Your online source for Jane Austen and her legacy
A nineteenth-century exotic locale, a handsome officer and a feisty heroine make for archetypical romantic fare, but Lauren Willig’s new novel The Betrayal of the Blood Lily is anything BUT a conventional bodice ripper embellished with historical detail. In her sixth novel in her “Pink Carnation” series, Willig exhibits once again that she is an... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Laurel Ann Nattress: Emma, Jane Austen’s fourth novel was published in 1815 and dedicated to the Prince Regent, later King George IV. The dedication was a request by the Prince and not Austen's idea. She privately abhorred the Regent for his treatment of his wife Princess Caroline, and his abhorrent dissipated... Continue Reading →
After being introduced to Jane Austen’s Lady Susan via A Soiree for Lady Susan, Austenprose’s rollicking cyber group read, replete with wagging tongues and fluttering fans, I delighted in discovering this ‘most accomplished Coquette in England’. So different from other Austen heroines, I welcomed her all the more for her flagrant flaws and mercenary machinations. Regretfully, as Jane Austen never got the chance to revise this novella, the limitations of the epistolary form did leave me with a desire for more. Enter Jane Rubino and Caitlen Rubino-Bradway’s novel Lady Vernon and Her Daughter, which certainly fulfills this desire… and more! This clever re-imagining by a mother and daughter team turns my previous notion about this heroine on its head. It intriguingly opens with an Austen inspired witticism:
I have read a few Austenesque books in my day. Am I jaded? Hope not. I usually know by the end of the third chapter if it has wings: a fresh concept skillfully rendered, Austen allusions or her characters reverently portrayed and humor in the form of wit and irony, please. I know. It’s a... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Laurel Ann Nattress: The romance of Emma, Lady Hamilton and Lord Horatio Nelson might just rival Romeo and Juliette or Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy as the greatest love story of all time. Moreover, their story is made all the more poignant because it is not a work of fiction created... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Christina Boyd: Many modern versions of Jane Austen’s works fail to hit the mark because the author forces a "rewrite" of the original, altogether forgetting that some scenarios and mores from the Regency era make no sense in the modern-day world. Or worse yet, the author fails to deliver any character... Continue Reading →
Here’s a new novel that tugged at my heartstrings and validated my belief that if the world was run according to Jane Austen, we would be much smarter and happier. Enuff said! Fifteen-year-old Ellie Barnett is a bookish geek. She excels at academics, but according to her caustic older sister, she is digging herself into... Continue Reading →
Fall is in the air, and if you are looking for a great new murder mystery novel to cozy up with, Murder at Longbourn by Tracy Kiely is an excellent choice. Cleverly combining a traditional drawing room detective story and a comedy of manners, this surprisingly witty and beguilingly suspenseful whodunit is actually a contemporary chick-lit... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Laurel Ann Nattress: The fourth and final episode of season four of the Miss Marple Mysteries aired on Sunday, July 26th on Masterpiece Mystery with Why Didn’t They Ask Evans?, a new adaptation of Agatha Christie’s 1934 novel on PBS. The new Miss Marple, Julia McKenzie, is growing on me. I... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Laurel Ann Nattress: First published in 1950, The Grand Sophy contains one of Georgette Heyer’s most endearingly outrageous heroines. In this newly released reissue by Sourcebooks, you are in for a rollicking good time through Regency era London with Miss Sophia Stanton-Lacy. As one of her many male admirers proclaims, "By all... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Laurel Ann Nattress: Is there always another chance at happiness? Are we bound to our past, or do "we all have the power to create heaven on earth, right here, right now?" Important questions heroine Jane Mansfield must come to acknowledge and understand in Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict,... Continue Reading →
The Jane Austen book sleuth is happy to inform readers that many Austen inspired books are heading our way in July, so keep your eyes open for these new titles. FICTION (prequels, sequels, retellings, variations, or Regency inspired) The Grand Sophy by Georgette Heyer July is The Grand Sophy month at Jane Austen Today in... Continue Reading →
