From the desk of Lisa Galek: If you are one of those Austen fans who think it’s a shame that Mansfield Park is so rarely adapted for modern audiences, then The Beresfords will be a welcome addition to your reading list. When six-year-old Frannie Price is removed from the care of her drug-addicted mother and... Continue Reading →
Sons and Daughters: Darcy and Fitzwilliam Book Two, by Karen Wasylowski – A Review
From the desk of Shelley DeWees Care for a slice of dialogue? I promise that you’ll find it irresistibly juicy, bursting to the seams with wit and character. This is Karen Wasylowski’s work, after all, and you may still have the lingering juices from her first book Darcy and Fitzwilliam on your tongue. It tasted... Continue Reading →
The West Yet Glimmers: The Lord & Lady Baugham Stories, by Gail McEwen & Tina Moncton – A Review
From the desk of Christina Boyd: My affection for The Lord & Lady Baugham Stories commenced in 2007 when I discovered Twixt Two Equal Armies, a Pride and Prejudice spin-off (with Elizabeth Bennet & Fitzwilliam Darcy as supporting characters), that quickly created immense empathy for both protagonist-- the stubborn, spirited Miss Holly Tournier who spars... Continue Reading →
Bewitched, Body and Soul: Miss Elizabeth Bennet, by P. O. Dixon – A Review
From the desk of Kimberly Denny-Ryder With the amount of Jane Austen fan fiction writers that write “what if” variations, you’d think that by now they would be running short on new scenarios. Thankfully, new and imaginative writers keep entering this genre and introduce new variations on our favorite old classic. P.O. Dixon is one... Continue Reading →
Mr. Darcy’s Christmas: A Darcy Novella, by Elizabeth Aston – A Review
The holiday season is greatly anticipated in my home. I love decorating my tree with my collection of glass ornaments and baking my favorite treats such as my golden fruit cake. To add to the festivities there are always new Christmas themed books available for those who love to escape into another holiday wonderland. If,... Continue Reading →
The Bad Miss Bennet: A Novel, by Jean Burnett – A Review
From the desk of Jeffrey Ward: In a continuation of Pride and Prejudice, we revisit the former Miss Lydia Bennet who, to avoid total disgrace, has married Mr. Wickham, that rake-hell and tormenter of Mr. Darcy. As she embarks on her latest quest, we read from Mrs. Wickham’s personal journal as she lists her ‘modest’... Continue Reading →
Goodly Creatures: A Pride and Prejudice Deviation, by Beth Massey – A Review
From the desk of Kimberly Denny-Ryder: Recently I was offered the opportunity to review Goodly Creatures by Beth Massey for Austenprose. I knew this book was generating a good deal of discussion in the JAFF world. I’m always up for books that are labeled “controversial” as they are great conservation starters. What could be more... Continue Reading →
Fifty Shades of Mr. Darcy: A Parody, by William Codpiece Thwackery – A Review
From the desk of Christina Boyd: Fifty Shades of Mr. Darcy is described as “A titillating mash-up of an erotic bestseller and a romantic classic, peppered with puns.” As an unabashed reader of anything Jane Austen, or Pride & Prejudice… as well as a blushing, shameless fan of E. L. James’ Fifty Shades of Grey,... Continue Reading →
Turning Pages, by Tristi Pinkston – A Review
From the desk of Lisa Galek: I really love a good Jane Austen contemporary update, especially one geared at teens. There’s something so refreshing and lovely about the idea that, 200 years later, young readers are still eating up the drama between Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy. When college student and aspiring librarian, Addie Preston,... Continue Reading →
Find Wonder in All Things: Persuasion Revisited, by Karen M. Cox – A Review
From the desk of Christina Boyd: Jane Austen’s most serious and compelling work, Persuasion, is all about retribution, forgiveness and second chances. Her masterpiece begins seven years after the broken engagement between the young heiress, Anne Elliot, and a junior naval officer, Frederick Wentworth—when he is thrown back into her sphere and both must face... Continue Reading →
Penguin Classics Bicentenary Edition of Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen – A Review
From the desk of Laurel Ann Nattress: For two hundred and one years readers have had the pleasure of reading Jane Austen's first published novel, Sense and Sensibility. For the bicentenary celebration last year, Penguin Classics issued this new edition with an introduction by Cathleen Schine (The Three Weissmanns of Westport) and cover illustration by... Continue Reading →
The Marriage of Faith: Christianity in William Wordsworth and Jane Austen, by Laura Dabundo – A Review
From the desk of Br. Paul Byrd, OP: “What I want to examine in this study is how the poet Wordsworth and the novelist Austen represent a marriage of interests, an economy of literary sympathies, and a shared thematic melody that plays across their often-disparate works” (Dabundo, 9). Laura Dabundo joins a number of scholars... Continue Reading →