Your online source for Jane Austen and her legacy
From the desk of Katie Patchell: I remember what I felt when I discovered that Jane Austen was not famous in her lifetime: Outright shock. I had been a self-proclaimed Janeite for years when I discovered this fact. I had read her books multiple times, collected movie adaptations, researched and written papers about her novels... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Katie Patchell: I have loved Jane Austen’s Emma for as long as I can remember. Yes—I mean that literally. When I was six, my first introduction to the Regency and the magnificent world of Jane Austen began with a battered VHS copy (Gwyneth Paltrow/Jeremy Northam version) and, well, has never ended.... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Laurel Ann Nattress:Â Set in an English country village at the onset of WWII, The Chilbury Ladies Choir is told through letters and journal and diary entries by four female characters who are faced with keeping the home fires burning while their menfolk are off fighting Nazis. The first-person format intrigued... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Katie Patchell Recently, I discovered the joy that comes from not reading the description on the back of a book prior to opening page one. When I was asked to review The Work of Art, I heard “Regency” and “Laurel Ann recommends” and I was all for it. After downloading this... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Natalie Jenner: I am a firm believer that the love story at the heart of Pride and Prejudice is the best-constructed romance arc in all of literature. Author Julian Barnes once said of Darcy and Elizabeth that “the lovers are really made for each other—by their creator. They are constructed for... Continue Reading →
Recently I pulled Pemberley, or Pride and Prejudice Continued, by Emma Tennant off my bookshelf. I was feeling nostalgic after looking at my “to be read” pile of new Jane Austen Pride and Prejudice retellings that have or will hit bookstores this year. It was one of the first P&P inspired novels that I read... Continue Reading →
A book review of LOST ROSES, bestselling author Martha Hall Kelly, second historical fiction novel set in Paris, New York and St. Petersburg during WWI and the Russian Revolution.
A five star book review of a Modest Independence, in which an impertinent, strong-willed woman and an independent bachelor travel from England to India in search of a lost friend and self discovery in Mimi Matthews' new historical romance.
Between 1870 and 1914, there were at least a hundred marriages of American heiresses to British peers. Fueled by microeconomics—supply and demand—American industrial tycoons bought position, prestige, and coronets by bartering their daughter’s dowries to cash-strapped aristocrats. One transatlantic trade was Brooklynn born Jeanette “Jennie” Jerome. In 1874 she became one of the first “dollar... Continue Reading →
A review of Unmarriageable, a colorful and lively retelling of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice set in 2000 Pakistan.
Just in time for the premiere on 13 January 2019 of the third season of Victoria on Masterpiece Classic on PBS, Queen Victoria: Twenty-Four Days That Changed Her Life is a new biography of one of the United Kingdom's (and the world's) most famous queens. Arriving like a gift on a royal red velvet cushion,... Continue Reading →
A book review of Yuletide, a new short story anthology edited by Christina Boyd created to benefit Chawton House near Alton, England.
