vernon Is Entirely Vindicated, by Whit Stillman
Writer, director, and friend of Jane Austen, Stillman has written a companion novel to the film also entitled Love & Friendship with the added subtitle: In Which Jane Austen’s Lady Susan Vernon Is Entirely Vindicated. For those who have read Austen’s original novella, you will remember that Lady Susan Vernon is described by Reginald De... Continue Reading →
Eligible: A Modern Retelling of Pride and Prejudice, by Curtis Sittenfeld – A Review
From the desk of Tracy Hickman: Jane Austen is a tough act to follow and that is exactly what the Austen Project asks contemporary authors to do: reimagine one of Austen’s novels in the here and now. Curtis Sittenfeld, the author of four novels including Prep and American Wife, was chosen to take on Austen’s... Continue Reading →
Jane and the Waterloo Map: Being a Jane Austen Mystery (Book 13), by Stephanie Barron – A Review
From the desk of Christina Boyd: As a fan of the Being Jane Austen Mystery series, I have been all anticipation for the latest edition, Jane and the Waterloo Map. Author Stephanie Barron knows her Austen lore, as well as a being a masterful storyteller and researcher; writing in a most Austen-like style. She is also The... Continue Reading →
A Preview of How to Rescue a Rake, by Jayne Fresina
Please help me welcome author Jayne Fresina today to Austenprose. Jayne’s third book in her Book Club Belles series, How to Rescue a Rake, has just been published by Sourcebooks Casablanca. Inspired by Jane Austen’s Persuasion, this new Regency romance features heroine Diana Makepiece whose life and troubles resemble Austen’s Anne Elliot in many respects.... Continue Reading →
Austenprose’s Best Austenesque & Jane Austen Era Books of 2015
What a great year of Austenesque reading! We reviewed 40 fiction and nonfiction books in the Austenesque, Regency or Georgian genre this past year and would like to share our list of what we feel were the most exciting, memorable and rewarding books of 2015. Best Austenesque Historical Novels 2015 Brinshore: The Watson Novels Book... Continue Reading →
Then Comes Winter, edited by Christina Boyd – A Review
From the desk of Kimberly Denny-Ryder: When I was first asked to review Then Comes Winter edited by Christina Boyd, I felt that the fact that it was a short story compilation was perfect. In the midst of holiday planning, gift buying, and cookie baking, I had less than my normal appointed time for reading.... Continue Reading →
Jane Austen Lives Again, by Jane Odiwe – A Review
From the desk of Katie Patchell: What would Jane Austen say and do if she lived in the 1920s instead of the late 1700s/early 1800s? Would she wear a drop-waist dress that showed her ankles and bob her auburn hair? Would she dance the Charleston or listen to Jazz music? How would she react to... Continue Reading →
Longbourn’s Songbird: A Novel, by Beau North – A Review
From the desk of Kimberly Denny Ryder: Much of the Jane Austen Fan Fiction that I read usually falls into two categories: works that take place during the Regency Period and works that take place during contemporary times. Works that take place during times of war are fairly rare (Darcy Goes to War by Mary... Continue Reading →
A Preview of Longbourn’s Songbird: A Novel, by Beau North
From the desk of Laurel Ann Nattress: Just released this week is a new Jane Austen-inspired novel, Longbourn’s Songbird. Based on Austen’s iconic novel, Pride and Prejudice, author Beau North has transported the action to post WWII South Carolina. While Pride and Prejudice has spawned the largest number of sequels in print, most of those are... Continue Reading →
Brinshore: The Watson Novels Book 2, by Ann Mychal – A Review
From the desk of Jenny Haggerty: Open any of Jane Austen’s six completed novels and you’re guaranteed a moving story told with wit and insight, but what fan doesn’t wish Austen had time to complete more books. That’s why I treasure well done Austen-inspired fiction, so when I discovered Ann Mychal had written Brinshore, her... Continue Reading →