Your online source for Jane Austen and her legacy
From the desk of Christina Boyd: In such days as this, of on-line Jane Austen fan fiction, self-publishing, and perusing the stacks in traditional brick and mortar bookstores, it is incomprehensible to neglect reading the manifold of Jane Austen spin-offs, what-ifs, and other such Austen-inspired musings. Those of us Austen addicts simply cannot get enough... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Kimberly Denny-Ryder: As most Austenprose readers will know by now, I’m a big fan of Pride and Prejudice variations, what-if’s, and retellings. In fact, if you look at the scope of Jane Austen fan fiction that I read it’s almost entirely comprised of Pride and Prejudice inspired novels. A recent addition... Continue Reading →
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 →
Happy Holidays Janeites! Tis the season to go shopping, and Janeite family and friends always need suggestions to fill the reticules, stockings, and gifts under the tree for those whose special interest is everything Austen. I have several categories to select from – and I would happily be the recipient of any of these fabulous... Continue Reading →
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 →
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 →
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 →
From the desk of Jeffrey Ward: I’m going to tell on myself. I’m a sniveling, sentimental sucker for a good Christmas story. It is only October and I’ve only devoured two of them so I’m way behind my normal seasonal curve. Thank heavens for author Victoria Connelly, who sensing a good thing, has smartly thrown... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Laurel Ann Nattress: We can only imagine what life would have been like in the great Georgian resort town of Bath, England circa 1800. There are vintage illustrations of buildings, maps of the winding streets, and descriptions from travelers and writers of the time to help us visualize. And then there... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Christina Boyd: Author Mary Lydon Simonsen is making quite a name for herself as a writer who successfully uses Jane Austen’s characters and themes in other historical times and settings. Her latest Pride and Prejudice re-imagining is set in WWII England with the Bennet girls conscripted into the workforce to support... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Shelley DeWees: Tell me. Do you think this sounds like a Jane Austen novel? “Gawain!” he screamed as he pulled himself free at the sound of his dog’s cry. From the corner of his eye, he could see his assailant grab the other man’s cane out from under him and raise... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Aia Hussein-Yousef: In chapter five of Claudia L. Johnson’s new book Jane Austen’s Cults and Cultures, she notes that in the first Jane Austen Society Report for the years 1943 – 46, a memory belonging to an elderly village woman named Mrs. Luff was recorded in which she remembers watching Jane... Continue Reading →
