Your online source for Jane Austen and her legacy
From the desk of Sophia Rose: A “Holiday Whodunnit” during a locked door English country house party is always a delicious prospect for me. I eagerly cracked open, A Christmas Party, by the renowned Georgette Heyer. Famous for her Regency romances and historical fiction, she also wrote several contemporary murder mysteries set in the 1930’s... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Sophia Rose: Upon my first reading of a Julie Klassen book, I was struck by many wonderful thoughts. Among them was how obvious was the love the author had for Jane Austen, attentiveness to historical elements, masterful character development, and that special sparkle to her writing that draws in a reader.... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Katie Jackson: Often in romance stories, even those with dual point of view, it is the heroine and the romance itself that typically get most of the spotlight. Indeed, it takes great authorial skill to powerfully convey the nuances of multiple complex relationships, familial and otherwise, along with the deep emotions... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Jayda B. Justus: I am a huge fan of Little Women and read it multiple times as a child and adult, laughing and crying along with the March sisters (and desperately longing for sisters like them!). Marmee is a new novel retelling of the story from the point of view of... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Laurel Ann Nattress: Few novels have touched and inspired young readers as profoundly as Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott (1832-1888). Originally published in two volumes in 1868 and 1869, it is a remarkable coming-of-age story of four sisters with distinctive, endearing personalities set during the American Civil War, and after.... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Sophia Rose:  When tempting this Austen lover with a new book, one merely need mention that it is based on real life figures in Jane Austen’s life, and I am hooked. By making it a governess’ tale with a mysterious past, I am well-nigh bewitched. I settled in eager for... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Sophia Rose: When one considers classic horror, there are few tales that leap so quickly to the mind as Frankenstein. Published in 1818, the tale was originally spun by Mary Shelley as a campfire ghost tale during a summer gathering of literary giants vacationing along the shores of Lake Geneva. Much... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Amy Louise: It has been 45 years since Agatha Christie’s last Miss Marple novel, Sleeping Murder, was published posthumously in 1976. First introduced to readers in a story Christie wrote for The Royal Magazine in 1927, Jane Marple made her first full-length appearance in the 1930’s novel, The Murder at the... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Rachel McMillan: “A drop of love sometimes brings an ocean of tears.” (137) After learning that Lynda Loigman’s forthcoming book was about a matchmaker in 1910s New York City, I begged her for any early PDF file. She was kind enough to oblige. After all, I had quite enjoyed the emotional... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Katie Jackson: If you’ve ever wished that Jane Austen’s family had preserved more of her personal letters, have I got a surrogate wish-fulfillment for you. It is my pleasure to introduce the gifted nineteenth-century novelists Jane and Anna Maria Porter. Although their copious correspondence remains unpublished—and may always, as the writers... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Theresa Smith: “You,” Elisabetta breathes, maliciously, almost delightedly. “You will be blamed. So be careful, Lucrezia. Be very, very careful.” In The Marriage Portrait, O’Farrell gives us a fictional retelling of the short life and marriage of Lucrezia de’ Medici (1545-1561), third daughter of Cosimo l de’ Medici, Grand Duke of... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Rachel McMillan: I first discovered Molly Greeley’s forthcoming novel Marvelous in a Publisher’s Lunch deal memo. Knowing Greeley was a fan-favourite after her two deliciously engaging re-imaginings of Jane Austen’s world (The Clergyman’s Wife, and The Heiress) I would read anything she wrote. The true story behind the couple from the... Continue Reading →
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